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PHOTO GALLERY: Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo first-go round evening performance

PHOTO GALLERY: Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo first-go round evening performance

American Press31-05-2025
Sulphur cowboy Bryer Prince won scored a 69 point ride in the second-go round of bareback riding at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo on Friday, May 30, 2025, at Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
DeQuincy's Ty Lavergne had a 46 and 69 point ride in the first two rounds of the Louisiana High School FInals Rodeo at the Burton Coliseum. The LHSFR will close today with the short-go round at 5 p.m. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Welsh High School's Campbell Leblanc rounds the second barrel Thursday night during the second-go round at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo at Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Bell City's Cougar Racca won the first-go round on Thurday in tie down roping with a time of 8.41 seconds at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo at the Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Jeff Davis Home School cowboy Cale Carpenter won the steer wrestling first-go round at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo on THursday at the Burton Coliseum with a time of 3.56 seconds. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Kinder High School's Cheyanne Jennings placed eight in the first-go round of breakaway roping with a time of 11.49 seconds on Thursday at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Bell City's Ava Nunez rounds a barrel during the first-go round on Thursday at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo at Burton Coliseum. Nunez's time was 15.828 seconds. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Barbe's Shelbi Barker rounds the second barrel during the first-go round on Thursday at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo at Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Jeff Davis Home School cowgirl Kenzie King placed seventh in the first-go round of barrel racing with a time of 15.664 seconds on Thursday at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Cruz Melanson of Vinton had the second fastest time (8.57 seconds) during tie down roping first-go round on Thursday at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Bell City's Emma Nunez was fifth in the breakaway roping first-go round on Thursday with a time of 2.55 seconds at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Bell City's Alex Poole was fourth in the breakaway roping first-go round on Thursday with a time of 2.35 seconds at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Sulphur's's Saige Martin ropes a calf first-go round on Thursday with a time of 2.35 seconds at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Bell City's Ava Nunez ropes a calf in the first-go round on Thursday with a time of 2.35 seconds at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Sulphur's Williams Gunter cowboy placed fourth the steer wrestling first-go round at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo on THursday at the Burton Coliseum with a time of 6.43 seconds. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Bell City's Jadon Leonard placed second in the steer wrestling first-go round at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo on THursday at the Burton Coliseum with a time of 4.03 seconds. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Barbe's Ella Kay gets ready to tie a goat during the first-go round on Thursday at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo at Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Jeff Davis Home School cowgirl Makayla Stelly chase down a goat during the first-go round of the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo on Thursday at the Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Kacey Prince ties up a goat during the first-go round of the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo on Thursday at the Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Cruz Melanson and Abbey Anderson chase after a calf during the team roping first-go round at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo on Thursday at the Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Bill Odell lides up the calf for heeler Tucker Wright during the team roping first-go round on Thursday at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo at Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Trevor Trahan and K.J. Rideaux posted a time of 17.07 seconds on Thursday in the team roping first-go round at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo at the Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Trevor Trahan and K.J. Rideaux posted a time of 17.07 seconds on Thursday in the team roping first-go round at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo at the Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Jeff Davis Home School cowgirl Kenzie King placed fifth (20.998 seconds) in the pole bending first-go round at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo on Thursday at Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Lacssine cowgirl Lydia Touchet weaves through the poles during the first-go round on Thursday at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo at the Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Welsh cowgirl Campbell Leblanc weaves through the poles during the first-go round on Thursday at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo at the Burton Coliseum. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
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Long road to national title, Ty LaVergne tames bulls at NHSFR
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Long road to national title, Ty LaVergne tames bulls at NHSFR

