LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC)— Chris Calloura has been a talented high jumper in the Lake Area for many years. This month, he competed in his first collegiate competition at the Commodore Indoor Classic in Nashville, Tennessee.

Calloura placed first at the event and received Southland Conference Field Athlete of the Week honors with the win.

“It wasn’t much different because I’ve done USA Track and Field as a young child, I started at the age of nine with high jump, so I’ve had a lot of experience,” said Calloura. “I was nervous because it was my first track meet as a collegiate athlete, so I have some good teammates, and one in particular, his name’s Logan Broussard, he works very hard, and I look up to him, he pushes me to not skip reps.”

Chris is a Moss Bluff native who competed in the high jump at Sam Houston High School where he piled up accolades. Now that he is at McNeese, he wants to have as much success as possible for his hometown school.

“It’s amazing, I’ve never had this much attention on me before and I get kind of nervous sometimes, growing up in Moss Bluff, I knew I was kind of going to McNeese at first because I wanted to stay with my family and they’ve been so supportive,” said Calloura.

Chris’s goals are now to power his way towards placing well in the Southland Conference Championships so that he can have a chance to qualify for the NCAA Nationals.

“It’d mean a lot being that it’s a small school and going at a higher level, I think it’d be cool to be one of the I wouldn’t say one of the first, but it’d be cool to do that,” said Coullora. “I don’t expect to win every meet, obviously, but I just want to jump seven feet, that’s the mark I want to hit for my freshman season, and see where it goes from there.”

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