May 02nd, 2017

This past Thursday at the Region 1-5A Track and Field Championships at NSU the C.E. Byrd track teams qualified in 9 events for this weekend's LHSAA State Championships to be held at LSU in Baton Rouge.

The girls team scored a Regional Meet school record 92 points finishing 2nd on the team totals and was once again led by senior Kyah Loyd who won all three of her individual events and also ran on the victorious meet and school record setting 4x100 relay (47.99).  Other members on that sprint relay include Nia Johnson, Kayla Harrison, and Destiny Jones.  Loyd won the 100 (12.19), 200 (meet record 24.34), and the 100 hurdles (meet record 14.17).  Loyd now owns four Region 1-5A meet records.  Sophomore Taisheka Porchia won the Triple Jump with a 36' 8" leap.  Porchia also placed 2nd in the 300 hurdles in 46.95 as her teammate freshman Kayla Harrison won that event in a huge PR of 45.88.  The 4x200 relay ran a season best (1:42.46) and won with Taisheka Porchia, sophomore Aleceya Harrison, senior Destiny Jones, and Kayla Harrison.  The 4x400 featuring the same athletes on the 4x200 placed 2nd in an impressive time of 3:58.02, the second fastest time ever produced in Byrd history.  Other notable performances were sophomore Emily Clarke in the Pole Vault.  Clarke, for the second week in a row, set a school record of 8' 6" and was just shy of qualifying to the state meet.  Nia Johnson also had a great meet as she PRed in the Long Jump (17' 1.5") and the Triple Jump (35' 0").  On the boys' side sophomore Allen England placed 3rd in the 1600m (4:32.08) and qualified to the state meet for the second year in a row. Freshman Austin Mikovich placed 4th in the 3200 in an impressive PR 10:09.54.  

In all 7 athletes qualified in 9 events  for the state meet this weekend.  Three athletes made it in 4 events which is a first ever at Byrd.  The girls team qualified in 8 event which also a school record.
1)      Kyah Loyd - 100m, 200m, 100H, 4x100
2)      Kayla Harrison - 300H, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400
3)      Taisheka Porchia - TJ, 300H, 4x200, 4x400
4)      Destiny Jones - 4x100, 4x200, 4x400
5)      Aleceya Harrison - 4x200, 4x400
6)      Nia Johnson - 4x100
7)      Allen England - 1600m