Five schools will compete in the upcoming Class 5 District 10 Basketball Tournament at Rolla High School.
Boys and girls first-round games take place Saturday. The tournament concludes Thursday.
District 10 winners advance to the Class 5 sectional round against District 9 champions Wednesday, March 6, at Camdenton High School.
Rolla, Waynesville and Lebanon all are members of the Ozark Conference. Northwest plays in the Suburban West Conference.
Boys Bracket
Washington is the top seed followed by Rolla, Waynesville, Northwest and Lebanon.
The Blue Jays (17-9) are led by junior guard Ronnie Suggs, who averages 17.7 points per game.
Senior guard Luke Schroepfer averages 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest.
Senior forward Jared Walde is the team’s top post player, averaging 5.7 points and 6.5 rebounds.
Other key players include senior guard Luke Hasenjaeger, junior guards Brad Carpenter, Jacob Mulkey and Patrick Menke and junior forward Austin Subke.
Rolla (13-12) won a district championship last season by defeating Waynesville in the title game. The Bulldogs then lost to Rock Bridge in the sectional round.
Rolla has defeated both Waynesville and Lebanon this season.
Leading the Bulldogs is 6-3 sophomore forward Caleb Copeland, who averages 13.5 points and seven rebounds per game.
Hunter Short, a 6-0 junior guard, averages 10 points per game.
Other Rolla starters are 5-9 freshman guard Kobe Wands, 6-3 junior forward Aaron Froehlich and 6-6 senior forward Michael Janke.
The Bulldogs are coached by Rolla alum Mark Miller.
Waynesville (13-12) features an athletic, tall squad.
The Tigers are led by Juwan Morgan, a 6-6 junior forward, who averages 16 points and 10 rebounds per game.
D.J. Hargrow, a 5-7 senior guard, and Kellieon Williams, a 6-7 junior guard, both average approximately nine points per game.
Among the other key players are 6-5 junior center Javante Armstrong, 6-0 senior guard Ethan Howser and 6-1 senior forward Dylan Newcomb.
Waynesville is coached by Chris Pilz, former head coach at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Northwest (2-23) owns wins this season over Warrenton and Festus.
The Lions’ win over Festus came in the first round of the Union Tournament. They ended up losing to St. Clair in the third-place game.
Jake Denbow, a 6-5 senior forward, averages 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Adnan Al-Amami, a 6-0 senior guard, averages 7.9 points.
Lebanon (1-23) has struggled through the season, but lost to Rolla by just one point.
Girls Bracket
Waynesville is the top seed followed by Rolla, Washington, Northwest and Lebanon.
Waynesville won a district crown last season, defeating Rolla, and then falling to Rock Bridge in the sectional round.
The Lady Tigers (11-13) are led by 5-10 freshman forward Kallie Bildner, who averages 14 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Hannah Bland, a 5-9 junior forward, averages 12 points and nine rebounds per contest.
Other key players are junior guard Dorothy Adams and senior forward Lesley Larson.
Waynesville has defeated Rolla twice this season.
The Lady Tigers are coached by Brittany Matlock.
Rolla (10-14) is led by its lone senior, 5-8 forward Andrea Zalis, who averages 15.3 points and eight rebounds per game.
Gabe Otte, a 5-8 junior forward, averages 10 points and six rebounds.
Other Rolla starters are 5-4 junior guard Shannon McCaul, 5-6 junior forward Madison Collier and 5-3 junior guard Haley Blackburn.
The Lady Bulldogs are coached by Bryce Swafford.
Washington (14-10) is the only team on the girls side with a winning record.
The Lady Jays, GAC Central champions, are led by 5-7 junior guard Courtney Kedroski, who averages 13 points and three steals per game.
Paige Carpenter, a 5-8 freshman guard, averages 9.1 points per contest.
Kaitlin Evans, a 5-10 senior forward, averages 7.3 points and 5.5 rebounds.
Other key players are senior forwards Kirstie Leslie and Helena Ballmann, junior guard Megan Bauche and junior center Rachel Kackley.
Northwest (8-16) has lost to Four Rivers Conference schools Union, St. Clair, Pacific and Sullivan during the season.
The Lady Lions’ top threats are 5-10 junior guard Sierra McClure (8.4 ppg), 5-10 sophomore forward Taylor Fortner (8.3 ppg) and 6-1 senior center Alysiah Whittaker (8.1 ppg).
Lebanon (4-19) has been searching for consistency throughout the season.
Dave Roberts of the Rolla Daily News provided some information for this story.
