| Hard Work Leads to State Championships Published: Thursday, May 1, 2008 The Houma Courier The issue: Vandebilt Catholic softball and boys’ and girls’ tennis teams. We suggest: Congratulations on winning state championships. Winning a high-school state championship is never easy. Hard work, dedication and a little luck are usually needed for any team to make that magical run to a championship. In recent days, those factors helped Vandebilt Catholic parlay three successful seasons into statewide championships. On Saturday, the school claimed its 13th state softball title with a 1-0 win in 10 innings over Live Oak in the Class 4A championship game at Frasch Park in Sulphur. Three days later, Vandebilt took home the boys’ and girls’ tennis titles at the Division II state tennis tournament at Renaissance Health and Racquet Club in Houma. Three state championships in four days is quite an accomplishment for any school. Vandebilt took a different route to winning each championship. In softball, the Lady Terriers relied on the arm of senior pitcher Lauren Crane and solid defense. Vandebilt outscored their five playoff opponents 47-0 en route to the title. In Saturday’s semifinal and championship games, Vandebilt remained focused despite being forced to play a pair of extra- inning games. The Lady Terriers advanced to the title game with a 1-0 win over Belle Chasse in the semifinals. It set the stage for the 10-inning marathon for the title. It was Vandebilt’s first state title since 2006. Vandebilt’s tennis teams also won titles. The boys’ squad captured its first title since 1998 in impressive fashion. A strong start helped the Terriers wrap up the state title on Monday. On Tuesday, Matt Spence gave Vandebilt more reason to celebrate after winning the boys’ singles championship. On the girls’ side, things were not as easy for the Lady Terriers. They were forced to play the waiting game, as they finished tied with Neville. But in the end, Vandebilt’s girls prevailed by winning the tiebreaker with more participants in the semifinals. Sisters Ruth and Jessica Bourque also celebrating another title by winning the girls’ doubles state championship. Vandebilt did more than win three state championships in recent days. It made the school the favorite to win the Southern Quality Ford Cup, which is given to the top high school sports program in each classification. Congratulations to the Vandebilt softball and boys’ and girls’ tennis teams for winning state championships. Hard work and dedication helped propel these teams to the top of their games. |
| Vandebilt Catholic High School Athletic Department |
| Southern Quality Ford Cup Final Standings Louisiana High School Athletic Association BATON ROUGE, La. (May 15, 2008) – With the state championships in all 25 sports now decided, the results are in and the winners of the 2008 Southern Quality Ford Cup have been determined. The Southern Quality Ford Cup is the Louisiana High School Athletic Association's All-Sports Award, which recognizes the most outstanding overall athletic program among member schools in each of the seven classes. The 2008 winner for Class 4A: Vandebilt Catholic High School "This is the second year in a row the Terriers have won the award.. Louisiana's student athletes at all levels performed well both on the field and court as well as in the classrooms. The Southern Quality Ford Dealers are proud of our student athletes and congratulate the Terriers for their accomplishments. Vandebilt Captures Ford Cup By Chris Singleton Staff Writer-The Courier Published: Friday, May 23, 2008 HOUMA -- Winning state titles is a normal thing for the sports teams in Vandebilt Catholic’s athletic program. During the 2007-08 school year, Vandebilt won six state titles in team sports, which helped it claim yet another big honor -- the 2008 Southern Quality Ford Cup trophy. The Ford Cup trophy is presented to one school in each of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s seven classifications that has the highest point total at the end each school year based on the level of success in each of its athletic programs. In dominating fashion, Vandebilt won the Class 4A award with 420 points, which were 100 points more than second place St. Michael (320). Northside finished third with 180 points. Vandebilt finished with highest point total out of any school in the state. St. Louis, the Class 3A winner, was second with 380 points. "It’s a great tribute to the coaches, players, parents, administration and everybody involved with our program," Vandebilt athletic director Calvin Buxton said. "We won six state championships in one year. That’s an incredible accomplishment. It’s really unbelievable." It is the second consecutive year Vandebilt has won the Class 4A Ford Cup title. Buxton said there are many reasons why the school was able to repeat its title. "The organization of our programs, the commitment to excellence, the ability to get these young athletes to focus, and most of all, to have fun, is the reason why we were so successful," Buxton said. In team sports, Vandebilt won its six state titles in boys and girls’ swimming, boys and girls’ tennis, girls’ soccer and softball. The boys’ soccer team was state runner-up. Also, Vandebilt’s volleyball team won the District 5-II title and made its first appearance in the state tournament since 1998, the football and the girls’ basketball teams both advanced to the state quarterfinals, the boys’ cross country team finished second in the state, the girls’ cross country team placed seventh and the boys’ golf team finished fourth at the state meet. Individually, Rachel Laurent won both the indoor and outdoor state track and field titles in the pole vault. Also in boys’ swimming, Kip Pierce won the 200-meter individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke, Curt Theriot won the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke, and the Terriers also won the 200-meter medley relay and the 400-meter freestyle relay. For the Lady Terriers swim team, Monique Lefort won the 100-meter butterfly and the 100-meter breaststroke, and Amber Pierce won the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle events. The girls’ team also won the 200-meter medley relay, the 200-meter freestyle relay and the 400-meter freestyle relay. In boys’ tennis, Vandebilt’s Matt Spence won the Division II state singles title. In girls’ tennis, the sister duo of Ruth and Jessica Bourque claimed the state doubles title. Buxton said the student-athletes are the main ones responsible for the program’s successful. "As coaches, we’re blessed with the most precious gift in the world -- working with kids," Buxton said. "That’s what we do. God’s most precious gift is his kids. We’re lucky to have such a great group of student-athletes." When asked if Vandebilt can win the Ford Cup for the third time next season, Buxton immediately gave his answer. "I don’t see it changing. I think we’re going to continue to do the things that we do," Buxton said. "Of course there’s always a little luck involved, but hard work and dedication pays off. There’s no reason to believe that if we don’t keep working hard, that we can’t stay on the top." Other schools that won Ford Cup trophies this season included St. Joseph’s of Baton Rouge in Class 5A, University Lab in Class 2A, Ouachita Christian in Class 1A, Episcopal of Acadiana in Class B and Elizabeth in Class C. In Class 3A, E.D. White Catholic finished third with 145 points, trailing only St. Louis and Parkview. |
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| Pride, Tradition, Excellence |
