Sports Briefs: A roundup of local sports achievements

High school volleyball

Marquette sophomore setter Alex Danyluck became the fifth member of the 1,000 career assist club in the Mustangs’ program history.

Coach Andrew Hummert said he is proud of Danyluck.

Marquette sophomore setter Alex Danyluck became the fifth member of the 1,000 career assist club in Mustangs’ program history. (Photo provided)

"It is a huge accomplishment for someone to reach this milestone as a sophomore," Hummert said. "It speaks to how much of an impact that he has made already on this program."

The other Mustangs to top 1,000 assists are current career record holder Joe Kimerle (2013-15) with 1,924, Peter Thommesen (2009-2010) with 1,394, Bryce Workman (2002-2005) with 1,307 and Nate Bulanda (2018-2019) with 1,091.

Danyluck is the ultimate competitor on the court, Hummert said.

"He will not settle for anything less than his best effort every single day in practice and games," Hummert said. "In addition to this, he does a great job as a leader on the team and his knowledge of the game allows for him to be a very effective quarterback of the offense."

With two more years to play. Hummert said he believes Danyluck's game will improve.

"The sky's the limit and that has already been proven this season based on how much of an improvement that he has made in just one year," Hummert said. "I cannot wait to see how much better he is going to be in two years when he is a senior. He has received a multitude of awards to this point in his career and I expect that to continue to be the case as he keeps working and getting better every day."

The CBC Cadets captured first place in the Class 5 District for the second consecutive year to earn a spot in the state tournament. (Photo provided)

High school golf

CBC CADETS

The CBC Cadets captured first place in the Class 5 District for the second consecutive year to earn a spot in the state tournament.

The Cadets, who finished third in the state in 2022, shot a 301 team total at Crystal Highlands golf course. Nate Barclay and Austin Jacobs each shot a 1-over 73, tying them for second place. Sophomore Harper Ackermann finished with a 76 while freshman Cole Hendrix recorded a 79 and Owen Sanders finished with an 85.

Chaminade finished second in the district with a score of 315. The Red Devils’ scores were seniors Clayton Becher (76) and John Guerra (77) and juniors Bubba Chapman (81) and Charlie Kramer (81).

The Parkway West Longhorns won the Class 4 District 1 golf tournament played at Crowne Point Golf Club in Farmington. It's the first district championship for the program since the 1990s. (Photo provided)

PARKWAY WEST

Parkway West won the Class 4 District 1 tournament played at Crowne Point Golf Club in Farmington.

The Longhorns took first with a 313, winning by four strokes over Summit. There were 16 teams competing in the tourney.

Coach Greg Schade noted it was the first district golf championship for the program since "at least a few decades ago or more." That made the achievement of winning the tourney so much sweeter.

"It's a great accomplishment for sure," Schade said. "It's been a long time since the Longhorns sent a team to the state tournament and I'm proud of these guys for achieving it."

Junior Palmer Cerko tied for second with a 3-over 75.

"He has been playing great all year and certainly capable of putting that kind of round together," Schade said. "It was great to see him do it under the pressures of a district tournament."

The other Longhorns played well, too. Sophomore Saachi Kandula finished fourth with a 76. Freshman Cooper Sonntag tied for seventh with a 79. Senior Carson Mills tied for 17th with an 83.

"They were all very excited," Schade said. "We could not quite believe it as the scores started to come in. It was great to see their excitement as they realized it was possible."

The Longhorns also won the Suburban Conference Green Division at the Gateway National Golf Club with a team total of 322.

Kandula shot a 77 to tie for medalist honors but finished second by a scorecard playoff. Cerko was third with an 80. Mills was sixth with an 82 while senior Cannon Gibbs came in seventh with an 83. Sonntag was 12th with an 86.

It was the first conference crown for the Longhorns since 2015.

"They were very excited," Schade said about his team. "We knew it would be close since there are some very competitive teams in our conference, but they all played really well and each shot very good scores for them. It's great to get back in the winner's circle again. (I’m) very pleased. They have been working hard and focused on just getting better every day."

