Boys Cross Country:
The Lancers captured third place overall with a total of 76 points at the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) District 1 Class 5 Meet. Senior Nikolas Malek took first place individually with a time of 16:13.74. Other All-District finishes came from junior LJ Groenewald, second place; senior Bross Miller, 16th place; senior George Tambassis, 27th place; and sophomore Jack Robeson, 30th place. With the team’s third place finish, they advance to the State meet in Columbia on Nov. 5

Girls Cross Country:
At the MSHSAA District Championships hosted on Oct. 30, the Lady Lancers also took third place overall as a team, with junior Grace Tyson taking second with a time of 18:39.71. Tyson, along with sisters junior Elissa Barnard and sophomore Natalie Barnard, have been the three top placing runners for the majority of the season. Natalie Barnard placed 14th, with a time of 19:46.41, with Elissa right behind her in 15th with a time of 19:50.19. With the overall team score, the Lady Lancers will be advancing to the State meet in Columbia on Nov. 5.

Field Hockey:
Varsity played a close game against John Burroughs in the State Quarterfinals on Oct. 26, losing, 3-2, ending their season with a 15-10-1 overall record. Overall, Lafayette won first in the Suburban Conference Yellow Pool standings. “We ended our season in a heartbreaking loss. The team and I played our hearts out, and the tears on everyone’s faces at the end of the game said it all. I wasn’t ready to let go of my last high school field hockey season, but I know that the friendships I’ve cherished and lessons I’ve learned throughout my four years of playing will stick with me for years to come. I’m so proud of how far we made it,” senior goalie Sabrina Epstein said. “Some advice I’d give to the underclassmen would be to make the most of every day because it really does go by faster than you think, and to keep an open mind for new opportunities. I had never even heard of field hockey before I came to Lafayette, but it ended up being one of my favorite things about high school. I’m so thankful I decided to try it freshman year.” Sophomore Olivia Williams led the offense with 20 goals and 12 assists.

Football:
On Oct. 29, the Lancers defeated the Parkway West Longhorns, 21-14, in the first round of the playoffs. All three of Lafayette’s touchdowns were scored by sophomore Zakaylen Jones, and junior Brayden Kladney scored an extra-point kick for each one. The Lancers will head into the second round of the playoffs, facing off in an away game against Rockwood Summit on Nov. 5 in the District Semifinal game. The winning team will advance to the District Championship on Nov. 12. The 5-5 Lancers will have their work cut out for them as Summit is 9-0 this season for the first time in its school’s history.

Boys Soccer:
Last week, boys soccer fell to Fort Zumwalt West, 2-1 on Oct. 26. The sole Lafayette goal of the game was scored by sophomore Blake Klostermann off an assist from senior Kaden Karr. The team ended its regular season with a 12-12-1 record. The Lancers will face Kirkwood on Nov. 1 on Lafayette’s turf at 5 p.m. in the first round of Districts, where they are the fourth seed. They played Kirkwood earlier in the season and that game ended in a 1-1 tie.

Boys Swimming and Diving:
Boys swimming and diving finished in seventh place at the Suburban Yellow Pool Conference Meet. Sophomores Sam Bolla, Gregory Shao, Caleb Warner and freshman Ryan Huang placed sixth in the 200 medley relay. Bolla and senior Ethan Xu placed 15th in the 200 freestyle. Warner also placed third in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke, and Shao placed 15th in the 50 freestyle. In the 100 butterfly, Bolla placed sixth, sophomore Ryan Domsalla placed 13th and freshman Matteo Freire placed 16th. Shao also took 11th in the 100 free. In the 500 free, Xu placed 15th and Friere took 16th. For the 500 free relay, senior Brandon Hui, sophomores Shao, James Thompson and Warner snagged third place. In the 400 free relay, senior Dylan Vorbeck, Thompson, Bolla and Friere placed ninth.

Girls Volleyball:
The girls started with week strong with 3-2 win over St. Francis Borgia in the District Semifinals. They continued their winning to take the District Championship, defeating Eureka 3-2. Both of those games were payback for earlier defeats this season and the Lancers took both Borgia and Eureka to five sets in dramatic fashion. But, the road to State ended in the Sectional match against Marquette as the Lancers fell to Marquette, 3-2. The Mustangs got the first set 25-23 before the Lancers came back taking the second set 25-18 and the third set 26-24, but then Marquette came on strong in the fourth set,  25-21 before winning the decisive fifth set 17-15. The girls ended the season with a 32-5-1 record. “I’d say our team chemistry was what made us successful. I feel like not many high school teams can say that, we are really a family. [The girls] really made an impact on my life, not only on the volleyball court, but in life too,” senior Elizabeth Katz said. “I’d tell the underclassmen to enjoy every second of our short season, it really goes by fast.”