Parish athletes excel in all sports; top off year with title tries

It has been a great season for athletics in Evangeline Parish in 2017-18.
To start with, the Basile Bearcats took a run at the Class 1A football title with a trip to the quarterfinals, while the Sacred Heart Trojans and Ville Platte Bulldogs each made an appearance in the playoffs on the gridiron.
In basketball, the Ville Platte High boys made it interesting, making it to the second round of the post-season, as Mamou, Basile and Sacred Heart each made an appearance in their respective playoffs.
On the girl’s side of the hard court, the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans took a run at the Division IV title with a second round game against Cedar Creek. Basile, Mamou and Ville Platte were also amongst the players in the post-season in 2018.
In cross country, the Sacred Heart boys (10th), Pine Prairie boys (12th), Ville Platte boys (20th), Mamou boys (21st), Sacred Heart girls (13th) and Pine Prairie girls (14th) all placed at the state meet while the Mamou girls and Ville Platte girls sent participants to that same meet.
The state swim meet saw several Sacred Heart competitors vying for not only individual titles, but for team recognition as well.
Basile collected some serious hardware at the state wrestling meet with Alex Menier, Gavin Christ and Issac Cortez all bringing home individual state titles, as the Bearcats took fourth place overall in the Division III team title race.
The Mamou boy’s weight lifting team took home 10th place overall and Jaylen Griffin was the state runner-up in the Division III individual contest. Meanwhile, the Sacred Heart boys finished 10th in Division IV with JT Harper bringing home a third place finish and Garrett Fontenot coming out fourth. The Mamou girls were an 11th place finisher in Division III.
Just recently, in the spring sports, the Pine Prairie Lady Panthers found their own piece of the pie, as they were able to work their way to the state runner-up title in Class 3A softball. Staying in softball, the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans made a run to the state tournament, making an appearance in the quarterfinals, while the Mamou Lady Demons were regional round participants.
With the baseball season just wrapping up, the Sacred Heart Trojans found themselves in the Division IV quarterfinals. The Pine Prairie Panthers made their way to the regional playoff game for the first time since 2008 and the Mamou Demons fought their way to a first round appearance in Class 3A.
In track and field, Mamou High’s Tavia Gallow took fourth place in the triple jump with a distance of 35’0 on Saturday at the state meet in Baton Rouge. Basile had two events place as Gavin Christ vaulted 11’0 to take fifth place and the 4X400 meter relay team of Dawson Ashford, Kenan Ivory, Logan Guillory and Jerome Thomas took home seventh place. Ville Platte High’s Kaybrien Ardoin was also a seventh place finisher in the Class 2A high jump with a height of 6’0. Sacred Heart’s Blair Lafleur took home seventh place in the Class 1A long jump going 15’7”.
In golf, the Sacred Heart Trojans managed to place fifth overall at the Division IV championships, shooting 732 as a team. In the tournament, Spencer Thibodeaux shot a 175, Jack LaHaye a 182, Cole Brignac a 183, Gaige Thille a 193 and Lane Wartelle finished with a 198. Pine Prairie’s Colby Dupuis ended up 11th after shooting a 159.
At the state tennis tournament, Sacred Heart’s Sam Gil and Vic Parks got the chance to compete in the big show along with girls doubles partners Karina Parks and Claudia Miller.