Michael Kiral / L’Observateur / May 13, 1998

BATON ROUGE – Traun Smith set a state record in the triple jump and Latoya Breaux outran the field in the 100 and 200 meters to lead Destrehan at the State Farm/LHSAA State Track and Field Meet at LSU’s Bernie Moore Track Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Cats placed second in the Class 5A competition with 34 points.

Warren Easton, with four first-place finishes in the track events, won its third-straight state championship with 55 points. Thibodaux was thirdwith 32 points.

The Destrehan boys placed fifth with 32 points. New Iberia ended Catholicof Baton Rouge’s three-year run at the top, taking team honors with 46 points. South Lafourche was third with 38 points, followed by St.Augustine (37) and Istrouma (34). Hahnville finished in a tie for 24th withseven points and East St. John tied for 27th with four points.”The kids performed well,” Destrehan coach Ulysses Frontha said. “Wedidn’t bring the numbers some of the other schools did but the kids we took were quality. They had some of their best performances and that iswhat you hope for as a coach.”Smith established the state record in Class 5A in the triple jump with a jump of 50 feet, 11 inches. That mark currently stands as the second bestin the country this season. Teammate Carlos Eugene was second with apersonal-best jump of 49-2 1/4. Earlier in the day, Smith placed second inthe long jump with a jump of 23-6 3/4. New Iberia’s Damien Gardnerplaced first with a jump of 24-1.

Breaux dominated the sprint events, taking the 100-meter run in a time of 11.83 seconds. Delores Bartie of New Iberia was second with a time of11.94. Breaux came back later in the day to take the state championship inthe 200 meters, crossing the line at 24.49, a personal best. Sarah Reed’sStarr Williams came in second in 24.84.Amanda Spivey added to the Lady Cats’ point total with a second place finish in the high jump, clearing the bar at 5-5. Ruston’s Jessie Hunt edgedSpivey out for the district title with a jump of 5-6.

“I am disappointed I didn’t do my personal best,” Spivey, who finished seventh in the event in 1997, said. “I thought I should have done 5-6, butthere is always room for improvement.”Kammi Darensbourg, who placed third in the shot put a year ago, did so again Saturday with a throw of 38-2. Acadiana’s Detrina White won thecompetition with a throw of 39-5, followed by Nicole Clay of McDonogh with a throw of 38-3 1/2. White also won the state title in the discus andjavelin and was selected as the Outstanding Track and Field Performer in Class 5A.

Germond Williams scored for the Destrehan boys with a third place finish in the 110-meter hurdles. Williams finished with a time of 14.61, behindD’Artanian DeJean of Douglass (13.78) and H.L. Bourgeois’ Chris Degeorge(14.49).Hahnville’s Craig Coleman placed third in the 200 meters with a time of 21.65. Zachary’s Leonard Scott won the state championship with a time of21.13, defeating McDonogh 35’s Talman Gardner who finished with a timeof 21.49. Scott was named the Outstanding Track and Field Performerafter adding a championship in the 100 meters.

The Tigers’ 4×100 meter relay team finished sixth in a time of 42.21.Captain Shreve was the state champion with a time of 41.02.East St. John’s Alex Edwards cleared the bar at 6-4 to place fourth in atight high jump competition. The first jumper was not eliminated until sixfeet and Fair Park’s Reginald Robinson won the event with a jump of 6-6.

In the Class 3A competition, St. James finished in a tie for 22nd place inthe boys’ competition with six points. Lutcher finished in a tie for 32ndplace with one point. Donaldsonville won its second straight Class 3Atitle with 58 points, followed by Bossier (50), Westlake (47), Lake Charles Boston (38) and Washington-Marion (35).

In the girls’ division, St. James and Lutcher both finished in a tie for 31stplace with one point. Lake Charles-Boston, the runners-up in 1997, wonthe championship this year with 70 points, followed by Port Allen (43), Notre Dame and Northwest (36) and Washington-Marion (29).

The St. James boys’ 4×100 relay team finished third with a time of 43.16.Donaldsonville captured the event with a time of 42.23, followed byNorthwest with a time of 42.88.Lutcher’s Murray Williams placed sixth in the high jump with a jump of 6- 2. Springhill’s D.J. Curry won the competition by clearing the bar at 6-8.St. James’ Shamel Nelson placed sixth in the shot put with a toss of 33-61/4. The state championship went to Notre Dame’s Carlotta Caffery with athrow of 38-7.

Lutcher’s Tiffany Griffin placed sixth in the javelin with a toss of 104-6.

Benton’s Rachel Walker out-distanced the field with a throw of 131-7.

In the boys’ long jump, Evangel’s Richard Smith set a state record with a jump of 25-2 3/4. That broke the mark of 25-2 1/4 set by Destrehan’sDonald Robbins in 1972.

Outstanding Performer honors went to Donaldsonville’s Greg Scott and Iowa’s Jackie John. Scott won the 110-meter hurdles competition andhelped the Tigers place first in the 800 and 400-meter relays. John wonstate titles in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs.

Photo: Destrehan’s Kammi Darensbourg prepares to throw the shot put during the state track and field meet in Baton Rouge Saturday. Darensbourg placedthird in state for the second straight year in the event.

Photo by Michael Kiral.

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