By JERRY BYRD, Journal Sports
The best laid plans of defending state champions often go awry. Such was the case for Calvary sophomore Jackson Burney as he went to the line for the D-II boys’ 1600 meter run at Saturday’s LHSAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Baton Rouge.
Burney, who was competing in the first of his two races Saturday — the second would be in defense of his state title in the 800m — wanted to stay with the pack and then catch the lead at the end. It would have worked had it not been for fellow sophomore Aiden Monistere from Parkview Baptist, who won his first state championship with a 4:30.13.
“The game plan was to sit behind the leaders and pass them at the end,” Burney said. “I let Aiden get too far in front of me.”
Monistere spent most of the race behind Burney before passing him with 300 meters to go. On the bell lap, Monistere came through in third place and Burney was in fifth place.
The kick was on – and Monistere had just enough foot speed to hold off the Cavalier, who finished with a 4:30.32. It was a personal record for both runners. Monistere dropped two seconds off his previous best. Burney improved his personal record by five seconds.
Burney had to wisely manage the hour recovery between his 1600m race and his 800m.
Despite the intense 1600m race, Burney “felt good” as he checked in for his specialty – the 800m, where he won his first state championship last May as a freshman.
The plan was similar to that of his previous race, and it worked to perfection as Burney powered home during the last 100m to win his second consecutive state championship in the event.
While Burney did come away with the victory, he came up just shy of his goal of breaking 2:00. His winning time was 2:00.12.
Even the post-race meal didn’t go exactly as planned for Burney. His family wanted to try a new seafood place in Baton Rouge, but the wait was 90 minutes so Burney opted for a couple of chicken sandwiches from Chik-Fil-A instead.
While Burney won his second consecutive state championship 800m race, Captain Shreve’s Marquez “Macho” Stevenson won his third consecutive 400m state title (48.80).
It’s the second straight LHSAA Indoor Meet where Stevenson has been the only runner in the state to break 49 seconds in the 400m. Last year, he won with a 48.93.
“It was a good race, a competitive race,” Stevenson said. “In the first meet I ran a 50. I wanted to run a 48.3. I just gave it all I had. I feel like nobody works as hard as me. I know my top end speed is faster.”
While things went Stevenson’s way in the 400m, that was not the case in the boys’ 60m where he was looking to break the record. Instead it was Warren Easton’s Germain Smith-Mata who took home the state championship with a field house composite record time of 6.76. Stevenson finished fourth with a 6.86.
Other Caddo-Bossier athletes making podium appearances included Airline junior Jeremiah Boudreaux, who jumped 6-3.5 to take third in the Division I boys’ high jump. Huntington’s Demetria Harris and Catina Davenport both made the podium in the Division I girls’ 60m hurdles. Harris, a junior, finished second with a time of 9.23. Davenport, a senior, clocked a 9:46.
Harris also finished second in the Division I girls’ long jump (18-3.25) and helped the Lady Raiders to a second-place performance in the 4×200. Other members of the team included Rondisia Williams, Aniyah Jackson, and T’La Dewitt.
Huntington had the highest finish of any Caddo-Bossier team, finishing third in girls’ competition with 35.5 points. Scotlandville (71 points) took home the championship trophy. St. Joseph’s Academy (55 points) was the runner-up.
Contact Jerry at sbjjerrybyrd@gmail.com