Webster Groves High School
Girls Tennis Takes 3rd in State Tournament
The WGHS Girls Tennis Program had an incredible season! They were undefeated in team matches during the regular season with a 12-0 record and then won their first district championship in school history, but they weren’t done there… The girls traveled to Notre Dame High School in Cape Girardeau for their state quarterfinal match and secured another win to advance to the Class 2 state final four.
The girls finally lost their first match of the season in the state semifinal to Ladue High School who were the defending and eventual 2023 state champions.
In the 3rd place match against Thomas Jefferson Independent, the girls were down 0-3 after the doubles matches and then mounted an epic comeback in the singles matches winning three of them in third sets for a final score of 5-4. Senior Elena King won the final match in a third set tiebreaker 12-10 to secure the 3rd place trophy!
The girls that competed at the state tournament included Milly Benkelman, Katie Dirks, Elena King, Reagan Matteotti, Meg Nakatani, Addison Simpson, and Hannah Sweeney. The girls were coached by Justin Arnold and assisted by Kevin Kovarik.
Cross Country Teams Place at State Meet
The WGHS Cross Country teams had their best day in years at the MSHSAA Class 4 State Championship meet on Saturday, November 4th at the Gans Creek Course in Columbia.
The boys team was led by junior Dominic Buckman who earned a state medal by placing 12th individually. As a team the boys placed 4th overall to earn a state trophy for the first time since 1970. Other runners for the boys state team included Corbin Cole, Max Kilstrom, Joe Wetzel-Meehan, Blake Ahrens, Jack Schneider, and Henry Boland. The boys team is coached by Jon Petter.
The Girls Cross-Country team also had a great boasting two individual medalists in their race. Junior Parker Allen earned her second state medal in as many years finishing in 10th place and right behind her was freshman Carson Selby in 11th place. As a team the girls placed 7th (only one point behind 6th). Other runners for the girls state team included Gwen Hoven, Sarah Staab, Tessa Garrison, Josie Wright, and Abi Davidson. The girls team is coached by Leslie Crais.
Boys Swim/Dive Places 6th at State Meet
The WGHS Boys Swimming and Diving team placed 6th in the 2023 Class 1 State Championship meet on November 9th and 10th at the St. Peters Rec-Plex for their best finish in the state meet since placing 4th back in 1971.
The boys earned state medals in five different events led by junior Emmett Shank who was a 4-time medalist, two of them as an individual when he placed 8th in both the 200 Freestyle and the 500 Freestyle. His other two medals were as part of relay teams including the 200 Freestyle Relay which placed 3rd and the 400 Freestyle Relay which placed 6th.
Senior Calum Shank earned 3 state medals of his own including 8th place finish in the 100 Breaststroke and the 200 and 400 Freestyle Relays.
Freshman Clark Montgomery picked up 2 state medals as part of the 200 and 400 relay teams. The 4th member of the 200 relay was senior Dylan Hulsizer and the 4th member of the 400 relay was junior Alex Magee.
Other events in which the boys earned team points included the 200 freestyle where Clark Montgomery finished 10th followed by Alex Magee in 11th. Clark also finished 9th in the 100 Backstroke.
