Missouri State

VERNETA LESFORIS
Track and Field, 1997-99
Inducted 2010

Verneta Lesforis was a three-year Missouri State track and field standout as a sprinter and jumper from 1997 to 1999 for coach Ron Boyce. Counting relay events, Lesforis was a 16-time Missouri Valley Conference champion and she was unbeaten in her career in the 400-meter run in league championship competition, winning that event six times in six tries in MVC action in addition to top three finishes in the league in the 200-meter dash, long jump and 1,600-meter relay. A native of Castries, St. Lucia, who transferred to MSU before her sophomore year, Lesforis held Missouri State school records in the 400 and 600-meter runs and 1,600-meter relay indoors, plus the 400-meter run and 1,600-meter relays outdoors. She set MVC all-time records in three events, was a two-time NCAA All-American performer and competed in the 400-meter run for St. Lucia in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. She represented St. Lucia in the 1999 World Championships in Germany and the 1999 Pan American Games in Canada, and she won St. Lucia's first gold medal in major international competition in the 400 at the 1999 Central American and Caribbean Championships. Lesforis was voted Missouri State's Outstanding Female Athlete in 1999 and she earned academic all-conference honors. She was a member of the Missouri State 1,600-meter relay team that ran eighth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and captured fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships her senior season, and she placed 11th in the indoor 400-meter run. Her performances were keys to Missouri State winning MVC indoor championships in both 1998 and 1999 while finishing a close second both years to Indiana State in the Valley outdoor meets, losing the title to the Sycamores by one point in 1998 and two points in 1999. Lesforis taught elementary physical education in the Springfield school system for several years and is now a doctoral student in Educational Administration at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo.