By Ron Brocato
The Brother Martin cross country team heeded a lesson they had learned from a second-place finish in the District 9-5A meet a week ago, and turned that runner-up showing into a successful run a week later. Although short of a few experienced harriers, the Crusaders were the most productive team in the Nov. 7, Regional 3, Division I Championship, in City Park. And they have the championship trophy to show for it.
Coach Drew Haro’s team members outdueled runner-up Jesuit and 13 other area teams to win the meet with 31 points. Jesuit, which was equally short of its most productive runners, placed second with 39 points, and Mandeville (104 points), was third. Haro attributes the team’s success to changing the pace of the meet. “We executed a better race today than we did last week,” Haro noted.
In the Oct. 30 District 9-5A meet, where the Crusaders were runners-up, Haro said the early fast pace last week affected the team’s ability to race under control. “Last week we went out so fast and so hard that we had forgotten that a 5-K (or three-mile) race should feel a certain way as opposed to running a one-mile race. So, this week we practiced some things to stay poised, like what a certain pace is supposed to feel like,” Haro said.
The seven-man team will next challenge the best distance runners in the state at the LHSAA Division I Championship meet in Natchitoches on Nov. 17.
All seven Brother Martin runners were among the top 20 at the regional meet, led by third-place finisher senior William Lionnet, who covered the three-mile course in 16:11.85. He was closely followed by junior Caleb Carmouche, who crossed the finish line in 16:12.74 to claim the No. 4 spot. They were followed by teammates junior Jake Cammarata (16:22.08) in sixth place, junior Evan Galliano (16:26.25), eighth; junior Julien Campos (16:44.63), 10th; junior Charles Ward (17:14.07), 16th, and freshman Nathan Oubre (17:14.71), in 17th place.
Lionnet is the only senior who ran for Brother Martin. Oubre is a freshman. Mandeville senior Brayden Berglund (15:50.96) was the individual champion. Jesuit junior Andrew Nimmo (15:58.88) was the runner-up.
Senior Anders Maitrejean and sophomores Carson Mills and Dainel Bonilla, who were unable to run in the regional meet, will bolster the Crusaders' efforts by giving Haro three fresh options to choose his seven-man squad. The Crusaders will be at full strength following the return of three key runners who were not available for the regionals.
Brother Martin senior William Lionnet leads his junior teammate Caleb Carmouche to a third-place finish at the Region 3 Division I cross country meet in City Park. Crusader runners outpaced a field of 14 teams to win the team trophy with 31 points.
