Vermilion Catholic’s sophomore bursts onto track scene, qualifies for 4 events at Class A state meet

Who is Laine Broussard?
How did she go from never running in a track meet to competing in four individual events at the Class 1A State Track Meet in Baton Rouge on Thursday?
The answer is simple: pure talent and good coaching.
She is coached by the legendary track coach at VC, Ossie Blaize, and his son, girls’ track coach Travis Blaize.
Broussard, who is 16, is a sophomore at Vermilion Catholic High School. This is the only year she competed in track. As a freshman, she could not because track was canceled due to COVID-19.
She was home-schooled while in middle school, so track was never an option.
But then VC track coach Travis Blaize saw this 5-foot-2 girl dust and an older boy in a 300-meter run, and it raised an eyebrow or two. He also watched the same girl run down a male all-district winger soccer player and steal the ball. At that moment, he knew Broussard was special and convinced her to sign up for track and field.
“She is a freak,” said Travis Blaize. “At 5-2, her stride is so beautiful - like a gazelle.”
“I always wanted to do track when I was younger,” said Broussard. “People always told me I was fast, but I never took them seriously.”
She is serious now.
Broussard, the only VC girl, going to state, will compete in the high jump, 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 400-meter run. The meet will be held in Bernie Moore Stadium on the LSU campus.
The first event will be the high jump at noon on Thursday. Her best jump on the year is 5-0. She jumped 4-10 at last week’s regional meet. The top jump going in is 5-2.
Her best event to try and win state will be in the 400-meter run. She has the second-best time going in. Her regional time of 1:02.59 is the second-fastest time. However, for her to win state in the 400, she will have to run fast like a gazelle. A Washington Marian runner has the top time of 59.43 seconds.
In the 100, she has the eighth-best time (13.78) and the ninth-best time in the 200 (28.22).
“I will be nervous at state,” admits Broussard. “I am not sure what to expect.”
She is the daughter of Valerie Stakes and Shane Broussard.
Also competing at the state meet will be the VC boys in four events.
VC’s 4x100 and 4x200 meter relays, along with Chad Zenon in the discus and the Eric Bourque in the pole vault.
This will be the first time any Eagle competes in the state track meet.
Running on the 4x100 meter team are Mikie Bazar, JP Summers, Josh Sagrera and Saul Dartez. They won regional with a time o 44.41.
The 4x200 meter relay team finished third at regional. The team consists of Sagrera, Summers, Zach Broussard, and Dartez, who ran a time of 1:34.50.