By Malcolm Butler
While one Lincoln Parish high school program was receiving their state championship rings, another one was winning a state title.
And while one Lincoln Parish collegiate program was recording a historic win … well another one was doing the same thing.
Wednesday was wild for some of our area teams.
It was a day that would have made the late Buddy Davis’s fingers salivate on his keyboard. Buddy would have loved it.
Head coach Jerrod Baugh, Ruston High principal Dan Gressett and the rest of the RHS coaching staff held a surprise party of sorts Wednesday during the lunchtime hour for the 2023 Non-Select School Division I state champion Bearcat players and support staff.
It was full of rings and bling.
Each Bearcat received their state title ring and a replica miniature trophy like the one that will live in the hallways of Ruston High forever. Baugh even quipped during the start of the ceremony how some players who had caught rumor of the gathering thought it was a meeting for Baugh to announce he was leaving.
It was anything but.
Baugh and these Bearcats are happy and thanks to the generosity of a number of local business and people, they now have the memorabilia to prove it. There was nothing but smiles in the RHS Auditorium.
While Ruston was receiving state title bling, the Cedar Creek’s boys powerlifting team was winning (another) one in Lafayette. Congrats to head coach Jacob Angevine and the Cougars.
It marks the program’s seventh on the boys side, the most of any Class A school in the state.
Nine of the 11 Cougars who participated in the state meet earned a podium (top 3) finish led by Lawson Lillo, Carter Lewis and Landon Amidon each capturing their respective weight classes.
Cedar Creek ran away from the field, avenging last year’s heart-breaking narrow loss in the state championships. Made it even sweeter for these Cougars.
A little bit of a coincidence that the Green (and Gold) won the state title the week following St. Patrick’s Day. I think not. Now they can look forward to their own ring ceremony in the coming months.
Wednesday wasn’t just for the preps in Lincoln Parish.
Grambling State’s men’s basketball team made its own history, defeating Montana State 88-81 in overtime in Dayton in one of the four play-in games of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Not only was it the G’s first ever NCAA Tournament appearance on the men’s side, but it’s now the Tiger first ever NCAA Tournament win.
Although a loss wouldn’t have taken away from the G-Men’s incredible season that culminated with both the SWAC regular season and tournament titles, a win sure helps validate it. And it puts them in the traditional Field of 64 now as they head to face No. 1 seed Purdue on Friday.
It will be a tall task — as in 7-foot-4 Zach Edey of the Boilermakers — to find a way to pull what would be only the third ever 16 vs. 1 upset since the field expanded to at least 64 in 1985, but if UMBC and Fairleigh Dickinson can do it, why can’t these Tigers?
As the clock was winding down in the Tigers hardwood win, the final out was being recorded at Dr. Billy Bundrick Field Wednesday night.
As Caroline Easom tossed the ball to Aubree Seaney to record the final out of Louisiana Tech’s 5-3 win over UL-Lafayette on the softball diamond, you could almost hear a sigh of relief. Yes, that was me.
Tech’s 31-game losing streak to the Ragin’ Cajuns that dated back to 1998 came to an end and it did so in dramatic fashion.
After spotting the Ragin’ Cajuns — who just snapped Oklahoma’s 71-game winning streak a few weeks ago — a 3-0 lead, the Bulldogs rallied for the final five runs.
The smallest player in the park was 5-foot-1 Alannah Rogers of the Bulldogs. They say good things come in small packages, and Rogers proved them right.
Her first collegiate home run — a 3-run shot over the right field wall — stoked the fire as the Bulldogs won arguably the biggest game in head coach Josh Taylor’s three-year career in the red and blue.
Congratulations is in order for all four teams. You made Lincoln Parish proud on a wacky Wednesday.
