New Orleans Jesuit is favored to win its fourth straight state championship in the Division I boys cross country state meet Monday in Natchitoches. But it won’t be a surprise if Parkway brings home a trophy.
The Panthers have had an outstanding season that has included winning their fourth straight District 1-5A championship and the Region I-5A meet.
Parkway sophomore Brennan Robin won the individual title in both meets.
Parkway finished third in the state meet last year with 116 points, far behind Jesuit (27) and Brother Martin (32).
Jesuit’s Brady Mullen and Brady Monahan, who finished 1-2 last year, are back. So is third-place finisher Noah Mooney. But Brother Martin’s next three runners in the top 10 were all seniors. Of course, like Jesuit and Parkway, the Crusaders still have plenty of depth.
Parkway and Brother Martin finished 1-2 in the St. Joseph’s Academy Invitational in Baton Rouge. Robin finished second. Mooney didn’t run but Brother Martin’s Braeden Dunne and Jack Collins finished third and fifth, respectively.
The results of that or any other race are not likely indicative of how the state meet will play out. Races around the state are run in varying conditions. The courses are all 3 miles or 5K, but they vary too.
Conditions are unlikely to be ideal Monday. The high is expected to be in the mid-80s with scattered showers in the afternoon. The Division I boys race is scheduled to be the last one with a 3:45 p.m. start.
Robin finished 12th last year in 15 minutes, 37.6 seconds. Mullen won in 14:50.06. Robin ran a 14:50.6 in Parkway’s Border Dash in September.
In the District 1-5A meet, Robin won in 15:09.78. Benton’s Brody Hutchison, who was 36th in the state meet last year, was second in 15:47.41.
Parkway runners Andrew Kent, Aiden O’Nishea, Ben Ruliffson and Alex Gomez took the next five spots. Airline’s Jayden Williams was eighth. Parkway’s Noah Lafitte and Richard Scheffler finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
Gomez was 17th in the state meet last year and Ruliffson 30th.
Parkway has been trending up in the state meet, finishing ninth in 2021 and fifth in 2022.
The Division I girls race starts at 2:15. Several parish runners will be looking to post high finishes including Parkway’s Ember Pierce, Lauren Taylor and Sofia Bright, Benton’s Claire Allen and Dominique Coore, and Haughton’s Clara Hicks.
Pierce won the District 1-5A championship. Allen finished third, Taylor fourth, Bright seventh and Hicks 10th.