“During my three years on varsity, an average day for me includes several hours of practice” says varsity swimmer Luke Walsh. “During swim season I have to wake up at 4:45 a.m. every weekday to get ready for practice which gets started around 6:15 a.m.”

To be a high school swimmer, a student athlete must show a great deal of dedication. Not only does the sport involve spending several hours in the water – but the athletes must take great care of their bodies and maintain a good sleep schedule.

“When I splash in cold water – it shocks me awake” Walsh says. “After practice we go change in the locker room to get dressed and ready for school.”

Swim practices vary depending on the focus of that day. Some practices like the long aerobic sets can be very draining and leave the student athlete fatigued.

“I do love short sprint sets because I get to work on what I do at the actual swim meets” Walsh shares. “Even when we have difficult drills, practice is usually fun because of my teammates. It’s more fun to swim with your teammates, laughing and having a good time.

While Walsh enjoys practicing with his teammates, on occasion he does enjoy swimming alone and focusing on his individual skills.

Swim meet days are a completely different vibe for Walsh.

“Whether it’s your first ever or your 20th meet, the feeling of being nervous and having butterflies in your stomach does not change,” Walsh admits. “In high school meets you usually have four events you swim in, depending on if you’re on the relay team or not.”

Swimming is one of the few sports that is based on individual performance, even though there are competitions that result in team wins.

“You really have to focus in as an individual, because when you’re up on the starting block, it’s you vs everyone else in the pool,” Walsh says.

Kaylynn Lairson has led the team since her freshman year. Now, in her senior year she is looking to get her fourth straight district title.

“I wrestle because I love being in the best shape,” Lairson says. “I love the mental toughness of pushing myself farther than I think I can go. And I love winning after all the hard work.”

Wrestling is one of the most physically punishing sports without a doubt, but the mental side of the sport is usually what separates the good from the great.

“It just takes heart, if you want to wrestle you will wrestle, if you want to push yourself then you will push yourself. You will accomplish great things, all you need is heart,” Lairson adds. 

While wrestling is both hard and demanding, it is still one of the easier sports to transition into – as there are several combat sports that derive from wrestling. Just about every combat sport includes a degree of wrestling in the fight style, such as Mixed Martial Arts and jujitsu.

“I’ve wrestled for six years, however, I genuinely believe the five years of jujitsu before I began to wrestle made me the wrestler I am today,” Lairson says.

Wrestling is a sport in which competitors are evaluated based on their weight class. This makes it fair and gives people of different sizes and skill levels the opportunity to compete. “I encourage everyone to wrestle, no matter weight or size,” Lairson encourages. “I believe wrestling builds confidence within people.”

The girls wrestling team is looking to three-peat as district champs. Lairson is hoping to top her junior year, when she placed fifth in state. Senior year is off to a promising start. 

English teacher Janelle Herron is a proud sponsor of Lamar step.

“I stepped in college and it was a lot of fun,” said Herron. “I created a lot of experiences that stem from my step team back in college.” 

Step practice is held after school at least four days a week. “Anyone can step,” insists Herron. 

Do not be afraid to branch out and become something bigger than yourself. Nobody is turned away ever and everyone is wanted and welcome on the team.

“I chose to be the sponsor so that I could show students how to lean on each other” adds Herron.

The team’s first event will be alongside our very own ViQueens on December seventh. The team has been practicing and is beyond ready for their Christmas show. January 13, 2024 is the “MLK” event. The team will have to demonstrate great dedication because they will have to practice over Christmas break.

Along with being a stepper comes scholarships opportunities for college. Lamar step is ready for you now – go make your impact on our school and a lasting one in your life.

Recently, a non-Lamar student was on our campus for a sporting event and experienced cardiac arrest. Fortunately, there was a first responder (firefighter) on campus at the time. With the assistance of a Lamar Athletic Trainer, the two were able to assist the young player. 

With this situation in mind and the uncertainty of when such a medical emergency can occur – there is no better time than right now to equip Lamar with the right tools.

“I am trying to gather teachers to volunteer and create a medical reserve team,” Lamar Nurse Kayla Dunn, says. “All assistant principals and security guards on campus are working to be CPR certified.” 

It is very clear that as a school, Dunn wants Lamar to not just feel more prepared but to be more prepared for such a medical  event.

Currently, there are five on campus AED machines. Dunn would love to have more of these life-saving devices around the large campus.

”I have been talking to Principal Maroney and we will be ordering at least one more, but I’m hoping for two” Dunn adds. “My goal is to have our voluntary campus medical team ready after the holiday break.”

By the time we have the team up and ready Dunn would like to do a drill every semester just as we would do a fire drill. The team would report to a specific room with a mannequin and perform their specific jobs respectively. 

