It was a banner weekend for the local area at the state championships. Many of our athletes brought home individual medals and six teams returned with state titles, including a school that claimed a pair of state titles Friday afternoon.
Let’s get caught up on an outstanding weekend of action in the week’s edition of the Monday Morning Wrap-Up.
At the Missouri State High School Activities Association State Volleyball Championship in Cape Girardeau, Mo., Lafayette claimed their seventh title and first since 2016 with a 3-1 victory over Kickapoo in the Class 5 title game. The Lancers opened the match with a 25-19 win in the first set before the Lady Chief grabbed the second set 26-24. Lafayette took control of the match with a 25-10 win in the third set and closed the match out with a 25-17 victory in the fourth set to win the title. Maya Witherspoon and Allison Risley paced the Lancers offense with 17 kills each while Alyssa Nelson dished out 55 assists in the match. Nelson completed the double-double with a team-high 21 digs. This was the 10th appearance for the Lancers in the state final four.
In the Class 4 state final match, Westminster needed four sets to earn the state title for the second consecutive year as the Wildcats downed Incarnate Word 3-1 Friday afternoon. The Wildcats won the first set of the day by a score of 25-21 while the Red Knights rebounded to take the second set 25-17. Westminster then took the third set 25-19 and was able to hold off a surging Red Knight’s squad in the fourth set 25-23 to win their third state crown on the volleyball court. Abigail Siess led the Wildcats with 13 kills while Alexandra Nelson added 12 kills with Alexis Frazier handed out 25 assists. Incarnate Word was paced by Ellie Witthaus who had a game-high 23 kills with Sammi Bergjans dishing out 41 assists. Abby Fruend led the Red Knights defense with 20 kills as IWA earned the runner-up trophy for the fifth time in school history.
Photo Credit – Missouri State High School Activities Association
The Jefferson Blue Jays made school history by winning the Class 2 volleyball title with a 3-1 victory over Hermann. This is the first state championship in school history in any sport. After sweeping East Buchanan 3-0 in the semifinals, Jefferson fell in the first set to the Bearcats 25-16. In the second set, the Blue Jays found themselves down 22-15 and rallied to score 10 of the next 11 points to claim the set 25-23. Jefferson then won another tight set in the third by a score of 25-22 and claimed the title with a 25-19 win in the fourth set. Emma Breier paced the Blue Jays offense with 23 kills while Kirstyn Loyd added 14 kills in the win. Paige Siebert handed out 45 digs and completed the double-double with 14 digs with Ava Roth adding a game-high 26 digs in the victory.
At the MSHSAA Cross Country Meet at Gans Creek in Columbia, Mo., the Lafayette girls’ team joined their volleyball counterparts in claiming a state title as the Lancers won the Class 5 team title with 50 points while Raymore-Peculiar earned second place with 80 points. Cor Jesu finished just finished behind Blue Springs South with 120 points to round out the top four. Grace Tyson led the Lancers by winning the individual title in a time of 18:10.5 while teammate Natalie Barnard placed second in a time of 18:24.8. Elissa Bernard of Lafayette earned fifth place with a mark of 18:38.6 with Josie Baker of Kirkwood placing sixth with a time of 18:41.4.
In the Class 4 team race, Summit finished in second place with 111 points, just two points behind Father Tolton who scored 109 points to win the title. Clayton rounded out the top three with 112 points in a tightly contested team race. Julia Ray from MICDS won the individual race in a time of 18:14.7 while Washington’s Julia Donnelly placed second with a mark of 18:52.4. Caterina Rossomanno rounded out the top four with a time of 19:17.0.
In the Class 5 team standings at Gans Creek, St. Louis University High placed ninth with 221 points while Liberty took home the title with 77 points. Luke Stevenson from Pattonville was the top area performer with an eighth-place showing in a time of 15:49.3.
It was a Jefferson County sweep atop the podium in Class 4 as Hillsboro won the title with 35 points while Festus came in second with 78 points. Hillsboro’s Josh Allison took home the individual title with a time of 15:38.9 with Ian Schram of Festus placing second with a mark of 15:47.7. Jonah Allison joined his teammate from Hillsboro on the podium with a third-place mark of 15:50.4.
In Class 3 girls’ action, St. Charles West scored 74 points to win their first state cross-country title since 1998. Genevieve Wacker led the Warriors with a seventh-place finish in a time of 19:23.0 as she was the only local runner to finish in the Top 10. Herculaneum finished second in the Class 3 boys’ chase with 111 points, which was five points behind the eventual winner, Father Tolton, who scored 106 points. John Burroughs claimed the third spot in the team race with 116 points. James Wortham of St. Charles West led the locals with a fourth-place finish in a time of 16:20.7 while Charles Glatz of Burroughs earned fifth place in a time of 16:31.6.
The Whitfield boys’ team earned the runners-up spot in the Class 2 team race with 134 points, as they finished behind Stockton, who scored 120 points. Jackson Brungart led the Warriors’ efforts with a fifth-place finish in a time of 16:59.0. On the girls’ side, Metro placed third in the team chase with 159 points. Kensington Curd of Brentwood paced the local runners with a fourth-place finish in a time of 19:52.7 while Metro’s Yuri Malone finished sixth in a time of 20:05.8.
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
