A large contingent of parish athletes will be heading to LSU next week for the Class 5A state meet.
Parish athletes qualified in 13 boys and six girls events in the Region I-5A meet Wednesday at Northwestern State. The top three finishers in each individual event and relay qualified for the Class 5A state meet Saturday, May 10. Fourth-place finishers are alternates.
Parish athletes took regional titles in seven boys events and one girls.
Parkway finished runner-up in the boys division with 64 points. Ruston won with 84. Airline was fifth with 42 and Haughton sixth with 36.
Airline and Benton finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the girls division with 30 and 27 points, respectively. Barbe won with 110.
The meet was held in very windy conditions.
Haughton’s John Brown and Parkway’s Brennan Robin were double winners in the boys division.
Brown and Airline’s Lathan Woodland finished 1-2 in the 400. Brown’s time was 47.60 seconds. Woodland’s was 47.99.
Brown ran a 21.09 in the 200. Ouachita Parish’s Macario Dade was second in 21.35.
Robin and teammate Ben Ruliffson finished 1-2 in the 1,600 and 3,200. Robin ran a 4:23.60 in the 1,600 and Ruliffson ran a 4:28.00.
Robin ran a 9:21.44 in the 3,200. Ruliffson ran a 9:42.19.
Airline’s Jayden Williams took the 800 in 1:51.77. West Monroe’s Tytan Johnson was second in 1:52.56.
Airline’s Zion Smith easily won the 110 hurdles in 13.84. New Iberia’s Conner Stewart was second in 14.32.
Benton’s Miller Malley, the reigning Division I indoor and Class 5A outdoor state champion, won the pole vault with a vault of 14 feet. Malley recently signed with ULM. Barbe’s Carter Hicks was second with a 13-0.
Parkway’s Devon Oliver won the shot put with a throw of 55 feet, 9.25 inches. Alexandria’s Joseph Carter Rivet was second with a 51-8.
Oliver also qualified in the discus with a third-place throw of 165-3. Rivet won with a 173-10.
Benton’s Kyla Daux was the only winner from a parish school in the girls division. She took the 100 hurdles in 14.47. Pineville’s Laila Williams was second in 14.81.
Daux also finished second in the 300 hurdles in 44.09. West Monroe’s Reese Trahan won in 42.89.
Airline’s Jaycie Wallace finished second in the girls 100 in 11.94 and 200 in 24.50. Ouachita Parish’s Gabriella Glover won both events, taking to 100 in 11.70 and 200 in 24.11.
Haughton’s Joseph Encinas was second in the boys 300 hurdles in 39.93. Stewart won in 39.71.
Parkway’s Lauren Taylor finished second in the girls 1,600 in 5:34.71. Ruston’s Sydney Owens won in 5:32.93.
Airline’s Shelby Ledet was second in the girls high jump with a leap of 5-2. Barbe’s Taylor Bennett won with a 5-4.
Parkway finished second in the boys 4X800 relay in 8:18.68. Ruston won in 8:12.44.
Airline qualified with a third-place finish in the boys 4X100 relay in 47.82. Ouachita Parish won in 47.48.
Benton’s Malachi Zeigler took third in the boys javelin with a throw of 183-5. West Monroe’s Jaxon Talley won with a 196-1.
Fourth-place finishers from parish schools in the boys division were Benton’s Brody Hutchison (800), Benton’s Ryder Dodson (discus), Airline’s Terrance Hayes (long jump) and Haughton’s Jamarion Gray (triple jump).
Gray went 44-10, just two inches less than third-place Quinton Goodie of Acadiana.
Airline was fourth in the 4X400 relay.
Benton’s Claire Allen finished fourth in the girls 1,600 and 3,200. She came very close to qualifying in the 3,200 with a 12:06.05. Byrd’s Emmy Banker was third in 12:06.02.
Parkway’s Zaniyah Carter finished fourth in the girls discus.