By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

BATON ROUGE – Unlike his teammates who were competing at the LHSAA Indoor Track and Field State Championship for the first time, West St. John’s Damon Scott had been there before. It showed.

Scott captured third place in the high jump at Saturday’s Division II meet at LSU, setting a mark of 6 feet even.

The senior also finished fourth in the triple jump (44-9) and sixth in the long jump (20-11).

“We’re really blessed to have him,” said West St. John coach Martin Sylvain. “He’s really going to help us this year in the field events. To finish third, fourth and sixth in a field that includes Classes 1A-to-3A, that’s big for us. We expect him to dominate in our classification.”

Scott said he didn’t know when he made his best high jump leap that it would be, in fact, his best mark.

“To tell the truth, I thought it could have been better,” Scott said. “Next time, I know I can improve to a better mark.”

While it was the first time Sylvain had taken his Rams team to the indoor meet, Scott wasn’t new to the surroundings, having competed there while he attended Hahnville. He transferred to West St. John for this school year.

“It definitely helped,” Scott said. “It lets you know what to expect from the other guys you’re up against.

“It’s a good way to go into the outdoor season. It lets me know what I have to do to improve and help my team out.”

The Rams as a team placed 27th of the 58 competing teams at the state meet.

Sylvain said West St. John had elected to pass on the indoor meet in the past due to many of his athletes being tied up with basketball and other commitments.

But this year the Rams made the trip, in no small part because of its roster, which Sylvain says is deeper than it’s ever been.

“This is probably the best team I’ve been blessed enough to assemble,” said Sylvain. “We’ve got great balance on the track and in the field. And going to Baton Rouge and competing against these larger schools, it gives these kids confidence.

“We’re just really, really excited about this season.”