With Earl Austin Jr.
Ware shows his golf wares at state
Kortland Ware finished an excellent golf career at Whitfield High by earning All-State honors at this week’s Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 2 State Championships in Springfield.
A three-time state qualifier, Ware finished in a tie for 10th place to earn his first All-State medal. He shot a two-day total of 153 at the Deer Lake Golf Course. The top 15 finishers at the state tournament earn All-State recognition. His stellar play led the Warriors to a fifth place finish in the team standings, which was Whitfield’s best showing at the state tournament.
Ware qualified for the state tournament by winning his second consecutive individual district title. Ware shot a 2-under-par 68 to win the District 2 title, held last week at the Norman K. Probstein Golf Course in Forest Park. With Ware leading the way, Whitfield was also able to win its first-ever district team title in golf.
Ware will play college golf at Jackson State University next year.
Daugherty to SEMO
Hancock High basketball standout Sonya Daugherty signed a national letter of intent to attend Southeast Missouri State this week. The 5’8″ guard was the two-time St. Louis American Player of the Year and one of the top 10 scorers in the history of Missouri girls prep basketball with 2,703 career points.
A four-year starter, Daugherty led the Tigers to two consecutive Final Four berths in the Class 3 state tournament in Columbia. Hancock finished fourth in 2004 and third this season. As a senior, Daugherty averaged 23.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in leading Hancock to a 27-3 record. As a junior, Daugherty averaged 32 points and nine rebounds in leading Hancock to its first ever district title and first berth in the Final Four in the state tournament.
Southeast Missouri State is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. In 2005, the Redhawks won 20 games and advanced to the finals of the OVC postseason tournament.
Strode strides to state
Pattonville High senior tennis star Blake Strode qualified for the Missouri Class 3 state tennis championships for the fourth time. Strode will be one of the favorites for the state singles title at next weekend’s state tournament in Springfield. He defeated Dan Levy of Parkway North in straight sets to win the District 4 title at Fort Zumwalt South.
Strode is currently 23-0 this season. He won the Edwardsville Tournament, the Suburban North Conference title to go along with his district title. Strode was the Class 3 state runner-up in singles in 2004.
Hughes defensive honors
The postseason honors continued to roll in for St. Louisan Larry Hughes of the Washington Wizards. Hughes was named to the National Basketball Association All-Defensive First Team last week. Hughes joins Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace (Detroit), Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen (San Antonio) and Kevin Garnett (Minnesota) on the team. Hughes led the NBA in steals at 2.9 a game, the league’s highest average in 10 seasons.
Hoops tourneys this w/e
There will be two big select basketball tournaments this weekend. The St. Louis Eagles Basketball Tournament will be held this weekend at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia. The Eagles Tournament annually features some of the top players from around the United States. It will feature teams from St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, Minnesota, Tennessee and Milwaukee. The championship games will be held on Sunday at noon for the 16s and 1:30 p.m. for the 17s. This is the 10th year for the Eagles Tournament.
The St. Louis Falcons will host the Midwest Basketball Showdown, which will be held at Vashon High and Forest Park Community College. The tournament will feature 36 teams in the 15, 16 and 17-year old age groups from Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Kentucky. Pool play will begin on Friday night at Vashon, beginning at 7 p.m. It will continue on Saturday at both locations, beginning at 9 a.m. and running all day.
The championship games will be played on Sunday at Vashon with the 15s at 2 p.m, the 16s at 3 p.m. and the 17s at 4 p.m. Some of the top teams featured include the St. Louis GameFace, St. Louis Falcons, St. Louis Primetime, Midwest Storm, Illinois Wolves, St. Louis Majestics and Kansas City Blue Devils.
