It will be a huge weekend on the prep sports scene as four local teams will look to repeat as state champions on the second weekend of the Missouri State High School Activities Association State Track and Field Meet while the area’s girls’ soccer teams take the pitch in hopes of advancing to the state semifinals next weekend as the quarterfinals will happen Saturday afternoon.
Let’s get ready for more state tournament action in this week’s edition of the Friday Fast Break sponsored by Triad Bank.
The Class 3 thru 5 track and field athletes will head to Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City for the second weekend of action in the state capital. The Westminster boys and girls will move up in class in hopes to repeat as state champions while the Parkway Central and Cardinal Ritter girl’s squads will attempt to win consecutive state crowns.
In Class 3 boy’s action, Herculaneum may be one of the teams to beat after they won the sectional team title last weekend while Lutheran South earned the second slot at the sectional held at Hillsboro. Sam Vaughn will lead the Blackcats hopes as he took first in the 3200-meter run in a time of 10:07.35 and then grabbed second place in the 1600-meter with a mark of 4:35.13 as he finished behind teammate Nathaniel Wright who won the 1600-meter with a time of 4:33.86. Wright will also take part in the 800-meter run after a third-place finish at the sectional. Adam Snoke of Lutheran South will take part in three events as he won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:00.08 and then earned a third-place finish in the 1600-meter and a second-place finish in the 3200-meter runs.
In Class 3 girls’ action, Metro and Lutheran South will be a pair of teams to watch as they performed well in the sectional over the weekend. Leah Macon-Ford will lead the way for Metro as she won both the 100-meter dash in a time of 12.48 and the 200-meter dash with a mark of 26.58. Metro will also look to get points in the distance races as Lucy Luetkemeyer won a pair of events at the sectional as she took home the title in the 1600-meter run in a time of 5:28.56 and then she won the 3200-meter run with a mark of 12:03.79. Lutheran South will lean on junior Reese Schelp as she will take part in three events this weekend. Schelp placed second in both the 800-meter and 1600-meter runs while placing third in the 3200-meter.
In Class 4 boys, Hillsboro and Festus look to be part of a large group of athletes that will chase the team title. The Hawks will see Noah Holland in three events as he won the 200-meter in a time of 22.30 and then earned a second-place finish in the 100-meter and a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter. Ian Schram of Festus will look to add team points as he won the 1600-meter in a time of 4:20.95 and the 3200-meter with a mark of 9:27.78. Antwon McKay from Cardinal Ritter also won a pair of events as he took home the title in both the 110-meter high hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles.
Cor Jesu will be a team to watch in Class 4 as they won the team title at the sectional as Adrienne Luna will run in both distance events after winning the 3200-meter and placing second in the 1600-meter runs while Hillsboro’s Emily Wright will also run in two events after winning both the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles last weekend. Skye Lee from Parkway Central will lead the Colts as they look to win consecutive state titles as she won both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes and then took home the titles in both hurdle events.
In Class 5 action on the boy’s side, Ryan Wingo from St. Louis University High will be a man to watch in the sprints as he placed second in the 100-meter and third in a loaded 200-meter field at the sectional in Poplar Bluff. Graham Stevener of Kirkwood will pace the Pioneers’ efforts as he won the 800-meter and 1600-meter while Joseph Anderson of Westminster will lead the Wildcats’ hopes of repeating as he won the Triple Jump and placed third in the Long Jump.
The Cardinal Ritter girls will have a big group of athletes taking part in the Class 5 girls meet as Aniyah Brown will run in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races with Charlye Moody taking part in both the 200-meter and 400-meter after third-place finishes in both events. A’laji Bradley of Pattonville will help the Pirates in the team chase as she won all three sprinting events in the sectionals last weekend while Julia Ray from MICDS continues to be one of the top distance runners in the state after winning both the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs.
The quarterfinals in the MSHSAA Girls Soccer tournament will happen this Saturday as 14 teams will look to advance to the state semifinals next weekend at the WorldWide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton.
Metro will take on Saxony Lutheran Saturday in Cape Girardeau at 3 p.m. in one of the four Class 1 quarterfinals after defeating Maplewood-Richmond Heights in overtime to claim a district title. Metro will carry a 13-6 record into the match Saturday. Villa Duchesne will host Borgia in the other local semifinal Saturday at noon. Saints are 8-11-1 on the year and defeated Elsberry 6-2 to advance while the Knights are 10-14-1 after defeating Crocker 5-1 to move on in the tournament.
In a pair of local matchups in Class 2, St. Pius X out of Festus will look to advance to the semifinals for the second consecutive year as they will host Clayton Saturday at noon. The Lancers are 20-5-1 on the season after beating Perryville 1-0 to move on while the Greyhounds will take a 10-10 record into the contest after defeating St. Charles 5-0 in the district final. In the other quarterfinal, both Orchard Farm and Whitfield will look to make a return trip to the semifinals as they will square off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Orchard Farm. The Eagles are 13-8 on the year after defeating Duchesne 5-2 in the district final and will look to improve on last year’s runners-up finish in the state while the Warriors move up a class after winning Class 1 last year and will take a 14-1 record into the contest.
The two-time state champions in Class 3 return to the quarterfinals as Fort Zumwalt South will travel to Incarnate Word to take on the Red Knights Saturday at noon. The Bulldogs are 19-4 on the year after defeating Fort Zumwalt East 6-1 to claim the district crown while IWA upset No. 1 in the state John Burroughs 3-2 to advance with a 6-8-1 mark on the year. Ursuline will attempt to make their third straight appearance in the semifinals, traveling to Perryville to take on St. Vincent Saturday at noon. The Bears are 15-5-1 after needing a 3-2 come-from-behind victory in the district final over Webster Groves.
In Class 4, Nerinx Hall will once again look to get to the semifinals as they will travel south to take on Jackson Saturday at noon. The Markers are 17-2-1 after defeating St. Joseph’s 3-2 in the district final and will look to get a state title that has eluded them over the past few years. In the other quarterfinal, Lafayette will head to Wentzville to take on upstart Liberty in the other quarterfinal as the Lancers are 17-3 on the year after defeating Marquette 1-0 for the district title. The Eagles are 18-4-2 on the year and advanced after winning the district crown 3-0 over Howell Central.
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
