Cross country, swimming on tap this weekend

The 30th annual St. Joseph’s Academy Invitational cross country meet tops a weekend of high school sports action that also includes a Capital City Swim League meet.

“It looks like it’s going to be another big one, just like last year,” St. Joseph’s cross coach Sam Young said. “Right now we have 1,382 runners registered and 80 schools represented.

“Some coaches don’t register all their junior varsity runners. They just let them run in the open race. By the time you factor those runners in, we’ll probably be the 1,500 range.”

Races begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with a junior varsity/open race at BREC’s Highland Road Park.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s CCSL swim meet is set for 12:45 p.m. at the Crawfish Aquatics pool.

Fifty-one junior high teams, 45 full boys varsity teams and 36 girls varsity teams are expected to compete in Saturday’s SJA cross country meet.

Two-mile junior high races for girls (9 a.m.) and boys (9:30 a.m.) follow the open race.

Varsity action starts at 10 a.m. with the three-mile girls race.

The three-mile boys race at 10:30 a.m. concludes the action.

“Most of the boys teams ranked in the latest cross country polls are entered,” Young said. “You’ve got Brother Martin, Catholic, Episcopal, Dutchtown, Ascension Catholic, John Curtis and Country Day.

“In the girls, it’s more of a mixed bag. Dominican is coming, but I don’t think they’re bringing everybody. You’ve got us, Mandeville, Episcopal, Mount Carmel, Sacred Heart-New Orleans, Catholic-Pointe Coupee, Mandeville and McGehee.”

St. Michael’s Haley Gregoire was the individual girls winner at last weekend’s Battlefield Cross Country Festival held at the Port Hudson State Historic Site in Jackson. Catholic-PC’s Addie Burleigh was the runner-up last week. Catholic’s Joseph St. Cyr and Dutchtown’s Chris Miles were among the top boys competitors last week, and are expected to compete again Saturday.

Young said spectators are encouraged to carpool to the meet because of a limited number of parking spaces in and around the Highland course.

Swimming

Warm-ups begin at noon Sunday for the CCSL meet that is scheduled to feature 13 schools.

Teams entered include Baton Rouge High, Brusly, Central, Christian Life Academy, Denham Springs, Dutchtown, The Dunham School, Plaquemine, Redemptorist, Scotlandville, St. Michael the Archangel and Tara.

Denham Springs (boys) and St. Michael (girls) have already won meets earlier in the season.