West Newsmagazine 5-1-24

30 I SPORTS I
May 1, 2024
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The Lafayette Lancers are state bowling champions. (Source: West County Lanes)
SPORTS
BRIEFS
By WARREN MAYES
High school girls basketball
Julie Matheny is serious about her job as
the varsity basketball coach at St. Joseph’s
Academy. She’s less serious about herself.
“I’m too young to retire,” Matheny
quipped.
But Matheny, who lives in Des Peres, is
stepping down after coaching the Angels for
33 years. She became head coach in 1999
after working as the junior varsity coach and
assistant varsity coach beginning in 1992.
The numbers tell the story of her success.
Matheny has 518 victories, 17 of which
were district championships and 10 were
Final Four appearances. Add in a Class 5
Missouri state title in 2004, which came
with a 56-44 victory over Hickman. Finally,
there was induction into the Missouri Basketball
Hall of Fame.
Matheny’s twin brother, Bob Goessling,
who has been with her for the entire
33-year run, and assistant coach Tim Stock,
who has been with them for the past 17
years, will also be retiring.
The Angels completed a 21-7 season in
March. In post-season play, St. Joseph’s
lost to state champion Incarnate Word
Academy in Class 6 District 3.
Matheny said she liked the fact that
everything is in a good place. She is not
retiring from her full-time job as vice president
of corporate sales for TravelPlex.
She said coaching for her alma mater
(class of ‘79) has worked out well.
Angels’ assistant coach Bob Goessling,
head coach Julie Matheny and assistant
coach Tim Stock
(Source: SJA)
“We’ve always had the administration
behind us,” Matheny said. “I got to spend
time with my twin brother. We knew the
reputation at St. Joseph’s Academy and we
knew it’s been our responsibility to have
our student-athletes perform to their highest
capability … and be champions on and
off the floor.
“I have too many players to count. That’s
a blessing. The highest highlight for me is
when players return after their first year of
college or come to a tournament and say
hello. That means a lot. I get a lot of Christmas
cards. They’ve kept me young.”
As for her retirement plans, Matheny
said her plans are to be determined.
“It’s an honor to be a coach … The parents
trusted their kids with us in this program,”
Matheny said. “The kids want to be challenged
and be developed. I’m the lucky one.
It’s been a fabulous, unbelievable ride.”
High school boys golf
The Priory varsity golf team scored a
first-place finish in the Blue Division at the
Columbia Classic golf tournament.
Junior Eddie Rothery sparked the Ravens
with a round of 74.
High school boys tennis
Priory junior John Varley, the defending
Class 3 singles champion, won the No. 1
singles championship in the Metro League
Tournament played at Westminster Christian
Academy.
In the semifinal match, Varley topped
Principia’s Drew Bosman 8-1. In the championship
match, he scored an 8-3 victory
over MICDS’ Jai Patel.
In the No. 2 singles bracket, Arjun Puri,
of MICDS, won the championship with an
8-1 victory over Noah Suthar, of Westminster
Christian Academy.
MICDS won the championship in No. 3,
4 and 5 singles. Owen Kizer finished first
in No. 3 singles with an 8-3 win over Jerry
Chang, of John Burroughs. At No. 4, Max
Padratzik defeated John Burroughs’ Evan
Tang 8-1. Louis Niemeyer captured the No.
5 singles title with an 8-3 win over Qadir
Thompson, of John Burroughs.
High school boys water polo
The Parkway Central Colts made it backto-back
championships in the Founder’s
Cup water polo tournament.
The Colts won all five matches in the
event held at Ladue High.
“We’ve had a solid start to the season,”
coach Andrew Schonhoff said.
Parkway Central opened with a 14-2 win
over University City and then scored an
18-4 victory over host Ladue. In the quarterfinal
match, the Colts scored a 15-3 decision
over CBC. In the semifinals, Parkway
Central defeated Parkway West 15-4. That
set up the championship match against
Kirkwood. Parkway Central won 17-6.
“I think our biggest advantage going into
this game was our conditioning,” Schonhoff
said. “It was the third game of the day,
and our guys still had plenty to give. Once
again, we were able to start off strong in
the first quarter and set the tone for the rest
of the game.”
The Colts celebrated briefly after winning
the tournament but did not overdo
it. Schonhoff said he was happy to see his
athletes enjoying the moment.
“It can be a long season, so it’s always
encouraging to have some mini celebrations
mid-season,” Schonhoff said. “Our
entire team played great defense led by
goalie Ian Conway and center defender
Daniel Richmann. The offense was led by
seniors Tyler Bryant, Will Jost and sophomore
Peyton Dimmock. All three of them
each had 17 goals over that weekend.”
Conway, a senior, made 43 saves in the
tournament while allowing just 17 goals.
He has been the Missouri Water Polo Wil
Edens defensive player of the year the last
two seasons and will continue to play in
college at Wagner College, a private institution
in Staten Island, New York.
The Colts are the defending Missouri
Water Polo District champions. Parkway
Central defeated the St. Louis University
High Junior Billikens 19-11 last spring for
its first championship.
High school bowling
Lafayette High, under the direction of
coaches Jen and Derek Bader, has claimed
the state championship title in bowling.
Eureka High came in eighth out of the 22
participating teams.
The tournament was held at West County
Lanes, located at 15727 Manchester Road
in Ellisville.
College signings
The last national college letter of intent
signing period finds these local athletes
making their choice of what to attend college:
CHAMINADE: Baseball – Carter