JOURNAL SPORTS

BATON ROUGE– C.E. Byrd High School senior distance standout Jenna Key will compete collegiately next year for the LSU women’s track and field and cross-country programs, Tigers’ coach Dennis Shaver announced on Wednesday.

The Shreveport native will join a stacked class distance class arriving in 2024 for the Tigers. Key has been a dynamic long distance specialist for the Yellow Jackets’ track and cross country teams. Academically, she holds an impressive 4.8 GPA.

“I chose LSU because of the coaching staff and team that all truly felt like a family,” said Key. “It is an exciting time to be a Tiger and I cannot wait to be a part of something so special.”

This past fall in cross country, Key set a school and Caddo Parish record when she won the Catholic High Invitational in 17:26 over three miles.

At the 2023 LHSAA championships in Natchitoches in the Division I girls 3-mile race, Key recorded her best state meet time (18:05) and finished fourth individually after taking ninth last year. She was second in 2021 as a sophomore, when she clocked 18:16. 

She helped Byrd to its best-ever state meet team finish, fourth place, with 117 points.                                 

With a season left in her track career, Key holds personal-best times of 5:16.05 in the 1600 meter, 11:06.06 in the 3200 meter, and 18:37.26 in the 5000 meter runs. She made the LSWA’s composite All-State track and field team in the 3200 with her time ranking third ending her junior season.