T&F Badeaux Unveils First Recruiting Class
Ragin’ Cajuns head track and field coach Lon Badeaux announced Wednesday a group of 19 athletes that will join the program for the 2012-13 academic year. It marks the first recruiting class for Badeaux as the Cajuns’ top boss.
Twelve of the signees join the UL men’s program which just finished as runner-up in the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Championships. A total of seven signees are being added to the women’s squad that made significant strides in the Sun Belt Championships last season.
A pair of Lafayette natives who both prepped at Teurlings Catholic will be joining the program – Trey Bonin and Lindsey Harmon. Badeaux’s first class is comprised of several Louisiana athletes, plus athletes from Florida, Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania.
The Cajuns’ coaching staff focused mainly on the track, netting numerous distance runners and sprinters.
“We are really excited about our recruiting class,” Badeaux remarked. “We focused on getting some help on the track especially in the distance events, but were also able to get some high quality field event guys to complement the rest of the team.”
The men’s class is highlighted by a trio of 2012 outdoor state champions, a 2012 junior college national outdoor champion and a pair of 2011 cross country champions.
Justin Victor (DeRidder, La./Coffeyville Community College) picked up a National Junior College championship in the hammer throw this past spring. Victor used a hammer throw of 61.09m/183-6 to claim the title in that event at the NJCAA National Track and Field Championships in Levelland, Texas.
Locally, Zachary Meche of Church Point High School was a member of the 2012 Louisiana Class 3A state champion 4x400m relay squad. Meche’s split on the state championship relay team was an impressive 48.7. He shaved over four seconds off his time in the 400-meter run from the previous season and his time of 48.63 in the District 5-3A meet broke a school and area record that stood for nearly 30 years.
Joshua McDaniel (Lakeland, Fla./Lakeland HS) was the 2012 Florida Class 3A pole vault champion. McDaniel’s leap of 15 feet, six inches at the Florida Class 3A state track and field meet held in Jacksonville earned him the title. McDaniel’s honors in 2012 were numerous, the most impressive coming when he was named the All- Polk County Track and Field Male Athlete of the Year. In June, he placed second at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals with a clearance of 15-2 ¼.
Bonin is also coming off a championship season, claiming top honors in the 2011 Louisiana Class 4A State Cross Country Championship. The TCHS product ran the three mile course in 15:59.74 to grab the title. His personal best in the three mile is 15:49.07 set at the Walker Shootout on Oct. 15, 2011.
Cole Bourque was the 2011 Louisiana Class 3A state 400 meter champion. Bourque was a four-year letterman in track at Erath. He also played running back for the Bobcats football team and center field on the baseball team. His 400 meter personal best is 48.89 was accomplished on the day he claimed the state title in 2011.
A pair of lauded Baton Rouge high school products are making their way to Cajun Country.
Cole Stafford (Baton Rouge, La./Catholic High) is a three-time Class 5A state outdoor champion in the 3200m and two-time Class 5A state outdoor champion in the 1600m. Stafford was the 2011 Gatorade Louisiana Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year and the 2011 Class 5A cross country champion. Stafford was a 2011 ESPN Ride Top 25 High School Cross Country National Honorable Mention recipient.
Another Baton Rouge native, Matthew Rice is coming off a championship effort in the Louisiana Class 2A state outdoor 800 meter (1:57.89) and 1600 meter run (4:21.55). Rice, who hails from Runnels High School, claimed the title at the Louisiana Class 2A Cross Country Championships in 2009 and 2010. He was the 2010 Gatorade Louisiana Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.
The newest additions to the Ragin’ Cajuns men’s track and field program also include: Scott Brewster (Covington, La./St. Paul’s Academy) a two-time Louisiana Class 5A runner-up in the 1600m; Morgan Cormier (New Orleans, La./Brother Martin HS) the 2012 Louisiana Class 5A state champion in the 300 meter hurdles and 2011 champion in the 500 meter hurdles; Derek Foreman (Sulphur, La./Sulphur HS) who partook in the 2011 USATF National Junior Olympics Track and Field Championships; Kegan Keys (Welsh, La./Welsh HS) and Corbett Ourso (Hammond, La./St. Thomas Aquinas), a 2012 Wendy’s High School Heisman Nominee.
The women’s class is highlighted by a state champion from Pennsylvania, a two-time Texas state meet qualifier and Louisiana state champion.
Harmon stays in her hometown after capping off her prep career with a Louisiana Class 4A title in the high jump for Teurlings Catholic. During her career with the Rebels, she broke the school high jump record with a clearance of 5’8” which is her personal best.
Danielle Castaldi (Exton, Pa./Downington East HS) was a member of the 2012 Pennsylvania Class 3A 4x800 meter state championship unit.
Anna Katherine Devitt is an accomplished distance runner out of Christian Life High School in Baton Rouge. Devitt was the 2011 Gatorade Lousiana Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Devitt raced to a fourth consecutive Class 1A state championship this past season with a time of 18:33.96, leading CLHS to second place as a team. She placed 37th at the Foot Locker South Regional championships with a time 19:22 in addition to winning the St. Michael’s Bayou Boogie, Episcopal Round Table Invitational and Baton Rouge Metro Invitational this past fall. Devitt was the 2012 Class 1A outdoor state champion in the 3200m (11:55:51) and runner-up in the 1600m (5:19.44).
Meredith Driskell (Buda, Texas/Jack C. Hays HS) is a two-time Texas state meet qualifier in the pole vault. Driskell, a former gymnast, was the Texas District 17-4A champion in 2010 and District 27-4A champion in 2011. Her top honors include championships at the Texas A&M Invitational and Howie Ryan All-Comers in 2011.
Bree Fontenot is a distance runner from Bridge City, Texas who set a personal record of 11:43.65 in the 3200m at the Region 3-3A meet in April, placing fourth. In the fall, the Bridge City High School product placed Top 5 in the Texas Cross Country State Championship with a two mile clocking of 12:11.10. She set a new school record of 11:45.49 over two miles at the Clear Lake Invitational in October. In December, Fontenot was named the Super Gold Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year
Also joining the Ragin’ Cajuns women’s track and field program next season will be Alexandra Harrell (Elmhurst, Ill./York HS) who is coming off a first place finish in the high jump at the 2012 Illinois High School state meet and Ashley Irwin (Mandeville, La./Mandeville HS) who was runner-up in the 2012 Louisiana Class 5A Indoor State Championships in the 3200m (12:03.64) and participated in the 2010 AAU Junior Olympic Games.
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