THE 1997 STATE MEET RETURN TO ST. AMANT, LOUISIANA FOR THE SECOND TIME IN LHSPLA HISTORY. THE GOLD DOME WAS THE SITE OF THE CROWNING OF A NEW 5-A GIRLS CHAMPION AS THE HOMETOWN LADY GATORS LIFTERS UNSEATED THE GIRLS FROM WEST MONROE HIGH SCHOOL. THE VICTORY BY THE LADY GATORS BROKE THE 5-YEAR REIGN AS 5-A CHAMPIONS BY THE LADY REBELS. LEADING THE GATORS TO VICTORY WERE THE CAMPANILE TWINS (SHAWN AND SHERI) WHO FINISHED FIRST AND SECOND IN THE 105 LB. WEIGHT CLASS TO SCORE 12 OF THE LADY GATORS 31 TEAM POINTS. OTHER GATOR LIFTERS WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE WIN WERE JENNI HYMEL, MELISSA BURTON, ANDI LeBOURGEOIS AND BRIDGETTE DAVIS. KARRIE CATES AND THE 181 LB. CLASS STATE CHAMPION YUMECA HAMBURG LED WEST MONROE. ST. AMANT’S 31 POINTS WERE ENOUGH TO HELP EDGE OUT THE LADY REBELS WHO SCORED 26 POINTS. BASTROP HIGH SCHOOL FINISHED 3RD IN THE 5-A COMPETITION AND WERE LED BY THE 198 LB. CLASS CHAMPION CARA NEBLETT.
IN THE GIRLS 4-A COMPETITION ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH MADE IT 6 IN A ROW. THE GIRLS FROM ASH SCORED 44 POINTS TO OUT DISTANCE 2ND PLACE BOLTON WITH 15 POINTS AND 3RD PLACE ZACHARY WITH 14 POINTS. WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPIONS STEPHANIE McMILLIAN, KIMMY BARBERA AND JESSICA MILAZZO LED ASH. OTHER LIFTERS WHO HELPED CONTRIBUTE TO ASH’S 6TH STRAIGHT 4-A TITLE WERE: JILLIAN LONG, OLIVIA SMITH, COURTNEY GAMBURG AND LEAH GOODEN. SHAW CHAMPION AMANDA SIMMONS LED BOSTON TO THEIR 2ND PLACE FINISH IN THE 4-A COMPETITION. LEADING ZACHARY’S THIRD PLACE EFFORTS WERE 123 LB. CLASS CHAMPION JOHNNA WOMACK.
IN CLASS 3-A, McCALL WON ITS 4TH STRAIGHT 3-A CHAMPIONSHIP IN AS MANY YEARS SCORING 12 TEAM POINTS. FARMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL FINISHED AS STATE RUNNER-UP WITH 7 POINTS FOLLOWED BY BRUSLY HIGH SCHOOL WITH 2 POINTS. McCALL WAS LED BY THE EFFORTS OF LAKEILA WILLIAMS AND MELVIA WRIGHT. FARMERVILLE’S LEADING LIFTER WAS 132 LB. STATE CHAMPION NINA GARDNER.
IN THE 2-A COMPETITION THE BUCKEYE LADY PANTHERS WON THEIR FIRST EVER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SCORING 26 TEAM POINTS. EPISCOPAL SCORED 17 POINTS TO FINISH AS STATE AA RUNNER-UP WITH ROSEPINE HIGH SCHOOL PLACING 3RD SCORING 16 TEAM POINTS. LEADING THE WAY FOR BUCKEYE WERE SARAH NEWMAN AND AIMEE LAVEWPERE. EPISCOPAL LEADING LIFTERS WERE LAUREN SOLANAS AND ROBIN YOUNG. THE LEADING LIFTER FOR ROSEPINE WAS SHANA SIMMONS.
IN THE 1-A AND BELOW COMPETITION LSD WON ITS 2ND STRAIGHT AND 3RD OVERALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SCORING 21 POINTS IN THE PROCESS. LSD FINISHED AHEAD OF SECOND PLACE LaSALLE HIGH SCHOOL WHO SCORED 13 POINTS. LEADING LSD TO VICTORY WERE TAMMY DAVID, JENNY LEE, AND LATOYEA ARMSTRONG. DENA JAMESON, NIKKI THOMPSON, AND AMY FRYAR LED LaSALLE TO THEIR 2ND PLACE FINISH.
