By ROBERT L. LEE

RESERVE – The Reserve Christian School boys and girls track teams travelled to the state meet at LSU with high hopes of a first place showing, but had to settle for an individual championship and a multiple dose of valuable experience.

Senior Marshall Williams took the honor of being the first RCS student to win the state championship with a time of 11.04 for the 100 meters and “probably the first state champion for the 100 in the parish, period,” said Eagles coach Todd Simmons.

Combined with his track accomplishment, Williams, the Eagles’ only senior, is set to graduate fourth in his class with a 3.8 GPA and is checking out his opportunities with such colleges as Nicholls and Northwestern universities.

As a whole, the Eagles boys team finished the meet in fourth place with 35.5 points, compared to Lacassine (98.5), Glenmora (77) and Rapides (46).

“It was a very emotional day,” said Simmons. “Things happen where you have a good day and a bad day, we had some ups and downs.”

On the positive side, the Eagles’ boys placed second in the 4-by-1 relay, with Williams closing in from 10 yards behind for a photo finish, while Frankie Francois shortened a 40-yard deficit into a second place photo finish in the 4-by-4 relay.

“Frankie ran the whole race wide open,” said Simmons.

He also explained the team of Francois, George Arnold, Chris McClain and Williams, broke the school’s 4-by-1 relay record with the 53.5 time.

The Eagles were scheduled into six events, and were “double-stacked” with runners in the 100 and 200-meter competitions.

“Overall, we performed very well,” said Simmons. “For our first full year with a team, to get even fourth place we’re blessed.”

Fifteen student-athletes were qualified for the trip to LSU, with eight boys and seven girls total. The Eagles squad totalled more track and field athletes than from any other school in the tri-parish area. The Eagles’ girls team had a best finish of fourth place in the 4-by-1 relay.

The team was compiled last May and has practiced together since March. Leading the girls is Mary Venus, who was ranked second in the state and finished third last year. Simmons said everyone else on the team should be returning next year, including freshman standouts Jayna Morris, Jaleesa Smith, Trenise Smith and Trenell Smith.

“They are all coming back, so we should have a good girls team next year, the same with the boys, they are all coming back,” Simmons continued.

“I am very proud of them. At the end of the day, how many teams can you say got the opportunity their first year out to get to the dance. That says a lot and that they’ve got a lot of heart,” said Simmons.