Coach: Blanchard has a chance to make full recovery
November 5, 2016
Don’t count out Coach O just yet
November 8, 2016
Somehow, someway, they did it again.
For yet another year, the South Lafourche swim teams have won the district championship.
The Tarpons and Lady Tarpons continued their dominance in the pool last week, earning enough points to win the title in both the boys and girls meets, which were swam at Nicholls State University pools.
The victories mark the 16th-straight title for the Tarpon boys and the 14th-straight for the girls – a run of dominance that coach Corey Callais said is because of the team’s commitment to continuing on the tradition of excellence within the program.
“There isn’t any big secret,” Callais said when asked about the teams’ successes. “We have a great group of young men and women to work with. They push each other in the pool. They have high expectations of each other – both in the water and out of the water, but most of all, they really care for each other. We use the term ‘family’ to represent us instead of team. Each one doesn’t want to disappoint the other and that helps us with the drive to succeed.”
That family-like atmosphere and team-friendly competitiveness are important for the Tarpons, because in a lot of events, South Lafourche swimmers are racing against their own teammates for the first prize.
In the girls’ meet, the Lady Tarpons were as dominant as can be, accumulating 546 team points – easily enough to outpace runner-up Terrebonne, who swam to 340 points.
South Lafourche’s girls swimmers took up 13 of the 16 spots on the All-District Team, led by sophomore Alanna Smith, who won District MVP honors at the meet after bringing home 40 points.
Also on the all district team were Cameron Aucoin, Faith Boudreaux, Lanie Fournier, Quendon Bourda, Alexandra LaFont, Emily Danos, Hannah Gisclair, Claire Chiasson, Sara Serigny, Addison Duet, Shelby Cheramie and Gabrielle Uzee.
At the district meet, Smith swam the 50-yard freestyle and broke both a school and district record with a time of 25.18 seconds. Smith was also part of a district-record-setting group in the 200-yard medley relay. Together with LaFont, Bourda, and Fournier, the four ladies swam a time of 2-minutes and 6.13 seconds.
South Lafourche also broke a record in the 200-yard freestyle relay with Bourda, Gisclair, Chiasson and Fournier boasting a time of 1-minute and 54.25 seconds.
“We had a really, really successful meet,” Callais said.
“I couldn’t be any prouder of our young ladies,” Tarpons assistant swim coach Connie Callais added. “To have that many on the All-District team constitutes a total team effort. We are so pleased with the contributions that we’ve gotten from everyone throughout the entire season.”
On the boys side, South Lafourche was challenged stiffly throughout the meet, with both Berwick and Terrebonne breathing down the team’s neck throughout the meet.
But at the end of the meet, the Tarpons persevered and found a way to win, scoring 385 total points – enough to top both the Tigers and Panthers, who tied as runners-up with 321 points apiece.
Connie Callais said the key to the boys’ success was a spirited effort from some of the team’s leaders.
Earlier in the season, South Lafourche took on Terrebonne and it was a close, hard-fought meet.
Because of that, the Tarpons knew that they had to bring their A-game at the district meet, which allowed the team to push past its rivals.
Senior Benjamin Berthelot won District MVP for the Tarpons boys, accumulating 40 points on the day. Also earning the honors for the team were Mason Dufrene, Damian Cheramie, Brady Levron, Scotty Bouzigard and Gerald Savoie.
Corey Callais said one key to the boys pulling past Terrebonne and Berwick was adjustments the team made its lineups, allowing the team to maximize its potential points.
“My job is to put us in a position to be as successful as possible,” Callais said. “I am a number cruncher when it comes to the district meet. I love trying to figure where coaches will place their swimmers, so I can counter moves to score as many possible points as we can.”
“He’s a wizard with the numbers,” Connie Callais added. “He spends so, so much time making the lineups and doing thinks to put our kids in positions to have success. He works so hard and puts in so much time to it. The kids pay him back by dedicating themselves, as well.”
But now, it’s on to the State Meet, which will take place from Nov. 16-19.
The Tarpons and Lady Tarpons will be sending a slew of competitors to the final meet of the year – the largest number they’ve ever sent in school history.
Callais said the challenge in the days leading up the meet are simple – continuing the hard work that’s gotten the team this far.
If the Tarpons do that, the coach feels they will score points and have a solid showing at Louisiana’s highest level.
“The kids are working very hard to improve their times from the district meet,” Callais said. “We need to work on turns a little before leaving for state. When you get to that meet, it’s the little things you do in the pool that can make a big difference. I know our kids are ready to step up for the challenge and are super excited to see how we can compete with the best from throughout the state. … I look forward to seeing these young men and women show the rest of the state what our Tarpon family is all about.” •
South Lafourche swimmer Alanna Smith glides graciously through the water during a meet this season. Smith won the District MVP honors for the South Lafourche teams, which won the meet on both the boys and girls sides again this year. Coach Corey Callais said the key to the teams’ successes is a family-like atmosphere.
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