Last weekend was a big one for the Ruston High School Track and Field teams, which had members compete at the Nike Indoor Nationals and the Byrd Yellow Jacket Relays in Shreveport.
At the Nike Indoor Championships held at the Ocean Breeze Athletics Complex held in Staten Island, New York, senior Bryanna Craig, a Louisiana Tech signee, won a national title in the Pentathlon while senior BJ Green, a signee at the University of Oklahoma, took second place in the Boys Triple Jump with a total of 49-00.75.
Craig took the Girls Pentathlon title by finishing first in the high jump, first in the 60-m hurdles, first in the high jump, third in the shot put, and first in the 1.800-m run.
“It was a huge and busy weekend,” said RHS Track and Field Coach Allen Whitaker. “I had to be in two places at one time.
“I left to go to New York on Thursday with three athletes that competed on Friday — B.J. Green, Bryana Craig and Lily Garrett. As soon as BJ completed the Triple Jump, we took our pictures and then we got on the plane back to Louisiana. We were actually at two different meets in New York.”
Garrett finished 43rd at her distance running meet.
“She had a huge PR (personal record),” Whitaker said of Garrett’s performance.
The RHS Boys and Girls Track and Field team also had winning performances at the Yellow Jacket Relays hosted Saturday by Byrd High School.
RHS finished one, two, three in the Boys 100-m Dash, with senior Brady Beason finishing first (10.98), senior Jalen Paige taking second (11.21) and junior Jaden Osborne coming in third (11.29).
In the 200-m Boys Dash, three Ruston sprinters finished in the top four, with junior Joshua Anding taking first place (22.92), Paige finishing second (23.08) and senior Andrew McClinton placing fourth (23.37).
Ruston junior Josiah Whitaker finished first in the Boys 400-M Dash while Osborne came in third place (53.31).
In the Boys 800-m Finals, RHS sophomore Liam Lowe finished on top (2:07.08) while junior Cole Maestrini placed fourth (2:12.61).
Ruston sophomore Landon Byrd finished third in the Boys 1,600 Run (5:01.19), followed by sophomore teammate Cole Magee in fourth (5:01.19).
The Bearcats placed two in the top three of the Boys 3,200-m Run with senior Caleb Babineaux taking first place (9:46.12) followed by senior teammate Nelson Black in third (9:51.47).
RHS took the top two spots in the Boys 110-m Hurdles with freshman Rafael Craig finishing first (45.90), followed by sophomore Lamarrion Burton (45.93).
That duo switched positions in the 300-m Hurdles with Burton finishing first (45.90) followed by Craig in second place (45.93).
In the Boys High Jump, Osborne finished fifth (5-06.00) while senior teammate Bransun Elmore took seventh place (5-04.00).
RHS sophomore Logan Malone placed first in the Boys Long Jump (19-08) while junior teammate Jordan McWain took 11th place (15-05.50).
Three Bearcats finished in the top five of the Boys triple jump, with Malone finishing in second (40-03..25), McWain taking third 37-6.50) and Elmore placing fifth (35-9.25).
Ruston sophomore Ahmad Breaux finished fourth in the Boys Discus (107-7.50) while senior teammate Devian Wilson came in seventh (90-07.00).
The Bearcats continued their solid throws showing by taking three of the top four spots in the Boys Javelin. Senior Jordan Gilmore took first (151-00.0), senior Jed Allen followed in second (140-11.0) and senior Will Estes placed fourth (125-5.0).
In the Boys Shot Put, Wilson placed second (42-7.50) while sophomore teammate Geordan Guidry took seventh (38-08.0).
The Lady Bearcats turned in just as strong a performance on the girls side of the Yellow Jacket Relays.
In the Girls 100-m dash, senior Jada Williams, a TCU signee, finished first (12.37) while junior Chelsi Taturm took third (12.68).
Williams also finished first in the Girls 200-m Dash (24.57) while freshman teammate Jasmine Summerford took ninth place (29.15).
Ruston had two of the top three finishes in the Girls 400-m Dash with senior Kiona McAllister coming in second (1:02.72) followed by senior teammate Shinaya Branch in third (1:02.98).
It was a one-two finish for the Lady Bearcats in the Girls 800-m Run with senior Anna Naff taking first place (2:29.89) followed by freshman Sydney Owens in second (2:35.07).
Ruston took three of the top eight spots in the Girls 1,600-m run with freshman Parker Nations finishing fourth (5:49.96), sophomore Zoie Holstead coming in fourth (5:53.88) and freshman Abby Edgerton placing ninth (6:28.98).
In the Girls 3,200-m Run, RHS senior Marina Givens was the fourth-place finisher (12:46.93).
RHS junior Tyana Jackson placed third in the Girls Long Jump (15-05.50) while freshman Timiyah Graham added a 10th-place finish (12-04.50).
Ruston had three of the top eight finishers in the Girls Triple Jump as Jackson took second place (34-05.00), junior Faith Miller followed in third (31-01.50) and freshman Sophia Roberson came in sixth (29-03.50).
Junior Autumn Craig added a fourth-place finish for the Lady Bearcats in the Girls Discus (89-10.50) while adding a second-place showing in the Girls Javelin (101-5.50). RHS freshman Zhia Jones followed with a ninth-place finish (85-01.50).
Craig was back at it in the Girls Shot Put, placing second (33-09.00)
Ruston’s girls Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team of Naff, Holstead, Givens and Owens also broke their own meet record, winning the event with a 13:14.70 to better their time of 13:31.78 set a year ago.
“I really wanted to make it a point to support my other kids, too,” Whitaker said. “Our girls set the DMR record there and then Jada Williams ran a meet record in the 200, and Brady Beeson, who people are calling the ‘fastest kicker on the planet’ (Beeson was the kicker for Ruston’s football team last season) had a great meet.
“And it was cold, so for them to run those times in that cold weather was kind of shocking.”
