On a day when 11 meet records were set,
Catholic (Baton Rouge) won its fifth consecutive Division I-Classes 5A and 4A boys state title, while
Baton Rouge claimed the girls version at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Catholic easily outdistanced the field at LSU's Carl Maddox Field House with 83 points. Jesuit (New Orleans) and Lafayette were a distant second and third with 34 and 31 points, respectively.
"We had a lot of people contribute," veteran Catholic coach Pete Boudreaux said. "We swept the distance races, and that was big."
Baton Rouge's girls totaled 67 points with sisters Dominique and Mikiah Brisco setting meet records. Mikiah, a freshman, won the 55-meter dash in a record 7.02 seconds. She also placed fourth in the 55 hurdles.
Dominique had a record leap of 39 feet, 3¼ inches in the triple jump. She won the 55 hurdles in 8.39, placed second in the high jump and fourth in the long jump.
"They did a lot of things," Baton Rouge coach Zack Winnfield said of the Briscos, "but what I'll remember was that we had everybody contribute in some way. That was the key for us."
Catholic's strength was in the distance races with Ben Ross winning the 1,600 (4:37.74), Matthew Rhorer finishing first in the 800 (2:01.91) and Cole Stafford winning the 3,200 (10:08.54) ahead of teammate Joseph St. Cyr. Catholic also claimed the 4x800 (8:26.82) and 4x400 relays (3:27.46).
JOHN CURTIS, HAMILTON CHRISTIAN PREVIAL
Curtis (River Ridge) won, lost and finally reclaimed the Division II-Classes 3A and below boys title at the state indoor meet, with
Hamilton Christian (Lake Charles) undoubtedly winning the girls crown.
In winning the final race with at time of 3:30 in the 4x400, John Curtis appeared to have scored 10 points to edge Episcopal (Baton Rouge) for the state championship, 71-70.
The Patriots initially were disqualified after the race but appealed the decision. It was overturned, and John Curtis was reinstated as state champion.
Prior to the 4x400 victory, brothers Dalton and Dylan Duvio finished 1-2 in the pole vault. Dalton set a meet record with a leap of 16-2½.
South Plaquemines (Port Sulphur) senior Bradley Sylve, an Alabama football signee, won the 55 with the third-best national prep indoor time of 6.3 seconds. Sylve, who is expected to run track for Alabama, placed second in the 100 and 200.
Hamilton finished with 61 points with Xavier Prep (New Orleans) and Episcopal (Baton Rouge) placing a distant second and third with 43 and 41 points, respectively.
FIRST TIME IS THE CHARM FOR WESTLAKEIn what is believed to be the first girls basketball playoff game ever in
Westlake, the 16th-seeded Rams upended McMain (New Orleans), 65-36, in Class 3A action.
Westlake's girls hadn't even competed in the postseason since 1989 when the Rams lost to Peabody (Alexandria) in the first round. Their latest victory moved them into the regionals against top-seeded St. James.
McMain opened the game with six consecutive points before Westlake went on a 10-0 run and took control. Anna Jagneaux ended the first quarter with a 3-pointer at the buzzer and began the second quarter with another 3-pointer that extended the Rams' lead to 18-9.
"I thought that was a turning point in the game; that was when we kind of took control," Westlake coach Gloria Fontenot said.
In researching Westlake's playoff history, Fontenot said she was told the girls "won a district championship here in 1954. They were still playing half-court basketball then."
MaxPreps Louisiana girls basketball playoff bracketsPEABODY KEEPS ROLLING ALONG
With the boys basketball playoffs just around the corner, defending Class 4A state champion
Peabody (Alexandria) served notice that it's ready to defend its title with an emotional 66-60 victory at city rival Alexandria Senior High.
Troy Jones scored 17 points and Dee Wagner added 11 in helping Peabody improve its record to 23-3 overall, including 7-0 in District 4-4A. The game drew a sellout crowd to ASH, which had hoped to atone for an 18-point loss at Peabody.
ASH's Christavious Gill scored a game-high 20 points, and Xavier Williams chipped in with 14, but it wasn't enough to offset Peabody's balance and Jones' influence.
"Troy did an excellent job for us on defense and on the boards and made some good baskets for us," Peabody coach Charles Smith said. "I thought what hurt us most was our turnovers, and they were unforced, a lot of them."
FIVE IS A LUCKY NUMBER FOR PRODUCTIVE PLAYERS
Lacrosse isn't a LHSAA sanctioned sport, but that didn't diminish the accomplishments of a group of Shreveport athletes, who scored five goals apiece in their teams' victories.
Jack Curner and Collin McDonald each scored five goals for
Byrd (Shreveport) in its 17-6 victory over visiting Lafayette. Ian Brown and Thomas Haynie added two goals each.
Austin Mathias and Jordan Miller were five-goal scorers for
Loyola College Prep (Shreveport), which turned back visiting Houston (Germantown, Tenn.), 13-6. Loyola earlier had beaten Lafayette, 18-6. Loyola's junior varsity was a double loser, falling to Lafayette, 4-1, and to Houston, 9-3.
