Ella Segura

Ella Segura wore many hats in her final year at St. Louis Catholic. She was an honors student, state champion distance runner, a chaplain for the Students for Life and wrote for the school newspaper.

She is this year’s American Press Girls Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Segura, who had a 4.45-grade point average and scored a 27 on the ACT, will attend Louisiana-Lafayette this fall on a track scholarship with plans to get a bachelor’s and master’s in speech pathology.

“I just want to help those who struggle with speech impediments so that they can communicate better and feel confident in their speaking,” Segura said. “You have so many options.

“You can work in the school system, in a nursing home, a hospital or open your own clinic. I don’t know what kind I am going to do yet, but I do know I like working with kids. So I might go to the school system. I am kind of leaning towards that. I want to be as qualified as I can for the job.”

She credits being a St. Louis Ambassador with helping to become a better communicator.

“Only seniors can apply, and only a couple get in,” Segura said. “Basically you go to the feeder schools and you talk to kids about St. Louis and try to get them to come.

“When they come for a tour, you give them a tour and answer any question they have. I have learned to put myself out there and present myself and represent my school in an inviting way. It made me more outgoing and friendly because I had to talk to kids I didn’t know and tell them all the things about classes and clubs at St. Louis.”

Keeping her life organized has been the key to success on the track and in the classroom.

“I just try to manage my time well and stay organized. I have a little to-do list so that once I got home from practice, I didn’t do anything else until I finished all my homework and study for my tests, then I would go on to the other things I needed to do that day.”

An injury derailed her senior cross country season, so Segura had to work harder and medaled in four events at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association indoor and outdoor state track meets and helped lead the Saints to a third consecutive Class 3A outdoor team title.

She was the indoor Division II 800-meter (2:21.07) and 4×800 relay (9:59.92) champion. At the outdoor meet in May, Segura won her second consecutive Class 3A 1,600 run in 5 minutes, 23.97 seconds and was the runner-up in the 3,200 (11:54.98).

“Cross country usually builds a good endurance base that I keep throughout the year, and I didn’t have that this year,” Segura said. “I had less endurance than I am used to, so I had to build that base up while I was competing.

“That was a lot tougher than usual. I like to run and I like to compete. It is fun for me. Running was always a hobby for me just for exercise before I did track. I just thought it would be fun to do it on the competition level as well.”

James Reina

St. Louis Catholic graduate James Reina knows all about the importance of numbers.

His favorite subject is mathematics, and has put up big numbers academically and athletically.

He graduated in May with a 4.21 grade-point average with a 26 ACT score and earned all-district, all-state and American Press All-Southwest Louisiana honors in two sports. Now he is the 2022-2023 American Press Boys Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

“I believe math is everything,” Reina said. “Day to day, we use math in everything we do. In fractions and cooking, in everything we use math.

“I have always liked math and I have always been good at it. It has always been my favorite.”

He always made sure to stay grounded academically and took dual enrollment courses at McNeese State in trigonometry and pre-calculus.

“Between coach Matt (Fontenot) and coach Brock (Matherne), they were always big on academics,” Reina said. “You are a student-athlete, and student comes first.

“You have to take care of your grades before you can do anything athletically. Studying and big things (were first) and anything sports came second. I managed my time really well, so I got both done thoroughly throughout the day.”

He will continue his academic and athletic career at Bossier Parish Community College. He will study pre-engineering and play baseball. After two years in Bossier City, he plans to enter a four-year college and earn a degree in either mechanical or chemical engineering.

“I am just ready to get up there and see what it is about,” Reina said. “I have a couple of relatives that are engineers, and they have always told me that the work is good and you get to pick your hours.

“I enjoy mathematics, calculus, trigonometry, physics and chemistry. (Engineering) is all of it. They said that is good to be an engineer.

“School, not everybody wants to do it, but you have to power through and know that it is for the better, and it is going to prepare you for life.”

In football, Reina led the Saints to a 9-2 record as a dual-threat quarterback. He rushed (198 carries, 1,017 yards, 22 TDs) and passed (110-183-8, 13 TDs, 1,805 yards) for more than 1,000 yards.

On the diamond, Reina was as impactful as he led the Saints to a third consecutive district championship and semifinal appearance in the state playoffs. He started on the mound and at catcher. He went 7-1 with a 1.17 earned run average with 68 strikeouts and 27 walks.

“It is just being on a team with all my friends and the life long bonds I am going to have with all those people,” Reina said.