Eureka High and Lafayette High put aside their Rockwood rivalry this spring to field co-op boys and girls teams in water polo, and both ended their seasons in the Missouri district playoffs.
The Lafayette/Eureka boys won four of their last five matches in the regular season and carried that over to an 11-4 second-round district victory over Parkway South on May 13.
A strong first half powered by nine goals, five of them in the second period, put the Lancer-Wildcats in control.
“That was a really good start for us and I was really nervous going in that we would have some kind of lackluster effort and we just really came out smoothly; we controlled the game,” head coach Jamie Waeckerle said.
Sreeram Manchikalapaludi, Thomas Morgan, Jonas Orpe and Owen Waeckerle, the coach’s son, scored two goals apiece. Waeckerle also tallied three assists. Goalkeeper Juan Jiminez made eight saves in earning the victory.
The win advanced the Lancer-Wildcats to a May 15 quarterfinal match against Parkway Central. A slow start doomed the club, which trailed 5-1 after one period and was down 7-1 at halftime.
“Going into to it, we really believed we had a chance to win the game,” Jamie Waeckerle said. “We just kind of had a bad first quarter and dug ourselves a hole.”
The Lancer-Wildcats launched a fourth-period rally with five goals, but the Colts answered with four second-half goals to prevail for an 11-8 win.
“We played better in the second half, but just couldn’t get out of (the hole),” the coach noted. “I love the spirit and the fight that we displayed to try and come back, but it was just a little bit too late.”
It didn’t help that the younger Waeckerle, one of the best players on the team, was hit with two early exclusion fouls, throwing the offense out of sync.
“In water polo, if you get three exclusion fouls, you’re out of the game,” Jamie Waeckerle said. “(Owen) got two pretty early in the game and typically, I’ll sit a player until halftime. We just got out of sorts and Parkway Central is a team that’s played in the finals the last several years. So they’ve played in a lot of big games and they were just a little more ready to handle that moment than we were – and credit to them.”
Manchikalapaludi, Nolan Budnick and Jack Robinson led Lafayette/Eureka with two goals each. Owen Waeckerle and Grayson Smith added a goal apiece and Jimenez took the loss in goal.
“We did not advance as far as our goals were, as far as I believe our team was capable of doing,” the coach said. “So I’m hoping that our returning players, which is the majority of our team, will be hungry for next year to try and get a little bit further.”
Lafayette/Eureka finished 19-9 overall and 3-1 for second place in the St. Louis Blue Conference, behind district champion Saint Louis University High (18-3, 4-0).
The Lafayette/Eureka girls, meanwhile, made it to the semifinals in district play and wound up in third place, defeating Oakville 12-6 in the third-place game May 21 at Kirkwood.
Talia Ramsey led the Lancer/Wildcats with five goals. Sydney Schott tallied 13 saves in goal to get the win.
“The team was very relaxed,” head coach Stuart Morse said. “Before the game, the girls just said, ‘Let’s go out there and have fun,’ and they did in their play. It was a real team effort. It was fun to see.”
Morse’s squad opened the tournament May 13 with a 13-6 victory over Lindbergh at Kirkwood in the quarterfinal round.
“(For) the Lindbergh game, we went in with a very simplified strategy, and it was just more about using our speed in the pool,” Morse said. “So it was leveraging that and just playing straight-up water polo, and the girls did that.”
Ramsey scored five goals and added two assists, and Anne Kirtley pumped in four goals.
Schott stopped 13 shots for the win in goal.
In the semifinals May 19 at Kirkwood, the host Statesmen jumped out to a 5-1 lead by halftime. The Lancer-Wildcats scored four goals in the second half but it wasn’t enough in a 9-6 loss, closing the team’s season at 17-8.
“The girls fought hard all the way, and it was just one of those games where the bounces just weren’t going their way,” Waeckerle said. Ramsey led the team with three goals.
Finishing the season on a winning note left Morse and his team feeling good about their 2025 campaign.
“It was a good feeling for Talia and the team to come back and win that third-place game, and this had been one of the better finishes for the team as a girls’ water polo program,” Morse said. “I believe we are on the upswing, and we have (only) two graduating seniors, (Morgan Clark, Ramsey). With the way the team was starting to find their place, that was really great to see.”
Lafayette knocks out Eureka
Like two reactive chemical compounds, Eureka and Lafayette predictably almost always battle to close finishes in a number of sports – but especially in girls soccer.
So it was no surprise that the Lancers eked out a 1-0 victory over the Wildcats on May 22 in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 4 tournament in Eureka. Lafayette (12-8), the No. 2 seed, ended the third-seeded Wildcats’ season at 8-8-2, just a year after Eureka finished second in the state. The Lancers played No. 1 Marquette (14-5) in the district final Tuesday, after the Leader deadline.
