All-star wrestling program gets reprieve
The annual East-West All-Metro Wrestling Classic is moving to the East Side. The annual all-star high school wrestling showcase, which many feared was in jeopardy with the Ron Mirikitani’s exit at Meramec, has found a new life – and a new home. The all-star matches will be March 16 at the Jon Davis Wrestling Center in Edwardsville. The program, which matches the top high school seniors from the St. Louis side of the Mississippi against the top wrestlers on the Illinois side of the river. This year’s matches will be the 34th annual.
The all-star matches traditionally have been held at Meramec with the legendary Mirikitani overseeing the program. This has been a difficult stretch for Mirikitani and Meramec wrestling. The longtime coach lost his wrestling job early in the fall when Meramec officials reported several violations to the National Junior College Athletic Association. Coming on the heels of that was the announcement that the wrestling program would be one of several teams discontinued by the St. Louis Community College District.
Ron Wilhelm of Northwest is one of a couple Missouri coaches involved with organizing the Missouri all-star team. As of late last week, the group still was checking with the area’s all-state medalists to see who would be available.
Usually, availability is not an issue. The all-star matches are a big deal and most of the area’s top seniors are anxious to be part of the program. This season, though, the East-West matches run conflict with the St. Louis Wrestling Officials Association’s annual awards dinner, a popular program that salutes wrestlers from across the area.
COLLEGE DECISIONS: Two of the area’s top senior athletes have locked in their college plans. Windsor football and wrestling standout Brandon Campbell signed a letter of intent to join the football program at Truman State on Monday. Cole Allison of Festus also has made up his mind. The track and cross country standout will sign a letter of intent with Southern Illinois University on Friday.
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WANNA FIGHT? If you want to start an argument in the next week or two, tell an area basketball fan who your picks are for player of the year in boys and girls basketball. This always is worth a good argument – and this year offers more opportunities to raise your blood pressure while making a case (convincing, no doubt) for your selection. The leading contenders in the JCC large-school division are Cody Roberts of Festus and John Krodinger and Jared White of De Soto. In the small schools, Stephen Caprinica of Grandview and Kyle Rollet of St. Vincent probably are at the top of the list. On the girls side, Shelby Cable of De Soto and Natalie Bauwens of Perryville look like Nos. 1 and 1A in the large-school division, and St. Pius X standouts Gabrielle Moser and Tori Aubuchon are the best bets in the small schools. …
Speaking of postseason honors, it’s hard to imagine Marissa Lehnig of Seckman not walking off with her second MVP award in the Suburban South Conference. Lehnig had a spectacular season – arguably the best of any county player, boy or girl. The senior ran away with the league scoring title (19.6). She also topped the conference in steals and was in the top five in rebounding and assists.
OUTDOOR HONORS: Rex Vaughn of Festus recently honored by the Missouri Department of Conservation as the St. Louis Region’s 2009 Bow Hunting Instructor of the Year. A member of the Festus-Crytal City Conservation Club, the Conservation Federation of Missouri, the North American Hunting Club and the National Rifle Association, Vaughn is one of the links that connects a long line of area, state and national outdoors groups.
NICE MOVE: The Tiger Town Invitational is getting a new name. The annual early-April meet at Festus High will become the McCullough/Douglass Invitational this year. The move salutes the achievements of Adam McCullough and his standout track teams at Douglass High. A longtime track and football coach at Festus, McCullough coached Douglass to track and field state championships in 1952 and ‘53. Douglass, located in Festus, was the region’s African-American high school during the segregation era.
TAKE-A-BOW TIME: Last week, we made note of Dave Weiss’s inclusion in the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame. This week, several more HOF lists, including the latest group of honorees in the St. Louis Softball Hall of Fame, came flying over the transom. If you check Page C5, you’ll find lists of the latest baseball and softball inductees along with the new HOF classes for a couple South County schools. Our coverage always will be focused on Jefferson County, but the area has more and more St. Louis city and county transplants so when we come across items like the St. Mary’s and Hancock hall of fame honorees, we’ll try to give readers a look at what’s what with their old schools.
MORE IS BETTER: Drew Moore of Northwest is a first-teamer on the all-St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball team. The 6-foot-3 junior forward at Webster University also was named to the SLIAC all-defensive team. Moore was a do-it-all guy for the 13-13 Gorlocks. He was the Gorlocks’ leader in scoring (13.3 ppg), rebounding, steals and blocked shots.
