Ascension Athletics for May 11, 2017 – The Advocate

Lady Bulldogs win state title in Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Outdoor Track Meet in Class 1-A

It came down to the wire and the Ascension Catholic High Lady Bulldogs came away with a 1-point victory in the Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Outdoor Track meet in Bernie Moore Stadium at LSU. After the points were added up, Ascension Catholic had 63 points to best runner-up Haynesvilles 62 points.

The Lady Bulldogs finished first and second in the 3,200-meter run with Sophie Daigle winning with a time of 12:02.90 and teammate Breanna Bernard placing second with 12:07.72, pulling the Lady Bulldogs ahead of Haynesville. The Golden Tornados came back and won the final event of the meet in the 4x400 relay but fell 1 point short.

Ascension Catholic had first and third finishes in the 1,600- and 800-meter races as Sophie Daigle won the 1,600 with a 5:33.17 time and Haley Dupre turned in a 5:39.21 time. In the 800-meter race, Daigle won with a time of 2:25.03, and Stephanie Breaux took third with 2:32.95. Daigle ran the final leg of the 4x400 and helped her team to a fourth place finish with a time of 4:20.02. Daigles performance earned her the meets outstanding girls performer accolades.

In the field events for the Lady Bulldogs, Kenshell Davis placed third in shot put with 33-11 and fifth in discus with 95-11. In the track events, first in 1,600 meters went to Daigle, 5:33.17 and third to Dupre, 5:39.21; Daigle took first in the 800 meters with a time of 2:25.03, and Breaux placed third with a time of 2:32.95; in the 400 meters, Whitney Eure took sixth place with a time of 1:05.80; in 3,200 meters, Daigle placed first at 12:02.90, and Bernard placed second at 12:07.72; and in the 4x400 relay, Ascension Catholic placed fourth at 4:20.02.

In the boys division, the Ascension Catholic Bulldogs finished in eighth place with a total of 18 points. In the track events, Thomas Daigle took first place in the 800-meter run for Ascension Catholic with a time of 2:01.15. In the 3,200-meter, Logan Thibodeaux took third place for the Bulldogs with a 10:20.41, time and Thomas Daigle won fifth place with 10:42.28.

In Class 5A competition boys team totals, Dutchtown finished in 21st with 11 points and St. Amant in 27th with 5 points. In the 800-meter race, Parker McBride was first for the Dutchtown Griffins with a time of 1:52.68.

In the girls division team totals, the Dutchtown took seventh place with 28 points, and St. Amant took 15th place with 10 points. Individual results in the field events included Morgan Tidwells second place in the javelin for St. Amant with a throw of 127-1. Dutchtowns outstanding performer all season, Leah Scott, took second place in the long jump with an 18-9 jump and first place in the triple jump with a 37-4 leap. Tara Stuntz won second place in the 3,200-meter for Dutchtown with a time of 11:23.81.

In the Class 3A boys division, the Donaldsonville Tigers took 14th place with 16 points.

In the field events, Davon Wright took second place honors in the shot put for Donaldsonville with a toss of 53-6. In the track events, Donaldsonville was second place in the 4x100 relay with a time of 42.46. The girls team total for the Lady Tigers was a 23rd place finish with 6 points. In the 4x100 relay, Donaldsonville finished in third place with a 49.79 time.

The Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association has been the curator of the Louisiana state fish records since the 1940s. Although the numbers of record applications are not quite as high as previous years, the fish submitted by anglers have been pretty impressive.

The year began with a new state record in the fly rod division. Michael Lee Clark was using a Bissetts Mudbug fly fishing in the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet when he hooked and landed a 9.66-pound Sheepshead on Jan. 30. Clarks record fish bettered the previous record caught by Charles M. Johnson Jr. in January 2014 in Lake Eloi that weighed 9.25 pounds.

The second fish caught in 2017 qualified for another state record, as well. Christian Legrand, of Slidell, was fishing on the Bushwacker captained by Dan LeBlanc at the Horseshoe Lumps when a 140-pound pound amberjack walloped a piece of cut bonita and gave Legrand the fight of his life. The fish knocked off the record amberjack on the books caught by Bill Weldon back in May 2009 that weighed in at 139 pounds.

On Jan. 27, David Loewen fishing on the Voodoo with captain Joey Davis out of Venice Marina landed a new state record blackfin tuna. Loewens blackfin knocked out Robert Carriers 37.60-pounder that had held the record for over 16 years, caught back in February 2001.

Then, on April 22, a giant bluefin tuna was landed by Kaleb Richardson, 15, of Lafayette, that is pending certification for the state records. Although not a first place fish, the 833-pound tuna certainly qualifies as impressive.

Kaleb was fishing on his dads boat, the Whoo Dat, with Capt. Chris Mowad out of Grand Isle in the Green Canyon rigs. The boat already had a hefty catch of big yellowfin tuna when they saw what they thought was another big yellowfin busting some bait.

The crew set out the trolling spread, and on the second pass where they saw the fish hit, a submarine looking fish hit one of the baits and the fight was on for the 15-year-old. Though landing the big fish was quite an accomplishment, Kaleb's had lots of experience fighting big offshore fish.

This is the time of the year that anglers from all over our state and visitors across the U.S. hit the waters of Louisiana to participate in some of the most outstanding fishing any in the world. Were not called the Sportsmans Paradise for nothing.

So if youre one of the many who will be out there, it would be worth your while to go to laoutdoorwriters.com and view the state fish records just in case you catch one that would qualify in the top 10 of the species of fish you might catch on your trip.

The Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association keeps the state records, and categories are kept for Rod & Reel Division along with a Fly Rod Division in both fresh and salt water. There also is a Pond Division kept for private waters, although that division does not qualify in the Fish of the Year competition as the other categories do.

An angler can also view or print out an application that must be completed and sent to the fish records curator for approval. It is self-explanatory, but here are a few tips so you might not be overwhelmed about the process.

First, you dont have to be in a mad rush. There is a 60-day period after the date the fish is caught to get the application in. The fish must be weighed on a scale that is certified by the Louisiana State Agriculture Department. All grocery stores have them and so does any place that sells any type of food, produce or seafood by the pound.

There must be two witnesses to the weighing process who will sign the application stating they saw the weight listed on the application. A state-certified fish biologist must examine the fish and fill out that part of the application, as well. A photo of the angler, the fish and rod used to catch the fish is required. Page 2 consists of 10 rules that must be checked off. There are a few more things to fill out that are informational and easily accomplished.

If there are any questions about the process, an email can be sent from the website, as well as a phone number for the records curator. Really, folks, take a look at the records because I guarantee that there will be some fish caught this year that would qualify for a state record that wont be entered.

Lyle Johnson, a writer and host of the Ascension Outdoors cable TV show, covers sports and the outdoors for The Ascension Advocate. He can be contacted at reelman@eatel.net or ascension@theadvocate.com.

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Ascension Athletics for May 11, 2017 - The Advocate