By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE — The LARAYO dynasty officially continues on.

The Barracudas left no doubt as to who would lay claim to the River Parish Swim League crown this season, capping another tremendous start-to-finish campaign with a 475.5-77.5 victory over Belle Terre.

“As a coach, it’s extremely rewarding to see these kids excel,” said LARAYO coach Michelle Jensen. “You see their progress from year to year and get to see them mature.

“Of course, I’m a competitive person and I want to see them reach their potential. I’m proud of all of them. So many of them show their dedication year after year.”

Emily Schexnayder, Kelsie Williams, Cody Schafer and Maggie Trepagnier all had big nights for the champions, winning three events.

Matthew Schexnayder, Carter Cortez, Kaile Levatino, Kelly Campbell, Eden Simoneaux, Jordan Jensen and Austin Matherne helped the LARAYO (6-0) cause with two wins each,

Hudson Heltz, Noelle Remondet, Drew Schafer, Faith Reed, Evan Brady, Luke Brouwer, Jayce Tamplain, Gavin Babish, Madison Weber, Jacob Jensen, Paige Williams, Luke Jackson, Ben East and Meredith Keating rounded out the Stingray individual winners with a victory each.

For Belle Terre, Colby Watkins led the way with three first place victories.

Rebecca Grote captured two events for the Piranhas and Madison Torres came away with one victory in their final regular season meet.  

Jensen acknowledged her team’s advantage in numbers: the Barracudas are the league’s largest team with 150 members. But she also pointed to the work ethic and dedication that the Barracuda swimmers showed in the drive for an undefeated season.

“The numbers certainly help, especially when it comes to kids playing ball and having people to fill in. But it doesn’t take away from what those kids accomplish in the pool. Kids that have been here since they were four years old, who come back year after year, dedicated to our team and organization.

“For me, personally, you’ve got parents of swimmers here, and those parents swam with me. So it’s a kind of cool thing to coach them and see how well they’ve done.”

While the regular season has concluded, and a champion crowned the swim season is not yet over. LARAYO and Belle Terre are co-hosting the annual River Parish Swim League Invitational, which will run next weekend, July 9-11. The meet will pit all seven league teams against one-another to crown an Invitational champion.

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