It was another tremendous season of high school sports in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Before we put the wraps on another great year, let’s take a look back at what was a successful 2017-18 season.
CBC dominates the gridiron: Despite losing several key players to injuries, the talented Cadets kept on trucking all the way to the Class 6 state championship, defeating Blue Springs 31-14 in the title game. Junior quarterback Brett Gabbert kept things moving while running back Bryan Bradford had a big championship game. CBC’s defense also came to the forefront as they won their second state title in four years.
Lutheran North-Trinity stage epic game: One of the best events of the high school season took place in November when the Crusaders and Titans met for a district championship in Class 2 football. The anticipation for the game was building for a year and it more than lived up to the hype with more than 5,000 fans. Lutheran North edged Trinity 48-46 in a game full of big plays, back-and-forth action and a dramatic stop of a two-point conversion the Lutheran North on the game’s final play.
Webster Groves goes back-to-back: The Statesmen took home the Class 5 state championship in boys’ basketball for the second consecutive year. The year started off shaky with star guard Courtney Ramey missing the first part of the season with a broken wrist. With Ramey’s return, he and star forward Carte’are Gordon led Webster Groves on another state title run, which culminated in a 100-91 victory over Chaminade in the state championship game in Springfield.
Kirkwood girls do it again: The Kirkwood girls’ basketball repeated as Class 5 state champions and they did it in dominating fashion. They defeated Kickapoo 67-50 in the state championship game. The Pioneers were led by their talented trio of Division I guards Jayla Everett, Jayla Stewart and Makayla Wallace.
Belleville West makes history: The Maroons made history by winning the school’s first ever state championship in boys’ basketball. West defeated defending state champion Chicago Whitney Young in the Illinois Class 4A state championship game. The Maroons rode the talents of All-State forward E.J. Liddell, who was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Illinois.
Incarnate Word dynasty continues: It was another year and another state championship for the Red Knights, who won their fifth Class 4 state championship in six years. After surviving an overtime game against Kearney in the state semifinals, IWA cruised past Carl Junction to repeat as state champions. Senior guard Sonya Morris led the way en route to Ms. Show-Me Basketball honors.
Malik Johnson leads CBC to title: The senior wrestler capped off a spectacular career by winning his fourth consecutive individual state championship and finishing 30-0 in the process. As a bonus, Johnson’s individual brilliance helped lead the Cadets to their first team state championship in the school’s history.
ROTC track brings home the ‘ship: The Cleveland Naval Jr. ROTC Commanders continued its mastery over the state in Class 2 boys’ track as they took home another state championship. ROTC rode the talents of their gifted trio of seniors Kelsey Cole, Antonio Norman and James Allen to a repeat state championship.
MICDS girls dominate the track: After missing a repeat state championship by one point last season, a motivated Rams team came back to dominate the Class 4 competition to win this year’s state title with 88 points. MICDS featured tremendous talent with seniors Zionn Pearson, Cara Johnson and junior Jhordin Galmore, who were all individual state champions.
JBS girls take home track title: The Bombers defeated a talented field of teams to take home the Class 3 state championship, edging local rivals Cardinal Ritter and Trinity. The Bombers rode the talents of jumper Bria Ward, who won the long jump and triple jump; and freshman standout Kylie Goldfarb, who was the champion in the 800 and 1,600.
Cardinal Ritter boys’ track takes the gold: The Lions took home the Class 3 state championship in impressive fashion by scoring 72 points. Despite losing star sprinter Hasani Barr to an injury, the Lions rallied around the talents of top football prospect Jameson Williams, who had a big state meet to lead Ritter to the top spot.
Brandon Miller takes down record: The sophomore track sensation broke a 30-year state record when he posted a time of 1 minute 49.55 seconds in the 800-meter run at the Class 3 State Championships in Jefferson City. The former record holder, Billy Rainey, of Springfield Parkview was also in the house to see the young star break his long-standing record.Â
