Only one Bossier Parish athlete won an event in the Region I-5A meet Wednesday at Northwestern State, but finishing first wasn’t the top priority. Qualifying for the state meet was the main goal.
That meant finishing anywhere in the top three. By that measurement, it was a very good day for parish teams. A large contingent of parish athletes will be heading to LSU’s Bernie Moore Stadium for the state meet scheduled for Saturday, May 8.
Benton’s Isabelle Russell won the girls 1,600-meter run in 5 minutes, 28.0 seconds, 5.4 seconds faster than Byrd’s Bryn Peters.
Russell finished second to Peters in the 3,200 in 12:08.04. Peters ran a 12:03.90.
Benton’s Jamie Willis, Airline’s Brianna Taylor and Parkway’s Joslyn Crosby also qualified in multiple events in the girls division.
Willis finished second in the 100 hurdles in 15.38, just .02 behind Ouachita Parish’s Faith Lee. She also took third in the 300 in 46.73. Lee won in 43.95.
Taylor finished second in the 100 in 12.55, just .07 slower than Southwood’s Rondisia Williams. She finished third in the 200 in 25.52. Ruston’s Jada Williams won in 25.02.
Crosby qualified in the 800 and 3,200 with third-place finishes. She ran a 2:26.32 in the 800 won by Ruston’s Kiona McCallister in 2:25.58. Crosby ran a 12.10.70 in the 3,200.
Parkway’s 400 and 800 relay teams posted runner-up finishes. Maya Jackson, Kyla Williams, Jillian Walton and Sh’Diamond McKnight ran a 48.45 in the 400, 1.03 behind Ruston. The same foursome ran a 1:42.80 in the 800. Ruston won in 1:39.41.
Parkway’s Mikaylah Williams finished second in the discus with a throw of 118 feet, 5.5 inches. Lafayette’s Reese Grossie won with a 121-9.
Parkway almost qualified in the 3,200 relay. Alayna Morrow, Ariel Morrow, Cheyenne Olson and Katie Roman finished fourth in 10:39.21. Third-place West Monroe clocked a 10:33.95.
Parkway’s Peyton Pipes was fifth in the javelin, but her throw of 119-03 was only 5-6 shorter than the runner-up’s.
Haughton’s Laiden Broadway posted the highest finish from a parish team in the boys division. Broadway, Barbe’s Amiri Flugence and Natchitoches Central’s Samuel Maggio all cleared 12-0 in the pole vault. Flugence got first via the tiebreaker and Broadway was second.
Benton’s Nick Randall was the lone parish athlete to qualify in two events, finishing third in the 110 and 300 hurdles. He ran a 15.16 in the 110 won by Ouachita Parish’s Kashie Crockett in a very fast 14.22.
Randall ran a 39.77 in the 300, edging Ouachita Parish’s Chaunky Lewis for the final qualifying spot by .01. Crockett won in 37.05.
Parkway’s Madison Langley was third in the 1,600 in 4:32.13. Byrd’s Trent Wells won in 4:27.61. Langley finished just .39 behind runner-up Caleb Babineaux of Ruston.
Benton’s Jacob Marcinkus took third in the 3,200 in 9:54.84. Ruston’s Dyllon Nimmers won in 9:40.68.
The Benton foursome of Anthony Ardoin, Hagos Easter, Marcinkus and Mason Haley finished third in the 3,200 relay in 8:32.43. Ruston won in 8:23.92.
Haughton’s Chris Obregon, Kaylon Walton, Jaleel Mouton and John Ecot combined for a third-place finish in the 800 in 1:29.62. Ouachita Parish won in 1:27.47.
Benton’s Caleb Hood (javelin), Haughton’s Tristan Santora (discus), Benton’s Marcinkus (1,600) and Haughton’s Kenneth Smith (800) all posted fourth-place finishes.
Santora finished just 1-6.5 feet short of third place. Hood finished 4-7 behind the third-place qualifier. Smith was 3 seconds out of third.
Marcinkus finished 3.95 behind Langley.
Parkway, the District 1-5A champion, was seventh in the girls division with 46 points. Ruston won with 95 and Lafayette was second with 82.
Benton, the District 1-5A co-champion, finished sixth in the boys division with 34 points. Ruston won with 132 and Ouachita Parish was second with 71.
