By GEORGE MAHL

LAPLACE -The St. Charles Catholic High School swim teams have reason to celebrate.

Recently, the Comets claimed the state championship in the boys division, while the girls finished in fifth place at state competitions held at the University of New Orleans.

Individual awards went to junior Jason Brignac for finishing in third in the 100-yard breastroke, sophomore Cody Chauppetta, third in the 200-yard freestyle, and Ross Brignac, a freshman, claimed second place in the 200-yard individual medley.

For the girls, freshman Camile Poche, second in the 500-yard freestyle, sophomore Jamie Jones took home second in the 100-yard breastroke and Page Braud secured third in the 100-yard backstroke.

First-year head coach Denise Falgoust said she was pleased the most with the teams’ work ethic.

“All of our boys improved their times at state meets,” said Falgoust.

Assistant coach Angie Louque added, “They (members of the boys team) performed better at meets than in practice.”

Senior Kelly Cupit said the girls team members were proud of what they accomplished.

“The girls did real well also. I increased my time which is something I wanted to do. I wanted to beat what I accomplished earlier,” Cupit said.

Cupit, along with seniors Brooke Tillman and Natalie Lambert, agreed Falgoust and Louque are more than just coaches and pool-side mentors.

“They are kind of like second mothers to us. We are giving them the official coaches of the year award,” Cupit said.

Just having a swim team at the LaPlace private school this year is an accomplishment for both coaches. Louque and Falgoust fought hard for a swim team and its funding.

“We have had some parents come up to us and thank us for it. I think most people consider swimming a secondary sport and not a main sport. This might change things a little,” said Louque.

At the state championship, which was held Nov. 21-23, SCC competed against E.D. White High School, Lutcher High School, and St. Louis Catholic.

“I would describe this season as a learning experience for us. I used to play volleyball but dropped out to concentrate on swimming,” Lambert said.

Tillman, who has been swimming since ninth-grade, thought the team could have done a little better than fifth place but overall she was pleased with the team effort.

“We worked as a team well this year. I think credit for that goes to our coaches because they made it competitive but fun,” Tillman said.