The rocks that spell out PB on the hill at Mules Stadium on the Poplar Bluff High School campus were used to honor a student killed over the weekend in a car accident.
“#33 LLL”
Lane Savat, a sophomore who was a member of the football and track teams for the Mules, was remembered by teammates and coaches during a meet there Tuesday.
“It’s just unfair. It’s sad to think about but he was here and he made a lot of people happy while he was here,” Poplar Bluff senior Luke Barousse said. “I’m glad I was apart of that with him.”
The mule statue at the stadium turned into a memorial with flowers and items students shared.
Prior to the start of the meet there was an 11.43-second moment of silence, his best time in the 100-meter event.
During the final heat of the 100, Savat was listed as a starter in Lane 4 where the starting blocks were empty. Teammates Kasen Hoss and Gavin Aud, tapped the blocks before taking their starting positions and a teammate released a balloon at the start of the race that followed the runners down the track.
“The stuff the kids did today was all their ideas and we just kind of supported everything they wanted to do,” Poplar Bluff boys track and field coach Jeff Mannon said.
“They didn’t tell us about the rocks.”
Savat wore No. 33 as a member of the football team, starting at defensive back this past fall, and the “LLL” stood for “Long Live Lane.”
Teammates had 33 written on their shoes and arms as they competed.
Mannon said having a home meet with the support system of families and friends was important for the team.
“(The funeral) Thursday is going to be hard, this week is going to be rough, but I think this is going to be able to prepare those kids to deal with it a little better,” Mannon said.
Barousse said the team exchanged text messages and were there for each other when they learned of Savat’s death.
The football team met Monday, coach David Sievers said.
“Just a great kid,” Sievers said. “Just to see the way it has affected the school and everybody, I mean it just kind of a tribute to how people felt about the kid.
“Something bad happens every year,” Sievers added. “I guess in a school this size we’re blessed it doesn’t happen more often.
“It’s just a terrible accident. It’s just a tragic situation.”
Sievers said students have been asking what they can do to honor their friend.
A memorial scholarship fund has been set up at First Midwest Bank.
There will be a memorial service at 11 a.m. at the Black River Coliseum.
“He was great,” Barousse said. “He always made everybody laugh. He never had issues with anybody, he always just knew how to make everybody smile.
Joshua “Lane” Russell Savat, 16, is survived by his mom, Breanna Leigh Savat and dad Lanny Corcimiglia; three sisters, Zoe Savat, Hannah Corcimiglia, Reese Corcimiglia; only brother Jacob Corcimiglia; his grandparents, Darrell and Connie Taylor; Russell Savat, Glena Whitley-Savat; and Nancy Corcimiglia; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Editor's note: Two photo descriptions have been updated with the correct name of the student and fixed typos. The DAR regrets the errors.