OUTSTANDING LIFTERS AT THE 1997 LHSPLA GIRLS STATE MEET WERE:
JOHNNA WOMACK OF ZACHARY HIGH SCHOOL IN THE 97 - 132 LB. WEIGHT CLASSES AND KIMMY BARBERA IN THE 148 - SHW WEIGHT CLASSES.
COACHES OF THE YEAR AWARDS WERE PRESENTED TO:
5-A - PAUL FLETCHER, ST. AMANT HIGH SCHOOL
4-A - DUANE URBINA, ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH
3-A - WALTER DAILEY, McCALL HIGH SCHOOL
2-A - ED NEWMAN, BUCKEYE HIGH SCHOOL
1-A AND BELOW - RUTH KRISOPP, LOUISIANA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF
CLASSIFICATION COMPETITION FINISHES FOR THE GIRLS STATE MEET IN 1997 WERE AS FOLLOWS:
5-A: 1ST PLACE, ST. AMANT HIGH SCHOOL (1ST STATE CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE SCHOOL’S
HISTORY), 2ND PLACE, WEST MONROE HIGH SCHOOL, 3RD PLACE, BASTROP HIGH SCHOOL.
4-A: 1ST PLACE, ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH (6TH CONSECUTIVE TITLE), 2ND PLACE, BOLTON
HIGH SCHOOL, 3RD PLACE, ZACHARY HIGH SCHOOL.
3-A: 1ST PLACE, McCALL HIGH SCHOOL, 2ND PLACE, FARMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, 3RD
PLACE, BRUSLY HIGH SCHOOL.
2-A: 1ST PLACE, BUCKEYE HIGH SCHOOL (1ST STATE CHAMPIONSHIP), 2ND PLACE, EPISCOPAL
HIGH SCHOOL, 3RD PLACE, ROSEPINE HIGH SCHOOL
1-A AND BELOW: 1ST PLACE, LOUISIANA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF (2ND STRAIGHT, 3RD OVERALL),
2ND PLACE, LaSALLE HIGH SCHOOL.
THERE WERE 124 LIFTERS FROM 27 SCHOOLS THAT COMPETED IN THE 1997 LHSPLA GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MEET.
IN THE BOYS 5-A COMPETITION THE ST. AMANT GATORS ALSO UNSEATED THE DEFENDING 5-A CHAMPION WEST MONROE REBELS TO WIN THERE 1ST EVER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. ST. AMANT SCORED 27 TEAM POINTS TO TOP THE REBELS WHO SCORED 15 TEAM POINTS FOR THERE 2ND PLACE FINISH. ROUNDING OUT THE TOP 3 WAS COVINGTON HIGH SCHOOL WHICH SCORED 11 POINTS. LEADING THE GATORS TO VICTORY WAS 198 LB. CLASS CHAMPION DAVID DAVIS. OTHER GATOR LIFTERS WHO PLACED AND SCORED POINTS WERE ERIK BONNEVAL, JEFF MILES AND JON MOREAU. TOMMY BANKS; THE 242 LB. CLASS CHAMPION LED THE WEST MONROE’S BOYS TO THEIR 2ND PLACE FINISH. LEADING THE WAY FOR COVINGTON HIGH SCHOOL WAS 220 LB. CLASS CHAMPION, LOUIS NICAUD.
ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL MADE IT 6 IN A ROW IN 1997 BY SCORING 40 TEAM POINTS TO TAKE THE 4-A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. TIOGA HIGH SCHOOL FINISHED AS STATE RUNNER-UP WITH 20 POINTS AND FINISHING 3RD WAS ST. THOMAS MORE HIGH SCHOOL WITH 12 POINTS.
LEADING ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH TO VICTORY WAS 148 LB. CLASS CHAMPION DENNIS CHEN. OTHER ASH LIFTERS WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE VICTORY WERE TRENT ZARAGOZA, CHAD HALLMAN, T.J. SASSER, AND JEFF LABORDE. WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPIONS DOUG PHILLIPS AND CHRIS JOHNSON LED TIOGA. STATE SHW CHAMPION MIKE DEVRIES LED ST. THOMAS MORE TO THEIR 3RD PLACE FINISH.
