In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the LPHS Orienteering Team defied all odds with all four of its teams placing in the top three in the USA this past weekend at Athens, Texas.
 
Winning its fifth consecutive national junior varsity championship were team members Allix Johnson, Dana Johnson, Arthur Santee, Daniel Ward and Sam Wilborn.
 
Dethroning three time national champion Woodinville from Washington State, were the La Porte Freshmen Team of Taylor Daughtry, Nicole O'Guinn, Drew Girton, Jacob Velez and Alex Gomez.  Taylor and Nicole finished with the individual gold and silver medals as the top two females in the USA.
 
The varsity team nearly made it a trifecta, finishing second with its rebuilt team of junior Chance Collard and sophomores Rebekah Hernandez, Manny Solis, Terrance Sowell and Paris Wallett.
 
La Porte fourth team in the competition was a second freshmen "B" team that also defeated Woodinville and finished as the third best freshmen team in the country.  Led by Mark Block's overall silver individual medal, the other team members were Ryan Vargas, Phillip Matczak, Jordan McAnally and Tara McClennen.
 
This marks the first time any school in the USA placed all of its teams in the top three.
 
This now give LPHS its eleventh and twelfth national orienteering championship in the last eight years!
 
Congratulations to them on continuing to represent LPHS with a winning tradition.