More championship trophies were given out this week as St. Louis University High claimed the Missouri Boys’ Volleyball Class 4 title while St. Dominic earned the league’s Class 3 crown. The area track and field teams also saw many athletes qualify for this weekend’s state championships while some of the area’s baseball and girls’ soccer teams continued their preparation for the state quarterfinals this weekend.
Let’s get caught up on all the action in this week’s edition of the Friday Fast Break.
The Jr. Bills won their fourth consecutive MVB title and their 12th championship overall with a straight-set win over Metro Catholic Conference rival Vianney Thursday evening at Maryville University. The first two sets of the contest were tightly contested as SLUH won both by scores of 25-22. The Jr. Bills then opened the third set with a big run and did not look back as they won the set 25-10 to earn the victory. Phillip Bone paced the Jr. Bill’s attack with 12 kills while Will Blaisdell added seven kills and George Henken dished out 36 assists in the win to help SLUH end the season with a perfect 33-0 record.
Photo Credit St. Louis University High School
The Crusaders earned the Class 3 title with a 3-1 victory over Parkway West. The match was tight throughout as St. Dominic won the first set 25-23 but saw the Longhorns battled back and took the second set 25-22 to even the match at 1-1. After St. Dominic won the third set 25-22, the Crusaders raced out to a seven-point lead early in the set and were able to win the final stanza 25-18 to claim their first-ever volleyball title. Luke Zelnis led the St. Dominic offense with 16 kills with Zach Carff chipping in with 10 kills and Anthony Anderson handed out 42 assists in the win.
The area track and field teams competed in the MSHSAA sectionals on Monday due to rain over the weekend and we saw some outstanding performances.
In Class 5 at Kirkwood, SLUH won the sectional team title with 113 points to edge out the host Pioneers, who scored 107 points. Parkway West earned fourth place in the team race with 58 points. Ryan Wingo led the Jr. Bills by winning the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.88 and the 200-meter dash with a mark of 21.71. Eric Piening added to the SLUH point total with a win on the high jump with a leap of 2.01 meters. Deion Brown helped Kirkwood with a win in the 300-meter with a time of 40.38 while Sebastian Baker won the 800-meter for the Pioneers with a time of 1:59.28.
On the girls’ side at Kirkwood, Cardinal Ritter won the team title with 146 points with Kirkwood placing second with 102.5 points and Ladue earning third place with 74 points. Aniyah Brown led the way for the Lions by winning the 100-meter dash in a time of 11.89 and then she won the 200-meter dash with a mark of 24.22. Josie Baker aided the Pioneers with a win in the 800-meter run in a time of 2:16.84 with Genesis Dixon claiming the title in the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.37.
In the Class 5 girls, sectional at Mexico, MICDS earned third place behind Blue Springs and Rock Bridge with 89 points. Maya Anderson paced the Rams by winning the triple jump with a leap of 11.95 and the 300-meter hurdles in a time of 43.69. Julia Ray added to the MICDS points total with a victory in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:06.14 and a runner-up finish in the 1,600-meter run with a mark of 5:05.73.
In the Class 4 boys at Festus, Hillsboro won the team crown with 122 points with Cardinal Ritter placing third with 89 points. Dalton Ross led the way for the Hawks by winning the 110-meter high hurdles in a time of 15.32 while Noah Holland earned runner-up finishes in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.05 and in the 200-meter dash with a mark of 22.64. Antwon McKey paced the Lions with a victory in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.94 with Bruce Johnson adding a runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.29.
In girls’ action at Festus, Summit claimed the team title with 105.5 points with Festus earning second place with 85 points and Hillsboro grabbed the third slot with 82 points. Alexis Miller paced the Falcons with a victory in the javelin with a toss of 36.77 meters while Christelle Barafundi won the 200-meter dash in a time of 26.05.
In the Class 4 sectional at Mexico, MICDS earned second place behind Hannibal with 100 points with Parkway North placing third with 74 points, and Parkway Central earning fourth place with 68 points. Brandon Mitchell-Day paced the Rams with a win in the triple jump with a leap of 13.54 with Winston Moore winning the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.79.
In the Class 4 girls sectional at Mexico, Parkway Central claimed the team title with 149 points with Parkway North coming in second with 86 points. Slyye Lee led the Colts with wins in the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.21 and the 200-meter dash with a mark of 45.27 while Kayelyn Tate won the 100-meter dash in a time of 12.10 and Nnenna Okpara claimed the 200-meter dash title with a mark of 24.80.
The MSHSAA State Track and Field Championships will begin Friday at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City with prelims taking place Friday and the finals starting Saturday at 9 a.m.
The state quarterfinals in baseball will take place Friday and Saturday with some very interesting matchups on the schedule as teams look to advance to the semifinals next week at US Ballpark in Ozark, Mo. Below is the schedule for the weekend.
Class 3 – Valley Park at East Prairie – Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Class 4 – Affton vs Kennett – Friday at Bayless at 2 p.m.
Class 4 – Southern Boone at John Burroughs – Friday at 4:15 p.m.
Class 5 – Festus at Lutheran South – Saturday at noon
Class 5 – Parkway Central at Fort Zumwalt East – Saturday at 4 p.m.
Class 6 – Lindbergh at Marquette – Saturday at 1 p.m.
Class 6 – Howell Central at Howell – Saturday at 2 p.m.
Girls’ Soccer will head back to the pitch on Saturday with their quarterfinals as those teams will look to move on to the semifinals next weekend at the Worldwide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo. Below is their schedule for the weekend.
Class 1 – Metro at St. Pius X (Festus) – Saturday at noon
Class 1 – Valley Park at Whitfield – Saturday at 1 p.m.
Class 2 – Perryville at Bishop DuBourg – Saturday at noon
Class 2 – Orchard Farm at Southern Boone – Saturday at 1 p.m.
Class 2 – MICDS at Logan-Rogersville – Saturday at noon
Class 3 – Notre Dame at Ursuline – Saturday at noon
Class 3 – Webster Groves at Fort Zumwalt South – Friday at 6 p.m.
Class 4 – Jackson at Nerinx Hall – Saturday at noon
Class 4 – Howell Central at St. Dominic – Saturday at 11 a.m.
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
