The road to the Missouri State High School Activities Association State Swimming and Diving Championships continued this week as many of the top teams competed in conference championships. Plus, the Mid-States Club Hockey Association starts its playoffs this weekend, and the semifinals and finals of the Webster Groves girls’ tournament will take place this weekend.
Let’s get ready for a busy weekend of prep sports with this week’s edition of the Friday Fast Break brought to you by Triad Bank.
In the pool, two-time defending state champion Kylee Sullivan paced the Parkway South girls’ swimming and diving team to a third-place finish in the Suburban Yellow Conference championship this past week as the Patriots will look to defend their Class 2 state championship from a year ago. Kirkwood, who finished fourth in last year’s state meet, won the conference title with 429 points, Lafayette earned the second spot with 355 points, and the Patriots finished third with 346 points. Sullivan, one of the state’s top swimmers, won the 200-meter IM in a time of 2:03.46 and then won the 100-meter Fly with a mark of 54.94. She also aided a pair of Patriot relay teams to victory in the meet.
In the GAC South-Central swimming and diving championships, Timberland grabbed the top spot with 453 points while Howell earned the second spot with 353 points, and Fort Zumwalt West finished third with 332 points. Brooke Gustafson led the Timberland efforts by winning the 200-meter IM in a time of 2:15.73 while Isabelle Ackley won the 100-meter fly with a mark of 58.18. Ackley also won the 100-meter Back in a time of 55.04 to pace the Wolves.
The Webster Groves Winter Classic kicked off earlier this week as the top four seeds moved on to the semifinals that will be held Friday evening.
In the first quarterfinal, Vashon used an outstanding defensive effort to defeat Cor Jesu 50-32. The Wolverines did not allow Cor Jesu to score in double digits in any quarter to secure the win.
In the second quarterfinal, Rock Bridge raced out to an early lead and cruised to a 59-24 victory over Webster Groves. The Bruins took an early 16-5 lead after one-quarter of play and extended the lead to 38-13 at the half en route to the win.
Lift for Life exploded for 22 points in the final quarter to overcome a four-point deficit to defeat St. Joseph’s 56-51. The Angels held a 38-34 advantage after three quarters of play before Lift for Life outscored St. Joseph 22-13 in the fourth quarter to earn the win.
In the final quarterfinal, Incarnate Word improved to 18-0 on the season with a 74-24 win over Gateway Legacy to move on to the semifinals. Brooke Coffey led the way for the Red Knights with 29 points while Natalie Potts added 10 markers in the win.
In the semifinals Friday evening, Vashon will take on Rock Bridge at 7 p.m. while IWA will play Lift for Life at 8:30 p.m. with the winners moving on to the championship game Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.
The Mid-State Club Hockey Association opened up post-season tournament play Thursday evening and will have a full slate of games over the weekend.
In the Challenge Cup, CBC is the top seed and will open up round-robin play Saturday against No. 4 seed St. Louis University High School at 8:30 p.m. at the Affton Ice Rink. The Cadets and Jr. Bills are once again on a collision course for the Cup after SLUH won the title last year. The Cadets are looking for their 18th championship this year. The Jr. Bills opened round-robin action Thursday evening with a 3-1 win over No. 9 seed Parkway South. The No. 2 seed in the Challenge Cup, Kirkwood starts their playoff action Friday evening at 8:30 p.m. against No.11 seed Lindbergh at Queeny Park. Defending Cup runners-up De Smet holds the No. 3 seed and will take on No. 10 seed Seckman Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Centene Ice Arena.
There is a difference in the Challenge Cup playoffs this year as the 12 teams in the four three-team pools with the top four teams from each division moving on to an eight-team double-elimination tournament.
Parkway West heads into the Wickenheiser Cup playoffs as the top seed and they will open round-robin action against Webster Groves Friday evening at 8:30 p.m. at the Maryville Ice Center. Summit is the No. 2 seed, and they will take on Clayton at Affton in a 10:10 p.m. start Saturday evening while No. 3 seed Oakville opens play against Fort Zumwalt West Friday night at 9:30 p.m. at the South County rink. MICDS is the No. 4 season after a record-setting season as they opened up play with a 4-4 tie against Ladue Thursday night. The Rams will take on Fox Saturday evening at Meramec starting at 9 p.m. in their second round-robin game.
For a complete schedule of games, go to https://www.midstateshockey.us/home.
Jim Powers has been covering prep sports in the St. Louis area for 15+ years and a part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championship Broadcasts for the past 11 years. Powers is also a part of the Fox 2 Verlo Mattress Prep Zone Friday nights at 10:10 during the football and basketball seasons. If you have a prep sports story, please contact Jim at japowers2421@yahoo.com. Follow Jim at @hssportscaravan
