![After their State victory on Nov. 4, the volleyball team celebrates on the court. The team defeated Francis Howell in straight sets, 3-0. "Everyone was out-of-this-world excited. [Winning back-to-back] was something that hasn't happened in awhile," Nelson said.](https://lancerfeed.press/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-State-championship-point-rushing-court-e1699295686646.jpg)
Girls Cross Country
Senior Natalie Barnard won the Class 5 State Championship this past Saturday, Nov. 4, setting a new State record time of 17:12.7 on the Gans Creek course in Columbia, Missouri. Senior Ashley Rinkenberger also achieved All-State status, placing 30th, with a personal record of 18:52.2. Overall, the team placed 10th. “I was definitely excited with the win, and doing it on the course I’ll be racing on next year was really special,” Barnard said.
Boys Cross Country
Senior Jack Robeson placed 5th at State achieving All-State status with a personal record of 15:17.2. The team placed 13th overall.
Football
The Lancers lost to Francis Howell, 49-28, in the second round of the Class 6, District 2 playoffs after getting a bye in week one. This ended their season with an 8-2 overall record. Senior Zae Jones led the offense with 16 touchdowns this season. Junior Devon Reese had 424 rushing yards and Jones followed with 326. Junior Robby Preckel had 1,038 receiving yards. Junior Michael Callahan took most of the kickoff return duties averaging 31.78 yards per carry. On defense, junior Brady Calderon had 55 tackles and six sacks.
Boys Swimming & Diving
The Lancers will go to State in the St. Peter Rec-Plex, Nov. 9-10. The team placed 3rd in the Suburban Conference Yellow Pool Meet on Nov. 1 Individual placements included new school records in their 1st place finished by senior Sam Bolla in the 100 butterfly (51.47) and senior Caleb Warner in the 100 breaststroke (56.09). The 200-meley relay team of Bolla, Warner and senior Greg Shao and junior Ryan Huang also set a new school record in their 2nd place finish (1:36.12). Warner also took 1st in the 200 individual medley. Other top ten finishers were the 200 freestyle relay team of Bolla, Shao, Warner and senior James Thompson in 3rd; junior diver Jackson Tenny in 5th, 100 backstroke 5th place for Huang; 200 freestyle 5th place for sophomore James Orpe; 6th place for junior diver Aidin Peper; 50 freestyle 6th place for Shao; 500 freestyle 6th place for Orpe; 6th place for 400 freestyle relay team of Huang, Orpe, Thompson and junior Matteo Freire; 100 freestyle 7th place for Shao and 100 butterfly 8th place for junior Sreeram Manchikalapudi.
Girls Volleyball
The Lady Lancers are State Champions for the second year in a row. In their road to victory, they beat last year’s State runner-up, Kickapoo, 3-0 in the semifinals. Then in the final, they swept Francis Howell, 25-22, 25-18, 25-16. The last time Francis Howell made it to the State Finals, the Lady Lancers also beat them. The Lady Lancers ended their season with a 36-2 record and USA Today and the American Volleyball Coaches Association ranked Lafayette 13th in the nation this week. “It was extremely surreal, it still doesn’t feel like it really happened. Especially going back-to-back, I don’t think any of us were expecting that,” senior Alyssa Nelson said. She led the offense with 310 total points. Junior Maya Witherspoon was also a force for the Lancers with 400 total kills. This was the seventh State title for Coach Zach Young, who teaches P.E. at Wildwood Middle School. He was recently named the MSHSAA 2022-2023 Volleyball Coach of the Year.
