2001 STATE MEET

THE 2001 LHSPLA STATE MEET RETURNED TO THE GOLD DOME ON THE CAMPUS OF ST. AMANT HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE 4th TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE MEET. OVER 500 LIFTERS FROM 5 DIFFERENT CLASSIFICATIONS OF SCHOOLS COMPETED IN THE 2001 STATE MEET. THE OVERALL MEET WAS THE LARGEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE LHSPLA AND PROVIDED SOME OUTSTANDING LIFTING AND COMPETITION BETWEEN THE DIVISION I AND II TEAMS THAT MAKE UP THE LHSPLA. THIS WAS THE 1ST YEAR OF THE NEW FORMAT WHERE THE DIVISION II BOYS/GIRLS STATE MEET WAS HELD ON FRIDAY, WITH THE DIVISION I BOYS/GIRLS STATE MEET BEING CONTESTED ON SATURDAY. CLOSE FINISHES; CONTINUED DOMINANCE AND A FEW NEWCOMERS WERE THE MARKS OF THE 2001 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MEET.

IN A HIGHLY CONTESTED GIRLS 5-A COMPETITION, WHICH RESEMBLED THE 2000 STATE MEET, THE LADY REBELS FROM WEST MONROE DEFENDED THEIR 2000 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. WEST MONORE SCORED 24 POINTS, STATE RUNNER-UP SLIDELL SCORED 22 POINTS AFTER FINISHING 3RD IN BOTH 1999 AND 2000. NEWCOMER EAST ASCENSION PLACED 3RD WITH 17 POINTS, OUTSCORING REGIONAL RIVAL ST. AMANT HIGH SCHOOL BY 1 POINT. WEST MONROE, WITHOUT AN INDIVIDUAL WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPION, SCORED POINTS IN 7 DIFFERENT WEIGHT CLASSES. THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF DANIELLE JACKSON, AMBER TYLER, JJ. HORNE, ALLYSON FONDREN,BRITTNEY SISSON, JENNIFER HALE, PATRICIA CALHOUN AND MELISSA HEARD LED WEST MONROE TO THERE 7TH TEAM TITLE IN 10 YEARS. WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPIONS AMANDA FORET AND ASHLEY SANDERS PACED SLIDELL RUNNER-UP FINISH. EAST ASCENSION PLACED THIRD THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF STATE RUNNER-UP PERFORMANCED BY BRANDY WAGUESPACK AND ANA McNEIL.

IN THE 4-A COMPETITION, IT WAS BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR THE GIRLS FROM ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL. IT WAS THE 10TH STRAIGHT TITLE FOR ASH. ASH SCORED 51 POINTS TO WIN THEIR 4-A TITLE. FINISHING AS STATE RUNNER-UP FOR THE 1ST TIME SINCE 1996 WAS ZACHARY HIGH SCHOOL, SCORING 20 POINTS. BISHOP SULLIVAN PLACED IN THE TOP THREE IN THE GIRLS COMPETITION FOR THE 1ST TIME SCORING 15 POINTS TO SECURE THEIR 3RD PLACE FINISH. LEADING THE GIRLS FROM ASH WERE WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPIONS ADRIAN QUEEN, KRYSTAL KELLY, JESSICA HAYNES AND TAKEIMA DIALS. ZACHARY WAS LED BY STATE RUNNER-UP FINISHERS LaQUONDA JOHNSON AND HELON NAVARRO. BISHOP SULLIVANS'S 3RD PLACE FINISH WAS PACED BY 105 LB. WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPION AMY TRAYLOR.

IN GIRLS 3-A ACTION BRUSLY SCORED 6 POINTS TO OUTDISTANCE THE REST OF THE 3-A FIELD. BRUSLY WAS LED BY 97 LB. CLASS RUNNER-UP JENNIFER PREJEAN. IT WAS THE 5TH TEAM TITLE FOR THE LADY PANTHERS IN 7 YEARS.

