By Rodrick Anderson

randerson@americanpress.com

Several Southwest Louisiana athletes the top contenders for a gold medal today at the state indoor track and field championships at LSU’s Carl Maddox Field House.

Leading the way is Westlake jumper Keonda Johnson and Sam Houston middle-distance runner Halyn Senegal.

Johnson was the Class 3A outdoor long and triple jump champion last year and will look to add a few more medals as the No. 1 seed in the trip jump at 34 feet, 11 inches. She will also get a chance to defend her indoor long jump title but will be the No. 2 seed (16-81⁄4) behind M.L. King’s Simone Pierre (17-7).

Senegal won the 800-meter outdoor title last year and is looking for her first indoor title. She is the top seed in the Division II 800 at 2 minutes, 18.13 seconds and is less 3 seconds off the state composite record of 2:15.21 set by Mandeville’s Chelsey Jones in 2015. Senegal won the 2019 outdoor 800 state title (2:16.84).

Senegal is seeded second in the 400 (57.16) behind Plaquemine’s Makeriah Harris (56.59). She was fourth in the 2019 outdoor 400 at the state meet.

In Division II, St. Louis has several of the top relay teams. St. Louis has the top girls 4×800 team (Kylie Hebert, Kendal Touchet, Kenzie Touchet, Emma Karam, Ella Segura, Mollie Maze) at 10:24.91 and No. 2 4×400 team (4:23.82, Touchet, Touchet, Karam, Hebert, Ella Simoneaux, Segura).

The St. Louis boys are the top seed in 4×400 (3:34.95, Pierce Bilbo, Gabriel Meyer, Josh Orsot, Gus Milligan, Thomas Watson, Luke Benoit), No. 4 in the 4×800 (9:08.64, Matthew Aleshire, Christian Tabor, John Savoy, Ivan Appleton, Meyer, Orsot) and No. 3 in the 4×200 (1:33.84, Wesley Maze, Bilbo, Meyer, Orsot, Milligan, Beniot).

For the St. Louis girls, Maci Fontenot shares the top spot heading into the high jump, along with West Feliciana’s Destiny Mitchell at 5-3.

Defending outdoor Class 3A pole vault champion Brock Meyer of Westlake will be going for his first indoor title. He is the top seed with a 16-foot clearance while Grand Lake’s Cade Cedder is the four seed (14-6). Meyer was third at last year’s indoor state meet.

Iowa has the No. 3 Division II 4×800 team (8:58.74, Alec Ardoin, Jesse Martinez, Alex Myers, Payton Foreman) and Oberlin’s Jared Joubert has the second-best qualifying time in the 60 hurdles (8.96 seconds).

In the girls Division II shot put, Westlake’s Desiree Jackson (34-8) and St. Louis’ Amerie Guillory are seeded third and fourth, respectively.

In the boys Division I pole vault, Sam Houston’s Reece Feagin (13-9) is seeded fourth while Barbe’s Kiara Guillory is the four seed in the triple jump (36-81⁄2).