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Winter Prep Roundup Hazelwood Central, North County Christian Highlight Cage Season
BY JIM WIENERS
Hazelwood Central and North County Christian Girls and Boys Basketball teams stood out for the high school winter season in 2008-09 especially when it came to state tournaments.
Hazelwood Central girls finished first in the Suburban North Conference and third in Missouri State High School Activities Association Class Five. The Hawks were 26-3 overall and 7-0 in Suburban North Conference play and won the pre-season Suburban North Conference Tournament. The Hawks lost twice to Incarnate Word Academy and once to Class Five runner up Blue Springs.
Hazelwood Central boys had a 26-4 season but it ended in a MSHSAA Class Five quarterfinal loss to Oakville, who finished fourth in state. The Hawks, Suburban North Conference champions with a 7-0 record, defeated Class Five State Champion Chaminade and won a triple-overtime game over Maplewood-Richmond Heights, who won their second straight Class Three state championship last weekend at Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Mo. The Hawks also lost twice to Class Four quarterfinalist St. Charles West and once to CBC.
North County Christian boys enjoyed a near-perfect 24-1 season and won the Missouri Christian State Athletic Association Class 4A championship, their second in that sport in 10 years and sixth in all sports. NCCS was first in the Twin Rivers Christian Activities Association and won the TRCAA Tournament. The Crusaders’ only loss was to Liberty Faith, located in Springfield, Mo., in the Midwest Extravaganza Tournament title game.
NCCS girls had a 17-7 season and was second in MCSAA Class 4A State to Blue Ridge Christian. The Crusaders were 6-0 in the TRCAA and won the TRCAA Tournament. NCCS was 3-2 versus Tower Grove Christian and lost three games to West County Home School.
PREP NOTES — TRINITY CATHOLIC lost a 53-51 heartbreaker March 6 at Whitfield, eventual Class Three State runner up, in the District Five title game. Trinity’s rival in the Archdiocesan Athletic Association, Cardinal Ritter, won the Class Three Girls State title. Class Four, District Six champions McCluer South-Berkeley girls and Jennings boys both lost in the March 4 sectionals to eventual semifinalist Miller Career Academy.
WRESTLING — Two Hazelwood West wrestlers took home state medals from the Class Four State Tournament at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 21 — Antoine Price, fifth at 103 pounds, and senior Devon Brun, sixth at 171. Other Class Four wrestling medallists from Florissant Valley area schools include state runner ups Julian Smith, Hazelwood Central junior at 215 and Wesley Bell, McCluer senior at 285, and fifth-place finisher Charles Johnson, Hazelwood East senior at 125. McCluer South-Berkeley senior Willie Williams finished second in Class Two at 160 while Trinity Catholic junior Garrett Beckham was fourth in Class One at 145.
GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING — Hazelwood West junior Taylar Merriweather and Incarnate Word senior Natalie Vonarx, both qualified for the MSHSAA State One-Meter Diving Championships Feb. 21 at St. Peters’ Rec-Plex. Vonarx was a semifinalist while Merriweather was eliminated in the preliminaries. Pattonville senior Michelle Bell took eighth in the event won by Clayton senior Paige Meneses.
