Matt Vines
Two individuals and two relay teams returned to DeSoto Parish with the moniker state champions attached to their name after the LHSAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at LSU this past week.
Logansport’s Jamarcus Jones (100 meters), North DeSoto’s Javonte Taylor (triple jump), the Mansfield girls 4×100 relay and the Logansport 4×200 relay all captured event championships in their respective classes.
The three programs combined for 15 medals.
Mansfield adds pile of medals to its relay title
Mansfield’s LaJordan Boykins edged her opponent at the tape on the anchor leg of the 4×100 relay as the Lady Wolverines (49.43) clocked .06 seconds ahead of Acadiana Renaissance Charter.
Teammates Germanee Robertson, Zakhia Austin and Trinity Ford set Boykins up for the final leg of the Class 2A relay championship.
Mansfield added seven other medals as the boys’ and girls’ programs accounted for more than half of DeSoto Parish’s haul.
The relays were especially good to both the Wolverines and Lady Wolverines.
The girls’ 4×200 (Ty’Aira Ford, LaBrasia Ross, Robertson and Boykins) claimed silver with a 1:46.26.
The boys’ 4×100 (Amoriyan Mayweather, Jaden Youngblood, Jaylyn Howard and Ian White) took home silver with a 43.25.
Both 4×400 relays captured bronze. The girls (Boykins, Austin, Aria Hamilton, Ross) clocked a 4:12.62 with the boys (Patrick Duncan, Youngblood, Mayweather, White) finishing in 3:27.99.
Ross, just a freshman, added a 400 meters bronze with a 59.86.
Boykins found the podium again in the 200, taking bronze with a 25.34 (missed silver by .002 seconds).
The Mansfield boys hurdles were an anticipated medal source, and Ian White claimed bronze in the 300 hurdles (39.38) with teammate Jaden Youngblood finishing fourth (39.59).
Youngblood (14.67) and White (14.69) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 110 hurdles.
Austin added a fourth in the 100 meters (12.72) and fifth in the long jump (16-10.75).
As a team, the Mansfield girls placed fourth with 42 points and the boys seventh with 30 points.
North DeSoto’s Taylor repeats as champion, but different event
Javonte Taylor stood atop the high jump program this past year, but in 2024, he took home the Class 4A triple jump championship.
Taylor leapt 45-6.5 to capture the triple jump crown.
The junior medaled in the high jump again, this time taking bronze with a clearance of 6-4.
North DeSoto claimed two other medals with another handful of performances that finished just off the podium.
Yazmin Furgerson took silver in the discus (115-9).
Dylan Compton broke his own school record and finished third in the 800 meters (1:58.19).
Compton was part of a fourth-place 4×800 relay (8:13.21) that included Lake Bates, Chaz Martinez and Gavin Shirley.
The girls added three fifth-place finishes with Taylor Clark (12.20 in the 100), Macaylah Tingle (2:30.18 in the 800) and Mikayla Mondello (115-1 in the javelin).
As a team, the boys finished eighth with 26 points and the girls 15th with 14 points.
Logansport wins two titles, three medals at state
Logansport was the only DeSoto Parish program to win multiple titles, taking the boys 100 meter and 4×200 relay titles in Class 1A.
Jamarcus Jones won 100 gold with a 10.59, edging out closest competitor by .11 seconds. D’Avery Robinson scored one point with a sixth-place finish, running 11.03.
Logansport captured the 4×200 title by an eyelash as the foursome of Omarius Colbert, Robinson, Kaiton Packett and Jones finished in 1:28.93, just .01 seconds ahead of Southern Lab.
Jones just missed the podium in the 200 meters with a fourth-place finish, clocking a 22.18. Robinson made the final and finished ninth (23.33).
The 4×400 relay took home a bronze with a 3:30.95 run by Packett, Joseph Powell, Colbert and Robinson.