By Jim Wieners

High Schools have nearly two weeks off from classroom work after this Friday, Dec. 20, but the winter sports teams will spend that time mainly in pre-holiday or during holiday tournaments.

Four North County high school GIRLS BASKETBALL teams including three from the Florissant Valley area will compete in the annual Duchesne Holiday Invitational, in St. Charles, which begins Saturday, Dec. 21, continues Dec. 23 and ends Dec. 27. Hazelwood East (seeded third); Hazelwood West (seeded fourth) and McCluer (seeded seventh) will begin the tournament a day after finishing the Fort Zumwalt North Invitational and will join fifth-seeded Jennings and top-seeded St. Charles High, who is going for their third straight title.  After St. Charles opens the tournament Saturday, 10 a.m. against University City, McCluer battles host Duchesne (the number two seed) at 11:30 a.m., Hazelwood East plays John F. Kennedy at 1 p.m., and Hazelwood West battles Jennings at 2:30.

Also this Saturday the prestigious girls Visitation Christmas Tournament begins at 10 a.m. with Notre Dame-St. Louis battling Cor Jesu and the first day of the four-day event closes with top-seeded Incarnate Word Academy playing at 8:30 against Lafayette. Also that day at 5:30 Hazelwood Central, consolation title winners last year and seeded 11th this year takes on sixth-seeded Blue Springs. The Tournament will also be played this Sunday (Dec. 22) and continues Dec. 26-27.

Incarnate Word, defending Class Four State Champion, is going for their sixth straight Visitation Tournament title.

McCluer North Girls will be in the Edwardsville, Ill., Tournament, Dec. 27-28, and after the holidays the North Star ladies will be in the Parkway West Tournament Jan. 6-9, 2014. Lutheran North heads to O’Fallon, Mo., to compete in the St. Dominic Tournament, Dec. 26-28, Riverview Gardens is in the Cardinal Ritter Tournament, Dec. 26-28, and McCluer South-Berkeley is in the Ritenour Tournament, Dec. 26-28.

In BOYS BASKETBALL the Meramec Holiday Festival will take place on the Meramec campus of St. Louis Community College Dec. 26-30. Hazelwood Central, defending tournament champion, is the top seed and opens Dec. 26, 7 p.m. against Lindbergh followed at 8:30 with eight-seeded DeSmet against ninth-seeded Jennings, who is making their first appearance. Hazelwood East, making their first appearance as the number 10 seed, will play seventh-seeded Lafayette Dec. 27 at 8:30.

Also in Boys Basketball North Technical will defend their title in St. Peters at the Lutheran-St. Charles County Cougar Classic this Thursday-Saturday (Dec. 19-21), McCluer North returns to the Collinsville (Ill.), Schnucks Holiday Classic (Dec. 26-28) where the Stars won two years ago, McCluer heads to the Carbondale (Ill.) Holiday Tournament, Lutheran North and Trinity Catholic will be in the Mary Institute-Country Day School Tournament (Dec. 26, 28, 30), Hazelwood West and Pattonville will be in the Chaminade Christmas Tournament (Dec. 26-28) and the Normandy Tournament (Dec. 26-28) has no area teams but Ritenour is the only other North County team in the oldest St. Louis area Christmas tourney.

WRESTLING — Most of the area teams will be involved this weekend (Friday and/or Saturday, Dec. 20-21) in tournaments before the holidays. On Dec. 20-21 Hazelwood Central, Hazelwood West, McCluer  and Ritenour head to St. Peters for the Fort Zumwalt East Invitational, McCluer North travels to the Kansas City area for the Lee’s Summit Tournament and McCluer South-Berkeley is in the Harrisonville Tournament while on Dec. 21 Hazelwood East heads to the Chaminade Tournament. During the holidays, on Dec, 27-28,  Hazelwood East, Hazelwood West and McCluer will be in the Lindbergh Holiday Tournament while McCluer north heads to the prestigious Granite City, Ill., Tournament.

On Jan. 3-4, 2014, Hazelwood Central will host the All Suburban Conference Wrestling Tournament with the three Hazelwood Schools, the three Ferguson-Florissant Schools, four Parkway District Schools, four Rockwood District Schools, Affton, Clayton, Fox-Arnold, Kirkwood, Ladue, Lindbergh, Maplewood-Richmond Heights, Mehlville, Normandy, Northwest-Cedar Hill, Oakville, Pattonville, Ritenour, Riverview Gardens, Seckman-Imperial, University City and Webster Groves. Matches start at 5:15 Jan. 3 and 10 a.m. Jan. 4. The meet is presented in conjunction with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.