Laffoon Claims Two HCAC Titles, Anderson Earns Eighth in HCAC Championships

Anderson University men's track and field standout Malik Laffoon (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North) claimed two conference titles during the two-day Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Outdoor Championships, which concluded on Saturday in Terre Haute.

Laffoon charged to first place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.70 seconds. The graduate from Bloomington then locked up first in the high jump by clearing the bar at 1.85 meters (6 feet, 0.75 inches).

Anderson earned eighth in the team standings with a score of 43 points.

ALL-CONFERENCE PERFORMANCES

• Malik Laffoon – 110 Hurdles – 15.70 (1st – First-Team All-HCAC)
• Malik Laffoon – High Jump – 1.85 meters (6 feet, 0.75 inches) (1st – First-Team All-HCAC)
• 4x100 Relay – 43.92 (3rd – All-HCAC Honorable Mention) – Hunter Taylor, Jair Adams, Caleb Carrao, Ted Lamson
• 4x400 Relay – 3:31.22 (3rd – All-HCAC Honorable Mention) – Hunter Taylor, Jair Adams, Josh Soden, Caleb Carrao

NOTABLE RELAY PERFORMANCES

• 4x100 Relay – 43.92 (3rd – All-HCAC Honorable Mention) – Hunter Taylor, Jair Adams, Caleb Carrao, Ted Lamson
• 4x400 Relay – 3:31.22 (3rd – All-HCAC Honorable Mention) – Hunter Taylor, Jair Adams, Josh Soden, Caleb Carrao

NOTABLE INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES

Malik Laffoon (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North)

• 110 Hurdles Finals – 15.70 – 1st Place – First-Team All-HCAC
• High Jump – 1.85 meters (6 feet, 0,75 inches) – 1st Place – First-Team All-HCAC – Personal Record
• 110 Hurdles Prelims – 16.06 – 2nd Place

Ian Leatherman (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern)

• 5,000 – 15:47.93 – 5th Place
• 10,000 – 32:42.24 – 6th Place – Personal Record

Caleb Carrao (Indianapolis, Ind./Heritage Christian School)

• 400 Prelims – 51.23 – 5th Place
• 400 Finals – 52.85 – 6th Place

Ted Lamson (Oden, Ind./North Daviess)

• 400 Hurdles – 1:03.25 – 7th Place
• 110 Hurdles – 17.89 – Personal Record
• Long Jump – 5.62 meters (18 feet, 5.25 inches) – Personal Record

Josh Soden (Anderson, Ind./Shenandoah)

• 800 – 2:02.10 – Personal Record

Hunter Taylor (Waterloo, Ind./DeKalb)

• 400 – 52.97 – Personal Record

Jair Adams (Indianapolis, Ind./Heritage Christian School)

• 100 – 11.49
• 200 – 23.32
• Long Jump – 5.61 meters (18 feet, 5 inches)

Xavier Morales (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso)

• 200 – 25.41 – Personal Record
• 100 – 12.51 – Tied Personal Record

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMENTS

Jair Adams – I'm proud of our team and all the hard work we've put in these past two months. It showed up in our performances.

Hunter Taylor – I think I did well. At times I was nervous but I was happy to have coaches, teammates and God help me push through my races and give me words of encouragement. I think everyone did a good job. We were cheering on each other.

Josh Soden – I really felt like I belonged in the 800 finals. However, I ran a 2:02 so I'll take a PR any day, but I felt unsatisfied. I also felt like I gave it my best effort in the 4x4, as well as the rest of my teammates in the relay. I was proud of them because they wanted the medal and they worked for it. Overall, I was super happy and proud that the team was energetic and seemed to cheer on everyone in their events.

Ted Lamson – I think I could have done better in my events, but I also think I did well considering the practice I have had before this meet. I'm looking forward to next year and being able to train and get better.

Caleb Carrao – Win or lose, injured or healthy, no matter how I felt, or how I performed, I ultimately felt like I was working hard. I thank God that I was able to finish each race and I pray for another strong season to come.  No matter the result of every single race, I knew my friends were waiting to congratulate me at the end. I run track to better myself, but I stay on the team because of the people. I had a fun time win or lose and I look forward to more adventures in the future.

Malik Laffoon – The meet was a blast! Everyone went out there and performed to the best of their abilities! Personally, [the conference meet] was a great experience and even though Coach Stephens had very little time to train me, he brought me along very quickly which is why I was able to perform the way I did! I had a lot of fun out there!

Ian Leatherman – I thought [the conference meet] went okay. I would have liked to have done better in both races. I tried my best in both races and I'm glad I was able to PR in the 10K and score points in both events, but wish I could have performed better in my last meet. However, overall, I'm satisfied with my five years in the program and would not trade it for anything. As for the team performance, I really liked what I saw. This is the most supportive team I have seen in my time here and almost everyone performed well. Though we did not place as well as we would have liked, I believe there is a rock-solid foundation for the years to come and am excited to see what the future holds for AU Track and Field.

COACH SOL STEPHENS'S COMMENTS

• Even with some near misses Friday, like Jair Adams barely missing both sprint finals and Josh Soden in the 800, the men rallied the troops. The scoresheet may echo the effort in its fullness with PR times from Josh Soden and Ian Leatherman, we still put it out there. The support they showed for each other was outstanding on both sides. It's easy to be excited when things are going great but this weekend when the lows near misses hit, they were superb within their brotherly love.
• Jair Adams, the sprint group leader, pushed himself past the wall in both relay legs he produced. Disappointed by missing finals, he channeled his energy into his carry in the 4x100 to start our day. Ted Lamson did well on his anchor for just being placed in the position. In the 4x400, Jair Adams set us up to move to good finish by Josh Soden and Caleb Carrao with the best legs after Hunter Taylor led us out. For us to make the podium out of the slow heat is an accomplishment.
• Hunter Taylor and Caleb Carrao had pretty good opening seasons for their careers. They learned how to work the workouts and recovery into the process as the year went along. We will have a plan for next season and we're excited about it.
• Ted Lamson, just coming out from football, made the finals in his first ever 400 hurdles race contributing to the team scoring.
• Josh Soden ran a tough race in the prelims but just missed finals. We'll take the PR and build of that.
• Ian Leatherman scored again in the 10K and 5K. There have already been so many superlatives I've shared on this young man. Words can't express how we feel about him within this program.
• The highlight of the day came from the retired basketballer, Malik Laffoon, who has been with us for three weeks. Working through the high jump and 110 hurdles...within a five-minute window, he won both events in his second college meet ever. It was hilarious and astounding at the same time. His attitude is so infectious and both teams fed off it. He trusted the process and plan that was set up and it calmly stayed together within the possible surrounding chaos.
• Overall, it's good day to be a Raven fan. The culture and work ethic has shifted in the right direction. Thank you for those parents who came out to watch and those who were watching at home.