IN 3-A COMPETITION McCALL HIGH SCHOOL WON THEIR 2ND STRAIGHT TRIPLE-A TITLE. THIS WAS McCALL’S THIRD OVERALL TITLE. McCALL SCORED 5 POINTS TO OUTDISTANCE 3-A RUNNER-UP PORT ALLEN HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH SCORED 3 POINTS. FARMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL ALSO SCORED 3 POINTS BUT PLACED 3RD IN TRIPLE-A IN A TIEBREAKER. JESSIE GALVIN LED McCALL’S FIRST PLACE EFFORTS. PORT ALLEN’S LEADING LIFTER WAS JOSH LALONDE. LEADING FARMERVILLE TO THEIR 3RD PLACE FINISH WAS GEROME WALLACE AND TREY LAVALLE.
IN CLASS 2-A, LAKE ARTHUR HIGH SCHOOL (1996 STATE RUNNER-UP) MOVED UP THE TOP SPOT IN CLASS 2-A. LAKE ARTHUR SCORED 24 TEAM POINTS TO OUTSCORE ROSEPINE WITH 13 POINTS AND 3RD PLACE BUCKEYE WHICH SCORED 9 POINTS. LEADING THE WAY FOR LAKE ARTHUR HIGH SCHOOL WAS 275 LB. STATE CHAMPION CODY SIMON. TOP LIFTERS FOR ROSEPINE WERE TRENT JAMES, MATT STROTHER AND SHANE BROWN. PAVING THE WAY FOR BUCKEYE’S 3RD PLACE FINISH WERE CHRIS WHEATHERFORD AND CORY MORACE.
OUACHITA CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL CLAIMED THE TOP SPOT IN 1-A AND BELOW WITH 30 TEAM POINTS FOR THEIR 2ND STATE TITLE IN A ROW. ST. EDMUND’S OF EUNICE FINISHED 2ND WITH 23 POINTS WITH FALSE RIVER ACADEMY PLACING THIRD WITH 18 TEAM POINTS. 165 LB. CLASS CHAMPION WILLIS BRITTON LED OUACHITA CHRISTIAN ALONG WITH THE VALUABLE TEAM POINTS THAT WERE EARNED BY BRANDON BROWN AND LARRY DOYLE. ST. EDMUND’S WAS LED BY TRAVIS SOILEAU. FALSE RIVER WAS LED BY THE EFFORTS OF RANDY POURCIAU AND JOHN EWING.
OUTSTANDING LIFTERS IN THE 1997 MEET WERE TREY CUNNINGHAM FROM PINEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL IN THE 114 - 165 LB. WEIGHT CLASSES AND CHRIS JOHNSON FROM TIOGA HIGH SCHOOL IN THE 181 - SHW WEIGHT CLASSES.
COACHES OF THE YEAR AWARDS WERE PRESENTED TO:
5-A - JOHN TALLEY, ST. AMANT HIGH SCHOOL
4-A - DUANE URBINA, ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH
3-A - WALTER DAILEY, McCALL HIGH SCHOOL
2-A - DUSTY SIMON, LAKE ARTHUR HIGH SCHOOL
1-A AND BELOW - ERIC HOWELL, OUACHITA CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL
CLASSIFICATION COMPETITION FINISHES FOR THE BOYS STATE MEET IN 1997 WERE AS FOLLOWS:
5-A: 1ST PLACE, ST. AMANT HIGH SCHOOL (1ST STATE CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE SCHOOL’S
HISTORY), 2ND PLACE, WEST MONROE HIGH SCHOOL, 3RD PLACE, COVINGTON HIGH SCHOOL.
4-A: 1ST PLACE, ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH (6TH CONSECUTIVE TITLE), 2ND PLACE, TIOGA
HIGH SCHOOL, 3RD PLACE, ST. THOMAS MORE HIGH SCHOOL.
3-A: 1ST PLACE, McCALL HIGH SCHOOL (2ND STRAIGHT 3-A TITLE, 3RD OVERALL), 2ND
PLACE, PORT ALLEN HIGH SCHOOL, 3RD PLACE, FARMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL.
2-A: 1ST PLACE, LAKE ARTHUR (1ST STATE CHAMPIONSHIP), 2ND PLACE, ROSEPINE HIGH
SCHOOL, 3RD PLACE, BUCKEYE HIGH SCHOOL
1-A AND BELOW: 1ST PLACE, OUACHITA CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL (2ND STRAIGHT TITLE),
2ND PLACE, ST. EDMUND’S HIGH SCHOOL, 3RD PLACE, FALSE RIVER ACADEMY
THE 1997 LHSPLA BOYS STATE MEET HOSTED 204 LIFTERS FROM 45 DIFFERENT MEMBER SCHOOLS.