Although the Episcopal School of Acadiana boys track and field program won their first state championship, coach Sarina Lapeyrouse said making a run at repeating wasn鈥檛 going to be an easy feat.
鈥淲e lost three or four big-timers from last year鈥檚 team to graduation,鈥 Lapeyrouse said. 鈥淏ut I knew there was a possibility for us to repeat, but it would take a total team effort.鈥
And a 鈥渢otal team effort鈥 is exactly what the Falcons received on Thursday as ESA captured the Class B state championship for a second consecutive season.
鈥淚 am so excited for our team,鈥 Lapeyrouse said. 鈥淲e lost a few key people, but we picked up some extra people who really helped us a lot. Winning this state championship really means a lot to the boys because they really wanted to repeat.鈥
The Falcons finished with 72 points to take first place over runner-up JS Clark (60 points), third place Quitman High (59 points), Christ Episcopal (56 points) and fifth place Simsboro (52 points).
鈥淲e told them (Thursday) that we wanted each individual to have their best race, to try and (set personal records)," Lapeyrouse said. "We told them to just earn points wherever we can.鈥
ESA finished in the top three in six events. The Falcons won the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and the discus and finished third in the 100 and the 4x200.
鈥淵ou have to finish at least in the top six to earn a point in an event,鈥 Lapeyrouse said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 win a lot of events, but we scored in a lot of events. We had more events occupied and even though we didn鈥檛 get as many first places, we got enough to help us stay ahead of the competition.鈥
Distance runner Anderson Frank was instrumental in helping the Falcons, winning the 800 (2 minutes, 5.82 seconds), 1,600 (4:39.08) and the 3,200 (10:17.48). Javion George claimed first place in the discus with a throw of 131 feet, 2 inches.
鈥淎nderson鈥檚 performance was definitely huge, especially with the new schedule,鈥 Lapeyrouse said. 鈥淭here was shorter recovery time at state. On the big stage at state, Anderson was amazing. He finished second to our own runner last year. He learned from him, and he was able to stay on top.鈥
Lapeyrouse said she didn鈥檛 embrace the thought of winning a second state title until it was official.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 like to count my chickens before they hatch,鈥 Lapeyrouse said. 鈥淏y the time the 4x400 came around, people were telling me that we had it no matter what. That we didn鈥檛 even have to run i,t and I was still yelling for people to get where they needed to be.
鈥淲inning this state title took each individual doing what they had to do. I鈥檓 so proud of them.鈥
JS Clark鈥檚 Lawrence Pickney won the 100 (11.02), finished second in the 200 (23.21) and helped the Bulldogs鈥 4x100 (45.12) and 4x200 (1:32.65) relay teams claim state titles as well. Kevin Brown took first in the 110 hurdles (16.10).
Midland鈥檚 girls won the Class B championship with 64 points, while in Class 1A, Highland Baptist鈥檚 boys finished third.
Midland finished first in the 300 hurdles (Camri Primeaux (48.26), 4x100 (52.44), 4x200 (1:48.30) and 4x400 (4:13.48) relays, while earning second place in the 100 (Gracie Miller 17.16) and third in the 300 hurdles (Dai鈥檍a-lee Leblanc 50.21).
Highland鈥檚 Tyler Blissett continued collecting state championships after winning the 800 (2:00.55), 1,600 (4:43.91) and 3,200 (10:27.54), while teammate Justin Suire won the discus (147-03.25) and finished second in the shot put (50-0.75).
