Make no mistake about it, Southern Lab knew how to finish the first day of the LHSAA outdoor track meet.
With freshman Mason Boyd on the anchor leg passing competitors during the 4x400-meter relay, the Southern Lab boys won their first Class 1A boys track title and field title since 2016 on Thursday night at LSU's Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
The Kittens needed a third-place finish in 3 minutes, 32.70 seconds to hold off Highland Baptist and Haynesville for the title. Southern Lab finished with 55 points.
Not to be outdone, the Southern Lab girls won their 4x400 relay in 4:06.33 to leapfrog past Highland Baptist and into second place with 45 points. Jonesboro-Hodge won the girls title with 58 points.
“It was a blessing to run in this track meet,” Boyd said. “I knew I had to pass somebody, so when I got the baton, I took off.”
High jump champion Warren Gougisha was the headliner for the Southern Lab boys. He won with a leap of 6 feet, 6 inches.
“We had to work a little harder today because our 4x100 relay got disqualified at regional,” Southern Lab boys coach Jamar Washington said. “This is a very young team with three freshmen and a sophomore on that last relay. They believed they could do it.”
Relays were the key for the Southern Lab girls, who got a big assist for from members of the school’s state championship basketball team. The Kittens won the 4x200-meter relay in 1 minute, 47.52 seconds.
Southern Lab then came back to win the 4x100 in 49.65 seconds with the tandem of all-state basketball players Asia Patin and Shaila Forman along with teammates Bre’Aile Clark, Kori Wesley and Hannah Lagarde. Wesley also placed third in the 100 meters.
Before the final relay, Southern Lab girls coach Shanelle Zenon told her team it had to win and set a school record. It did both.
“They all ran track before when they were younger and coach Q (basketball coach Quianna Chaney) had them conditioned very well,” Zenon said. “Plus, they don’t like losing.
“And I hedged my bets with them a little. I told them we needed to win that relay. We really only needed to be second place. They love to win … that’s who they are.”
After the first two Southern Lab relay wins, Patin said, “If I know I can get first place, I’m gonna go get it.”
Surprise, surprise
Catholic-Pointe Coupee’s Brooks Capps pulled off one of the day’s biggest surprises by winning the 1A boys 100 meters in 10.864 seconds, edging Kentwood’s Jermaine Brown (10.866).
Brown later won the 200, and Capps was third. Neither runner was seeded among the leaders based on regional times but bolted ahead from opposite sides of the track.
“I knew I would have a race with the guy from Kentwood,” Capps said. “That was the fastest start I ever had, and he (Brown) was right there with me.”
Other superlatives
• Another 1A girls headliner was East Iberville’s Malajia Hubbard, who set personal bests while winning the 400 and 200 in 55.62 and 24.56, respectively.
• Ravievah Craddock placed in multiple events to help the Holden girls finish third with 58 points in Class B. Craddock won the long jump in 16-5.
• Family Christian’s Trinston Williams won the Class C boys 400 in 52.60 seconds.
• CHSPC’s Miya Battley won the 1A girls high jump for the second straight year with a leap of 5-1¾.
