MICHAEL KIRAL

Bulldogs’ track team looks to keep moving up in indoor, outdoor seasons

LUTCHER – Three years ago, the Lutcher boys’ track team sent one athlete to the state meet. Last year, the Bulldogs came within 24 points of a state title, finishing second behind Lake Charles-Boston. Now, the Bulldogs are ready to take the next step up on the winner’s stand. But it will not be an easy feat. From that state runner-up team of 2000, Lutcher is having to replace Jerron Wishom, who placed second in the long jump and third in the hurdles, and Kenneth Johnson, one of the top sprinters in the state. Gone also is Thomas Ricks, the 1998 javelin champion, who placed fourth in that event last year. Wishom also helped the 4×400 relay team win the state championship in 2000. But there are also a number of state contenders returning. William Adams, who placed second in the javelin last year after a third-place finish in 1999, is back, although he will be out until the outdoor season with an injury suffered in football. Ben Dicharry returns after placing fifth in the shot put and seventh in the discus at state in 2000. David Pittman and Chris Johnson, who made up half of the state champion 4×400 relay team, are also back. So is Donnie Francois, a contender in the high jump. “A lot of people think we will be down because of what we have lost,” Lutcher head coach Chris Barrient said. “But we have quality people coming back. We just have to put it together.” One change will be where the team will get points this year. Last year, the team’s strength was in the sprints. This year it will be in the field events and the 4×400 relay. On that note, one of the biggest losses the team will have to overcome is that of coach Troy Borne who has been coaching the field athletes. Borne is moving to Colorado. “That’s a big blow to the program,” Barrient said. “We couldn’t have gotten the program to where it is without him.” Where that is is a position that few could have expected three years ago. In Barrient’s first year, one athlete went to Baton Rouge for the state meet. A year later, that number grew to 12, helping the Bulldogs to a fifth place finish. Last year, the Bulldogs had 10 athletes place in the top 10 in individual events. “We’ve been getting more kids out,” Barrient said of the growth of the program. “And we’re seeing more quality. The quality is starting to come out.” Adams, a senior, is one of those who has been through the climb through the state rankings. “We came from a young team,” Adams said, “We’ve lost a lot of people but we are still going to make it.” Pittman was also a member of those teams, placing fifth in the 400 last year. Like Adams, he will miss the indoor season with an injury but will return for the outdoor season. “I’m expecting us to move up in the outdoors and go further in the indoors,” Pittman said. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work, commitment and staying together.” The girls’ team is also on the rise. Senior Lacey Millet will compete in the 1,500 and 3,000 in the indoor season. Jennifer Detillier, who placed eighth in the state last year in the pole vault, will compete in the event again this season. Lutcher will begin its season at the state indoor meet at the LSU Field House Feb. 17. The Bulldogs placed sixth at the meet last year. The outdoor season opens with the Donaldsonville Tip Off four days later. The Bulldogs will then participate in the Sugar cane Relays at West St. John March 2. The District 9-3A championships will be held this year at E.D. White April 18. A week later, Donaldsonville will host the regional meet. The state championships will be back at LSU’s Bernie Moore Stadium May 5. Barrient said the top competition in the state will again come from Lake Charles-Boston. Donaldsonville and E.D. White will be the teams to watch for in district. But he said his Bulldogs should again be right in the hunt. “At the beginning of the year our numbers won’t be as big as in the past but the people we have are good quality,” Barrient said. “If things work out we will be back where we were last year and that’s competing for a state championship.”