Outdoor track season gets underway with Panther Relays

The 2014 outdoor track season gets off and running this Friday afternoon as the Catholic High in New Iberia and Abbeville High co-host the 13th Annual Panther Relays.

The Panther Relays are being held at the Abbeville Track and Field Complex and begin with the field events at 3:30 p.m. with the boy’s javelin.

The track events begin at 5:30 p.m.

There are 11 schools from all over south Louisiana that are taking place in the Panther Relays.

Local teams include the Abbeville Wildcats, Erath Bobcats, Delcambre Panthers and Vermilion Catholic Eagles.

Franklin, New Iberia, Catholic High N.I., West St. Mary, Patterson, Central Catholic in Morgan City and Westgate are the other teams that are going to be participating in the Panther Relays.

Some of the coaches are viewing this first event of the season as a sort of practice event.

“With all of this crazy weather, this is going to be good practice for us,” Erath Lady Bobcats Head Coach Jonathan Bouillion said. “The weather got us behind in our practice time over the course of the past couple of months,
but when the girls finally put the uniform on I think it will sink in.

“At that point I will get a better judge of where we are as a team.”

Abbeville’s girls coach, Erik Lege had the same sentiments.

“I have been a track coach for 10 years, and I have never seen weather like this,” Lege said. “We are just going to be using the track meet like a practice meet. I plan on putting several people in different spots, just to see
where everyone is.”

This track meet is the beginning of a long season, and some of the coaches aren’t wanting to show their hands before the district meets begin.

Coach Bouillion is one of those coaches that doesn’t want to give too much away in the first meet.

“I don’t like that we see a lot of our district rivals week in and week out,” Bouillion said. “Having said that though we get a chance to see them in action, and we get a chance to see some girls in different spots.”

The 13th annual Panther Relays get underway tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.

Andy Bullard
Sports Editor