Northwestern State University is becoming the place to go for Abbeville High School athletes.
Former AHS athletes who signed athletic scholarships to Northwestern are Janae Allen and Rechelle Bessard, both in track and Jason O’Brien signed for football.
The newest NSU from Abbeville High is Annmarie Broussard.
On Friday, Broussard signed a track scholarship to attend Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. When she graduates Abbeville this year, she will leave as the best female pole vaulter from the school. Her personal best vault is 12 feet high.
When Broussard began pole vaulting in the seventh grade, her track coaches at Forked Island/E. Broussard recognized she had talent. She reached the height of seven and eight feet in middle school.
She got serious about pole vaulting her freshman year and began taking lessons in New Iberia. Over the last four years, she transferred from being tiny middle school athlete to a solid pole vaulter.
The one thing that excited Broussard about pole vaulting is the thrill of going higher and higher.
“I knew it would never get old, and I would always be chasing a new height for a new goal,” said Broussard.
She never had plans to take pole vaulting to the next level during her freshman and sophomore year. But things changed last year for her final meet at the Class 3A State Track meet. She cleared the height of 12 feet, which got college coaches’ attention.
The recruiting calls and emails began after that vault. She selected Northwestern because its only two hours away from Abbeville.
“I really enjoyed my visit,” she said. “The campus was small and pretty. The coaching staff was impressive.”
According to NSU’s website, there is only one female pole vaulter, Reagan Darbonne, on the roster. Her college best vault is 11-6.
Also running track for NSU from Vermilion Parish is Adam Courville of Kaplan.