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Saint Thomas Aquinas Cross Country
The St. Thomas Aquinas Lady Falcon Cross Country team won a back to back State Championship in Natchitoches on Tuesday. The STA girls put all seven runners in the top (33) positions, with five runners in the top (10) to earn All-State honors. STA won in a dominating fashion with (24) points, followed by runner-up Episcopal (47), McGeehee was third (74), Loyola College Prep fourth(129), Newman fifth (170), Holy Savior Menard sixth (200), South Beauregard seventh (204), University Lab eighth (249), Lakeside ninth (284), Ville Platte tenth (287), Calvary Baptist eleventh (293), Pope John Paul twelfth (316), Sacred Heart-Ville Platte thirteenth (330), Pine Prairie fourteenth (355) and Rosepine was fifteenth (401).
Junior Malia Cali led the way with an individual win (her third straight) in a winning time of (16:51), which was the fastest time ever recorded at the state meet by a female runner, Sophomore Jordyn Becerra was third (18:47), Senior team captain Emily McAfee was fifth (19:18), Sophomore Carmen Brothers in her first year of Cross Country at STA was seventh (19:33), Sophomore Elizabeth Gambel was eighth(20:00) to lead STA’s girls top five to All-State honors. Junior Michelle Mobley was 19th(21:05) and Sophomore Molly OKrepki was 33rd (22:03) for the STA Class 2A State Champions.
The STA boys posted a fifth place finish in the Class 2A boys division with (124), the Episcopal boys won easily (38), University was second (73), Holy Savior Menard third (113), Newman fourth (123), followed by STA and Calvary Baptist (6th-174), Pope John Paul (7th-188), Loyola College Prep (8th-204), Westminster (9th-224), John Curtis (10th-279), Lakeside (11th-285), Pine Prairie (12th-323), Ville Platte (13th-393), Rosepine (14th-408) and Opelousas Catholic (15th-411).
Junior team captain Randy Wills led the STA boys with a seventh place honors, earning him All-State honors with a time of (16:45), while Freshman Scott Wheat was twenty-first (17:24) a new personal best time for him. Freshman Corbett Ourso placed 25th (17:37), while Freshman Blake Cordoba was 35th (18:08), Junior Gus OKrepki was 40th (18:19), Senior Bruce OKrepki was 57th (18:57) and Junior Butch Oplt was 63rd (19:14).
Malia Cali, Jordyn Becerra and Emily McAfee were named to the New Orleans All-Metro Cross Country Team. Click here to see a complete list of the All-Metro Team.
Catholic High and St. Thomas Aquinas of Hammond claimed the overall No. 1 rankings in the final statewide high school cross country polls done by the Louisiana High School Track & Field Coaches Association. The Bears received all 10 first-place votes in the final poll and are one of five local teams in the top 10. Walker, fourth in the Class 5A state meet won by Catholic, was rated fourth. Class 2A champion Episcopal (fifth), 4A champion St. Michael (sixth) and 2A runner-up University (10th) were also in the top group. In the final girls poll, 2A state champion STA received eight first-place votes and 97 points. Class 5A state champion St. Joseph’s Academy was second with two first-place votes. Episcopal (fifth) was the only other local girls team in the top 10 as voted on by coaches from across the state. St. Joseph’s was No. 1 in the final large schools girls poll for Classes 5A-3A, while Catholic High led the boys large schools poll. Episcopal (boys) and St. Thomas Aquinas (girls) led the small schools polls for 2A and below.
The State Champion Lady Falcon Cross COuntry Team has been named to the United States South Region Top 10. This is the first-ever regional ranking for the Lady Falcons. This region includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Click here to see a list of the South Region Top 10.