IN CLASS 2-A EPISCOPAL HELD ON TO THEIR PRE-MEET RANKING TO DEFEND THE STATE TITLE THEY WON AT THE 2000 DIVISION II MEET. FINISHING SECOND TO EPISCOPAL, SCORING 17 POINTS IN THE PROCESS, WAS FARMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL. BLOCK HIGH SCHOOL PLACED 3RD SCORING 14 POINTS. LEADING THE WAY FOR THE LADY KNIGHTS WERE DIVISION II CLASS CHAMPIONS KRISTEN GUIDRY AND RACHEL CHETTA. ALSO SCORING POINTS FOR EPISCOPAL WERE LAUREN GUIDRY, ALLSION BROWN AND SARAH MACK. LEADING THE WAY FOR FARMERVILLE WERE DIVISION II WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPIONS SHAUNTE THOMPSON AND MISTY BEARDEN. BLOCK WAS LED BY THE EFFORTS OF DIVISION II SHW CHAMPION CATESSA BRANCH.

IN A COMPETITION THAT WAS EVEN CLOSER THAN THE 5-A MEET FOR THE GIRLS, LAKE ARTHUR AND LaSALLE BOTH FINISHED THE MEET WITH 29 POINTS. LAKE ARTHUR WON THE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP BY HAVING 1 MORE CLASS CHAMPION THAN LaSALLE. LAKE ARTHUR WAS PACED BY WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPIONS LAUREN BOUDREAUX AND SARA BROUSSARD. LEADING LaSALLE TO THEIR 2ND PLACE FINISH WAS 165 LB. STATE CHAMPION STEPHANIE DAVIS. FINISHING 3RD IN 1-A AND BELOW WAS FALSE RIVER ACADEMY WHO SCORED 22 POINTS. LEADING THE WAY FOR FALSE RIVER WAS DIVISION II WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPION BRITTA BEU.

THE OUTSTANDING LIFTER AWARDS FOR THE 2001 DIVISION II GIRLS MEET WENT TO THE FOLLOWING LIFTERS.
SARA BROUSSARD, LAKE ARTHUR HIGH SCHOOL IN THE 97 - 132 LB. WEIGHT CLASSES,
BEVERLY BALDWIN, NORTHLAKE CHRISTIAN IN THE 148 LB. - SHW WEIGHT CLASSES.

THE OUTSTANDING LIFTER AWARDS FOR THE 2001 DIVISION I GIRLS MEET WENT TO THE FOLLOWING LIFTERS.
AMY TRAYLOR, BISHOP SULLIVAN IN THE 97 LB. - 132 LB. WEIGHT CLASSES,
TAKEIMA DIALS, ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH IN THE 148 LB. - SHW WEIGHT CLASSES

COACHES OF THE YEAR AWARDS WERE PRESENTED TO:
5-A - CASEY SANDERS, WEST MONROE HIGH SCHOOL
4-A - DUANE URBINA, ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH
3-A - DARREN CHAUVIN, BRUSLY HIGH SCHOOL
2-A - STEVE BARONICH, EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF BATON ROUGE
1-A AND BELOW - FRANK McCOY, LAKE ARTHUR HIGH SCHOOL

CLASSIFICATION COMPETITION FINISHES FOR THE GIRLS STATE MEET IN 2001 WERE AS FOLLOWS:

5-A:
1ST PLACE, WEST MONROE HIGH SCHOOL,
2ND PLACE, SLIDELL HIGH SCHOOL,
3RD PLACE, EAST ASCENSION HIGH SCHOOL.

4-A:
1ST PLACE, ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH (10TH CONSECUTIVE TITLE),
2ND PLACE, ZACHARY HIGH SCHOOL,
3RD PLACE, BISHOP SULLIVAN HIGH SCHOOL.

3-A:
1ST PLACE, BRUSLY HIGH SCHOOL (4TH CONSECUTIVE STATE TITLE),
2ND PLACE, BUCKEYE HIGH SCHOOL,
3RD PLACE, JENA HIGH SCHOOL

2-A:
1ST PLACE, EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL (2ND STATE TITLE),
2ND PLACE, FARMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL,
3RD PLACE, BLOCK HIGH SCHOOL.

