PRs Fall For Louisiana Track at NSU Leon Johnson Invitational
Ragin’ Cajuns post five first-place finishes; 14 top-2 performances in nine-team meet
Matt Sullivan | Associate Director of Athletics Communications
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NATCHITOCHES – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Track and Field team recorded five first-place finishes and posted 19 personal-best performances during competition on Saturday at Northwestern State University’s Leon Johnson Invitational at the Walter P. Ledet Track Complex.
Ariel Young claimed the women’s triple jump, setting a personal-best for Louisiana, while Kennedy Washington, Cole Courtois, Damon Guidry and Yves Cherubin all captured crowns in their individual events.
Louisiana added nine second-place finishes in the nine-team meet with the Ragin’ Cajuns posting 1-2 finishes in both the men’s pole vault and men’s 110-meter hurdles.
Young claimed the women’s triple jump for Louisiana, setting a PR (38-0 ¼) and leading a group of three athletes to a top-4 finish. Kaprecia Cowans finished third overall in the event after setting a PR (37-11 ½) with Taylor Davis finishing fourth (37-8 ¾).
Washington cleared 5-6 ½ to finish first in the women’s high jump with Davis (5-6 ½) finishing fourth, Frankie Griffin (5-4 ½) sixth and Ivana Cecchetti (5-2 ½) seventh. Juliette Smith added a pair of second-place finishes for the Ragin’ Cajuns, posting a mark of 124-6 in the women’s javelin and a personal-best 19-4 in the long jump.
A pair of Ragin’ Cajuns – freshman Osayi Omorodion and Smith – each set PRs in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with Omorodion (13.67) posting the fourth-fastest time in school history with Smith (13.83) the sixth. Reina Ryan posted a PR in the women’s 400-meters (58.07) for Louisiana with Reagann Leleux clocking a personal-best time of 11.95 seconds in the 100-meter dash.
Freshman Jordan Brown finished third overall for Louisiana in the women’s pole vault with a PR mark of 12-1 ½ with freshman Ashley McMillin placing third overall in the women’s discus with a PR mark of 145-4. Nya Terrell placed fifth overall for Louisiana in the women’s shot put (39- ½) while Bre’Yelle Porter was seventh with a PR mark of 36-5 ½.
Courtois cleared the bar in the men’s pole vault at 16-10 ¾ to claim first-place honors for Louisiana with Chandler Mixon finishing second with an outdoor PR mark (16-2 ¾) and Nick Russell (15-7) fourth. Guidry claimed the men’s high jump for the Ragin’ Cajuns, clearing the bar at 6-6 ¼ with Rylan Theyard placing third (6-6 ¼).
Freshman Tyren Hannah earned a pair of second-place performances for the Ragin’ Cajuns, setting PRs in both the men’s discus (162-5) and shot put (51-2 ¼). John Joseph, who earned a pair of top-4 performances, set a personal-best in the triple jump (50-0) to place second overall and was fourth in the long jump (23-11).
Josh Mason set PRs in both the men’s long jump (22-8) and triple jump (44-6 ¾) for Louisiana with Theyard posting a personal-best in the long jump (22-10). Kaiden Burgess (167-6) and Mixon (156-0) placed fifth and sixth overall in the men’s javelin.
Cherubin led a 1-2 finish for Louisiana in the men’s 110-meter hurdles posting a mark of 13.94 with Tahj Whitfield following with a PR time of 14.17. Timothy Cola (14.76) set a PR in the event which saw four Louisiana hurdlers finishing in the top six with Zachary Sampson posting a time of 14.99.
Tyrell Hargrove earned a second-place finish for Louisiana in the 800-meters (1:55.40) with Sampson finishing third in the 400-meter hurdles (55.64) and Nathan Fergusson fourth in the 400-meters (49.41).
Louisiana will make its final tuneup prior to next month’s Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships when it travels to Hammond to compete in Southeastern Louisiana’s Conference Tuneup on Saturday (May 1). The SBC Championships are scheduled for May 13-15 in Mobile, Ala.
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