By JASON PUGH, Written for the LSWA
NATCHITOCHES – As much as talent has to do with excelling in sports, determination is an equally crucial factor.
It certainly was in the careers of wrestler Kevin Jackson of LSU, and Sunset jockey Ray Sibille, two of the 12 people inducted Saturday night in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame during ceremonies at a sold-out Natchitoches Events Center. LPB coverage of the event can be accessed on the LPB.org and LaSportsHall.com websites.
Jackson, a 1992 Olympic gold medalist for the USA, spent the first three years of his college career at LSU before the school dropped wrestling after the 1985 season.
Undeterred, Jackson made his final season count, captaining Iowa State’s national championship team while producing an individual national runner-up season.
“We were really fortunate at Iowa State to have him transfer in after being an All-American at LSU,” Cyclones coach Jim Gibbons said. “We had an interesting group of younger wrestlers and a group of older wrestlers who had underachieved to that point. Kevin bridged the gap between those two groups, and they both had success.”
While Jackson did not collect an individual national championship, he made up for it in 1992, capturing Olympic gold in Barcelona. His medal winning performance came just hours before the closing ceremonies, which is where Jackson said he had his Olympic moment.
“The closing ceremonies are very different than the opening ceremonies,” Jackson said. “During the closing ceremonies, there are still events going on and some after. The opening ceremonies, you’re walking in the stadium in a suit and tie. At the closing ceremonies, you’re sitting in the stands with the other Olympians and athletes watching them still competing.
“What I noticed was a jumper leaping over a high bar and a javelin going through the air, and I thought, ‘This is it. This is the Olympic games of Jesse Owens, Jim Thorpe, Muhammad Ali and Mary Lou Retton, and I’m now a part of history.’
“There was an overwhelming sense of achievement, and I’m having that same feeling right now.”
When the sun finally faded on Sibille’s remarkable career that officially began on south Louisiana’s bush tracks – unofficially on the family farm – he had saddled more than 4,000 winners across the country, including a win in the 1988 Breeders’ Cup, adding to the legacy of Acadiana-bred jockeys.
“I remember them telling us, ‘You better come to school. You ain’t getting nowhere riding a horse,’” Ray’s brother Larry Sibille said. “He was going to be a jockey. Nothing was going to stop him.”
And little did – even when during a race between the Sibille brothers in their younger days ended with Ray’s horse running into a cow, leading to a restart of the race.
What started as a family affair led to Saturday night’s induction for Sibille as he followed his good friend, Eddie Delahoussaye, into the state’s shrine.
“We always had horses in the pasture,” Ray Sibille said. “My brothers, we’d catch them and race them. It was part of life that we did. We all loved it. I had two brothers that rode, Ronnie and Jimmy, who got killed. They both could be right here with me if it worked out for them like it did for me.”
Sibille found more kinship during his three days in Natchitoches.
“The people I’ve met here – the athletes and the coaches – they were unbelievable,” he said. “On the way to (the Friday bowling event in) Alexandria, I sat with coach (Wilbert) Ellis and Frank Monica and Kerry Joseph. Boy, we shared some war stories.”
Riding home winners and turning boys into young men marked Monica’s five-decade career in coaching.
The decorated Monica led a trio of south Louisiana schools – Riverside, Lutcher and St. Charles Catholic – to state football championships after a college baseball career at Nicholls where Monica was part of a national runner-up Colonels’ team.
Flip-flopping between high school and college coaching jobs, Monica stayed true to one constant – Louisiana.
“I had an opportunity to leave the state,” he said. “I decided to stay in the state. I made the right decision. I believe in Louisiana athletes and Louisiana football, especially in the River Parishes. If you don’t play football there, you don’t eat. It’s a good brand of football. They gamble on every ball game, so you better win.”
And win Monica did – not just on the field. His teachings left a lasting impression on his players, his staff and even opposing coaches.
Upon hearing coaches from Lutcher and East St. John praise Monica, host Victor Howell remarked on how impressive it was for Monica to draw praise from coaches of rival programs.
Monica quickly retorted, “That’s exactly how I wrote it.”
Said Wayne Stein, the coach who followed Monica at St. Charles Catholic: “The greatest influence on my career is Uncle Frankie. It wasn’t always easy. He’s an intense guy, but it’s something when you look back, you appreciate going through the struggles. All he ever wanted was for you to be your best.”
Contact Jason at pughj@nsula.edu