Catholic-Baton Rouge started fast and continued stacking points throughout a rainy afternoon and evening on its way to the most dominant performance of Saturday’s finale of the three-day LHSAA outdoor track and field state championships event.
Three early golds by thrower Jack Torrance, pole-vaulter John Overton and a 4×800-meter relay built the early lead, and the Bears rolled to a Class 5A repeat, a sweep of the 2026 indoor and outdoor crowns and a fourth outdoor title in the past five years.
The team’s 90 points, matching its 2022 total for the most in that span, topped a strong showing by second-place Jesuit (64) and more than doubled third-place Brother Martin (40), which was headlined by Outstanding Performer Easton Royal.
“It’s a huge positive,” junior William Decuir, the relay anchor said of the fast start. “The 4×800 kicks off the running events, kicks off the meet, and starting with a great win really boosts the morale and ego of the team and puts that high energy in the tank going into the next events.”
Jack Torrance, the great grandson of former LSU legend and Olympian after whom he was named, earned the first title of his strong career overall with an upset of Alexandria sophomore star Carter Rivet in the shot put.
Torrance out-threw his qualifying mark by a foot and a half to win the gold (58-00.25) in neighboring Carl Maddox Fieldhouse before afternoon lightning storms cleared the area.
“It was a bit rough at first,” he admitted. “I was thinking, ‘Maybe we’ll just sit with second place.’ I’ve got to give my credit to Carter Rivet of Alexandria. That dude’s a beast. Keep looking out for him in the years to come. That guy’s a dog, and he’s gonna continue to show it. I happened to slip through and beat him on the last throw, and I was ecstatic. My hurt was racing. But honestly shout out to that dude. He’s great. He’s a great guy. He’s a great thrower.”
Torrance made his way outside later to claim bronze in the discus (159-10), which Rivet responded to win (186-07) in the lingering rain.
Overton handled his business inside as well with a 14-11.00 pole vault, matching the highest of the weekend in any classificaton.
And the 4×800-meter relay of junior Patrick Kelly, sophomore Augustin Juneau, senior Peter Watson and Decuir took gold in the first Class 5A running event once teams were finally cleared to take the track.
Catholic racked up a combined 36 points in relays alone with a 4×200-meter victory (1:26.23) by senior Joshua Dowdell, senior Harrison Lalande, sophomore Carson Rice and senior Henry Mensman and second-place 4×200-meter (Dowdell, sophomore Gregory Williams Jr., Rice and sophomore Jaden Moffitt) and 4×400-meter (Lalande, Decuir, freshman Cannon Duncan and Mensman) finishes.
Catholic-Baton Rouge track and field, Henry Mensman anchored the winning 4×200-meter relay Saturday, May 9, 2026, to help the Bears repeat at Class 5A champions. (Photo: Bret H. McCormick, One T Photography)
Decuir added the Bears’ third individual gold in the 800-meter run (1:52.26).
“There were some jitters,” he said. “Coming off the 4×800, I really focused on recovery, a great warmup. It was cold. It was raining. But everybody was racing in the rain. It’s not just me. We’re all racing in the same conditions. On the starting line, it poured. We knew this was not one about time. This was a race. This was me vs. the other guys, me racing for my team.
“Getting out in the first 200 comfortable, came through the four I felt good, overtook at 300 and it was basically just all-out from there, 150 just running with guys behind me and all-out to the line.”
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Mensman (48.19 seconds) and Juneau (9:14.17) took bronze in the 400-meter and 3200-meter, respectively.
Watson was fourth in a loaded 1600-meter (4:17.79), and Moffitt chipped in fifth-place points in the 100-meter dash (10.82 seconds) dominated by Royal (10.17 seconds). Both races were won by composite records that took down previous marks that had stood for more than four decades.
“It’s really a culture, a team culture, and winning is part of that culture,” Decuir said. “We hear the stories about the guys who won before us — Winston Decuir, Daniel Sullivan — and as freshmen and eighth-graders, we want to be like those guys. So coming here, having our chance and getting to have the opportunity to run like they did is really a big part of the culture.”