The St. Louis area will be well represented at this weekend’s Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 3 state championships in Columbia this weekend.
Top-ranked Madison Prep (28-2) will take on Lutheran North (20-11) today in a battle of St. Louis in one semifinal game at the Mizzou Arena. Tip-off is at noon. The winner will take on either Fatima or Kansas City St. Pius X for the state championship on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The third-place game will be on Friday at noon.
Madison Prep coach Tony Irons will be trying to win his first state championship as a coach 30 years after his father, Floyd Irons, won his first state championship in his legendary career at Vashon High in 1983.
Ironically, Irons will be coaching against his alma mater, Lutheran North, where he was the point guard on the Crusaders’ Class 2A state championship team in 2002.
Madison Prep features one of the area’s top backcourts in seniors Martavian Payne and Kevin Baker. The 6’2” Payne averages 18.2 points and 6.6 rebounds a game while the 6’0” Baker averages 14.8 points and six assists a game. Both a Division I talents. Senior forward Miles Nettles is an all-purpose player who averages 10 points and 9.5 rebounds a game.
Senior Eric Clark and juniors Anthony Lee and Terrell Herndon round out the Bears’ rotation. The Bears are not very big, but they are very tenacious and they play well together. To get to the Final Four, Madison Prep had to defeat top teams Maplewood and Charleston.
Lutheran North is on a roll heading into the weekend with nine consecutive victories. The Crusaders finished third in the Class 3 state tournament a year ago. Senior Anthony Virdure has been tremendous down the stretch of his career. The 6’0” senior guard is averaging 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals per game. Virdure will finish his career with more than 2,000 points.
The Crusaders also feature 5’8” junior point guard Isaiah Holman, who averages 11.7 points and 5.8 assists per game. He sparks the Crusaders’ up-tempo attack. Senior Chris Davis is averaging nearly seven points a game while 6’5” junior Renell Wren averages six points and nearly nine rebounds a game.
On the girls side, North Tech will be making its first ever Final Four appearance on Thursday. The Golden Eagles (20-6) will face Lutheran-St. Charles (26-4) in the state semifinals today at 3:20 p.m. The winner will face either St. James or Cameron for the state championship on Saturday at 1:20 p.m. The third-place game will be on Friday at 1:40 p.m.
North Tech advanced to Columbia with thrilling playoff victories over Hermann and Palmyra. The Golden Eagles have a strong inside duo in 5’11” senior Vivianna Carter and 5’11” junior Anjanee Miller. Carter is averaging 16.1 points and seven rebounds a game while Miller is averaging 13.9 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Khalia Miller averages 15 points a game. The 5’6” junior is also an excellent 3-point shooter.
Lutheran-St. Charles is directed by head coach Erin Pauk, who led Lutheran to the Final Four as a player. Her top player is 5’8” senior Lauren Orr, who is averaging 14.8 points a game. Senior Claire Schoedel averages nine points a game while 6’1” freshman Savannah Kluesner and 5’10” junior Jessica Skerston provide size in the post.
