By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Aja Creecy set a national record at the National Club Championships in Orlando, Fla., with a throw of 33-3 in the javelin to capture first place in the 7-8 year-old age group, while Jayla LaFleur captured championships in two events as a number of local athletes competed for the St. Charles Striders club track and field team.
Creecy made a toss of 15-6 in the shot put to take second place in that event. She was the Louisiana Regional Champion in the javelin.
LaFleur, who will be an 8th grader this year, won the long and triple jump with distances of 17-2 and 33-0 respectively.
Kharma Creecy placed third in the 7-8 year-old age group in the shot put with a throw of 16-7 inches. Her javelin throw of 25-7 placed her seventh. Briana Charles took sixth place in the triple-jump with a mark of 31-0. Anya Creecy took 6th place in the 7-8 year-old shot put and 8th place in the javelin with respective throws of 16-7 and 31-4 in the 9-10 year-old age groups. Jada Queen took sixth in the  in the triple-jump with a mark of 31-5.
Eighteen competitors from St. John Parish competed in all, including Johnell Crockett, Ryanisha Denet, Ayonte Thomas, Ledeja Harris, Kaci Eugene and Jalaya Grows.
East St. John girls track and field coach Mark Creecy helped as a volunteer with the team. He said the experience would help a number of Wildcat athletes who will compete next season with the varsity track and field squad, like Thomas, who will be a senior, Denet, who will be a sophomore and Crockett, the lone ESJ male competing in Orlando, who ran in the distance events.
“It’s a chance to see how you stack up against that national competition,” he said. “We had a group that’s put in a lot of hard work this summer, and they competed well against some strong competition.”
LaFleur, Creecy said, boasts season bests of 17-6 and 36-2 in the long and triple-jump events respectively.
“To put it in perspective, Joi (Elizabeth) Scioneaux finished fifth in the state Class 5A long jump with a mark of 17-2,” said Creecy. (LaFleur) has a bright future).
Aja Creecy actually broke the national record in the shot put as well, but it was simultaneously broken by the event’s first place winner. Creecy competed in the 7-8 yard-old bracket despite being just six years of age, as she will turn seven this year.