1-A AND BELOW:
1ST PLACE, LAKE ARTHUR HIGH SCHOOL (1ST STATE TITLE),
2ND PLACE, LaSALLE HIGH SCHOOL,
3RD PLACE, FALSE RIVER ACADEMY.

IN THE BOYS 5-A COMPETITION FOR 2001 SLIDELL HIGH SCHOOL DEFENDED THE STATE TITLE THAT IT EARNED IN 2000. SLIDELL RETAINED THE 5-A TITLE BY SCORING 53 POINTS. WEST MONROE SCORED 35 POINTS TO PLACE AS STATE RUNNER-UP FOLLOWED UP BY 3RD PLACE ST. AMANT WITH 31 POINTS. IN A MEET THAT FEATURED SOME CLOSE FINISHES, THE 5-A COMPETITION DID NOT FAIL TO KEEP THE INTEREST OF ALL THE FANS DURING THE DAY. SLIDELL RETAINED ITS STATE TITLE BEHIND THE EFFORTS OF CLASS CHAMPIONS SID FORET, ANDREW STREET, KEDRICK GREEN, CODY WALTERS AND TRAVIS CLARK. SLIDELL EARNED THE 2001 STATE TITLE IN THE SAME FASHION THEY DID IN 2000, BY OUT DEADLIFTING THE COMPETITION. LEADING WEST MONROE'S RUNNER-UP EFFORT WAS 165 LB. CLASS CHAMPION DEMARIO TAYLOR AND 220 LB. CLASS STATE RUNNER-UP, CASE SANDERS. LEADING THE WAY FOR ST. AMANT'S 3RD PLACE FINISH WAS SUPERHEAVYWEIGHT CLASS CHAMPION DEAMOND IRVIN.

IN 4-A, ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL ONCE AGAIN DOMINATED THE COMPETITION SCORING 55 POINTS TO OUTDISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM 2ND PLACE SALMEN WITH 33 POINTS AND 3RD PLACE BISHOP SULLIVAN WHO SCORED 32 POINTS. ALEXANDRIA WAS PACED BY THE EFFORTS OF CLASS CHAMPIONS STEPHEN MOSES, ALFONSO HOLMES, EDWARD McCALL AND BRETT ARCENEAUX. SALMEN WAS LED BY CLASS CHAMPIONS JOSH RAY, KEVLIN DOSS AND EDWIN GREENLEE. BISHOP SULLIVAN PLACED A CLOSE THIRD BEHIND SALMEN HIGH SCHOOL ON THE EFFORTS OF 6 CLASS RUNNER-UP PERFORMANCES BY JARED GAINES, JAMES JENKINS, TRAVIS JENKINS, BRAD FONTE, MATT McDONALD AND GREG THERIOT.

RAYNE HIGH SCHOOL DEFENDED THEIR 3-A CROWN BY OUTDISTANCING 2ND PLACE CALDWELL HIGH BY 30 POINTS. RAYNE DEFENDED ITS 2000 STATE TITLE BY SCORING 58 POINTS, CALDWELL PARISH FINISHED 2ND IN 3-A WITH 28 POINTS, FOLLOWED BY 3RD PLACE FINISHER LUTCHER WITH 23 POINTS. CLASS CHAMPIONS SHEA MELANCON, MIKE MELANCON, COREY SIMON, MIKE VAIL AND SCOTT MILLER LED RAYNE HIGH SCHOOLS DEFENSE OF THEIR 3-A TITLE. LEADING THE WAY FOR CALDWELL WERE CLASS CHAMPIONS SANDY CARAWAY, JUSTIN MARTIN, BRANDON HOLMES AND SHONNA WILLIAMS. LUTCHER 3RD PLACE FINISH WAS PACED BY CLASS RUNNER-UP PERFORMANCES BY MARCUS DUHE', JARED O'NEAL AND ARTEZ WEBER.

