Jones earns all-state track and field honors

Berwick High School track and field standout Kenan Jones was named a member of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Track and Field team.
Jones made the list, which is made up of athletes from the state’s seven classifications, in the triple jump. The sophomore’s leap of 47 feet, 11.5 inches ranked fifth. Jones recorded the jump, a personal best, at this year’s Class 3A State Track and Field Meet at Bernie Moore Track Stadium in May en route to a Class 3A runner-up finish.
Berwick High coach Paul Gilder said it’s great to see Jones honored as a sophomore as one of the top five, regardless of class.
“No telling what he’s going to do the next two years,” Gilder said. “Just really excited for him to be included in the elite company.”
Class 3A’s state champion, Ryan Theyard of Lusher Charter, had the third-best jump on the all-state list with a leap of 48 feet, 10.5 inches.
Northside’s Christian Miller had the team’s top jump with a leap of 51 feet.
The state meet mark achieved by Jones shattered his personal best and school record he had set earlier this season in the event. His previous personal record was 46 feet, 0.5 inches.
He achieved the state track feat despite being treated for injuries and not being able to practice much, Berwick Coach Paul Gilder said in May.
While Jones has broken his triple jump mark multiple times this season, he originally broke the longtime school record in the first meet of this season at E.D. White’s Catholic Relay March 4. There, he leapt 45 feet, 2 inches to break the school’s 40-year-old mark of 45 feet, 1½ inches that had belonged to Reuben Favors.
Additional reporting by www.theadvocate.com/sports