The St. Louis area swept the top three spots in the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 1 state swimming and diving championships this past weekend at the Rec-Plex in St. Peters, Mo. while Kirkwood earned the third-place spot in Class 2. It is also the state final four week in boys’ soccer at the WorldWide Soccer Park, in Fenton, Mo.
Parkway Central claimed the Class 1 title by scoring 290 points to win their first swimming title since 1978. The Colts won five events en route to the championship this past weekend. Chaminade earned second place with 234 points while Parkway West grabbed the third spot on the podium with 166 points.
The Colts opened the championship heats by winning the 200-yard medley with a time of 1:34.24 as Brody Blatt, Jake Hansen, Dan Richmann, and William Jost swam to give Parkway Central their first points of the meet. Jost then turned in a time of 20.70 to win the 50-yard Free and then won the 100-yard Free with a mark of 45.29. The Colt’s 200-yard Free relay team of Quin Wolff, Tyler Bryant, Hanson, and Jost took the title with a Class 1 record time of 1:25.74. Hansen added to the score with a first-place finish in the 100-yard Breaststroke with a time of 55.96.
The Red Devils were paced by junior Matthew Judkins as he won the 200-yard IM in a time of 1:51.64 and the 100-yard Fly with a mark of 48.97. He also aided the Chaminade 400-yard Free relay team in winning the event with a time of 3:11.25.
Other area winners included Graham Zucker of Clayton, who won the 200-yard Free in a time of 1:40.66 and the 100-yard Breaststroke with a mark of 50.48. Bennet Loving from Webster Groves took home the diving title with 499.05 points.
In Class 2, Julio Suarez paced the Kirkwood efforts with a win in the 200-yard IM in a time of 1:51.90 while teammate Max Marcus claimed the 500-yard Free title in a time of 4:31.02. Kirkwood also grabbed second place in the 200-yard medley relay with Josh Denckhoff, Adam Bauer, Suarez, and Grady Ashley swimming the event in a time of 1:35.31.
The field is set for the boys’ soccer semifinals Friday as seven teams will make their way to the pitch in Fenton.
In Class 1, Bishop DuBourg defeated Brentwood 3-0 to advance to the state semifinals for the first time since 1979 while Borgia advanced to take on the Cavaliers with a convincing 7-0 victory over Duchesne. The rivals from the AAA conference will play Friday at 10 a.m.
In Class 2, Orchard Farm moved on to the semifinals with a 3-1 win over Helias and will face Saxony Lutheran, who defeated Principia 1-0. That match-up will happen Friday at 2:30 p.m.
In Class 3, Webster Groves returns to the state semifinals after defeating Cape Notre Dame 4-0 Saturday. The Statesmen are back in the state final four for the first time since 2019. They will take on Whitfield, who beat Fort Zumwalt East 1-0. The defending Class 2 champion Warriors moved up in class this season and will look to win their ninth state title.
A pair of local teams will match up in the Class 4 semifinals as CBC heads back to the final four for the first time since 2018 as the Cadets defeated Lindbergh 1-0 Saturday. CBC is looking for its 11th state championship. They will take on St. Dominic after the Crusaders beat Chaminade 2-1. St. Dominic will attempt to win their sixth and first state championship since 2013.
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
