FERRIDAY — Ferriday High School senior La’Porcha Griggs doesn’t like to lose.

And even though she placed third in the 100-meter dash at the Louisiana High School Activities Association Class 2A state track meet May 2 at LSU, Griggs said the finish was somewhat of a disappointment.

“I feel like if I don’t come in first that I’ve lost,” Griggs said.

Maybe she’s being too tough on herself, but Ferriday track coach Cleothis Cummings said that kind of motivation is what makes Griggs such a pleasure to coach.

“She’s one of those kids that you generally don’t have to push, because she’s self-motivated,” Cummings said. “She’s self-driven, she loves to compete and she always wants to be in first place. That’s what I appreciate about her.”

Initially, Griggs said it looked like first place in the 100-meter dash was well within her reach.

“I started off great,” Griggs said. “I had been practicing on my starting stance, and in the middle (of the event) I hit my highest point. But I couldn’t go any faster, so I was stuck in third place after I had started out in first place.”

Griggs finished with a time of 12.2 seconds, and even though she didn’t get first place, Griggs said she was grateful to compete at the state level.

“I’m still happy I placed, and I felt like I needed to work harder to get to where I want to be,” Griggs said.

Being the best in everything she does is what motivates Griggs, she said, and track is a good sport to let that motivation show itself.

“I appreciate the competition,” Griggs said. “I hate not finishing in first, but if I don’t, it lets me know that there are things I need to work on.”

Griggs began running track in ninth grade but skipped a season because the school didn’t have a track program her sophomore year. Her father, Lonnie Griggs, a Ferriday High School alumnus, is who got her into the sport at first.

“Throughout my life my dad always talked about how he was the fastest person,” she said. “He didn’t run track — I don’t think they had a program back then — but he always pushed me to run, and I felt like I was great at it.”

With her high school career over, Griggs plans to attend the University of Louisiana-Monroe and walk on with their track program. She’s planning on majoring in kinesiology.

Griggs is also the daughter of Cheryl Sabir.