Rodrick Anderson

The first day of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association track and field championships turned out to be a big one for Southwest Louisiana.

Hackberry won the boys Class C state title, holding off Jehova-Jireh 76-71, while Reeves won the Class C girls title with 85 points while Hornbeck was runner-up with 64.

The state championships continue today with Classes 3A and 2A.

The Mustangs earned the bulk of their points in the field events led by seniors Cameron Kyle and Coleman McCready but sealed the win with a fourth-place finish in the final event, the 4×400-meter relay. It was enough to stay ahead of Jehova-Jireh, who won the event.

McCready won a pair of gold medals in the shot put (42-11 1/2) and discus (130-3). Kyle won the high jump (5-8) and took second in the triple jump (40-9) and javelin (137-9).

Hackberry also got a first-place finish from pole vaulter Justin Vincent.

The Cauthron sisters, Faith, a senior and eighth-grader Hope, led Reeves. Faith beat Hackberry’s Angelle Delcambre (114-2) for the javelin title on her final throw (116-11) and took second in the shot put (29-3 1/4).

Hope won a trio of silver medals in the 100 (13.22), 200 (27.66), and 400 (1:04.91). Senior Claire Dunnehoo added a gold medal in the triple jump (31-11 1/2).

South Cameron’s Ariana Lasalle (long jump, 15-10, 1/4), Starks’ Sadie Barrow (high jump, 4-4), and Hackberry’s Ramsie Racca (pole vault, 6-2) and Blaine Picou (800, 2:37.02) went home champions.

Class 1A

Merryville senior Mekyah Hooper defended her high jump title, clearing 5 feet, while fellow senior Maddie Mahfouz won the 300 hurdles with a time of 47.81 seconds. Hooper also clocked in at 1:03.68 to finish third in the 400.

Oberlin’s Chloe Peloquin repeated as the pole vault champion, matching her height of 10 feet from 2019.

Grand Lake’s Gabe Boudreaux won the high jump (6-6), and South Cameron’s Chad LaPoint took home the 110 hurdles gold (18.05). Boudreaux added a third place in the triple jump (42-9).

Class B

Singer’s Brayden Thibodeaux repeated in the shot put with his best throw of the season, 51-1 3/4. Lacassine had two champions in Mary Johnson (100, 13.05) and Vanessa Duhe (shot put, 33-10 1/4).