Herky, St. Pius, Grandview lead JCAA Small-School all-conference hoops
(Jefferson County) The postseason honors for high school basketball continue to roll in from the Jefferson County Activities Association, this time for the Small-School Division.
The boys’ most valuable player was split between St. Pius Lancers senior forward Nate Ruble and Herculaneum Blackcats junior point guard Gabe Watkins.
Ruble lead the conference-champion Lancers in every statistical category, averaging 13 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists per game.
Pius head coach Chris Miller was also named the league’s Coach of the Year.
Watkins powered the Blackcats to their most wins in almost 40 years by averaging almost 17 points, 5 assists and 3 steals per contest.
Also making the first team in the JCAA Small-School Division are 3 seniors.
Jefferson Blue Jays forward Colton Richardson put up nearly 18 points and 8 rebounds a game.
Crystal City Hornets forward Calloway Dashner also paced his team in scoring and rebounding with averages of 14 points and 8 rebounds.
Grandview Eagles guard Chase Wilson became the school’s second 1,000-point scorer by averaging almost 19 points per game in his final season.
Second-team honors went to two St. Vincent Indians in senior Evan DeWilde and junior Grant Abernathy.
Also earning second team all-conference is Herculaneum senior Dallin Fuller, Jefferson senior Drew Breeze and St. Pius sophomore Patrick Flanagan.
Honorable mentions went to Herculaneum junior Dylan Jarvis; St. Vincent junior Blake Monier; St. Pius senior Collin Smith; and senior Nate Pruneau and junior Ian Kirn of Crystal City.
Conference MVP for the girls goes to Grandview junior Anna Belle Wakeland.
The nearly 6-foot-tall center averaged a double-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds and almost 4 blocked shots per game.
A pair of Herculaneum seniors joined Wakeland on the first team.
6-foot-tall forward Macey Pilliard also averaged a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds a game, while guard Kyrsten Britton provided a spark to the Blackcat offense in the second half of the season.
Head coach Riley Blair was also again named Coach of the Year for the league champions.
Crystal City junior forward Kate Eisenbeis nearly posted a double-double average with 15 points and 9 rebounds per game in a first-team season.
St. Pius senior point guard Riley Cappozzo’s defensive prowess earned her first-team honors after averaging almost 8 points, 3 assists and 4 steals per contest.
Second-team honors went to Grandview freshman Catherine Wakeland, St. Pius freshman P.J. Krodinger, Crystal City junior Molly Clemmons, Herculaneum junior Taylor Thompson and St. Vincent senior Reese Barber.
Honorable mention was given to Grandview senior Natalee Moore; St. Pius senior Colleen Flanagan; St. Vincent senior Addie Cates; and senior Gabby Beffa and sophomore Grace Neels of Jefferson.