By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Quan Scott led the charge for West St. John at the District 8-1A track and field meet this week, finishing first in the long jump and third in the triple jump to earn District Field MVP honors. 

The Ram boys finished second overall at the meet. White Castle earned championship honors.

Scott finished fourth in the long jump at the 1A state track and field meet last year and second in the long and triple jumps in 2012.

“He’s definitely the guy in track and field,” said Carter. 

“He comes from a long line of athletes. His father, uncles and cousins all jumped. He’s surrounded by people who can offer help on a daily basis.”

West St. John finished second in all three of its relay events, the 4×100 (Kie’Ave Harry, Quan Scott, Jabari Walters and Bradley Borne), 4×200 (Jeremy Jackson, Harry, Walters and Borne) and the 4×400 (Lamore Boudoin, Nicholas Borne, Bradley Borne and Walters) advancing to regionals next week at Thibodaux. 

Other Ram boys headed to regionals include: Jeremy Jackson (fourth, 200); Nicholas Borne (third, 800); Lamore Boudoin (fourth, triple jump and 400); Nicholas Borne (third, 800) and Kie’Ave Harry (third, 100 and 200).

West St. John took second place despite dealing with a tough blow due to injury. Jeremy Jackson pulled up midway through the 100 and was unable to qualify for regionals. Jackson is West St. John’s most productive athlete on the track, a standout in the 100, 200 and on relays.

“He came in with, I think, the top mark in Class 1A in both the 100 and the 200,” said West St. John coach Antoine Carter. “I feel worse for him than I do for us as a team. He tweaked it the day before. We warmed him up good, rubbed it down, but halfway through it came up. It’s a major disappointment for him.”

Carter said that Jackson could possibly return this season. While he won’t be able to qualify for the 100, he is qualified to run the 200 at the regional and could potentially return then or at the state meet for the relay events. 

Carter said he was proud of his team’s finish in light of the circumstances. 

“It wasn’t what we wanted, but considering the injuries we had, I thought we performed well,” he said. “To still finish second without Jeremy was a credit to our kids.”

On the girls side, Maya Trench finished second in the high jump and triple jump and fourth in the 100. Jaylan Pierce finished second in the javelin, third in the shot put and fourth in the discus. 

Statistical marks weren’t available at press time.