Rodeo life means thousands of miles and countless hours on the road, but it allows for ample time for reflection. DeQuincy sophomore bull rider Ty LaVergne spent 15 hours and 1,000 miles from Shawnee, Oklahoma, to Rock Springs, Wyoming, thinking about his scoreless week at the International Finals Youth Rodeo. By the time he arrived at the National High School Finals Rodeo, he knew what he had to do and won his first high school national championship. 'I just knew I had to do my job,' LaVergne said. The championship came down to the final round on Saturday at the Sweetwater Events Complex. LaVergne watched the other 19 short-go round qualifiers make a run at the title before he got his shot close 10 p.m. that evening. He needed 63.5 points, but left no doubt that he is one of the rising bull riders in the country with a career-best 87-point ride. After a couple of leaps right out of the game, the bull didn't take it easy on LaVergne as he spun left away from his hand. He spun LaVergne round three times, but he held on for the highest-scoring ride of the week. He didn't show any nerves in his first NHSFR appearance and was the only bull rider to score 80-plus points in all three rounds. He won the first go-round with 86 points and was fifth in the second-go round with 80 points. 'It feels pretty good,' LaVergne said. 'I had a lot of fun. 'I drew really good (bulls) and executed. I drew to win.' LaVergne finished with 253 points while runner-up Wyatt Bowman (Plain City, Utah) had 229.5 points. Carter Shaw of Haughton was third with 228 points. LaVergne's championship at the NHSFR is the first for a Louisiana cowboy or cowgirl since 2020, when Sulphur's Kolby Stelly was the top bull rider and Josey Murphy won the breakaway title. LaVergne and his older brother, Wyatt, each won state championships in May at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo at Burton Coliseum. LaVergne beat defending state champion Brennan Polito 126.4-102.25. The elder LaVergne, the four-time defending Louisiana saddle bronc riding state champion, was looking to win his first NHSFR title, but got off to a rough start after his horse flipped over out of the chute in the first-go round and he was bucked off on his re-ride. He placed seventh in the second-go round at 75.5 but didn't make the short-go round. Wyatt was named as the 2025 recipient of the 35th annual Lane Frost Memorial Scholarship of $4,000. He placed third at the IFYR the week before. Also at the IFYR, Fisher Burnworth of DeQuincy won the bareback riding title with rides of 74, 78 and 83 points. Sulphur's William Gunter finished ninth in steer wrestling at the NHSFR with an aggregate time of 25.37 seconds. His top time was 5.25 seconds, the second-best time in the short-go round on Saturday. He placed third in the first-go round at 5.17 seconds before a 14.95-second time in the second-go round.

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His own man

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Jim Gazzolo column: SLC needs its media darlings
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Jim Gazzolo column: SLC needs its media darlings

(Rodrick Anderson / American Press) In just 11 days, the Southland Conference will host its annual Football Media Day in San Antonio. The league will once again welcome a newcomer, a trend that has been happening frequently in the Southland recently. The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley will kick off its football program this fall, bringing the league to 10 teams in the sport. It is the most football teams the league has had since five left in the summer of 2021. It's not that long ago since the league was on the verge of extension, meaning this is a good time to celebrate and look ahead. All 10 head coaches will be on hand, accompanied by a player from both sides of the football, on July 21. The one-day event will be broadcast live on the SLC YouTube channel starting at 9 a.m. Matt Viator, back as the Cowboys head coach after a nine-year absence, will be joined by junior defensive end Masey Lewis and senior offensive lineman William Bressi in representing McNeese State. What makes this group so interesting is that only one quarterback, Sam Vidlak from Stephen F. Austin, will be on hand. It is hard to think of many other conferences that will have just one of their 20 representatives be a quarterback. Vidlak is considered the best returning quarterback in the league, but there is also only one running back, Houston Christian's Champ Dozier. Most of the players attending play on the lines. That is a significant issue when trying to market a conference. It also shows the change in college football. Skill positions are often the quickest to hit the NCAA transfer portal. At least at the start of this season, the Southland appears to be void of returning big-name stars. That makes things interesting this fall. It also makes things hard to predict. Southland football might be in a better place than it was a couple of years ago, but where it is exactly compared to the rest of the Football Championship Subdivision is a more important question. Last year the league managed to get one team into the 24-team playoffs, a huge disappointment. Since 2013, when the playoffs expanded from 20 to 24 teams, the years the league could count on two, sometimes three of its teams into postseason. Not last year. This season the league must find out if that is a trend or a one-time thing. That is what makes this fall so crucial for the league, which used to be one of the best in the nation on the FCS level. So maybe the SLC hasn't fully recovered from the losses of four years ago. That helps put into focus what this league needs most. The Southland needs to make a statement in big games. The only team to have done that consistently of late is Incarnate Word, which was also the lone program to make the playoffs last year. McNeese had perhaps the biggest nonconference win for the Southland when it beat Weber State on the road. Weber State was ranked No. 25 in the nation at the time. However, the Cowboys finished the season 6-6. With two games against mid-major Football Bowl Subdivision programs (Louisiana-Lafayette and Utah State) along with a home game against Weber, McNeese has a chance to make a statement or two in not only its own favor but that of the league as well. Southland Commissioner Chris Grant has said it's one thing to schedule these games, but it's winning them that will send the message the league is back. For now, we will start with Media Day and just getting some fresh names out there for the SLC. a Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@

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