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BY JIM WIENERS

McCluer North and Hazelwood East became the standout high schools during the just-concluded winter season, especially in Basketball and Wrestling.
McCluer North won their first State Boys Basketball title, their sixth overall since opening in 1971. North has already won state in Girls Basketball, has won three State Wrestling titles and their Boys Soccer title in the winter of 1975 was the third for the Suburban North Conference in four winter seasons (McCluer won in 1972 and Normandy won in 1974).

Hazelwood East Girls Basketball made their second consecutive State Semifinal appearance, after finishing fourth last year. It was the second time a Hazelwood District high school made two consecutive State Semifinal appearance joining Hazelwood Central’s 1984 and 1985 teams. The second straight state appearance for East this year ended with a second-place finish, just like Central did in 1985, after finishing third in ‘84.

McCluer North and Hazelwood East excelled in Wrestling, even though neither finished in the top four in team standings. McCluer North, who took eighth in Class Four team standings, and Hazelwood East, a 15th-place finisher, each had a senior winning an individual state championship. McCluer North’s Donald Woods was an undefeated state champion at 160 pounds while Hazelwood East’s Anthony Brock was a 189-pound state champion.

McCluer North had two more state wrestling medallists. Junior Kevin Knopf was second to Brock at 198 while senior Ryan Hatten was sixth at 285. So far McCluer North has four state individual medallists including Girls Cross Country Runner Mary Goldkamp, who finished seventh last November.

McCluer North’s Basketball championship was the second state trophy for the Stars including a Football Semifinal trophy last November.
East also had a second State Wrestling medallist — junior Dominique Thornton, who was sixth at 145. Other state winter medallists, all in Wrestling, include Hazelwood Central junior Terrell Smart, sixth at 140, Pattonville seniors Nathan Fine (fifth at 145) and Mike Roush (fourth at 285) and McCluer South-Berkeley senior Anthony Smith (fifth in Class Two at 135).

McCluer North also won the Suburban North Girls Swimming championship, last February. The key to winning that meet was winning the 200-yard medley relay, the first race of the meet, and the Stars never looked back. However none of McCluer North’s swimmers qualified for state.

While McCluer North won Class Five State Boys Basketball the Stars finished second in the Suburban North behind Hazelwood Central. Two of the three McCluer North losses were in the Suburban North (Hazelwood Central, Hazelwood East). Central did not get a rematch with McCluer North thanks to a district semifinal loss to Riverview Gardens.

Hazelwood East girls took second to Hazelwood Central in the Suburban North Tournament. East, Central and Riverview Gardens shared first place in the Suburban North Conference in league play. While Riverview lost to Hazelwood West in the first round of Class Five district play, After Central defeated East two times East defeated Central in the district finals, in overtime.

TWO FORMER SUBURBAN NORTH CONFERENCE TEAMS also went to state this year in basketball. St. Charles, who left the Suburban North after finishing third in Boys Class 4A State in 1976 and now is in the Gateway Athletic Conference North Division, took fourth in Class Four Boys. Normandy, who went from the Suburban North to the Suburban East after 2005-06, took fourth in Class Five Girls, 20 years after taking third place in Girls Class 4A.
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