By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — The East St. John girls track and field team put together a strong performance at Southern University last week, earning a handful of first place individual finishes. 

ESJ girls track and field coach Mark Creecy said that his team must be able to offset district rival Thibodaux’s strong field scoring once the teams face off at this season’s District 7-5A meet, and last weekend’s effort gave the coach reason to believe that it can do just that. 

The Wildcats’ Dominique Gray earned top honors in the discus, winning first place with a throw of 96 feet. Kariontae Victor took first in the javelin with a throw of 92-10. Ayonte Thomas took first in the triple jump (34-0) and third place in the high jump (15-7). Elizabeth Scioneaux captured first in the long jump (17-5) and second place in the high jump (4-6) and the triple jump (33-11). 

Thomas also had a strong showing on the track, her time of 16.25 good for second place in the 300 meter hurdles. The Wildcats 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams each took third place in their respective events.

“We’re still looking at what people will give us our best chance to score in the most events,” said Creecy. “Still mixing and matching.” 

The Wildcats are set to host the Wildcat Relays on Friday, which will begin at 4 p.m. at Joe Keller Memorial Stadium. It will be for running events only.

Creecy said that his field event athletes will compete in Baton Rouge Thursday, then many try their hand on the track Friday.

“They’ll get to run in front of their home crowd and experience what that feels like,” said Creecy. “It should be a great day for everyone to come out.”