The Southern Showcase, a September 18 meet featuring top schools from the Southeastern region of the United States, confirmed what cross country coach Rudy Horvath already knew. Last year’s state runners up have a chance to be extra special in 2021.

Seven Blue Jays made the weekend trip to Huntsville, Alabama, to compete in 5K races where they finished first amongst the elite field. Juniors Robert Buisson, Jack DesRoches, Patrick Dowd, and Aeric Wender, sophomores Lucas Sampedro and Michael Vocke, and freshman Leland Crawford finished with a team total 111 points, a whopping 63 points better than the second place squad, Satellite High School. Satellite is ranked third in Florida.

Championship Race results:

Vocke, DesRoches, and Sampedro all broke Jesuit’s previous 5K cross country record. A 5k race is approximately two football fields longer than the traditional three-mile length.

“This performance is unprecedented, averaging 15:43 in the 5K races. That’s really fast! The best news is that all of these guys can run even faster,” Horvath said. “They take their training very seriously, and they are racing like they have something to prove.”

The next chance to prove their coach right is Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Catholic High Meet in Baton Rouge at Highland Park.

Nola.com: Jesuit wins at Southern Showcase cross country meet in Alabama…