Senior takes first in Javelin, 1,600 and 3,200

By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

RESERVE – St. James ran away with first place as a team. But nobody who lined up against Jesse LeBlanc on Wednesday stood much of a chance to win.

LeBlanc, a senior at Riverside, took MVP honors for the 10-2A meet with first place finishes in the javelin and both of the distance races. Getting the Rebels to the top of the board early with his first place finish from the javelin pit, LeBlanc had Riverside’s boys’ team in the lead after the opening event of the meet. His best throw of 134-6 was more than four and a half feet further than the competition, which had their best throws marked by a cluster of javelins that had landed near the 130 mark. Then, an hour and a half after that, he lined up on the track and ran away from the pack in the 1,600 meter run with a 5:07 finish, which was almost a full minute ahead of the closest finisher. And still, his day was not done.

LeBlanc finally did finish the day with his best performance yet, running an 11:11 in the 3,200 meters as the daylight set. At that pace, with his split time of about 5:35 at the mile mark, he would’ve won the 1,600 meters since the second place finisher in that ran a 5:43 and still have a mile to go. With those three victories under his belt, LeBlanc earned 24 of the Rebels’ 59 team points.