Lafayette

The Lafayette Lancers won the Suburban Conference Yellow Division with a team score of 479 to win by 10 strokes at Quail Creek.

Lafayette sophomore Braxton Lawhorn was medalist with a 3-over 75. Mack Freeman and Reid Fortel tied for fourth place as each shot a 79. Jack Montgomery tied for seventh with an 80. Anders Thomas tied for 13th with an 81.

The Chaminade Red Devils won the Metro Catholic Conference tournament with a team score of 404. (Photo provided)

CHAMINADE

The Chaminade Red Devils won the Metro Catholic Conference tournament with a team score of 404. CBC was second at 408.

CBC's Barclay and St. Louis University High's Harrison Zipfel tied for medalist honors with a 77.

Charlie Kramer led Chaminade with a 78. The other scores were Bubba Chapman (79), John Guerra (81), Tatman Bahr (83), Grant Schneider (83) and Clayton Becher (87).

College signings

Here are some high school athletes who recently have signed college letters of intent.

Parkway Central – Dance: Samantha Chen to Maryville University; Women's track and field: Mychael Green to University of Missouri-Kansas City; Rowing: Rachel Harris to University of Central Oklahoma, and Sierra Jones to Ohio State University; Baseball: Sean Kang to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville; Women's lacrosse: Bailey Koestel to Carthage College; Men's volleyball: Brandon Ruder to Wabash College; Women's soccer: Sophie Spicuzza to Clarke University; and Cross country/track and field: Stuart Tournier to Depauw University.

Westminster Christian Academy – Dance: Maegan Fleming to Texas Christian University; Baseball: Brysan Davis to Rockhurst University; and Cheerleading: Sophie Volding to Southeast Missouri State University.

Whitfield – Cross county/track and field: Jackson Brungart to Coastal Carolina University; Wrestling: Noah Bourke to Lander University and AJ Rallo to Bellarmine University; Equestrian: Evelyn Doles to Southern Methodist University; Baseball: Oliver Ferris to Benedictine College; Volleyball: Zach Kampen to Augustana College; Basketball: Tkiyah Nelson to Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Jorden Williams to University of Illinois, Springfield; Tennis: Danny Radke to Washington University in St. Louis; Water polo: Kosta Radoman to Chapman University; Soccer: Cowan Sanders to DePauw University, Nolan Schulte to Virginia Wesleyan University, Oneil Stanley to Virginia Wesleyan University and Drake Thompson to Truman State and Tommy Wortham to University of Missouri-St. Louis

Pro football

Two local football players will get an opportunity to earn a roster spot and play in the NFL. They both slipped through and went undrafted but were signed after the NFL Draft was held.

Art Green

Parkway Central graduate Art Green, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound cornerback at the University of Houston, was a free agent signing by the Denver Broncos. The Chesterfield native was not drafted. In the Independence Bowl, he was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player.

Cameron Brown

CBC gradate Cameron Brown, a 6-foot, 199-pound Ohio State cornerback, reached an agreement with the Chargers after not being selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. In 2022 with Ohio State, he played 317 snaps in eight games recording tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and five pass breakups.

Cole McWard, who went to Westminster Christian Academy, last month signed a two-year, entry level contract with the Vancouver Canucks. In his second professional game, he scored his first career goal in a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames. (Source: Vancouver Canucks)

Pro hockey

A former Westminster Christian Academy hockey player became the latest St. Louis area native to reach the National Hockey League.

Defenseman Cole McWard was a key player on the Westminster hockey team that won back-to-back Wickenheiser Cup Championships in 2017 and 2018. Following his junior year, Cole went to Nebraska to begin his journey to professional hockey. After a 149-game stint with the Tri-City Storm, he attended the Ohio State University where the Buckeyes just missed out on the frozen four in his second year this season.

McWard, 21, recently completed his sophomore year at Ohio State. He recorded 21 points with nine goals.

Last month, the 6-foot-1, 192-pound McWard signed a two-year, entry level contract with the Vancouver Canucks. In his second professional game, he scored his first career goal in a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames.

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