West Newsmagazine 11-13-19

32 I SPORTS I
November 13, 2019
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
@WESTNEWSMAG
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
© 2019 St. Louis Children’s Hospital. All Rights Reserved.
The Lafayette Lancers are the
District 3 volleyball champions.
[Photo provided by team]
SPORTS
BRIEFS
By WARREN MAYES
High school girls volleyball
The Lafayette Lancers may have lost to
the Eureka Wildcats in the Class 4 District
3 state championship game last fall, but
they were not to be denied this season.
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, the Lancers
defeated the Wildcats 25-21, 25-22 to win
the District 3 girls volleyball championship
at Eureka.
"It's a shame this match had to happen at
the district level, because both teams left
it all on the court," Lafayette coach Zach
Young said. "Every year at this time, you
just want to go play your best ball and see
what happens. In my opinion, our district
is without a doubt one of the toughest in
the state."
Lafayette opened district play with a
25-5, 25-16 win over Union. Lafayette
then faced Marquette in the
semifinals and won 25-22,
25-21.
"Marquette has a great team
and is very well coached,"
Young said.
Many Lancers contributed
in the win over Eureka.
"Our front row players led
by Allison Beaton, Morgan
Isenberg, Brooke Borgmeyer,
Allison Sink, and Jordyn
Lochmann really played well
hitting .310 against a good
defensive team," Young said.
"Setter Shannon McLain
did a good job running the
offense and putting our hitters
in good spots."
According to Young, the
squad was happy to prevail
over the Wildcats this season.
"The team was very excited
as the final point was scored,
just as you would expect
with a great rivalry match,"
Young said. "I was pleased that both teams
exhibited class and were complimentary of
one another at the conclusion of the match.
We have a lot of respect for the Eureka program."
Youth football
The Junior Patriots football team just
concluded a successful season.
The team of seventh graders played
The seventh grade Junior Patriots football team
Seckman for the championship Saturday,
Oct. 26, and lost 7-0. In the regular season,
the Junior Patriots went 5-1. The lone loss
was to Seckman.
The football program has been around
about 18 years and serves as a feeder program
for Parkway South High.
The seventh grade football team was
coached by Tom Gilreath and his assistants
Steve Hale, Mike Finnegan, Trevor and
Todd Schloessman. The season began with
conditioning camps in June. Games began
in September, with the boys practicing
three nights a week.
According to Hale, the boys played well
in the regular season.
"With this being their second year, the
boys showed great improvement from last
year," Hale said. "They are starting to learn
the intricacies of their positions."
The Junior Patriots lost 38-24 to Seckman
once in the regular season, but the
championship game was a much closer
contest.
"It was a very rainy and cold game," Hale
said. "Both teams played well considering
the circumstances."
Hale said the standout players this season
were Jamison Lombardo, Andy Hertlein,
August Johansen, Kyle Delanty and Brody
Gilreath.
“Hopefully, we will have all of the boys
back next year with a few of their friends
that haven't played before," Hale said.
Hale noted the sixth grade team also
was successful. Headed by coach Ross
Erickson and assistants Pete Willis, John
[Photo provided by team]
Ulz, and former Junior Patriot player
Keenan Borders, the team finished the
year in third place.
"This is the most successful year for the
program in years," Hale said.
Youth hockey
Chesterfield native Caden Brown, 16,
recently was selected to take part in the
U-17 U.S. National Team Development
Program in Plymouth, Michigan.
Brown is the son of former Blues player
Jeff Brown, who spent parts of 12 seasons
as a defenseman in the NHL. Jeff is the
brother of Logan Brown, a forward with
the Ottawa Senators.
At 5-foot-11, 174 pound, Caden Brown
currently plays for the USNTDP Juniors in
the United States Hockey League [USHL].
He scored his first goal in a recent 9-2 win
over the Youngstown
Phantoms, scoring his
first USHL goal in the
game's third period.
Last year, Brown
played for the St. Louis
AAA Blues 16U. He
has committed to play Byrne
hockey in college at the
University of Wisconsin.
College baseball
Chesterfield's Kurtis Byrne made a big
impression in Texas Christian University's
annual Purple-White World Series. The
freshman hit a big walk-off grand
slam by in Game 2 of the series,
which marks the conclusion of
the fall season for the university’s
baseball team.
Byrne, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound
catcher, graduated from CBC in
spring 2018. Byrne is a righthanded
hitter known for his
ability to drive the opposite gap
well and turn the barrel. Behind
the plate, he is known for his
arm strength and ability to make
accurate throws.
As a senior, Byrne helped lead
the Cadets to a district championship.
The senior had a .419 batting
average and collected 13 doubles