Boys tennis looks forward to strong season with return of Lyons
Chelsea Coleman, Editor in Chief
After ending the 2010 season with an even 13-13 record boys tennis is starting the season with the return of their former #1 player senior Mick Lyons.
Head Coach Mark McAllister said, “Anytime you have a strong player as Mick Lyons at #1 singles or #1 doubles, depending on the format, it greatly helps out the rest of the lineup,”
He continued, “It allows [varsity] to be a much deeper team.”
McAllister also said that varsity team graduated a good portion of their lineup. “[Varsity] lost five players last year our #2 and #3 singles players and #1 doubles team,” he said, “Some of those players were four year varsity players. It’s always tough to lose seniors but I am confident in the abilities of those who will take their place.”
Looking into the upcoming season McAllister said that local teams such as Kirkwood and Parkway West will be challenging matches but also shared that out of district teams like Columbia, Rock Bridge and Bellville West will also be difficult as well.
As for sending players or a doubles team to the State tournament in May McAllister believes that a Lafayette doubles team has a strong shot at the State title.
He said, “If you are playing the odds, I think doubles will be our best bet for getting far at State but I also think [senior doubles pair] Mick Lyons and Jake Goodman can beat anybody in singles at any time.”
McAllister concluded, “The Class of 2011 is going to be a lot of fun to watch in May”
Boys tennis first match is scheduled to Wednesday, March 30 away against Parkway Central.
Boys volleyball hopes for strong season
Danielle Slauter, Reporter
As spring sports practices begin to start, boys volleyball coach Doug Ell thinks the team has a strong season ahead of them.
“I think boys volleyball, in general, has as good a chance as anybody of recapturing some of our past quarry,” Ell said. “It’s been a couple years without being an elite team in the conference, and I think that these guys are poised to take that next step.”
Some of the key returning starters include seniors Rob Berry. Paul McGhee, Chris Burkart and Junior Luke Kreienkamp.
“That’s the nice part about this season. I’ve got a really solid core of returning players,” Ell said. “That is a very solid group of guys that have long term volleyball experience and have a real passion and desire for the game and want to be successful, so I think that their attitudes are going to dictate a lot for us.”
When asked about their chances of winning state this year, Ell replied, “At this point, I think anybody has a chance of winning state this year. I mean you’d like to say that there’s a chance, but there’s always those powerhouses that come in the way. Even within our conference there’s going to be some very tough matches, and if our guys can rise to the occasion, then I think that any given team can win on any given night.”
“”Our first game is the Tuesday we get back from spring break. It’s the 29th against Parkway West at West.Our first home match will be the following Monday, the 4th, against CBC which will be a solid testto see where we stand early in the season.”
“We play Eureka the 28th of April at their house, and that’ll be a big game.We’ve got a rivalry there. The Marquette match will be a very big match for us, and when we really look at it, we feed off the crowd. If we’ve got a nice, energetic crowd, we can bring a lot of energy, so they should be fun to watch this year.”
There are also some younger players being pulled up including sophomore Adam Kerr and Ryan Gettinger.
LHS Boy’s Track Team Looks Strong Coming off Successful Season
Sydnee Stottlemyre, Reporter
Monday Feb. 28 marked the kick off of track season. Coming off of a strong 2010 record, the Lafayette boys team appears to have another strong season ahead.
Head Coach Randy Seagrist said, “We have high expectations.” Seagrist explained the talent they poses sets high goals including winning conference, performing well at districts, and placements at the state meet in June.
The team has an advantage of returning All State athletes. In the 2010 season, the boys 4×100 team broke the school record with a time of 42.8 seconds, according to junior Chris Caldwell. The team placed seventh at the state meet. Returning members of the 4×100 relay team include seniors Thomas Swaboda, Kyle Green, Al Nesbitt and Caldwell.
“Workouts are long and extremely tiring but are helpful in the long run,” commented Swaboda. The team runs sprint workouts some days of the week, while working on specialties, jumps, hurdles, and relay hand-offs on others.
Swaboda’s goal for the season is to qualify for state in the 4×100 and 4×200 meter relays, and hopes to lower the record he and his teammates set last season for the 4×100.
Caldwell, ranked number one for the 55-meter indoor hurdles, anticipates a successful season from conference to state and is willing to put in the effort. “What you do at practice pretty much determines how you do in a race. If you slack off at practice, you’re not going to run fast,” said Caldwell.
Fellow hurdle sprinter Chris Orange will return to compete with Caldwell. Seagrist refers to the duo as “two of the best ones we’ve had.”
Seagrist attributed to Kurtis Harshman and Derek Legenzoff as good distance runners returning this season. Previously young freshman and sophomore athletes will benefit the team as well, who Seagrist explains he expects to come into their own this year as juniors.
The varsity and junior varsity team will compete at their first meet, Tuesday March 29 at Parkway Central High School commencing at 3 p.m.
Boys Lacrosse expects challenging, successful season
Maddie Johnson, Features Editor
Although they are not a school sponsored sport, the Lafayette boys lacrosse team is certainly a team to watch this spring. With multiple returning starters, it is expected that they will have a long season ahead.
“I’m really excited about this season,” senior captain Andy Slocum said.
“After assessing our team through pre-season scrimmages, I believe we are definitely a semi-final team and should definitely compete for a state championship if we play to our potential,” Slocum added.
In addition to Slocum, seniors Jackson Ruck, Ryan Tegethoff and junior Lane Rommel are captains this season, as well.
“As captains we have to inspire our team and make sure that they are focused on and committed to the game. We have to lead by example,” Ruck said.
The boys are sure to face fierce competition from many teams, including Chaminade, Eureka, who place second in state, as well as DeSmet, CBC, MICDS and SLUH to name a few.
The boys have high hopes for the season and expect all players will contribute to the strength of the team.
The Lancers will take on Clayton in their first game of the season on March 17 at Gay Field.
Girls Track looks to find talent amongst young team
Max Thoman, Managing Editor
As the Lady Lancers enter their new season with a meet on March 31, expectations are high, mainly, as head coach Marty Margalski said, due to the relative youth and inexperience of the team.
Overall, Margalski expects the season to focus on improvement.
Margalski laid out his goals for the season as well, saying, “We would like to round out and improve and to be the best we can be.”
Margalski continued, “Honestly, I have no idea how good we truly can be, yet. It has been a broken up spring and I am just hoping to find out exactly where we can place and get people.”
As for the beginning of the season, Margalski expects to be able to gague his seasonal expectations based on the first few meets.
He said, “We have a meet on [March 31] which will kind of be a barometer that will show us exactly where we need to go and how high we truly can go this season.”
Even though the Lady Lancers are relatively inexperienced, Margalski said that there are instances of returning, experienced athletes which he hopes will lead the team.
“I think that, because we do have some kids returning on the distance team, they will be the most experienced of what we have,” he said. “Within the field events we will also have some experience, which could potentially be the strongest as we start. I hope that changes somewhat as time goes on.”
Margalski concluded by addressing the positive aspects of having a young team.
“Everybody will get opportunities and then we will see where we can go and we will see who takes advantage of the opportunities that we present them with,” he said.
