Knight finishes 2nd in high jump

Central Catholic’s Meo Knight finished as state runner-up for the second consecutive year in the high jump during Friday’s Class 1A State Track and Field meet at Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
While Knight and third-place finisher Frankie Griffin of Hamilton Christian each jumped 5-feet, 4-inches, Knight earned the runner-up title because she had fewer misses at a lower height, according to Central Catholic coach David Fuhrer.
A year ago, Knight jumped 5-6 along with Logansports’ Jasmine White but White won because of fewer misses at a lower height.
The 2013 third-place finisher, Ouachita Christian’s Hanna Lutrick, won this year’s event with a leap of 5 feet, 6 inches.
Lutrick cleared 5 feet, 6 inches on her final attempt, while Knight nearly cleared the bar but it wobbled and fell.
While Knight said she came in looking for a state championship, she said her technique again this year, like last year, hurt her.
She noted that Lutrick recorded a personal record in the event.
Knight got the runner-up finish despite a late start in the high jump this year because she said she was resting her knees from basketball season.
“I’m very pleased because I was able to rest up from basketball season, started up at district, won that, won regionals and coming runner up in state, it’s really an honor,” she said.
Fuhrer said he also was proud of Knight.
“I’m just very proud of her for coming out and finishing off her senior year and competing in the state track meet,” Fuhrer said. “Not a lot of kids get a chance to come here and compete.”
In distance running, Central Catholic’s Sal Grizzaffi recorded a fourth-place finish in the 3,200 meter run and a fifth-place mark in the 1,600 meter run.
While he set personal records in each, the conditions he had to face in each were far from easy.
On Friday, he had to wait nearly two hours to run after track and field events were halted just before 6 p.m. due to a lighting delay.
Nearly two hours later, he finally was able to get in the race.
However, he and the other competitors had to battle heavy rains to complete the event. Grizzaffi finished in 4:54.67, just behind fourth-place finisher Mosanto Nelson of Grambling, who clocked in at 4:54.30.
Just after the Class 2A boys’ 3,200 meter run, competition was stopped again due to lightning and it never resumed Friday, as Louisiana High School Athletic Association officials elected to complete the 1A meet Saturday.
That meant Grizzaffi would run the 3,200 meter run around 12:45 p.m. Saturday.
Again, though, he recorded a personal record and finished just outside the podium in 10:43.33.
“It definitely threw off my schedule, I have to admit,” Grizzaffi said of the races being split into two days. “I was kind of worried. I thought that it was going to mess with my mind having to wait 24 hours to run my next race. Running is a mental sport already, and whenever you have to have that kind of barrier in between to know that you’re not going to be able to go immediately from running one event to the next, it’s kind of like, ‘well, let’s go back to square one and let’s see what did we do prerace the first day.’ It’s kind of like having to repeat your entire day of events.”
Fuhrer said Grizzaffi had a good showing.
“He had a great meet, PR’d in the two events he came in, which lowers the school record,” Fuhrer said.
Ascension Catholic’s Zach Capello swept the 1,600 meter run and 3,200 meter run in 4:38.36 and 10:23.57, respectively.
Central Catholic finished 26th in the boys’ team scoring in Class 1A with 26 points, while the Lady Eagles were tied for 18th with St. John and La. New Tech at Plain Dealing as all three schools had eight points.
Haynesville won the boys’ team title with 63 points, while Hamilton Christian took the girls’ team title with 70 points.