Athletes of the week
Paul Kopsky/STLhighschoolSPORTS.com | Cardinal Ritter's Eric Clark.
Seven area athletes who excelled last week.
Eric Clark
Cardinal Ritter basketball
During the Lions’ current five-game winning streak, Clark, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, has averaged 21.8 points and 9.8 rebounds. That includes a 26-point, 12-rebound game against CBC, the No. 8 team in the Post-Dispatch large-schools rankings. A four-year varsity performer, Clark earned all-tournament honors at the Normandy Holiday Tournament this season and was the player of the year in the AAA last season.
Greg Jackson
Edwardsville wrestling
A senior, Jackson ran his record to 42-4 with a 7-5 victory over two-time Missouri champion and previously unbeaten Conor Hovis of Whitfield last week. In tournament competition this season, Jackson took first place at St. Charles West, second at Dvorak (Chicago) and third at Granite City. Jackson, ranked fifth in Illinois at 130 by Illinois Best Weekly, has qualified for state three times, twice advancing to the quarterfinals.
Meghan McKenna
Crossroads basketball
During a recent hot streak, McKenna, a 5-foot-2 senior guard, stepped up her offensive game to help the Current win three consecutive games. She scored 19 points vs. Bayless, 24 against Maplewood RH and 19 vs. Dupo. McKenna, who is averaging 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.6 steals, was a first team all-conference selection in the South Central AA last season after being named to the second team her sophomore year.
Angela Samuel
Cleveland Naval Jr. ROTC basketball
A 5-foot-6 junior point guard, Samuel put up big numbers in three consecutive Commanders victories last week — against St. Louis Christian (24 points, eight rebounds, seven steals), E.H. Lyle (29 points, 10 rebounds, nine steals) and Vashon (27 points, 12 rebounds, 12 steals). Samuel, a first-team all-conference pick in the PHL her first two seasons, leads the team in scoring (17.6), rebounding (8.0), assists (3.1) and steals (5.8) this season. She also runs track and plays softball.
Daniel Scherer
MICDS wrestling
A senior, Scherer won the title at 171 at the MICDS Eric Lewis Invitational. Scherer (44-0) has also won tournament titles at Westminster, Ritenour, Cape Central, Hazelwood Central and St. Charles. Scherer is on pace to break school records for career wins, wins in a single season, pins in a single season, career team points and team points in a single season. Scherer, who has placed third at state in Class 2 the last two seasons, has committed to Stanford.
Kevin Straughter
North Tech basketball
A 6-foot-3 senior swingman, Straughter is among the area scoring leaders at 20.8 points per game and is averaging nearly 30 points over his last four games. That includes 39 points against Christian-O’Fallon and 34 vs. Bayless. Straughter has been named to all-tournament teams at Lutheran St. Charles and Orchard Farm, where he was honored for scoring the most points in a single game (34) and most 2-point field goals (15) in a game.
Matt Warnecke
Belleville West bowling
A senior, Warnecke won a fifth-place medal in the individual portion of the Illinois state bowling tournament at St. Clair Bowl. Warnecke, who rolled eight strikes in his final eight frames, had a two-day total of 2,698 pins (224.8 average), winding up 101 pins behind the state champ. For the season, he averaged 211.
Coaches, send athlete of the week nominations to Paul Kopsky at pkopsky@stltoday.com.
