Football standouts to watch at 2025 track championships | 5A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three days of state championships this week punctuate the LHSAA's outdoor track and field season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top athletes from around the state will compete Thursday, Friday and Saturday at LSU's Bernie Moore Stadium.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And many of the events include notable football standouts, including some college-bound signees in their final high school events.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are several individual events to monitor Saturday as Class 5A helps wrap up the busy weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>————————————&nbsp;<strong>CLASS 5A</strong>&nbsp;————————————<br>(<a href="https://www.lhsaa.org/siteuploads/editorimg/file/Outdoor%20Track/24-25%20Track/saturday%20complete%20set%20heat%20sheets%202%20col.pdf">Complete Class 5A heat sheet</a>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SPRINTS/RUNS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>More so than in any other, the speedsters on the track headline the football flavor in Class 5A competition. The 100-meter and 200-meter fields are both tightly packed in terms of qualifying times and loaded with multisport standouts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ouachita Parish athlete <strong>Macario Dade</strong> leads the group with a 10.48-second qualifying time, followed by Captain Shreve wide receiver <strong>Darrell "D.J." Waldon</strong> (10.51), Neville receiver/athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='912255' first='Kaleb' last='Vaughn']</strong> (10.53), Texas State-signed Holy Cross defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='914223' first='Joshua' last='Brown']</strong> (10.64), Brother Martin receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='723579' first='Easton' last='Royal']</strong> (10.69), LSU-signed Destrehan receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='426964' first='Phillip' last='Wright III']</strong> (10.72), Covington receiver <strong>Cedric Thompson</strong> (10.77) and Denham Springs' <strong>Brodie Roberts</strong> (10.81).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Haughton pass-catcher <strong>John Hudson Brown</strong> (21.09) leads a similarly tight 200-meter with the aforementioned <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='914223' first='Joshua' last='Brown']</strong> (21.11), <strong>Wright</strong> (21.12), <strong>Dade</strong> (21.35) and <strong>Thompson</strong> (21.95), as well as C.E. Byrd corner <strong>Kristian Roberson</strong> (21.41), Dutchtown running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1331302' first='Lekedrin' last='Harvey']</strong> (21.84) and Slidell receiver <strong>Ramelo Howard</strong> (21.95).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>John Hudson Brown</strong> (47.60) is also a top contender in the 400-meter run with the second-best qualifying time in the field, with <strong>Howard</strong> (48.90) and Northshore's <strong>Ethan Hanrahan</strong> (49.61) in the mix.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 4x100-meter relay qualifiers are led by football-heavy group of Holy Cross (cornerback <strong>Jabaree Monday</strong>, wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='914051' first='Finn' last='Martin']</strong>, running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='920695' first='Ke'Rynn' last='Smith']</strong>, cornerback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='914223' first='Joshua' last='Brown']</strong> and running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1221191' first='Kayden' last='Andoh']</strong>) and Destrehan (receivers <strong>Jordan Zeringue</strong> and <strong>Wright</strong>, LSU-signed safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='710272' first='Jhase' last='Thomas']</strong>, LSU-committed receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='212340' first='Jabari' last='Mack']</strong>, the aforementioned <strong>Richard</strong> and receivers <strong>Ty Singleton</strong> and <strong>Rashad Ulmer</strong>). Three other teams boast qualifiers under 42 seconds: Dutchtown (running back <strong>Ayden Langevin</strong>, defensive back <strong>Christian Pierre</strong>, defensive back <strong>Corey Cotton</strong> and the aforementioned <strong>Harvey</strong>), Ruston (defensive backs <strong>Aidan</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1356159' first='Jayden' last='Anding']</strong> and wide receivers <strong>Darius James</strong> and <strong>Josiah Morgan</strong>) and Acadiana (defensive backs <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='913922' first='Keeman' last='Thibodeaux']</strong> and <strong>Ty Thomas</strong>, Ragin' Cajuns signee <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='426961' first='Russell' last='Babineaux']</strong> and <strong>Syrian Joseph</strong>).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Acadiana group (<strong>Thibodeaux</strong>, <strong>Joseph</strong>, <strong>Babineaux</strong> and <strong>Thomas</strong>) have the state's top-qualifying 4x200-meter time, followed by Ruston (<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='914207' first='Aidan' last='Anding']</strong> and company), Scotlandville (<strong>Jordan Watkins,</strong> <strong>Shepard</strong>, <strong>Ashton Wiggins</strong>, <strong>Evans</strong> and company), Catholic (<strong>Alex Huffine</strong> and company) and Slidell (<strong>Howard</strong> and company).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catholic (Baton Rouge) has a top-qualifying 4x400-meter time, followed by Ruston (both <strong>Anding</strong> brothers among the team) and Scotlandville (<strong>Evans</strong>, <strong>Zypphelle Prince-Gipson</strong>, <strong>Shepard</strong>, <strong>Watkins</strong> and <strong>Wiggins</strong> listed) also in the top three.