Louisiana High Schools Earn Eight Team Titles Across Four Divisions

By Jason Marsteller

SULPHUR, Louisiana, November 21. IN a massive swimming extravaganza, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association held eight meets within four divisions in Sulphur, Louisiana from Nov. 15-18. The Spar Aquatic Center played host to each competition this past weekend.

Division 1
Mount Carmel Academy dominated girls meet with 377.5 points to claim the team title. St. Joseph's Academy finished second with 295 points, while Northshore High placed third with 243 points. Barbe High (200) and Fountainbleau High (186) rounded out the top five.

For the boys, Jesuit High won with a commanding 423-point tally, while Catholic High placed second with 302 points. Archbishop Rummel High took third with 198 points, while Northshore placed fourth with 158 points. Grace King High wound up fifth with 117 points.

Overall, four swimmers pulled off double wins. On the girls' side, Northshore freshman Heather Winn won the 200 free (1:59.20) and 500 free (5:13.42), while her fellow Northshore rookie Colleen Donovan claimed the 200 IM (2:10.17) and 100 free (53.82).

In boys action, West Monroe High senior Mark Reeves touched first in the 100 free (47.88) and 200 free (1:44.35), while Rummel senior Adam Klein won the 200 IM (1:55.58) and 100 breast (57.39).

Division 2
Vandebilt Catholic High (424) edged out Saint Scholastic (394) for the girls' Division 2 title. St. Michael High (202) and Alexandria Senior High (172) finished third and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile, Ursuline Academy took fifth with 168 points.

The Vandebilt Catholic High boys' team finished a title sweep for the school with 354 points, while St. Thomas Moore took second with 263 points. Alexandria Senior High finished third with 254 points, while St. Michael High placed fourth with 180 points. Sam Houston High comprised the rest of the top five with 113 points.

The only division record of the meet went down in the 100 free when St. Michael High senior James Meyers stopped the clock in 46.40. That eclipsed the 47.10 set by Alexandria's Sam Hayes in 2005. Meyers also doubled up with a 21.12 in the 50 free for the win.

Three other swimmers earned title deuces in Division 2. Vandebilt sophomore Amber Pierce won both the 50 free (24.43) and 100 free (53.96). Her 50 free time came agonizingly close to the division record of 24.42 set by Ben Franklin's Catherine Mann in 1995. Additionally, her teammate junior M.O. Lefort took home the 100 fly (56.81) and 100 breast (1:05.56).

In the boys meet, Vandebilt sophomore Ross Mullooly claimed the title in the 500 free (5:16.25) and 200 free (1:56.09).

Division 3
Lutcher High captured the boys' title with 451 points, while Edwards Douglas White High finished a distant second with 240.5 points. Parkview Baptist High took third with 207 points, while St. Louis Catholic High (191) and Jennings High (145) comprised the rest of the top five.

The girls meet proved to be a lot closer as St. Louis Catholic High won with 383 points. Parkview Baptist High placed second with 336 points, while Lutcher High took third with 316 points. Academy of the Sacred Heart (224) and Edward Douglas White High (206) closed out the top five with fourth and fifth, respectively.

Division 3 definitely had a top-heavy feel to it as six swimmers doubled. In the girls meet, Parkview High sophomore Laura Soileau won both the 200 free (2:01.73) and the 100 breast (1:11.90). Meanwhile, Academy of the Sacred Heart junior Meggie Schmidt took first in the 200 IM (2:15.01) and the 100 fly (58.65), while Parkview sophomore Taylor Moore placed first in the 500 free (5:21.74) and the 100 back (1:02.83).

In boys' action, Redemptorist High freshman Andrew Hilborn claimed the 100 breast (1:08.90) and 200 free (1:58.70), while Brusly High junior Clint O'Neal won the 200 IM (2:15.38) and the 100 back (58.08). De La Salle High senior Jason Hardesty finished up the doubles with wins in the 50 free (22.17) and 100 fly (53.38).

Division 4
University High swept the team titles in the Division 4 championships. In boys' competition, University eked out a win over Episcopal High, 323.5-309.5, while Runnels High took third with 195 points. St. Martin's High placed fourth with 178 points, while Central Catholic High took fifth with 178 points.

In the girls meet, University won with 364 points against Episcopal School of Acadiana's second-place 296 points. Isidore Newman High finished third with 245 points, while Episcopal High placed fourth with 194 points. St. Martin's High picked up fifth with 184.5 points.

Loyola senior Robert Looney took down the first state record with a 4:29.61 to win the 500 free. That performance broke the 4:30.14 previously held by Episcopal's Phillip Morrison since 2003. Looney also won the 200 IM in 1:57.28.

Newman High senior Erica Dagg provided the first division record with a 52.40 in the 100 free. That effort surpassed the 52.83 set by Parkview Baptist's Shelly Ripple in 1995. Dagg went on to double up with a win in the 100 back (57.44).

A pair of other swimmers won two individual events. Newman junior Laura Klick won both the 50 free (24.83) and the 100 breast (1:07.10). Meanwhile, Episcopal senior Josh Brown touched first in the 100 breast (59.91) and the 100 fly (51.81).

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