BY DAVID FOLSE II

Sports Editor

LAPLACE-A new coach, a new approach.

The impact was immediately felt.

With new Head Coach Erin Fritscher institution a no-nonsense stress of the fundamentals and behind a pair of record-setting relay runs, Riverlands Country Club finished as the runners-up in the River Parishes Invitational this past weekend.

Riverlands was paced by several swimmers who had successful weekends. Wesley Melancon had 201 total points, Lauren Smith had 215 points, Merryn Guidry had 215 points, Kyle Wilking had 225 points, Eric Anderson had 222 points, Ross Brignac had 242 points and Cody Chauppetta had 201 points.

“This was definitely a big accomplishment,” Fritscher said after the meet. “We made a lot of changes this year. That had a lot to do with it. We incorporated a lot of discipline and we went back to the fundamentals. We had to re-teach some things to the kids, but in the end it really ended up helping us.

“We started two weeks earlier with the young kids stressing the fundamentals and had clinic after clinic. We just continued to work on it as much as we could and you could see the times start to drop.”

While many thought it was a forgone conclusion that favorite Larayo would come out on top, Fritscher said that her squad is not far away from contending for the title.

“I feel that we should strive to get first place in every meet that we compete in,” Fritscher said. “I think that we are going to shorten the gap between us and Larayo. Right now, coming in second in this meet was a great accomplishment.”

RIVERLANDS INDIVIDUAL POINT TOTALS

Courtney Bates- 116

Natalie St. Martin- 68

Wesley Melancon- 201

Hayden Cashio- 65

William Torres- 39

Jordan St. Pierre- 32

Rhett LeBlanc- 16

Albert Hanes- 175

Keegan Smith- 128

Cameron Torres- 34

Gabrielle Montz- 194

Kelsey Richoux- 183

Maddie Guidry- 123

Ansley St. Pierre- 97.50

Jack Young-107

Lauren Smith- 215

Merryn Guidry- 215

Kayleigh Smith- 120

Laura Hanes- 105

Courtney Fredrick- 67

Julie Melancon- 58

Rachael Montz- 36

Mathew Torres- 128

Molly Hutchins- 180

Jeanne Loisel- 62

Erika Montz- 49

Caroline Torres- 47

Kyle Wilking- 225

Eric Anderson- 222

Bryan Comiskey- 152

Brett Landry- 71

Allison Young- 15

Chesley Brignac- 103

Ashley Wilking- 101

Ross Brignac- 242

Cody Chauppetta- 201

Derek Waguespack- 187

Trey Guidry- 89