By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE — LARAYO swim league championships usually seem as reliable as sunset, and indeed the Barracudas clinched at least a share of that honor Thursday night in a 439-106 victory over a young Ellington squad.

The win left the Barracudas (5-0) one win away from the outright crown and yet another undefeated season. Their last meet of the regular season was Monday night at Hill Heights. Details will be in Saturday’s edition.

“I was happy with the way we came out and competed,” said LARAYO coach Michelle Jensen. “Sometimes at this time of year, you tend to see some complacency. But the kids are still pushing themselves. We saw a lot of times dropping. That’s all I could ask for.”

Maggie Trepagnier continued a dominant season, winning all three of her individual events, as did teammate Emily Schexnayder.

Winning two first place ribbons were Ian Arnett, Abby Schiff, Emily Schexnayder, Devon Watson, Zoe Zaidain, Kelsie Williams, Chelsea St. Martin, Spencer Rodriguez, Kaitlyn Lowry, Austin Matherne and Luke Jackson.

Owen Weber, Grace Schexnayder, Emily Schexnayder, Joshua Tamplain, Francesca Puglia, Kaile Levatino, Jacob Jensen, Will East, Devin Rodriguez, Nicholas Harrington, Evan Veron and Meredith Keating also tabbed first place honors.

Jensen said that while the entire team has been strong, a few age groups have come a long way since the season’s beginning and performed very well on Thursday — the 11 and 12 girls, the 13 and 14 girls and boys, and the 9 and 10 girls divisions have shown much growth.

“They’re really coming around,” Jensen said. “Another thing is that we’ve had a lot of swimmers able to step up into the first heat from second and third. Their ability to step up and make that transition has really helped us.”