The Lafayette High track and field teams qualified for eight events in the upcoming MHSAA Class 4A state championships after turning in a handful of top-4 finishes at the North Half meet at Tishomingo County on Saturday.

The Commodores were led by five first-place finishes, four of them coming on the girls’ side. The 4A state meet will be held Friday in Pearl.

“It was a mixed bag Saturday,” Lafayette coach Ben Mikell said. “Our boys’ and girls’ 4×800 relays ran their best times of the season but just weren’t quite there. Same for our boys’ 4×400. But when we did well, we really did well. We have a young team, but those young ones performed with maturity. Maybe they can keep it going at the state meet.”

Orianna Shaw ran a time of 25.8 seconds in the 200 meters and a time of 59.9 in the 400 meters to win both events while also finishing fourth in the 100 meters with a time of 12.7. Freshman Xhiir Burgess took first in the triple jump with a distance of 33 feet, 10 inches, and fellow freshman Mariah Holland came in fourth in the shot put (32-8).

The girls’ 4×200 relay team of Shaw, Burgess, Aja Norphlett and Breanna Holland won with a time of 1:45. Freshman Brandon Turnage qualified in two events for the boys, winning the 800 meters with a time of 2:05 while also clearing the bar at 5-10 in the high jump to finish fourth.