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The Texas girls and boys brought the speed to the LSU High School Classic in fascinating fashion.
There were a total of 36 boys who ran 7.20 or faster on Saturday at the Carl Maddux Fieldhouse on the campus of Louisiana State University, many of which were from Texas. The top ten timers were 7.0 and under with seven of them being Lone Star boys.
Of the eight sprinters to make the finalis, six of them were Texans. Jelani Watkins (Humble Atascocita) had the fastest preliminary time when he ran 6.81 to top Germain Smith-Mata (New Orleans Warren Easton) who ran 6.83 in his prelim heat.
It was Justin Stewart (Hurst Bell) - 6.91, Jayden Finley (North Richland Hills) - 6.92, Cordial Vann (Frisco Heritage) 6.93, Brooks Higginbotham (Addison Trinity Christian) - 6.95, and Joseph West III (Round Rock) - 6.97 making it through the finals and Prentice Sanders II (Prosper) - 6.99 who was the ninth place finisher in the preliminaries.
Finals 1. Jelani Watkins 6.75aPR Jacobs Sports Academy 2. Germain Smith-Mata 6.78aSR Easton, Warren 3. Cordial Vann 6.79aPR Major Impact TX 4. Justin Stewart 6.82aPR Athletic Performance (AP) Ranch 5. Jayden Finley 6.84aPR Athletic Performance (AP) Ranch 6. Krosse Johnson 6.91aSR Holy Cross 7. Joseph West III 6.95aPR Xtreme Force Track 8. Brooks Higginbotham 7.01a. Major Impact TX
2024 LSU High School Girls 60m Finals
The times, for the most part all improved in the finals. Watkins blitzed the straightaway for his second best all time performance of 6.75. That awarded the LSU commit (Football and track) the win just ahead of Smith-Mata and his 6.78.
The day for Texas girls in the 60m was good as well. Nineteen overall girls ran under 7.85 with ten of them hailing from Texas.
It was Nasya Williams (Fort Worth Country Day) who qualified with a 7.61 run in the prelims, Alyssa Jones (formerly of Smithson Valley) who ran 7.65, and Mariah Maxwell (Humble Atascocita) who qualified with a 7.72.
Finals1. Madeline Cooper 7.48aPR Sapphire - Ruff Riders Track Club2. Nasya Williams 7.55aSR. NTX Jackrabbits3. Alyssa Jones 7.55aPR. Power 5 Athletics4. Tristen Harris 7.60a. West Feliciana5. Sade Gray 7.61aSR. Scotlandville6. Zion Lockette 7.66a. Sapphire - Ruff Riders Track Club7. Reese Johnson 7.68a. Mandeville- Mariah Maxwell DNS Greater Houston Track
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It was Madeline Cooper (GA) dashing to a 7.48 in the finals after winning the 60 hurdles making it a two-for-two in the matter of only minutes.
However Williams was consistent on the day adding a 7.55 in the finals for runner-up and Jones also lowering her prelim time to 7.55 for third place overall.
Maxwell was unable to make the starting line for her finals opportunity.