By Trent Friedel, exclusive to the Times
Multiple days of rain and back to back cold fronts made the State meet a tough mudder for participants. The LHSAA held its annual State Championship meet Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 12-13 on the campus of Northwestern State University. Class C, B, 1A and 2A competed Monday and were greeted with drizzle and cold temperatures along with a stiff North wind. Tuesday was no better for classes 3A, 4A and 5A as temperatures struggled to get above 40. The course conditions resembled a four-wheeler trail mid deer season or a mud fest bog. A quagmire is the best analogy for what faced the runners for the 3 miles needed to complete the event.
Teams of local interest included a State runner-up trophy for Holy Savior Menard in boys and girls 2A. Simpson finished a respectable fifth in boys class C. Hornbeck placed third in boys class B and Anacoco was not far behind in seventh. John Jett finished the 3-mile event in 17:44 and was second overall in the class. The Anacoco girls team mirrored the boys with a seventh-place finish.
The Winnfield boys team finished eighth in class 2A followed by district foe Many in 15th. Tyler Hight of Winnfield finished 11th and Teddy Gowen of Many was number 13 to cross the finish line. Saint Mary’s girls placed sixth as a team in class 1A led by Jensen Parker in sixth with a time of 26:05.
She was followed by Mary Anna Scruggs in the number 22 spot with a time of 27:24. Emily Maggio and Cametrius Warren added points for the Tigers in the number 34 and 35 positions. The class 5A boys finished the event Tuesday afternoon. The top class had Catholic of Baton Rouge as the state champion and Brother Martin as the state runner up.
The Ruston team took fourth place and was the top public school. The bearcat coach was pleased with his team’s performance. He remarked that the sloppy conditions made it hard going for everyone. He stated, “Our top runner usually runs the event in 15 minutes and he posted an 18-minute run.” The general consensus was that most times were 3 minutes or greater than average.
No state records would be in jeopardy this year.
