Hackberry High School cowboy Ike Little is driven to succeed.

Over the past few years, the multi-sport athlete has sought a coveted state championship.

After coming close, the sophomore won his first state championship on Tuesday at the Louisiana High School Finals Rodeo.

Little unseated defending state champ Trevor Trahan to win the boys cutting state championship.

“I’ve been pole vaulting for the last three years and got fourth runner-up the last two couple years, so just to finally win the state in something that I love the most is the best,” Little said.

In reined cow horse, Little, riding the same horse, Boone, his older sister Charli Little used to win the title in 2017, almost won a second title. But defending state champ Charli Wilkinson beat him 90.4 to 85.

In his career, Little narrowly missed the medal stand twice (2023, ’25) with two fourth-place finishes in pole vault at the Class C track and field state championships, and lost the cutting title by 2.55 points to Trahan at Burton Coliseum last year.

Little said his new horse, Itchy Oak, gave him a big boost this year.

“Mainly just got a new horse,” Little said. “I was able to ride him a lot easier because he was at the house, and instead of having to be somewhere else, was able to cut on our own cows and not have to cut on somebody else’s all the time.”

Little entered the Week 10 points standings ahead of Trahan and outpointed him in two of three rounds. He capped off his state title with a win in the short-go round Tuesday with a score with his top score of the state rodeo, 73, after a low of 68 in the second-go round on Monday.

“A couple of (the rounds), they were a little bit choppy,” Little said. “I didn’t really like how they turned out, but the last one was the one I really liked.

“I didn’t have to ride him as hard as I did the last of them. He was getting a little bit short on me on one side, so I just had to ride him a little bit hard on that side and easier on the other one, that would be fine.”

Lacassine senior cowgirl Lydia Touchet came close to winning her third consecutive girls cutting state championship, but Welsh High School freshman Campbell Leblanc ended her run. Leblanc won by a narrow 6.8-point margin, 118.9-112.1. Touchet won the second-go and was second in the short-go on Tuesday. Touchet finished fourth in reined cow horse.

All other events start today with the first go-round split between two performances at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The second-go round will follow the same schedule on Friday. The top 15 in each event advance to the short-go round at 5 p.m. Saturday.