Senior back Addison Keen scored the game’s only goal at 7:21, on an assist by freshman Ellie Smith, and the Lancers survived two second-half scoring chances by the Wildcats.
“Addie Keen is our four-year captain,” Lafayette head coach Ryan Butchart said. “There’s nobody better than her at the defensive position, in my opinion.
“All respect to Eureka. It’s a great program. It’s a rivalry. I’m really proud of my kids. We had a good game plan coming in to today. We knew it was going to be a one-goal game. It always is between Lafayette and Eureka. Thankfully, we were on the right side of it today.”
The Wildcats were on the wrong side of the injury bug all year. Senior Bailey Flanagan nursed a sore groin even as she posted three goals and 10 assists. Junior forward Marleigh Allen, a 14-goal scorer as a sophomore, left the game April 14 at Parkway Central with an injury and never saw the field again.
“Losing Marleigh changes your dynamic,” Eureka head coach Mike Hanna said. “Unfortunately, we lost her early, but it gave us time to work things out.”
Eureka had its best chance to score in the second half when sophomore back Joselyn Zambo penetrated the Lancer defense and fired a hard shot, stopped with an alert save by junior goalie Gen Newell, one of her seven on the night. It preserved her second solo shutout of the spring.
“We joked on the sideline afterwards, (Zambo) hit it as hard as you can and as perfect as you could,” Hanna said. “It was a play where if you mis-hit it, you probably score. Unfortunately, it was right on the goalie. It was a great play by Maddie Schepis to get the ball to her. That’s a freshman passing to a sophomore, so that’s exciting for the future.”
“We had a defensive mindset, knowing we were at their field,” Butchart said. “Our defense was phenomenal. Gen Newell made two huge saves. That save on the breakaway saved the game for us. If that goes in with 22 minutes on the clock, we could have given up another. She’s been unbelievable for three years for us.”
After Zambo’s near-miss, Wildcat senior back Katelyn Milligan lined the ball over the crossbar, close enough that the scoreboard operator momentarily put a goal up for Eureka.
“There was a little confusion, but unfortunately we knew it went over,” Hanna said.
Wildcat sophomore forward Addy Niedergerke, who saw her playing time increase as the injuries mounted, had several good runs on the attack.
“We faced a lot of injuries this year, which meant girls got to move forward and Addy was one of them and is really someone we’re excited about,” Hanna said. “We thought (this game) was going to be really close. And we knew whoever found the back of the net on the one or two chances they had was going to come out ahead. We knew they were dangerous in set pieces in the air; they got us early with one.”
For the season, sophomore Caroline Conley was Eureka’s top offensive player, amassing 33 points on 15 goals and three assists. She had four game-winning goals.
Eureka finished with its first non-winning record since 2004, but Hanna wasn’t about to reach for excuses.
“You can go down the rabbit hole of what-ifs, but we’re focused on the people who stepped in,” he said. “The seniors meant everything. Jenna Selbert did a great job in the back and we had three or four seniors who didn’t get to play, but they were there every day for practice and in the rain. It’s a testament to their character and what we’re building as a program.”
Samuelson wins 800 at sectionals
The Eureka girls scored 75 points for third place, behind Ladue (137) and four-time defending state champ Cardinal Ritter (117), at the Class 5 sectional meet May 24 at Parkway South. The Wildcats qualified athletes on the track and in the field for the state championships Friday and Saturday at Jefferson City.
The top four finishers in each of the 19 events at the sectional qualify for state. Eureka junior Brooke Samuelson led her team on the track, winning the 800 (2:16.63) and placing second in the 1,600 in a personal-best 5:06.65.
“(The 800) was my last event of the day, so I was a little fatigued, but I knew most of the girls I was racing against, so I conserved energy on the first lap,” Samuelson said. “The 800 is a flexible event as far as being able to come back.”
“That (800) was a loaded field,” Eureka girls head coach Darrell Lewis said. “(Samuelson) was in seventh or eighth place at districts and she took off (here).
“If you win sectionals in distance events, you get to be in the front alley (at state). We talked about the importance of it. (Sectionals) came out slow. To run your second lap faster in the 800 is pretty rare. It became a kicker’s race.
“We were trying to conserve energy for the 1,600. Eggers (1,600 winner Maleah Eggers of Marquette) is the fastest in the state at 4:58. Brooke has beaten her twice this season.”
