Connor Bottin will head to the MAIS Class AAA state track meet trying to become the latest St. Aloysius athlete to etch his name into history.

Bottin easily won the 110 meter and 300 meter hurdles and finished second in the 200 meter dash Saturday at the Class AAA South State meet at Silliman Institute in Clinton, La.

Bottin was also on two relays that advanced to the state meet May 4 and 5 in Jackson. The top four finishers in each event at the South and North State meets advanced to the state meet.
Field events will be contested Friday at Jackson Academy, and running events Saturday, May 5 at Jackson Prep.

St. Al is the defending Class AAA team champion.

Bottin will try to become the third St. Al athlete in as many years to win at least three individual state championships. DeMichael Harris did it in 2016, and Donald Woodson did it in 2017.

Bottin will be a heavy favorite in the hurdles events. He beat Adams Christian’s Chris Thompson by 1.3 seconds in the 110 meter hurdles on Saturday, and Silliman’s Myles Simmons by .82 seconds in the 300.

Silliman’s Jack Jackson won the 200 meters in 22.26 seconds to nip Bottin by .03 seconds.
Bottin will have opportunities to add to his medal haul in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays as well. He teamed with Brennon Williams, Preston McGowan and Ketrez Brown to finish second in the 4×100, and with Brown, McGowan and Garrett Vincent to place second in the 4×400.

The team of Evan Fedell, Brayden Roesch, Alex Bufkin and Andrew Ulmer qualified for the state meet in the 4×800 meter relay.

In individual events, Fedell advanced in the 1,600 meters; Roesch in the pole vault; Brown in the high jump; and Williams in the 400 meters.

For St. Al’s girls’ team, Dede Apenyo qualified in the 100, 200 and 400 meters, as well as the 4×200 and 4×400 meter relays with Iley Baldwin, Natalie Burke and Ally Doiron.

Apenyo is the defending Class AAA champion in the 400 meters. She finished third at the South State meet, with a time of 1:02.61. Hillcrest Christian’s Lauren Denton won in 1:00.66.

Doiron qualified in the 800 and 1,600 meters, and Cati Matthews was second in the high jump.

Matthews finished in a four-way tie with Silliman’s Kensley Lantrip and Ryleigh McManus, and Wayne Academy’s McKinley Allen. Lantrip won on a tiebreaker after all four topped out at 4 feet, 8 inches.

Burke advanced in the triple jump and won the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 11.5 inches.

Porter’s Chapel Academy’s Shelby Barwick also qualified in the long jump, with a leap of 14-11 that was good for a fourth-place finish.

MAIS STATE MEET QUALIFIERS
St. Aloysius girls
Dede Apenyo – 100, 200 and 400 meters
Ally Doiron – 1,600 and 3,200 meters
Cati Matthews – High jump
Natalie Burke – Long jump, triple jump
Relays – 4×200, 4×400 meters
Porter’s Chapel Academy girls
Shelby Barwick – Long jump
St. Aloysius boys
Connor Bottin – 200 meters, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles
Evan Fedell – 1,600 meters
Brayden Roesch – Pole vault
Ketrez Brown – High jump
Brennon Williams – 400 meters
Relays – 4×100, 4×400, 4×800 meters

MAIS STATE MEET SCHEDULE:
Friday: Field events, 9 a.m., at Jackson Academy
Saturday: Running events, 9 a.m., at Jackson Prep