Now that the summer is officially here, it is time for a lot of tournaments in almost every sport so that the high school athletes can continue to improve for the 2023-24 school year. The Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association held their annual Junior Amateur Championship last week with most of the top junior players listed in the field.
Also, there have been a few coaching changes on the basketball side that have caught the eyes of everyone over the past few weeks.
Let’s get caught up on all of the news in this week’s edition of the Monday Morning Wrap-Up sponsored by Triad Bank.
Sunset Country Club in West County was the site of the 24th Junior Am and the 36-hole event did not disappoint as both the Boys and Girls titles came down the final few holes this past Thursday afternoon.
In the Barbara A. Berkmeyer Trophy battle, Avery McLaughlin rallied on the second day of the tournament to claim the title. McLaughlin helped the Visitation golf team to a second-place finish this past fall in the Missouri State High School Activities Association championships, finishing in a tie for eighth place in the event. McLaughlin trailed first-round leader Reece Reinhardt by seven strokes before shooting a 10-over round of 82 to finish with a score of 165 to win the championship by one stroke over Lindbergh’s Reinhardt. Reinhardt had the best round of the tournament with a four over par round of 76 on the opening 18 holes to take the lead into the final round but saw that lead evaporate over the final round as McLaughlin played steady golf on a course that played extremely tough over the two-day tournament. Payton Cusick of Marquette finished in third place with a score of 174.
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Photo Credit – Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association
The 19 and under boys battled for the James M. Holtgrieve trophy and Bubba Chapman lead the group wire to wire to claim the championship with a score of 145. Chapman continued his outstanding play last week after leading Chaminade to the MSHSAA Class 5 championship in May while also winning the individual title in the state event. Chapman started the two-day event with a 2-under-par 70 which was the best round of the tournament and then backed that up with a round of 75 to claim the title. Augie Johnson of Francis Howell finished second in the championship with a score of 148. Johnson was in tied for third after the first round and fired an even par score of 72 on the second day to propel himself into the runners-up position. William Bomkamp ended the tournament with a third-place finish with a score of 150 after he was in the second position after day one with an even par round of 72.
In the boys’ 15 and under division, Caden Fehr claimed the title with a 36-hole score of 152 while Shota Tiger Kikuchi placed second with a two-day score of 160 with Shivom Korgaonkar earning third place with a score of 161.
John DeLuca won the 13 and under division with a 36-hole score of 161 while Subaru Kikuchi placed second with a score of 198 and Bill Blinn finished third with a score of 200.
Some of the same junior golfers who played last week at Sunset Country Club will participate in the USGA US Junior Amateur Qualifier Tuesday at Spencer T. Olin Golf Course in Alton, Ill.
Coaching news came in at a fast pace over the past few weeks as CBC and Hazelwood Central filled their open head coaching positions on the hardwood.
CBC will turn over the reins of their program to Sam Briscoe after he led the Kirkwood basketball program to their most successful campaign in school history last season. Briscoe guided the Pioneers to a 24-3 record last season before falling to Jackson in the district final. He takes over a Cadet program after former head coach Justin Tatum announced that he was stepping down to take an assistant coaching position in Australia in their professional basketball league.
Kelvin Lee will move from University City to Hazelwood Central to take over for Brandon Gilmore who stepped down earlier in the spring. Lee led the Lions to a 12-14 record last winter and will look to turn around a Hawks program that was 14-13 last year.
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
