BATON ROUGE – McNeese track and field standouts Gideon Cheplak, Henry Kiplagat, Joey Croft, Donavon Banks, Aurelia Jepkorir, Malaiya Jedkins, Alanna Arvie and Grace McKenzie were all named to the LSWA All-Louisiana Track and Field Team, the organization announced this week.
 
Cheplak and Arvie were selected in two different events – Cheplak on the first team in the men's 10,000 meters and second team in the 5,000m while Arvie earned second team honors in the women's shot put and third team in the hammer throw.
 
Cheplak, a double gold medal winner at the SLC Championships in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, clocked a state-best time of 29:33.40 in the 10,000m while running at 14:19.60 in the 5,000m. He was named the league's Athlete, Newcomer and Outstanding Runner of the Year for his accomplishments.
 
Arvie won gold in the women's hammer throw at the league championships and had the third-best throw in the state with a 208-7. She also ranked second in the state in the shot put with a school-record mark of 51-7.
 
Kiplagat, a bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters at the SLC meet, ranked third in the state in the event with a time of 30:33.08 while Croft earned second team All-Louisiana honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:10.77.
 
Banks, a second team All-American in the javelin event and US Track and Field Olympic trials qualifier, won a silver at the league meet and earned All-Louisiana third team honors with a best throw of 246-3, a new school record.
 
Other Cowgirls to earn All-Louisiana honors include multi-event All-American Grace McKenzie who picked up first team honors with a school and conference record 5,734 points.
 
Aurelia Jepkorir was named to the third team in the 5,000-meters with a time of 17:50.09. Cowgirl triple jump record holder Jedkins, a bronze medalist at the SLC outdoor meet, earned third team honors with her leap of 42-5.5.