It has been four years since Ville Platte High has had a powerlifting team. But this season, newly hired head coach Matthew Carmouche is taking Ville Platte to the state meet and the Bulldogs have a shot at some individual and team hardware, as the team is ranked fourth in the state coming into the meet.
The meet which begins this Saturday, will be held in Alexandria at the Rapides Parish Coliseum. Meet start time is set for 9:30.
“The young Bulldogs have been working and striving throughout these past ten weeks,” stated Carmouche. “Our philosophy all season long has been ‘Hard work equals winners.’ We work harder than our opponents and enjoy it. Our athletes understand that there is no easy way around it; we have to dedicate ourselves to being better each and every day.”
“All the work put in after hours, the drive, the passion and the enthusiasm is part of being a champion,” Carmouche continued. “Our goal is to turn the Ville Platte High powerlifting squad into the best in the state and in the nation.”
Here is a list of the individuals competing in the state meet, their weight class and their ranking coming out of the regional meet.
114 lbs.- Jakailan Fontenot- tied for first place; 114 lbs.- Shawn Leblanc- third place; 123 lbs.- Jakeelen Bruno- third place; 123 lbs.- Dustin Lebleu- fifth place; 148 lbs.- Montique Goudy- fifth place; 165 lbs.- Blake Celestine- 11th place; 242 lbs.- Quincy Bias- fifth place; 275 lbs.- Travian Ardoin- first place; 275 lbs.- Zack Bolfa- 11th place.
Carmouche, who was at Pineville last year, has coached three different schools to five state titles. He also has two state runner-up titles.
While at Pineville, Carmouche turned a 10 member girls’ team to a 94 member state championship team and a USAPL Raw Champion. Pineville was No.1 in the nation.
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TRACEY JAGNEAUX Sports Editor