Five returning champions have a quest to repeat

No sport is as absolute as track and field.

Either you run fast, throw long or jump far and high enough to win – or you don’t.

And five locals who fit the criteria of excellence in this sport return to Baton Rouge’s Bernie Moore Stadium May 8-10 to defend their individual titles at the state track and field meet.

That may be the highlight of the meet for the schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Based on the performances in the various regional meets last week, the “heat sheets” indicate Class C Holy Rosary’s boys’ team will finish higher than any other local Catholic school.

The Bulldogs, participating in their only sport of the school year, project to score 51 points (43 on the track) to finish fifth in that class.

But while the local teams lack the numbers to earn a team title, there are several athletes who could stand on the medal podium.

The five returning gold medalists are St. Paul’s Zachary Albright, Class 5A 1,600 and 3,200 meters; St. Mary’s Keterra Harris, Class 2A 400 meters; Dominican’s Mia Meydrich, Class 5A 1,600 meters; Sacred Heart’s Ellie Sylvia, Class 2A high jump, who will be competing in Class 3A this year; and Holy Rosary’s Reid DiMaggio, Class C 800 meters.

Four more athletes have qualified as “best” in their events, including Dominican’s Andrea McDonald, whose 5-foot-3 high jump makes her the 5A favorite; St. Scholastica’s Samantha Zelden, who leads the 4A javelin throw field with a qualifying distance of 138-10; Cabrini’s Tayla Celestine, who has the best time of 15.14 in the girls’ Class 4A 100-meter hurdles event and the second-best in the 300-meter hurdles; and DC Lipani of St. Paul’s, whose time of 9:42.26 topped teammate Albright’s 9:44.65 in the Class 5A 3,200-meter run.

As for the returning champions, Albright is the top qualifier in the 1,600 with a regional time of 4:23.63. St. Paul’s should be 1-2 in this event, with Eric Coston posting a 4:24.76.

Albright’s quest in the 3,200 meters will be to catch teammate Lipani, who has run 2.39 seconds faster.

Harris is the top qualifier in the 2A girls’ 400-meter dash. She also is the No. 2 qualifier in the 800-meter run.

Meydrich, who swept the three distance runs in the 9-5A meet two weeks ago, will be pressed to repeat as a Class 5A
champion.

She is the No. 2 qualifier behind Denham Springs’ Amber Ferguson in the 1,600-meter run, the event she won last year. There is a three-second differential between their qualifying times.

Meydrich ran an 11:38.69 in the 3,200-meter run to qualify third in the May 5 finals.

Sylvia has yet to equal her championship height of 5-9 in the high jump event, but neither has the rest of the championship field.

The Sacred Heart sophomore has been hovering around the 5-2 mark, which is just two inches shy of the height of top qualifier Bethany Broussard of Iowa, and certainly in Sylvia’s sights.

DiMaggio will perform yeoman’s duties when he competes in the 800-, 1,600- 3,200-meter runs and the 300-meter hurdles event as well. His best qualifying times place him third in two of these events, but he will surely be Holy Rosary’s top scorer.

Favored in the girls’ 5A high jump, McDonald also is the No. 2 qualifier in the triple jump and less than four inches behind the leader.

Zelden has the opportunity to add to St. Scholastica’s point totals. The 4A javelin favorite also qualified No. 2 in the discus throw.

St. Katharine Drexel Prep’s Shannon Ray will continue her speed duel with McMain’s Aleia Hobbs. Ray’s 12.25 (100-meter dash) and 24.51 (200) put her times just fractions behind Hobbs’ numbers.
Ray is also a member of the Yellow Jackets’ 400- and 800-meter relay teams.