Productive fall season coming to end with 6 state championships

By Ron Brocato
Clarion Herald

The fall sports season will come to an end with the Dec. 8-10 Prep Classic football championships in the Caesars Superdome, but teams from Archdiocese of New Orleans schools have already left their marks on Louisiana high school sports.

Jesuit’s cross country and swim teams have captured the Division I state championships in those early school year sports, Dominican defeated district rival Mount Carmel for the Division I volleyball title, and swim teams from St. Scholastica and Holy Cross have won Division II titles in the girls’ and boys’ divisions, respectively.

Pope John Paul II took home the boys’ Division IV swim championships’ gold trophy, while the girls’ team was the D-III runner-up.

The most demonstrative performance came from Jesuit’s cross country team that swept the top five spots in the state meet at Northwestern Louisiana University’s course.

Jack Desroches turned in a time of 14:46 for the three-mile run, followed, in order by teammates Brady Mullen, Robert Buisson, Patrick Dowd and Michael Vocke.

The Blue Jays’ swimmers amassed 365 points to easily outscore runner-up Catholic by 63 points.

St. Scholastica swimmers tallied 409 points to claim the Division II top prize, and Holy Cross outpointed runner-up Lakeshore, 262 points to 241.5.

Holy Cross also claimed the Division II boys’ cross country

runner-up trophy, and distance runners from the Academy of the Sacred Heart won the girls’  Division II cross country trophy.

Dominican added a second trophy to its collection with a runner-up finish in the girls’ Division I  swim meet.

With heavy hearts, Pope John Paul II’s volleyball team was runner-up to Newman in the Division IV tournament finals, losing in three hardfought sets.

The Jaguars played without head coach Danny Tullis, who rushed home following the news his son, Christian, had died in an automobile accident following the team’s semifinal round win over Academy of the Sacred Heart.

The Jaguars players dedicated the game to Christian’s memory. His sister, Ali, was a senior setter.