The racquetball National High School Championship took place in St. Louis on March 2-6. Lafayette’s girls and boys teams competed at the tournament, finishing out their seasons strong. The varsity girls team placed first and the varsity boys team came in fourth, leading to a second place finish overall. 

Senior Charlie Buren has been playing racquetball throughout his time at Lafayette. Buren went out with a win, placing third in the gold tier, which is the highest tier, with his doubles partner junior Jonathon Ruck.

“Our season was kind of a strange one. We had a couple people quit in the beginning and that kind of threw us off, but we got fourth at nationals which is pretty good especially with the amount of boys that we had. We definitely had significant improvement from the beginning to the end so I think that was really good,” Buren said. “I think we could’ve done better if we just had more people.” 

Buren said Nationals is one of the most taxing yet enjoyable times of the whole season. 

“Nationals is one of the things in the past that I haven’t always looked forward to because it’s kind of grueling. You play a lot of matches in a short amount of time and it’s very physically demanding on the body. But, the whole team goes through that and hanging out with the team basically all day watching people play racquetball is a lot of fun,” Buren said. 

Senior Hailey Fitts has been on the team for the past five years. Just like Buren, Nationals was the highlight of the season for her as well. 

“A week full of racquetball is mentally and physically tough, but whenever you need, you can always find a Lafayette teammate somewhere in the crowd to ease your mind. During and in between games, we are all there for each other, and honestly no one could understand how important that is until they’re fighting for every point on the court looking for support,” Fitts said. “I’ve had so many moments throughout the season that I could think of  as being some of my favorites, but I think personally my favorite part of the season was actually during Nationals when my mixed doubles partner Charlie Buren and I won our qualifying match.”

Nationals gave Fitts the opportunity to show the hard work and dedication she has put in throughout her racquetball career. 

“My last game was bittersweet, and I honestly think it might’ve been one of the best games I have ever played yet. When I first started on the team I was ranked last, seed eight, but as a graduating senior I represented my team as the number one girl this year and I couldn’t have been more honored,” Fitts said. 

For Buren and for all of the seniors, Nationals was the last opportunity to compete on the Lafayette team. 

“It was definitely bittersweet. I went out on a win which is always a great feeling but I’ve been involved in racquetball for eight years. My parents made me go to all of my sister’s games so I’ve been involved with the teams for most of my teen life. It’s been an important part of my life. To move on from it will be difficult but I will cherish those memories. It’s been a great experience and I’m so glad I did it,” Buren said. 

Both Buren and Fitts plan on continuing their racquetball careers in college and hope to see the Lafayette team continue to thrive. 

“I have to say that I really hope that my team one day rises back to the level that it had become. Our team is losing eight senior girls and three senior boys this year so we need more people. We need aspiring athletes that are looking for a great coach, a great team and a great experience. You never know, at the end of it all you might be a three-time All-American Athlete just like me,” Fitts said.