Samuelson also ran on the Wildcat 4x800 relay with Abigail Smith, Sofia Hoerchler and Claire McKinnon that won in 9:34.85. The 4x400 foursome of Hoerchler, Savanna Wylie, Jenna Cubbage and Sophia Samaki also qualified, finishing fourth in 4:07.64.
Four Eureka girls qualified for state in the field events. Senior Ayla Bishop returns in the pole vault after tying her PR of 3.66 meters (12 feet). That ranks fourth in the state; the top vault in Class 5 so far is 3.81.
“For her to do that a couple of weeks in a row, you are more consistent at that PR,” Lewis said.
Senior Claire Shanley set a personal-best in the discus by three meters, tossing it 36.12 meters to come in second. It’s the second week in a row Shanley set a new PR.
“She’s putting it all together for the right time,” Lewis said. “She’s a senior, so she handled the pressure.”
The PR-parade continued with Wildcat junior Haley Deakin, who took third in the javelin in 38.15.
“She was seventh going in,” Lewis said. “That’s a PR by almost three meters.”
Cubbage’s second triple jump attempt of 10.99 was her best and good for fourth place.
Eureka is sending enough qualifiers to be in the team trophy conversation when the Class 5 meet starts Friday at Adkins Stadium.
“Everybody going in (who) we thought could qualify did that, and we had some who snuck through,” Lewis said. “We can be very competitive in several events. To get a trophy you have to score about 40 points, so there is a possibility for us, maybe.”
“It will be very interesting because we are spread out in enough events,” Samuelson said.
The Eureka boys finished 12th at the sectional meet with 28 points, well behind Kirkwood (90) and Lafayette (78) in first and second. Wildcat junior Breylen Bennett finished third in the 110 high hurdles in 15.04 seconds. Eureka’s 4x800 squad of Jackson Dalton, Evan Wilke, Joseph Rauls and Mitchell Barth came in second in 7:59.22. The top eight teams in the event at state last season all ran under 7:56.
Eureka reaches state final for third straight year
For the last three years, the one constant in the Missouri State Lacrosse Association has been Eureka playing in the state championship game.
The Wildcats lost 8-4 to John Burroughs in 2023 but bounced back to beat Mary Institute Country Day School 18-10 last year. A repeat crown wasn’t in the cards, as Eureka lost 13-10 to Cor Jesu on May 25 at Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis County.
The Wildcats led 4-1 in the first quarter but the Chargers (16-5) fought back to lead 6-5 at halftime.
Cate Figge and Abby Finigan each scored three goals for Cor Jesu and senior attacker Ruby Copeland netted three for Eureka, which finished the season 16-3. Copeland tied Wildcat head coach Melissa Menchella’s school record for career goals with 157.
Against MICDS in the semifinals May 22, Copeland scored two goals in a 16-13 win and became the Wildcats’ all-time leader in points with 211. She had four points against Cor Jesu (16-5) to give her 215 in her career.
In the semifinal, the Rams led Eureka 9-2 in the first half. But senior attacker Katie Criswell notched five goals for the second straight game as Eureka poured in 12 goals in the second half.
Sophomore defender Emily Emerson was selected player of the game for her goal, causing turnovers and 11 draw controls.
Wildcats fall in district final
Parkway South scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to storm back and defeat Eureka 7-6 in the Class 6 District 2 baseball final at South May 24.
It’s the second consecutive year the Patriots (20-10), seeded second, eliminated the Wildcats, who were the No. 1 seed and finished the season 20-12. South will play in a best-of-three state quarterfinals series in Jackson on Friday and Saturday against the Indians (23-13).
The district final was tied at two going to the bottom of the fifth when Eureka plated four runs. Junior Levi Fieser was hit by a pitch to start the inning before senior Kyle Rehg delivered a two-run homer to take the lead. Singles by juniors Tyler Sweeney and Kyle Rehg were followed by RBI singles by Casen Smith and Cole Rogers for a 6-2 lead. South turned a double play and prevented further damage.
Rehg, Fieser and Rogers all had doubles. Junior John Haberkorn hit a solo home run in the second and was the starting pitcher, going four and 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits and two runs.
After beating No. 8 Waynesville (5-22) 15-0 in the first round, the Wildcats got a marvelous performance on the mound by Ben Lackey, one of the many juniors who will return, in a 3-1 win over No. 4 Marquette (18-13). Lackey scattered three hits, struck out six and pitched a complete game. The Mustangs didn’t score their run until the seventh.
Eureka struck for two runs in the first, when with one out, Sweeney was plunked and Ringe reached first on an error. With two outs, Smith walked to load the bases and Rogers smacked a two-run double. Sweeney began the sixth with a single and made it 3-0 on a sacrifice fly by Haberkorn.