District champ ‘Cats eye state

It had been nearly two decades since Destrehan could boast a district championship in boys track and field. Emphasis on ‘had.’The Wildcats secured the District 7-5A championship behind a strong all-around team performance, while Kristian Mosley, Quentin Torbore and two Wildcat relay teams are headed to the Class 5A state track and field championship meet at LSU after a strong performance at the Region III championship.

Mosley captured the regional crown in the 200, recording a time of 21.68. Torbore took second in the high jump to qualify for the state meet, recording a leap of 6-01.

The Destrehan 4×100 relay team of  Jayce Brown, Kendell Anderson, Michael Young and Kristian Mosley recorded a time of 42.63 to take the regional championship. The 4×200 team of Will Sirmon, Anderson,  Brown and Mosley took second place with a time of 1:28.54.

Hahnville’s Anthony Williams and the Tigers’ 4×100 relay team are also headed to state. Williams is also a high jump qualifier via a mark of 6-01, good for third place in the regional, while the relay squad recorded a time of 42.79 to cement a third place finish.

The top three finishers in each regional event advanced to state.

For Destrehan, the district championship was a big boon for a program that has been on an upswing. The Destrehan boys scored 119 points, outpacing second place Thibodaux, which scored 111. Hahnville finished third with a score of 85.

It was Destrehan’s first district championship since 1997. Prior to that, the Wildcats had a district title drought that ran into the 1970s.

“All we know is it’s been awhile,” Destrehan track and field coach Tim Taffi said. “We thought we had a pretty good shot going in. We won the regional last year, so a number of our guys had a taste (of winning) and were hungry for more.”

Thibodaux won the girls district title with a score of 293. Hahnville placed second  (201) and Destrehan third (161).

Taffi said that with the departure of South Lafourche from the district slate, there were a few more avenues for the Wildcats to generate points in the field, where South Lafourche is traditionally dominant.

“We felt we could nickel and dime our way to some points throughout the field events,” Taffi said. “You see our kids coming up with some third place, fourth place finishes there that may not seem like much, but they really add up and gave us the lift we needed.”

Mosley earned District MVP honors, winning the 100 meter dash, taking second in the 200 and anchoring two of the Wildcats’ relay squads.

Taffi is looking forward to seeing what Mosely will do at state.

“He’s quite an accomplished sprinter,” Taffi said of the junior. “He’s been doing it since his freshman year. He’s been to the state meet and is one of those guys we have who’s really driven to achieve more.”

The 5A track and field championship will be contested May 7.

 

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