Switching positions at the beginning of the year, moving from being an offensive lineman to becoming a tight end. I started off third on the depth chart with three weeks to go from the first game of the season. The tight ends coach told me at the beginning of my transition to the position told me I would never not have my hand in the dirt or be put in unless it was to be an extra offensive lineman. I knew something about myself that nobody else believed in, never letting my coach’s words affect me.

By week one I was the starter splitting reps with the other tight ends. It wasn’t good enough, for months I had let the words and opinions of my coaches fuel me. Why stop now when there is still more to go out and get.

Week four came around and I earned myself the complete starting role and couldn’t have been more ecstatic. The next week was an off week for the team and we drew up a bunch of plays, we had a game plan coming up against the toughest opponent of the season. We showed to be strong through three quarters, then the game slipped away from us in the fourth. With one final drive in the game that meant nothing, I go out on a pass then turn around to block and as I engage with the multiple defenders I feel my arm go numb then shoot in pain.

My left shoulder completely popped out of socket, stumbling around gasping in pain as I ran off the field it finally popped back. Couple weeks later the doctor tells me, the rotator cuff is torn from the bone and my labrum is torn 210 degrees around my shoulder. Junior year me would’ve sat down and threw his hands up but it was different this time, I had something to prove.

After two games off, there are three guaranteed games left on our schedule. Out there fighting with a huge brace on my arm under the pads was me giving everything I’ve got. The Vikings lose two close games with a scenario we have to face, win this last game by 15 and punch our ticket to the playoffs . Anything else was unacceptable to us. 

By the time the week comes around and we all get ready for our last possible practices together as a team my coach walks over and tells me “I see you John Casey ” those five words stuck with me all week. Come game night looking at the game card “number 83 John Casey captain Lamar vs SGP.” Never was I more ready for a game, coming out the gates hot we maintained our Viking intensity while playing all 48 minutes with every ounce of juice we had. 

Clock strikes two minutes in the fourth quarter as we’re up by seven, driving down the field we get into the red zone with thirty seconds we are fired up as we score a touchdown then we all see it. Yellow marker on the field, no touchdown, we back up the ball, call a few more plays and get just inches from scoring. One second on the clock we are fired up as a squad and then we all hear our head coach Billy Skinner say “ lets do it y-pop y-pop lets run it” thats my play I think to myself as I get line up. “Ready go” I get off the line and look back as my quarterback scrambles around from a missed snap, waving my hand in the air as he lets the ball fly. Intercepted by the defense, after making the tackle on the final play of my football career every image of the game I’ve loved since I could remember, played since the second grade runs through my brain.

Dropping to my knees in tears, “I would’ve done it again a thousand times” Skinner says as he looks at me. In that moment collecting myself I could reflect on what football meant to me and what it really meant to be a Lamar Viking. I would do it all over again for my brothers and coaches. Nobody thought much of me ten weeks ago but now I was given the opportunity to go out there and catch the ball for Lamar on our last play of the year as well as be a captain for us in the same game. I love Lamar and everything we stood for and definitely would do it all over again.

After splitting the first two games here in Texas, the Rangers are taking care of business in Arizona – defeating the Diamondbacks. Now with a three-to-one lead on the series, tonight is the night to bring home the glory.

Adolis Garcia was having a record breaking postseason, leading the team in home runs before injuring his left oblique. He is still the current favorite to win World Series MVP.

In game four the Rangers jumped to an 10-0 lead by the third inning. If they can repeat that performance Wednesday – there is no doubt we wake up tomorrow World Champions.

“I think we’re going to win game five by at least four points, then I’m going to celebrate with my family and I’m definitely going to attend the parade,” says Lamar sophomore Hank Austin. “My preseason expectations were that we wouldn’t even be contenders, but I can’t be more ready.”

Fans all around Texas are hopeful that the Rangers win the firs World Series in team history tonight.

Dennis Pugh is Lamar’s proud leader of this exciting program and he is extremely excited for the upcoming competitions starting as early as this Saturday, September 9th.

“We are always looking for more members,” shares Pugh.

Currently, the Principle Engineering class is learning about the six simple machines, while the Intro to Engineering class is working on mastering their engineering handbook. The goal is for students to determine if they’d pursue this career path.

Intro to Engineering is a weighted elective class, so even if students don’t want to get their feet wet in the engineering world – the challenging course can most definitely boost a GPA.

The Robotics Club had a resounding year in 2019 finishing second in state.

To learn more about that state run in 2019 – one can search Dream Builders Lamar Robotics Team on YouTube.

Pugh is a very knowledgeable teacher, who graduated from Purdue University. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering. Much of the success of the Robotics Program was fueled by Pugh’s former engineering students. He is excited to continue this tradition with new students and this lively program is in search of new members.