IN CLASS 2-A, McCALL HIGH SCHOOL WON THEIR 5TH STATE TITLE. IN A CLOSE RACE FOR 2ND, EPISCOPAL SCORED 21 POINTS TO SQUEAK BY OUACHITA CHRISTIAN WHO SCORED 20 POINTS. McCALL WAS LED BY WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPIONS ANTHONY CROCKETT, LANDRY CARTER, DONELL WALKER AND JERMAINE LANG. EPISCOPAL'S STATE RUNNER-UP EFFORT WAS LED BY CLASS RUNNER-UP FINISHES BY CADE SAIZAN AND TAYLOR AINSWORTH. OUACHITA CHRISTIAN'S 3RD PLACE FINISH WAS LED BY CLASS CHAMPIONS RUDY NISWANGER AND BRANDON HURLEY.

IN 1-A AND BELOW ST. EDMUND'S OF EUNICE AND FALSE RIVER ACADEMY ENDED UP THE MEET WITH 39 POINTS. ST. EDMUND WON THE 1-A AND BELOW TITLE ON A TIEBREAKER. BOTH SCHOOLS HAD 3 CLASS CHAMPIONS, BOTH SCHOOLS HAD 3 CLASS RUNNER-UPS. ST. EDMUND WON THE 1-A AND BELOW TITLE ON THE THIRD TIE-BREAKER, THEY HAD 1 3RD PLACE FINISHER AND FALSE RIVER DID NOT HAVE ONE. PLACING 3RD IN THE 1-A AND BELOW COMPETITION WAS LAKE ARTHUR HIGH SCHOOL WITH 25 POINTS. ST. EDMUND WAS LED BY THE EFFORTS OF CLASS CHAMPIONS JIMMY WILSON, JACOB LANGLEY AND BRETT VENABLE. FALSE RIVER WAS LED BY CLASS CHAMPIONS CHAYSE MELANCON, BEN CASHIO AND CHAD NICHOLS. LAKE ARTHUR WAS LED BY CLASS CHAMPION CHAD SOILEAU.

OUTSTANDING LIFTERS IN THE DIVISION I MEET IN 2001 WERE:
DEMARIO TAYLOR, WEST MONROE HIGH SCHOOL - 114 - 165 LB. WEIGHT CLASSES
KENNETH RATLIFF, NATCHITOCHES CENTRAL - 181 LB. TO SHW WEIGHT CLASSES

OUTSTANDING LIFTERS IN THE DIVISION II MEET IN 2001 WERE:
LANDRY CARTER, McCALL HIGH SCHOOL - 114 - 165 LB. WEIGHT CLASSES
JACOB LANGLEY, ST. EDMUND HIGH SCHOOL - 181 LB. TO SHW WEIGHT CLASSES.

2001 COACHES OF THE YEAR AWARDS WERE PRESENTED TO:
5-A - FRANK JABBIA, SLIDELL HIGH SCHOOL
4-A - ERIC COOK, ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH
3-A - EDDIE BERGERON, RAYNE HIGH SCHOOL
2-A - WALTER DAILEY, McCALL HIGH SCHOOL
1-A AND BELOW - PETER MILLER, ST. EDMUND

CLASSIFICATION COMPETITION FINISHES FOR THE BOYS STATE MEET IN 2001 WERE AS FOLLOWS:

5-A:
1ST PLACE, SLIDELL HIGH SCHOOL,
2ND PLACE, WEST MONROE HIGH SCHOOL,
3RD PLACE, ST. AMANT HIGH SCHOOL.

4-A:
1ST PLACE, ALEXANDRIA SENIOR HIGH (10TH CONSECUTIVE TITLE),
2ND PLACE, SALMEN HIGH SCHOOL,
3RD PLACE, BISHOP SULLIVAN HIGH SCHOOL.

3-A:
1ST PLACE, RAYNE HIGH SCHOOL,
2ND PLACE, CALDWELL HIGH SCHOOL,
3RD PLACE, LUTCHER HIGH SCHOOL.

2-A:
1ST PLACE, McCALL HIGH SCHOOL,
2ND PLACE, EPISCOPAL OF BATON ROUGE,
3RD PLACE, OUACHITA CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL