Let’s talk some pro basketball before we move on to track performances as Memorial Day signals the coming of summer.
Former Incarnate Word Academy All-American Napheesa Collier has been brilliant during the first weeks of the WNBA season, leading the Minnesota Lynx to a 4-0 start.
She is currently averaging 29.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 56% from the field, 53% from 3-point range and 91% from the free throw line.
Collier is also favored to be named the 2025 WNBA Most Valuable Player, which would be her first MVP award. She was runner-up for MVP last year and also garnered the Defensive Player of the Year award.
While it is being acknowledged that St. Louis native Jayson Tatum will miss much, and likely most, of the 2025-26 season, his last campaign was spectacular.
The former Chaminade College Prep All-American and Boston Celtics superstar was selected to the All-NBA First Team for the fourth consecutive season. Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists a game.
He also made a career-high 250 3-pointers during the season. Tatum suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks.
Sectional Track Standouts
Bailey Hensgens (Incarnate Word): The talented sophomore won the high jump, long jump and triple jump at the Class 4, Sectional 1 meet at Hillsboro.
Jahmeshia Patterson (Festus): The sprinter won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes and ran legs on the first-place 4×100 and 4×200-meter relays at the Class 4, Sectional meet at Hillsboro.
Delaney Brinker (Ladue): Brinker finished first in the 100, 200 and 400 at the Class 5, Sectional 1 meet at Hillsboro.
Kyndall Spain (Cardinal Ritter): The South Carolina recruit won the 100-meter-high hurdles and 300-meter low hurdles at the Class 5, Sectional 1 meet at Hillsboro.
Stanley Brown (Parkway Central): The talented sprinter won the 200 and 400 and finished third in the 100 at the Class 4, Sectional 2 meet in Columbia.
Small school athletes shine at state
Lift for Life’s boys completed a successful season by bringing home a third-place trophy in the Class 3 team competition. Sprinter Dai’Shawn Houston finished third in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. He was also on the Hawks’ state-champion 4×100- and 4×200-meter relay teams. Lequan Witt finished fourth in the 400-meter dash and Kameron Hurst was seventh in the 110-meter-high hurdles.
Sprinter Michael Clark of Lutheran North finished second in the 400, seventh in the 200 and ran a leg on the Crusaders’ first-place 4×400. Chris Tao of John Burroughs won the state title in the 800-meter run. The Bombers also won the 4×800 and finished fifth in the 4×400. St. Mary’s finished second in the 4×200 and third in the 4×200.
In girls Class 3, Angel Mimes of Miller Career Academy finished fifth in the 100 and third in the 200. Gabrielle Campbell of Bayless was second in the 400 and Grace Prange of Lutheran South won the state title in the high jump. KIPP Legacy finished second in the 4×100 and seventh in the 4×200. Seventh-place finishers were Demea Hubbard of STEAM at McCluer South-Berkeley in the 100 and Lift for Life in the 4×100.
In girls Class 2, Genesis Garner of Lutheran North took home three all-state medals as she won the 200, finished second in the 100 and third in the 400. Ellen Hunigan of Whitfield finished second in the 400. In boys’ Class 2, Demetrious Thompson of Brentwood won the state title in the triple jump and finished third in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.
Earl’s World
John Burroughs basketball standout Sheek Pearson has given a commitment to Marquette University. A 6’11” forward, Pearson helped lead the Bombers to a berth in the Class 4 championship game in 2024. This past season, Pearson averaged 16.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game in leading the Bombers to a 21-7 record… Class 5 state champion Webster Groves and Class 3 state champion Principia will play in this weekend’s Hoops and Beyond Showcase at Webster…Congratulations to Carey Lewis, Jr. who was recently named as the new head basketball coach at CBC. Lewis has been the top assistant for the Cadets for the past four seasons.