By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE — LARAYO’s Emily Schexnayder, Cody Schafer and Maggie Trepagnier each captured a trio of first place finishes to lead the Barracudas to victory in the River Parish Swim League Invitational over the weekend at LARAYO.

The event was held over three days, with preliminary rounds on Friday and Saturday and the championship round on Sunday. All seven swim league teams participated. The event was co-hosted by Belle Terre and LARAYO.

For LARAYO, the win extends a string of Invitational championships; the Barracudas combine the win with the regular season crown it nailed down during the regular season.

“I was absolutely pleased with everyone’s effort,” said LARAYO coach Michelle Jensen. “We had so many swimmers, come away with a personal best time. It’s definitely an accomplishment for all of them.”

Unlike the regular season meets, which pitted two clubs against one another, the Invitational holds qualifying rounds and advances 18 swimmers to the finals. All 18 are eligible to score points, as opposed to only the top three in the regular season, stressing the depth of clubs.

Drew Schafer, Kaile Levatino, Kelly Campbell and Ben East each won two events to help spur the Barracudas to victory.

Noelle Remondet, Alyssa Hooge, Jayce Tamplain, Ben Schiff, Paige Williams, Luke Jackson, Austin Matherne, Meredith Keating and Kaitlyn Lowry each captured victory in an event each to round out LARAYO winners.

Meanwhile, Riverlands improved its standing from a year ago, finishing second this season after a fourth-place finish in 2011.

For the Stingrays, it further justified their regular season finish of second place, as the Stingrays outdistanced the remaining teams by a strong margin.

“I was very happy and very proud of everyone,” said Riverlands coach Lindsey Vicknair. “I really thought that this year’s team showed a lot of dedication and maturity. The older kids were out there helping to pump up the six and under’s, leading by example at the meets and at practice. All of that is important.”

Jordan St. Pierre led Riverlands with wins in two events.Anna Guidry and Grace Richoux each captured one win for the Stingrays.

For Belle Terre, Colby Watkins shined, leading the way with a pair of first place finishes as well as a second place finish.

LARAYO finished the event with a score of 13.585.50. Riverlands scored 7,795. La Vacherie (6,892.50), Hill Heights (4,859.50), Ellington (4,726), Sun Villa (4,015) and Belle Terre (3,420.50) rounded out the standings.