Southern Lab alumnus Jacob Davis knows well the school’s proud tradition all-around and in track and field specifically.
And, in his first year as head coach, the Kittens added another historic chapter with a sweep Thursday of the Class 1A boys’ and girls’ outdoor championships highlighted by an array of performances including both elite and clutch entries to the team scores.
“It’s always a great thing to be able to contribute to your school in a positive way,” the 2004 graduate said. “And to be able to come out today and win not only the boys back-to-back, but the girls — the girls came up a little short last year. We set that as our goal: Second place wasn’t gonna cut it this year for the girls. We put that out there early. They lived up to it. And to bring two state championships home to my school in one year, that’s a proud accomplishment, and I’m looking to do it again.”
The Kittens had opened up a solid cushion in the boys standings with a combined 30 points by junior Warren Gougisha — gold in the high (6-05.50) and triple (46-11.00) jumps, silver in the long jump (21-04.00) and fifth in the 300-meter hurdles (40.84 seconds) — helping lead their 82 total points.
Highland Baptist, led by Army signee Tyler Blissett‘s distance triple and UNO signee Justin Suire‘s discus-shot put sweep, was runner-up with 62 points.
“It means a lot,” Gougisha said of his coaches’ confidence in him. “I’ve been wanting to do this. I’m just trying to follow up under my dad.”
The Lady Kittens entered the 4×400-meter relay trailing the Lady Bears by two points in the team standings.
But Bre’Aile Clark, K’Lan Stanley, Jordyn Jones and Kaliyah Brown said they had no doubts they would take care of their end and followed through with a 4:09.97 time nearly 15 seconds better than their qualifying mark.
And Cedar Creek provided an assist by edging Highland Baptist for second place and allowing Southern Lab to seize sole possession of the top team score.
“I felt like the confidence was already there since we won state (in the event) last year,” Jones said. “So we just knew that we had to pick it up and do better, and I feel like we just know we’re that team.”
Brown also provided big points earlier in the day with a win in the 100-meter dash (12.18 seconds) and silvers in the 200-meter dash (25.44 seconds) and long jump (17-04.75).
The 4×100-meter relay team (50.68 seconds) of Taylor Rodgers, Stanley, Addisyn LaGarde and Hannah LaGarde provided another event victory, and Rodgers added a second-place triple jump (36-07.00) and the bronze 4×200-meter relay (1:47.63) of Stanley, Clark and the LaGardes provided a seventh podium finish for the team.
“I can’t explain how proud I am of them,” Davis said. “We try to control the things that we can control. We knew that if we went out and won that 4×400, mathematically that would put us out front, so that was our main focus was to give our best effort in that last event. And we put it in their hands, and they went out and took care of business and brought the trophy back home.”
Aiden Sam, Gerald Seaton, Tyler Williams and Caden Johnson combined to win the boys’ 4×100-meter (42.94 seconds) and 4×200-meter (1:29.66) relays.
“It wasn’t nothin,” Seaton leaned in with a smile after a potentially pivotal early win against a stout Delhi program in the 4×200-meter, as Williams and Johnson piggybacked: “It was just a regular race — it’s nothing big, nothing different.”
Johnson also finished second in the 200-meter dash (21.86 seconds) and third in the 100-meter (10.95 seconds), and Seaton took third in the 200-meter (22.15 seconds) and fifth in the 100-meter (11.14 seconds) among top individual point-scorers.
And Semaj Brown, Urijah Robillard, Jayden Domineck and Anthony Weatherspoon capped the night on the podium with the third-place 4×400-meter (3:35.48).
“Just a lot of tenacity, a lot of dedication,” Davis said of a young boys team that repeated. “They won it last year. And the thing is once you win it, it’s a little more challenging because now you have an even bigger target on your back. We’re Southern Lab. That’s something we’re accustomed to. We don’t shy away from our reputation. We’re a school of scholars and champions, and that’s what we teach them, and that’s what they came out and exhibited today.”
Blissett earned the boys’ Outstanding Performer honors with another three gold medals, including class records in the 1600-meter (4:19.25) and 3200-meter (9:33.27) runs, bringing his career total to 18.
“It’s very sentimental,” he said. “I was over there in the staging area getting ready, and I felt a tear going down my eyes, and I had to compose myself until after the race. It’s just very fulfilling seeing all my hard work over the years finally pay off, and it’s just very bittersweet.”
And Jonesboro-Hodge star Ciara Gray, who signed Tuesday with LSU, took Outstanding Performer in the girls with a composite triple-jump record (41-03.00), class-record 300-meter hurdles (44.28 seconds), winning long jump (18-09.25) and second-place 100-meter hurdles (14.36 seconds) that beat the previous class record.
“It was really tough,” Gray smiled. “This was my last high school track meet, so I knew I had to come out here and show out. But I think I did really great. I was really trying to improve on my times and set some new records and let my name be known.”
North Dakota State signee Kaleb Bigwood‘s sweep of the 100-meter (10.93 seconds), 200-meter (21.49 seconds) and 400-meter (48.04) events for Hamilton Christian and Vermilion Catholic freshman Kelsey Bomersbach‘s class-record 100-meter hurdles (14.32 seconds), winning 200-meter dash (25.31 seconds) and dramatic comeback to anchor the 4×200-meter relay to a win (1:45.85) were among another couple highlights.
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