Of the 52 schools competing in the Class 4 State championship, Lafayette finished 16th, scoring 15 points.
The impressive part of the Lafayette boy’s placement is how young the athletes were that qualified forstate.
The only senior to compete in Jefferson City this year was Jimmy DeStefano. DeStefano took 13th in the shot put with a throw of 48’ 9.75 feet and says he will miss going to track meets after graduating from Lafayette.
The 4×400 meter relay placed fifth overall with a time of 3:20.78 minutes. The relay team members included freshman Devin Hampton and juniors Chris Orange, Chris Caldwell and Khahyil Moore.
Sophomore Cameron Carroll placed 10th with a long jump of 20-05.75 feet.
Junior Chris Caldwell won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.27 second and junior Chris Orange medaled with eighth place in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.05 seconds.
Caldwell, who took home the first place medal, said, “It’s pretty awesome, I’m pretty proud of myself…it took a lot of hard work and discipline and trusting myself.”
Sprints coach Scott Sissom reflected on the season, “It was a nice year. It’s nice to be here [state] with a decent amount of athletes and come away with some medals.”
Sissom continued about the excitement of seeing Caldwell take first in his race, watching Orange improve throughout the year and take home a state medal, and Carroll jumping two inches away from qualifying for finals.
“The most exciting thing about this season is that the state scoring points will be back for next year. It sets the stage for us to build a team for next year,” Sissom said.
While many members of the team are moving forward from high school into college, there are plenty of athletes remaining at Lafayette to fill their shoes.
Head Coach Randy Seagrist concluded, “It was a very good but very young team that will only be better next year.”