In my nearly 40 years of covering high school sports in the St. Louis metro area, one of my favorite places to visit was the old Eskridge High in Wellston.
Each year, on the opening day of high school basketball practice, I made it a habit to take my first visit to 1200 Sutter to see what was cooking with Coach Al Galloway and his Wellston Trojans. It became an annual tradition to see the Trojans first before anybody else. Soon after, I would also go visit the girls’ basketball team, which was led by head coach Carl Davis.
It has been a decade since Wellston High closed its doors for good, but the memories of those great Wellston basketball players and teams from the past are still vivid in my mind. That little gym would rock on Friday nights as fans were treated to some of the best boys and girls basketball talent that the St. Louis area had to offer.
As we celebrate Black History Month, it is only fitting that we celebrate the anniversary of two of those special teams in Wellston basketball history. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Wellston boys team that won the Missouri Class 2A state championship. A decade later, the Wellston girls’ followed suit by winning the Class 2A state title. It is the 30th anniversary of that team’s great achievement.
I was a sophomore in college at Lindenwood University in 1984 when Wellston won its first state championship at the Hearnes Center in Columbia. The Trojans defeated Slater 67-50 to take home the crown. It was a close game at halftime, but the Trojans broke the game open with its signature 1-2-2 full court press that caused turnover after turnover and a number of fast break layups. That 1-2-2 press became a staple at Wellston much like the Green Bay Packers sweep or the famed Quincy High (IL) ball press.
The star of that championship team was junior Edgar Wilson, a 6’5” guard with monstrous athletic ability and an all-around game to match. Edgar was an explosive athlete who could throw down impressive dunks, but he can also pull up and hit 25 footers at a moment’s notice. He was a magnificent talent who could do it all.
The supporting cast around Edgar was very talented as well with forward Dywon Newell, who joined Wilson on the Class 2A All-State team. Chris Robinson and Rodney Jenkins were talented wing players while Garry Beals was an excellent point guard who ran the show.
The following year, Garry Beals became a teammate of mine at Lindenwood as our starting point guard. That was when I started to gain my connection with Wellston through Garry, who they called “Bullet.” He would tell stories all the time about Edgar and the rest of the guys.
During the fall, Garry would take a bunch of us Lindenwood guys up to Wellston and we would play pickup ball against the Wellston team. I used to have to match up with Edgar. That’s when I found out how really good he was. Wow. Those pick-up games at Wellston with those guys were the beginning of my special connection to the Wellston program that still exists today.
Now, fast forward the clock 10 years and I was back at Wellston watching another state championship run. Only this time, I was working in the media and was able to chronicle every moment of the Trojanettes journey to the state title.
While the boys team was led by Edgar Wilson, the girls team was also led by a special talent in LaShonda Albert. LaShonda was a 6’1” guard who was simply one of the best girls players that the St. Louis area has ever produced. She was a tall guard with a flashy game and she could score from anywhere on the court. People came from all over the city to watch LaShonda play and she would always put on a show-stopping performance. She scored more than 2,600 points during her fabulous career at Wellston.
In a district championship game against host Orchard Farm, LaShonda scored 60 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. And she did it in just three quarters as she took a seat for the fourth quarter. Playing alongside her was her talented sister Tanisha Albert, a 5’9” sophomore guard who averaged nearly 20 points a game. Tanisha was a rock solid performer who can score, handle the ball and play excellent defense.
Bertha Williams, Latoya Watson, Tyresa Robinson and Barbara Washington were also solid players who rounded out the lineup. In the state quarterfinals against Kelly, the Albert sisters combined for 52 points and 24 rebounds in a 69-44 victory.
The state championship game against Warsaw was a thriller as Wellston rallied to win 53-52 behind 29 points from LaShonda. She sent the Hearnes Center into a frenzy when she pulled up and hit a 25-footer to tie the game at 50-50 with just over a minute to play. And it was Tanisha who scored the go-ahead bucket in the closing seconds as the Trojanettes won their first state championship. Tanisha finished with 18 points in the state finals.
If you grew up in the Wellston community or happened to catch a game at the high school, you knew that 1200 Sutter was a special place to be on a Friday night.
The “Wellston” high school you’re referring to was named “”HALTER HIGH SCHOOL “ before it was renamed “Eskridge”.