West Newsmagazine 3-6-24

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March 6, 2024
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
I SPORTS I 31
Class 1 meet with 168 points.
The result was a seventh consecutive
top-four finish for
Parkway West.
“This was the best we could
have scored so I am really proud
of how (the girls) all showed up
at state ready to score points,”
coach Coleen Sumner said.
“They knew it was going to be
very competitive for the third
through sixth spots at state and
the goal was to be in the top
four. Third place was great for
this small, but fierce, team.”
Several Longhorns stood out
at state, Sumner said.
“Maddi Lang and Sydney
Matheny are event buddies and did well in
the 200 and 500 free events. Ava McLeod
in 100 breast and freshman Brynna Vogler,
who got her first state point in the 100 fly.
All three relays had a great showing, scoring
medals in each of them,” Sumner said.
The Longhorns will have nine girls
returning for next season, including divers.
Parkway Central finish fourth in
Class 1
The Colts tied Notre Dame de Sion for
fourth place in the Class 1 state meet with
134 points.
The result left Parkway Central coach
Marquette High cheerleaders finished second in Class 6 at state.
(Source: RSD)
Stephanie Seidel more than happy.
“I was thrilled with a fourth-place finish,”
Seidel said. “Going into state, the girls
were feeling good. Reality did hit though
as we approached finals. We knew that it
was a possibility, but our girls had to step
up and make some moves, and that is
exactly what they did.
“The girls worked so hard this season so
to watch them accomplish the goal they set
at the beginning of the year was wondering.
This entire season we had a team goal of
making it to the podium at state.”
It came down to the last event for the
Colts to achieve their goal of taking home
a trophy.
Parkway Central trailed the
Notre Dame de Sion Storm
heading into the 400-free relay
and finished behind its relay in
the prelims.
In the finals, the Colts bested
the Storm to earn the tie.
“We knew going into the 400-
free relay that we needed to beat
Notre Dame de Sion,” Seidel
said. “We were very fortunate
enough to be in a lane right next
to them, so I informed the girls
not to worry about anything
else but the team on the inside
of you. Beat them and we will
podium. They were focused
and determined. There were tears of joy and
pure excitement and happiness.
“We had a great overall season. The girls
swam well and continued to show great
growth and drops throughout the season. I
am fortunate to have a very young team. I
am only losing three amazing seniors, with
only one of them being a state finalist in
Ella Harris. The rest of my state team will
be returning.”
Outstanding cheer teams
At the recent Missouri Cheerleading
Coaches Association Game Day State
Championships, Marquette High and
Rockwood Summit both earned top-four
finishes in their divisions. Marquette finished
second in Class 6, and Rockwood
Summit finished fourth in Class 4.
Meanwhile in the Division Championships,
Parkway Central Dance took first
in Division 4 Hip-Hop and first in Poms,
and were second overall. The team also
claimed seven academic awards. Parkway
West High’s Longhorn Line took home
third place in Hip-Hop and fourth place
in Poms. The Parkway South Patriettes
claimed second place in Lyrical Jazz and
fourth place in Hip-Hop.
High school boys basketball
Parkway South senior Eddie Ahearn on
became the fifth player in the boys basketball
program’s history to score 1,000
points.
Ahearn scored a game-high 33 points in
a 55-38 win over visiting Riverview Gardens
on Senior Night.
Ahearn finished the regular season by
averaging 13.7 points a game.
Earlier this season, the 6-foot-3 and 200-
pound senior forward became the school’s
leading rebounder. Ahearn also holds the
school record for career charges.
See SPORTS BRIEFS, page 32