By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
NATCHITOCHES — Both are sophomores. Both made the composite All-State teams Monday, easily, by posting times ranking high on the top 25 list of all runners.
Neither believed it was their best race.
Brennan Robin of Parkway took fourth in the boys Division I competition, while Byrd’s Anna Lake Watts finished 10th in the girls Division I race at the LHSAA Cross Country Championships at Northwestern State’s Walter P. Ledet Track Complex.
The only other local runner with a top 10 finish was Jackson Burney of Calvary, eighth in the boys Division III competition in 16:38.49 over the three-mile course.
The Byrd girls and Parkway boys had the best team finishes among local entries, each claiming fourth in Division I. Byrd (137 points, 86 behind champion St. Joseph’s of Baton Rouge) was joined in the girls top 10 by Parkway (eighth, 260) and Benton (ninth, 277).
The Loyola boys were eighth in the Division III team standings, won by Episcopal of Baton Rouge with 67.
Robin’s 15:10.09 was fifth among all 797 boys running Monday, and fourth in Division I behind the meet record 14:44.22 by repeat champion Brady Mullen of Jesuit (New Orleans). The performance left the Parkway standout one spot off the Division I medal stand.
“I was really hoping to punch the top three, but I didn’t put out the best race today. I’ll be back with a better one in the future,” he said.
“I thought I was going well, and I was getting ready to kick. I did fall though, when we were on the hill. I got up the hill and coming back down, I tripped and I fell. That’s not the reason why – I definitely should have had more than a kick. It happens.”
While some observers believe Robin could rise to approach Mullen’s stature in the next two seasons, he wasn’t entertaining that line of thinking.
“I don’t do much comparing to anyone else. Where he’s at now, you can’t do any better than standing at the top of the podium,” said Robin.
Byrd’s Watts was pleased with her race but said it was not her best. That came three weeks ago with an 18:29 time at Benton. She ran 19:09.33 Monday.
“It was very hard,” she said. “I’m very happy with how this went. I was hurt last year, so just to be racing is a blessing.”
Her Monday mark ranked her 15th overall among all 739 girls competing.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com