Leduff, Benoit sign letters of intent

Published 6:00 pm Friday, April 24, 2020

glf_04_10_19_Westlake Inv 2St. Louis Catholic McKenzie LeDuff watches her tee shot on the hole No. 13  during the Westlake Invitational at the National Golf Club of Louisiana in April of 2019.

Rodrick Anderson/American Press

The coronavirus pandemic may have cut their senior seasons short, but that didn’t stop a pair of St. Louis Catholic athletes from making their dreams come true.

Mckenzie Leduff and Luke Benoit recently signed national letters of intent with Division I programs. Leduff will play golf for Alabama State, a member of the Southwest Athletic Conference, while Luke Benoit will join the Louisiana-Lafayette track and field team.

With social distancing rules and limits on large gatherings, Leduff signed at home with family watching on FaceTime.

“It feels amazing,” Leduff said. “(To play golf collegiately) has been my goal and dream through all this.

“I love that all of my work is finally paying off.”

Leduff won the 2019 Division I state medalist award last year and said she was looking forward to defending her title until the Louisiana High School Athletic Association shut down all spring sports in mid-March.

“I was a little disappointed,” Leduff said. “I wanted to go back to state and keep up my winning streak.

“I think things happen for a reason. I truly believe this all turned out kind of how I wanted. I really just wanted to find a school, and as long as that happened I am OK with how everything else turned out.”

Benoit, who started his high school career at Grand Lake, said he wished he could have signed with his teammates and classmates in attendance.

“It kind of bummed me out. When someone has a signing at St. Louis, they all come out it the commons and watch,” Benoit said. “I really would have loved that. I am glad I can get an education and run while doing it.”

He helped lead the Saints to a runner-up finish in the 4×400-meter relay at the Division II state indoor meet in February and said he was looking forward to the outdoor season.

“I have been working hard,” Benoit said. “I moved schools and I didn’t want to see it end so early.

“I think we were going to have a great season. If I can’t run with (St. Louis), I wanted to run somewhere. I really wanted to see what our 4×400 could do (in the outdoor season).”

At Grand Lake in 2018, Benoit won the Class 1A outdoor long jump state championship with a season-best distance of 22 feet, 5 inches. He has also run the 400 meter as well as the 4×100 and 4×200 in his career and said he expects to be a decathlete his first two seasons at ULL.

Also, Washington-Marion softball pitcher Ashanti Carter committed to Alcorn State. She transferred to W-M this season after a pair of all-district seasons at Iowa High School.