Meet Ben Ragusa: Avoyelles Charter’s two-time state champ, valedictorian

MANSURA, La. (KALB) - In school, it can be hard enough to keep an unblemished GPA without participating in any extracurricular activities.

However, for one student at Avoyelles Charter, he has managed to not only be perfect in the classroom but perfect in athletics.

Ben Ragusa went into his senior year with high hopes for both, but what happened is still hard to believe even for him. Ragusa is a member of the Vikings’ basketball team that had a historic season on the way to their first state championship win. Avoyelles Charter rolled through the season with a 35-1 overall record, the best in the entire state of Louisiana.

As many of the basketball players had time to let their championship season sink in, Ragusa was preparing for another season with the Vikings’ baseball team. Ragusa missed the first part of the baseball season, but once he suited up and took the field, he must have been the team’s good luck charm, because the Vikings would not lose another game for the rest of the year.

The baseball team finished the season on a 19-game winning streak and capped it off with their first championship in program history. The basketball and baseball teams, led by Ragusa, went a combined 60-4 this spring.

Not only is Ragusa graduating with two championship rings, but he is also walking across the stage with the distinct honor of being the school’s valedictorian, never making lower than an “A” grade in any of his classes.

“To be honest, not everything has really sunken in yet,” said Ragusa. “It’s really a dream senior year. It just goes to show you, if you put your mind to it and work hard, you can really accomplish whatever you want.”

Even during the long hours of practice on the court and the diamond, Ragusa stayed on top of his studies excelling in both academics and athletics.

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