Central Catholic will be the first to represent the area this weekend on the state track scene when they participate in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s Class 1A track meet today at LSU’s Bernie Moore Track and Field complex in Baton Rouge.

CCHS will send representatives in four events as the girls’ and boys’ 4x100 meter relay teams, as well as Lloyd Grogan in the long jump and Brent Green in the triple jump, all will get their shot at a state crown today.

The Lady Eagles’ 4x100 meter relay, which consists of Paige Johnson, Geralyn Garrett, Meo Knight and Alessia Carbin, is seeded second at 51.5 behind Westminster at 50.06.

Westminster and CCHS finished first and second, respectively, at regionals at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

The Lady Eagles expressed confidence that they could improve their time and could record a time in the 50-second range, if not at 49.

“I think we’re going to do good at state,” senior Johnson said. “We’ve been working hard all week, and I think regionals is just the beginning. I think we’re going to do a lot better at state.”

The 4x100 meter relay squad is virtually intact from a few years ago when the squad ran at state as Knight, Johnson and Garrett have returned and are joined this year by Carbin.

The boys’ 4x100 meter relay, which consists of any combination of Josh Singleton, Green, Tyler Hoffpauir, Grogan, Kendall Robinson and Josh Protti, enters state competition seeded seventh out of nine with a time of 44.85 seconds. Ouachita Christian is the top seed at 42.72.

In the long jump, Grogan is seeded fourth at 21-feet, nine-inches. Quan Scott of West St. John recorded the top jump during regional competition throughout the state with a leap of 22-feet, 6½-inches.

Grogan said he is hoping to get a 22- or 23-foot leap at state.

“He’s going to get out there and he’s going to compete,” CCHS track coach David Fuhrer said of the standout athlete. “I know that. That’s a given.”

In the triple jump, Green enters state as the fifth-ranked competitor out of nine with a leap of 42-8. The top seed is Marquise Richard of Southern Lab, who recorded a leap of 45-07 at regionals.

“Brent’s coming along,” Fuhrer said. “He’s got his work cut out for him. (But he just has to) go out there and compete. (On) any given day, somebody has a bad day. You got to be ready and have your good day.”

While the heat sheets for the state track and field meet indicate what a competitor is capable of, Fuhrer said that he doesn’t put much stock in them because the competitors still have to get out there and compete.

“It’s getting out there and hopefully we have a good day, and if we run our best that day, then let everything else fall where it may,” he said. “Track’s funny. Sometimes the best people don’t have their best day and if you catch them on that day, you can sneak up on them, but you’ve got to have your best day.”