By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

ST. FRANCISVILLE – After a successful 2009 campaign, the West St. John track and field program enters 2010 with high expectations for the boys and girls alike.

Competition began for the Rams at last weekend’s West Feliciana meet, where the Ram boys placed fourth overall and the girls placed third, with each squad posting a number of high finishers.

West St. John was the only Class 1A school at the competition.

West Feliciana won the boys meet, and Zachary topped the field among girls’ teams.

Damon Scott and Demiere Gordon each walked away with first-place finishes for the boys’ team, Scott in the triple jump and Gordon in the discus.

Scott’s triple jump mark of 44-7 paced the field, while he also took second place in the long jump (20-10) and the high jump (6-2).

Gordon’s discus throw set a mark of 127-0.

Titus Barre took third place in the 400-meter dash, securing a time of 54 seconds.

“This is a senior-laden team,” said West St. John boys coach Martin Sylvain. “Last year, we needed to finish in the top three in our last event to finish as state runner-up. We missed it. Our guys remember that, and it’s used as our extra incentive. We were so close.”

Among Ram girls, Kyla Morris took second place in the 300-meter hurdles (54.28), finishing behind only Baton Rouge High’s Dominique Brisco (50.08), a Class 5A All-State performer.

Taj Howard placed second in the discus (92-0). Arnelle Jack took third in the 100-meter hurdles (17.66), while Ambria Major finished third in the long jump (16-1) and the triple jump (33-6).

West St. John coach Stacy Bradford shares Sylvain’s enthusiasm.

“We’re expecting a strong showing at each meet,” said Bradford. “Nobody’s missed even a practice yet. Everyone’s showing up to work out early. It’s a different mindset this year.”

Bradford said after his team won district a year ago and placed sixth at the state meet, the Rams return as an experienced and hungry unit.

And a win would be especially sweet for the coach, who will step down after the season after seven years with the program.

First, he hopes for his team to win its third straight district crown.

After that, he has higher hopes.

“If we stay healthy, I think we’ve got a real good chance at state,” said Bradford. “For the first time in school history, we went to the indoor track championships.”

Sylvain agreed, stating the boys have designs on becoming the first state track champion in West St. John history.

Bradford summed up the plans of each squad succinctly.

“We started running early. We plan on running late,” he said.