Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
The Zachary High boys cross-country team finished first and the girls finished second in the Zachary Broncos Cross-Country Stampede at Port Hudson on Oct. 18. Over 780 athletes competed with 222 adult coaches/volunteers assisting with the event and many spectators. Top finishers for the boys were Tyson Franklin, fifth at 17:47.75; Vincent Bodine, eighth at 17:54.75, and Carson Southall, 10th at 18:11.99. Blair Smith, fourth, was the top runner and top 10 finisher for the girls with a time of 21:14.96. Twenty-one boys and 18 girls teams competed in the three-mile course at the park. Cross-country coach Julie Fink commented that “running off with a first-place varsity boys team champion trophy, a girls varsity team runner-up plaque and for top 10 finishes is what I call a great cross-country day.” The Broncos will compete in the EBR Metro Championship Oct. 29, followed by regionals Nov. 6 and the state championship at Northwestern State in Natchitoches on Nov. 17. Coach Fink thanked the volunteers, sponsors, Zachary Community School District and DEMCO. She also provided effusive praise for the Port Hudson Site Manager Daniel Goyer and the rest of the park personnel who "have been so supportive of the fifth through 12th grade Zachary cross-country program.” Later in the day, the Northwestern Braves hosted the “Battlefield Run,” also at Port Hudson. The Northwestern Middle School girls team finished fifth and the Copper Mill Elementary girls finished seventh overall in the 2-mile run. On the boy’s side, Copper Mill finished fifth and Northwestern finished ninth overall in a competitive field of over 20 teams. The boys top finisher was Gerrett Anthony, 11th at 13:10.39, from Northwestern and Hudson Broussard, 19th at 13:27.88 from Copper Mill. Maci Septs, 13th at 16:03.89, was the top finisher for the Northwestern girls and Zoe Raper, 20th at 16:56.72, was the top finisher for Copper Mill. Crunch time as Zachary sports closes out October For many middle and high school fall sports the last week of October is “crunch time” or, if performance meets expectations, “title time.” The Northwestern Braves closed out the 2025 season on Oct. 28 with the district championship on the line against Central at Central. Coach Aaron Odom’s Braves defeated Brusly 42-6 on Oct. 21 to raise their record to 6-3. On the same day, the ZHS volleyball team closed out the regular season at home against Woodlawn. At the time of writing, the Broncos (17-10) have a 19th power ranking, which would put them on the road for the playoffs. Coach Cheri Perry and the Broncos will learn playoffs pairings and brackets on Nov. 3. On Oct. 29, the ZHS cross-country team will host the East Baton Rouge Metro championship at Highland Road. The next day, the ZHS swim team will take their turn at competing for championship glory in the CCSL City meet at Crawfish aquatics. In addition to looking for wins, Coach Julie Peveto will be looking for times to come down to qualify as many swimmers in as many events as possible for the state championship Nov. 1. Speaking of championships, next month coaches Tami McClure and Jon McClinton will begin their girls and boys 5A basketball title defenses. McClinton coached his third state championship team (2020, 2021, and 2025) and McClure won her first in 2025.
