J. EDMUND BARNES

PHOTO 1: Class 3A girls take to the air during the 100 meter hurdles event at the state championship track and field meet, held last weekend in Baton Rouge. (Staff Photo by J. Edmund Barnes) BATON ROUGE- The River Parishes were well represented during three days of intense competition at the Louisiana State Track and Field Championships. In all, seven teams from St. John, St. James and St. Charles parishes found themselves in Baton Rouge vying for the title of state champions. Of those seven, only the Lutcher boys team came away with a top five finish- placing second overall in Class 3A with 40 points. The Bulldogs managed to do so without the benefit of a single first place finish by any of their athletes. Yet despite the dearth of outright wins, a steady stream of second-, third- and fourth-place showings kept them in the race. In the end, it was another one of these small victories that gave the Bulldogs the big payoff: a third-place finish in the 4 x 400 meter relays was enough to push them past Teurlings Catholic and Donaldsonville. Lake Charles-Boston won the 3A Boys title by an unapproachable 60 points, taking four events outright and scoring points in five others. William Adams placed second in the javelin toss with a personal best distance of 202′ 7″ while Ben Dicharry placed 4th in the shot put with a throw of 49 feet. Jeremy Foreman placed second in the high jump with a leap of 6’4″. PHOTO 2: John Champagne of Riverside puts the shot about 48 feet away with this throw during Friday’s events. (Staff Photo by J. Edmund Barnes)  

   It was the Lutcher relay teams that kept them in the competition, though. Quoudis Ezidore, Sam Batiste, Chris Johnson, David Pittman, Jeremy Pittman, James Williams, and David Pittman placed in every event they ran in. The relay teams turned in a fourth place finish in the 4 x 100 meter run with a time of 42.98 seconds. They also placed third twice, in the 4 x 200 meter and the 4 x 400 meter relay. The relay teams scored 14 points, including the decisive 6 points in the 4 x 400 meters that gave Lutcher a second place finish overall. “Our relay teams hung in there,” said Coach Chris Barrient. “They kept us in the hunt, and did what we had to do to keep us in the hunt.” PHOTO 3: Chad Boudreaux of Hahnville crosses the finish line during the 1600 meter run Saturday. He finished third with a time of 4 minutes, 30.91 seconds (Staff Photo by J. Edmund Barnes) Devin Gaines, who placed 9th in the 1,600 meter run, said: “There was better competition (this year). They really pushed us.” In Class B, the Reserve Christian boys managed a 12th place showing with 19 points. This was largely due to Marshall Williams, who placed second in two events: the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.53 seconds, and the 200 meter dash with a time of 23.78 seconds. The Reserve Christian relay team also placed fifth in the 4 x 400 meter relay with a time of 3:45.66. The Reserve Christian girls scored six points, thanks to Mary Venus and Holly Manuel, who placed third and fourth in the discus event. Venus threw the disk 92 feet, while Manuel threw it 90 feet. In Class 2A, the Riverside boys scored two points on the strength of John Champagne’s 48′ 6″ shot put throw. The Riverside girls were able to score 12 points due to Kelly Louque and Rachel Branton. Louque placed 6th in two events, the javelin throw (99’10”) and the discus (97-0). Rachel Branton placed first in the high jump with a leap of 5’4″. West St. John scored four points with Aaron Sylvian’s 15.48″ fourth place finish in the 110 meter hurdles. Hahnville managed six points with Chad Boudreaux’s third place finish in the 1600 meter run. East St. John scored one point when their relay team placed sixth in the 4 x 200 meter relay.