Game Balls: Top high school sports performances

Tra’Ron Allen

The 6-foot-5 senior forward accounted for 24 points and 17 rebounds Friday in Granite City’s 74-68 Southwestern Conference loss to East St. Louis.

Chase Bittle and Jarrid Braunagel

The Class A state runner-up a year ago at 113 pounds, Bittle remained undefeated and untested at 120 when he won his weight class at the Battle of Belleville. Braunagel, a three-time state tournament place-winner and top-ranked Class 1A wrestler in the state at 138-pounds, also won both of his matches at the Battle of Belleville.

Leia Campbell

The talented multi-sport senior poured in 25 points Thursday in Dupo’s 54-29 victory over Wood River.

A.J. Epenesa

Epenesa’s week began with a football scholarship offer from Alabama and visit from new Missouri football coach Barry Odom. The highlights continued as the 6-foot-5 junior exploded for 25 points and 16 rebounds Tuesday in a 63-51 win over Belleville East, then piled up 30 points and 12 rebounds Friday in a 65-42 win over Belleville West. Epenesa is averaging 17.3 points and 13.2 rebounds for the 5-2 Tigers.

Teddy Fifer

The smooth shooting senior guard fired in a career-high 33 points and five 3-pointers Friday in the Knights’ 49-45 victory over Gibault. Fifer added 28 points the following night in a 61-36 win over Nokomis, pushing his season scoring average to 21.2 points per game.

Nick Foster

A two-time Class 3A state tournament place-winner at 145 pounds, Foster’s move up a weight to 152 pounds hasn’t bothered the Belleville West senior as he won both of his matches at the Battle of Belleville.

Jonathan Holmes

The senior guard had the hot hand for Columbia on Saturday in a 62-56 win over Miller Career Academy of St. Louis, scoring 16 points and hitting four of his six 3-point attempts. Holmes also had seven rebounds and six assists. Holmes is tied with Korbin Farmer for the team scoring lead at 14,.2 points per game for the 5-0 Eagles.

Kate Martin

One of several Division I prospects on a talented squad, the sophomore totaled 40 points last week in the Tigers’ three wins over Normal, Belleville West and Belleville East. Her biggest production came Tuesday with 19 points in the Southwestern Conference win over Belleville East.

Maddie Nekola

A three-sport athlete, Nekola cracked the 1,000 point mark for her career on Saturday in Mascoutah’s 47-26 loss to Salem. She had 22 points Monday in a 49-41 Mississippi Valley Conference win over Waterloo and 11 in a 36-24 win over Althoff on Thursday.

Ronnie Midgett

Midgett was too much to handle Friday as he pumped home a contest-high 22 points to lead the Kahoks to a come-from-behind triumph over the O’Fallon Panthers in a competitive Southwestern Conference clash. Midgett, a 6-0 junior, helped spark the Kahoks’ fourth-quarter comeback with a long 3-pointer from the right wing.

Javon Pickett

One of the top offensive players in the metro-east, Pickett’s 42 points in a 74-68 loss Friday against East St. Louis put him at 40 or more points for the second time this season. Pickett also totaled 41 points in the Lancers season-opening win over Springfield at the Centralia Thaknsgiving Tournament.

Kyle Smith

One of the top scorers in the Cahokia Conference, Smith tossed in 33 points and four 3-pointers in a 62-55 league win over Dupo. The performance included a 9-for-13 shooting night that saw Smith drain all four of his 3-point tries while hitting 11-of-13 free throws.

Oliver Stephen

While junior teammate A.J. Epenesa lit up the scoreboard down low, Stephen remained a threat from outside in a Tigers Southwestern Conference win over Belleville West Friday. Stephen knocked down five 3-pointers in the 65-42 victory and finished with 18 points.

Kendra Wilken and Breanne Jansen

This inside-outside pair combined for 25 points as the Cougars (6-1) won the battle of Breese with a 43-36 win over Mater Dei. Wilken, a St. Louis University recruit, led all scorers with 19 points, while Jansen hit a pair of crucial 3-point baskets to help Central hold off a Mater Dei rally.

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Game Balls: Top high school sports performances."