Donaldsonville girls, boys finish 2nd in 3A
Led by junior Ka’lynn Jupiter, the Donaldsonville girls won the 4 x 400-meter relay to finish second in Class 3A at the Louisiana High School Athletic Associatioin/State Farm Outdoor Track and Field Meet Saturday at LSU.
Abbeville won the girls with 55 points. Donaldsonville entered the final relay with 34 points and Xavier Prep was second with 42.
“We were looking at it before the meet and knew we had a chance to score a lot of points,” Donaldsonville girls coach Ajia Mitchell said. “It was a kind of up-and-down day in terms of points. We came together and did exactly what we were supposed to in the last relay.”
Loranger sprinter Jeryl Brazil also stood out with the third fastest time in the nation in the 100 meters and what would have been the fastest time in the nation in the 200 if it were not wind-aided. A Class of 2013 LSU football commitment, Brazil won the 100 (10.36) and 200 (20.81) and was named the Class 3A boys Outstanding Performer.
“It was my goal to run under 21 seconds in the 200, and I did that,” Brazil said. “That was fast, and I really ran the curve well. I’ve really been working on getting out fast in the blocks. I was happy with my time in the 100.”
The boys meet entered a nearly two-hour rain delay just before the Class 3A boys 4x400 relay. Jewel Sumner had the 3A boys title locked up and Donaldsonville led North Desoto 40-38 for second place.
Donaldsonville didn’t have a team in the 4 x 400, but North Desoto did. North Desoto finished seventh in the relay and Donaldsonville finished as Class 3A runnerup with 40 points. Jewel Sumner scored 60 points to take the title. Glen Oaks, which finished second in the 4x400 relay, was fourth with 37 points. Erath and Port Allen tied for fifth with 26 points.
“The work ethic of this team is unbelievable,” Donaldsonville boys coach Brian Richardson said. “It’s a testament to Ascension Parish track and field, our coaches and our athletes.”
The Donaldsonville girls stood in fifth place after the first lap of the 4x400. That’s when Beaunca Lewis ran a strong second leg and was tied for the lead when she handed off to third leg Terelicia Mercadel. Mercadel had a 30-meter lead when she handed off to anchor Jupiter who ran a strong leg and crossed the finish line in 4 minutes, 5.05 seconds.
Girls Outstanding performer Jupiter, a junior who won both Class 2A hurdles titles and the triple jump in 2011, also won the 100 hurdles (14.73), 300 hurdles (44.56) and was second in triple jump (36-5). She helped the Lady Tigers score 44 points. Xavier Prep was third with 42, North Vemilion fourth with 31 and Parkview Baptist fifth with 30. Donaldsonville won the Class 2A girls title in 2011.
“I was proud of my effort in the 100 hurdles,” said Jupiter. “I wanted to break 44 seconds in the 300 hurdles, but I still won.”
Parkview senior Morgan Schuetz completed her third straight distance double to finish her career with eight outdoor state titles and one indoor title.
Schuetz started things off with a personal record in the 1,600 (5:21.50) and ended things with a strong final lap in the 3,200 (12:19.40). Schuetz also finished fourth in the 800 (2:21.33). St. Mary’s Kittera Harris (2:20.70) and West Feliciana’s Faith Early finished first and second in the 800.
“It was a big deal that God blessed me, and I was able to come out here, and do it again at state,” said Schuetz, an LSU track signee. “I always try to make my last lap the fastest. The other girls pushed me in the 1,600, and it was great to get a PR.”
Donaldsonville senior Devon Breaux, a Tulane football signee, also won the long jump (24-7¼) and was second in the high jump (6-4) and triple jump (47-0¼).
Donaldsonville also won the 4x100 relay in 42.22.
West Feliciana’s Trey Cazabat won the discus (158-0). East Feliciana’s Kelvin Woods won the 300 hurdles (38.30). Johnta Woods of Glen Oaks won the 400 (48.84).
Other top three boys finishers included Glen Oaks’ Saiid Allen (second in 800, 2:02.30; third in 1,600, 4:39.35), Port Allen’s trio of Darian Claiborne (third in javelin, 173-8; third in shot put, 49-6¼), Lebeaux Cooper (third in 200, 22.21) and Nicholaus Parker (third in 300 hurdles, 41.35), Brusly’s Henry Woods (second in 400, 48.88).
Other top three girls finishers included Brusly’s Asia Nelson (third in discus, 90-5), Baker’s Dynasty Williams (2nd in 3,200, 12:27.79), West Feliciana’s Faith Early (second in 800, 2:20.84), West Feliciana’s Brittany Washington (third in javelin, 118-11), Parkview’s Mallory Allphin (3rd in pole vault, 10-0) and Brusly’s Ashley Wheeler (third in triple jump, 36-0 ¾).
Jewel Sumner’s Leonel Moreno was a double winner in the 1,600 (4:30.97) and 3,200 (10:15.71).