FEBRUARY 22     The stories of the week are in the performance of the swimming team and the wrestling team in their respective state tournaments. The swimmers took six people to the state meet:   Maggie Chapman, Libby Cornwell, Maddi Hicks, Samantha Lund, Madison Qualy and Tess Yost. The team of Tess Yost, Maddi Hicks, Libby Cornwell and Maggie Chapman swam the 200 Free Relay, while the team of Libby Cornwell, Maddi Hicks, Maggie Chapman and Madison Qualy swam in the 400 Free Relay.  Madison Qualy swam two individual events:  the 200 IM, and the 100 Breast. Her times got her into the finals on the last day of the tournament where she finished 8th in the Breast and 16th in the 200 IM. Madison broke her own record in both events and earned first and second team All State recognition respectively in the two events. Leslie Kehr was proud of the girls' performance which was the squad's best showing at the state meet since 2002.

The wrestling team finished sixth in the State as a team—the highest finish in the state tournament in the history of the Bombers.  Kyle Feldmann (36-10) finished 6th in the state at 145. Adam Datema (35-4) finished 3rd in the state meet at 205.  Cory Lester (43-2) ended the year as a state champion at 112. Cory is on pace to become the Bombers' most productive wrestler in the state tournament as he adds this year's championship to his third place finish as a freshman in last year's tournament.  Other wrestlers who participated in the state meet included:  Matt McDonald (35-7) at 135, Oliver Reed (11-10) at 145, Henry Schmidt (31-11) at 152, Winston Boldt (27-15) at 171 and Ryan Torno (26-15) at HWT.  A long-time wrestling fan  and coach at the seventh and eighth grade wrestling tournaments, Jack Mosinger '71, commented " I have waited 40 years for the Bombers to finish in the top ten at the state meet." All of the coaches were excited, and Dean Tiffany was delighted by the performance of the team all year as well as their performance at the State Meet.  Among the season's highlights were the following:  3rd in the District Tournament, 1st in the JBS Tournament and 1st in the ABC League, and of course, this year's finish at the State Meet.

In boys' basketball this week, the J V squad lost a close one to Priory (28-30) as Jimmy Carney netted 15 points. The team lost to Lutheran South at the end of the week. Spencer Beyersdorfer led the team in scoring. Coach Small praised the performance of Nitai Melnick, Michael Epsten, Eric Ramos and Steven Trulaske in this latter game. The varsity team lost to Lutheran South (60-52) in a game that saw Bombers close the gap to three late in the game. Grant Wallace scored 25 points and Jay Blake added eleven.  Sam Margo led the team in assists with five. Senior Night will be celebrated on Tuesday as the Bombers take on JFK in the last home game of the year.

On the girls' side of the court, the J V squad lost to Affton, Clayton and Lutheran South. In this latter game, the team made a strong showing before bowing to the Lancers by a score of 31-36. With 13 points in the second half alone, Abby Balfour certainly paced the Bombers against South. The varsity team defeated Affton (48-40) on Tuesday, led by Lea Johnson's 19 points and 21 rebounds. Kelsey Dupont added ten points, while Sydney O'Neil and Devan Sanders contributed eight points each. In the Bombers' overtime win against Clayton (36-29), Sydney O'Neil led the team with 12 points as Lea Johnson tossed in nine points and grabbed 17 rebounds. In a last second loss to Lutheran South (35-36), the Bombers were led by Devan Sanders (14) and Kelsey Dupont (10) in scoring.

With snow still on the ground, it seems funny to say that spring sports start practice in a week and water polo commences today. The last contests in basketball, as we get ready for district play on March 1 at  Brentwood, are noted below:

Tuesday, February 23

5:30PM Boys Junior Varsity Basketball John F Kennedy High School Home
7:00PM Boys Varsity Basketball John F Kennedy High School Home

Wednesday, February 24

5:00PM Girls Junior Varsity Basketball John F Kennedy High School Away
6:30PM Girls Varsity Basketball John F Kennedy High School Away

Thursday, February 25

4:15PM Boys Junior Varsity Basketball Lutheran North High School Home
4:15PM Girls Varsity Basketball Lutheran North High School Away
5:30PM Boys Varsity Basketball Lutheran North High School Away
5:30PM Girls Junior Varsity Basketball Lutheran North High School Home