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mandeville boasts the best 4x800-meter qualifying time with a team that includes <strong>Max Jackett</strong>i and <strong>Brayden Berglund</strong>, with a Scotlandville group that lists <strong>Evans</strong>, <strong>Tyler Washington</strong>, <strong>Prince-Gipson</strong> and <strong>Genard Green</strong> third among qualifiers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>JUMPS (AND MORE)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The bulk of the long and triple jump fields are also made up of multisport standouts with football backgrounds, including LSU-signed Ruston cornerback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='914207' first='Aidan' last='Anding']</strong> (23-09.50) tied for the top qualifying distance in the Class 5A long jump. UTSA-bound Scotlandville standout <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1214132' first='Ferzell' last='Shepard'] Jr. </strong>(23-09.25), Destrehan defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1602060' first='Damien' last='Richard II']</strong> (23-07.50), Alexandria athlete <strong>Marquis Butler</strong> (23-05.00), Huntington athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='401976' first='Landon' last='Gibbs']</strong> (23-03.00), Warren Easton's <strong>Miles Torres</strong> (22-06.00), Central's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1268944' first='Marcus' last='Watson']</strong> (22-04.25) and Catholic (Baton Rouge) receiver <strong>Alex Huffine</strong> (21-09.25) round out the group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the triple, West Monroe receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1601945' first='Trez' last='Davis']</strong> (48-11.00) leads the qualifying marks, with <strong>Shepard</strong> (47-04.00) of Scotlandville, <strong>Butler</strong> (47-01.50) of Alexandria, Scotlandville athlete <strong>Genard Green</strong> (45-09.00), John Ehret receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='912296' first='Ke'ain' last='Shorts']</strong> (45-04.50) and <strong>Richard</strong> (45-02.00) of Destrehan in the mix.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gibbs (6-06.00) of Huntington, Central receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='710977' first='Keithon' last='Womack']</strong> (6-05.00), Walker running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='740987' first='Cayden' last='Jones'] </strong>(6-05.00) and Alexandria's <strong>Kirkland Bates</strong> (6-02.00) will compete in the high jump.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HURDLES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 110-meter hurdles group includes Jesuit receiver<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1356168' first='Ja'ir' last='Burks']</strong> (14.19 seconds), New Iberia linebacker <strong>Conner Stewart</strong> (14.32), Neville defensive back <strong>Richard White</strong> (14.39), Prairieville defensive back <strong>Jaivyn Washington </strong>(14.45), Central's <strong>Reece Thompson</strong> (15.00) and Edna Karr's <strong>Jayden Hunter</strong> (15.13).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And the 300-meter hurdles is schedules to feature <strong>Burks</strong> (38.48 seconds), Terrebonne defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1257573' first='Braylon' last='Brown']</strong> (38.66), Scotlandville athlete <strong>Dylan Evans</strong> (38.68), <strong>Hunter</strong> (38.75), <strong>Washington</strong> (39.04), <strong>Stewart</strong> (39.71), Haughton corner <strong>Joseph Encinas</strong> (39.93) and Ouachita athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='283985' first='Montrell' last='Conner Jr.'] </strong>(40.21).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THROWS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alexandria's <strong>Joseph Carter Rivet</strong> (173-10) leads the discus field in Class 5A, along with Arkansas-signed Captain Shreve lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='915064' first='Lionel' last='Prudhomme']</strong> (171-10), Denham Springs defensive lineman <strong>Darreyus Scott</strong> (168-11), Yale-bound Parkway defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='912286' first='Devon' last='Oliver']</strong> (165-03), Catholic (Baton Rouge) offensive lineman <strong>Jack Torrance</strong> (162-05), McNeese State-signed Liberty Magnet defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1336900' first='Roman' last='Jenkins']</strong>, Slidell's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1736359' first='Jeremiah' last='Birdlow']</strong> (148-08), John Curtis multisporter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1660597' first='Zyaire' last='Shepherd']</strong> (141-05) and Chalmette linebacker <strong>Zion Robertson</strong> (136-09).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Scott</strong> leads the shot put group with a 60-06.00 qualifying mark, along with Central Lafourche offensive lineman <strong>Kaden Adams</strong> (57-05.00), <strong>Torrance</strong> (56-02.00) of Catholic, <strong>Oliver</strong> (55-09.25) of Parkway, Zachary offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1737475' first='Keidrick' last='Bailey Jr.']</strong> (54-03.75), <strong>Rivet</strong> (51-08.00) of Alexandria, Jesuit's <strong>Spencer Waguespack</strong> (50-01.00), Ruston defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='915063' first='Kaleb' last='Williams']</strong> (48-07.50) and <strong>Shepherd</strong> (47-02.00) of John Curtis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Monroe linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1811928' first='Jaxon' last='Talley']</strong> (196-01) leads the javelin field with St. Paul's offensive lineman <strong>Austin Billiot</strong> (186-00), Sam Houston quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1644727' first='Gavin' last='Stout']</strong> (185-02), Benton quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='465282' first='Malachi' last='Zeigler']</strong> (183-05), Ponchatoula's <strong>Cohen Naramore</strong> (182-04) and Slidell quarterback <strong>Wilbert Williams</strong> (166-06).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->