Broken Records

As sports pull through the winter and into spring, breaking records continues for seniors Kenneth Lott and Michael Patterson. Lott’s final year in Track and Field has just begun, while Patterson’s soccer playoffs recently ended. Both boys surpassed school records in their respective sports, Lott on his second. 

“I beat the High Jump record by a quarter of an inch, it was 6’6” previously,” Lott said. “I also beat the Long Jump record by an inch. It was 22 ‘1 ” before.”

Lott states the season is already off to a great start and is going well for the team. He knew he would eventually outdo the previous records, but didn’t know time or place. The Long Jump record has been his goal since freshman year while the idea of beating the other came to him in the past summer. Lott now stands with successful past seasons and 13 college offers. 

“I plan to continuously get better as the season progresses, and that means breaking my record over and over again,” Lott said.

Patterson also now sits in the Steele Hall of Fame, passing the record of the most goals scored in one game. Previously, it was 18. Patterson secured a total of 19 during districts.

“It was really exciting when I scored the 19th goal because my team was just as excited. It was fun hearing them on the sidelines cheering me on throughout the season,” Patterson said. “Before Districts started, I did not expect to beat the record because I had the difficult task of scoring 11 goals in 10 games which was tough. Lucky for me, though, my team is amazing and gets me lots of chances to score.”

After successful victories during Districts, the team carried the buzz into Playoffs. Although the game resulted in a broken collarbone at the end of the first half for Patterson, the team played tirelessly. 

“The worst part about [the injury] was not being with my team for the last time,” Patterson said. “Despite this, I watched my team from the ER play really hard and they fought really well to compete, and I am proud of my team for that.” 

While Patterson is still in recovery, his years of high school soccer did not go to waste. He and Lott worked hard for their goals and triumphed. Patterson is unsure what his next steps after high school are, but he will likely continue playing soccer for the University of Chester in England.