Scott Keyes
Sports Scene
St. Louis girls cross country coach Steve Kelly said that the Sharks aren’t where they expected to be at this point in the season, but hopefully once the state meet gets here, the team will be close.
“The key for us is to stay mentally tough,” he said.
“I have the best kids in the world. Win or lose from here on out, I will always have very fond memories of all of the kids. Our boys have nothing to lose going into the regional, so we are shooting for personal best times. The girls are defending regional champs but are ranked fourth going into the meet. They need to have a solid day to get to the state meet.”
Michaela Smith has stepped up big for the Sharks this season. Kelly was planning on her being the sixth girl when the season began, but she has stepped into the No. 3 spot a few times this year.
The reason for Smith’s moving up is that Tanisha Davila was lost early to a back injury, which hurt the team. Meanwhile Raquel Serna is running very well.
“When you have a girl scoring one or two points in a meet, that is a huge bonus,” he said. “We are having a good season, almost a great season.”
VOLLEYBALL
The St. Louis volleyball team was unable to win the Tri-Valley Conference West Division this season, so that team goal wasn’t accomplished, and coach Gary Stanglewicz said the team must play very well in order to win districts, which get underway October 31.
“We still lack the consistency needed to win at the varsity level,” he said. “We have the potential to be an outstanding squad when we function as a unit. We have won two invitationals but have also stumbled along the way at times. We haven’t always beaten the teams we should beat.”
The team is led by Brooke Tubbs, Bri Alspaugh, and Allison Smith.
“Physically, we can compete with most teams in Class C,” Stanglewicz said. “Our mental focus must improve for us to advance in the MHSAA tournament.”