Matt Vines

BATON ROUGE – Five different North DeSoto track and field athletes in three different events qualified for the LHSAA Indoor State Track Meet on Saturday at LSU’s Carl Maddox Fieldhouse.

Jumper Javonte Taylor will compete in the triple jump and high jump.

NDHS’ 4×800 relay team of Ellie Simmons, Macaylah Tingle, Addie Robinson and D’Anna Robinson will toe the line.

Because there are a limited number of programs who participate in indoor track, North DeSoto competes in the larger (Division I) of the two divisions.

North DeSoto coach Robert Madison said most of these athletes are also competing in another winter sport, making the championship appearance in an incredibly short indoor track season that much more impressive.

“D’Anna Robinson is the only one competing in just track right now,” Madison said. “The rest of them play basketball and do track training on their own.

“When they can come to (track) practice, they do. It’s a mental aspect for them, they love to compete and are dedicated enough to prepare for all the sports in which they participate.”

All five athletes qualified for state in their only indoor track meet back in mid-January at McNeese State University.

The relay team broke a program record with an 11:00.53.

“When we do get to meets, we spend a lot of time working on handoffs,” Madison said about the relay team. “We’ll spend a good 15 minutes working on exchanges, not leaving early, and making a good target with your hands.”

Taylor, who won the Class 4A outdoor state championship in the high jump, cleared 6-0 in the high jump and leapt 42-8 in the triple jump.

Competing on a championship stage in a championship venue like LSU’s will only help these student-athletes prepare for outdoor season.

“Javonte realizes that he’s pretty good at track, so even though he’s playing basketball, he does carve out time to put the track work in,” Madison said. “Both Javonte and the relay qualified for outdoor state last year and ran on LSU’s campus, so any championship experience like what they’ll get Saturday is a huge benefit.”