After an injury-plagued senior campaign for the Bobcats, Erath’s Cole Bourque at least gets the consolation of knowing his athletic career will continue.

The three-sport athlete signed a letter of intent Thursday to attend UL in Lafayette.

Bourque will join the Ragin’ Cajuns track team as a member of the relay squads.

“First of all, its close to home,” he said of his decision to further his education at Louisiana’s second-largest university. “I’ve always liked the school... It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to go.”

Bourque said he will major in civil engineering at UL.

Bourque is the son of Dexter Bourque and Ann Lori Hebert of Erath, as well as the brother of former Erath athlete Seth Bourque.

“My brother is majoring in civil engineering also, and he’s about to graduate from McNeese,” he said. “We may try to get together an open up a business.”

Bourque’s father said his son’s signing to become a collegiate athlete is the culmination of years of hard work.

“It was always fun watching Cole,” he said. “He was always fast. He broke two records of Seth’s (at Erath) as a sophomore... I just admire him for the athlete that he is.”

Bourque is a four-year letterman in track at Erath. He also played running back for the Bobcat football team and center field on the baseball team.

He said he may try to walk on at UL for baseball or football, depending on how an upcoming shoulder surgery, to repair a separated labrum, works out for him.

EHS head track coach Kerry Richard said Bourque will be nearly impossible to replace on his squad.

“Erath’s track program will miss him dearly,” said Richard. “He’s always shown up every day in practice and pushed everyone every day. He’s a leader that was always in front, pushing everyone to get better... I’m just hoping somebody comes close to what he did.”

Richard said, though, that he felt Bourque would do well at UL, in sports and academically, as academics is the main focus on the Erath campus, as opposed to athletics.

“Cole’s a hard worker,” he said. “At Erath High, we prepare our kids for college... There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll make it. He’s going to be successful.”

Bourque returned the sentiment about Richard.

“He was one of my favorite coaches,” he said. “He would never talk his athletes down. Some coaches will do that to try to motivate you, but he tried to pick us up. He would just praise you when you did something good”