The Post-Dispatch Athletes of the Week is compiled by Chris Gove based off stats reported to STLhighschoolsports.com. Please send nominations to cgove@stltoday.com by noon each Monday.
Kristoff Bailey, Fort Zumwalt East track and field
Committed to continue his career at Missouri Valley College, Bailey is spending his senior season at Zumwalt East rewriting Lions program records. At the Zumwalt East Invitational on April 18, Bailey broke the school’s 11-year record in the 200 meters with a winning effort of 21.56 seconds that ranks as the top time for a Class 4 runner this season. He also won the 100 at that meet in 10.79. On April 22, Bailey blazed to his second program record of the season, winning the 400 at Howell Central’s Bob Breuer Open in 49.49. On April 25, he won the 100 in 10.88 at the Orchard Farm Invitational and anchored the runner-up 400 relay.
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Sam Dicken, Lutheran South volleyball
A 6-foot sophomore outside hitter, Dicken was named most valuable player after helping the Lancers win the championship of the Lutheran St. Charles Invitational. Dicken totaled 24 kills and 19 digs in four tournament victories and did not make a serve receive error on 25 opportunities. In a 25-16, 25-22 win over host Lutheran St. Charles in the title match, Dicken had seven kills and five digs. Earlier in the week, he had 11 kills in a sweep of Saxony Lutheran. For the season, Dicken ranks among area leaders with averages of 4.37 kills and 2.4 digs per set for the Lancers (15-5-2), who are on their way to a second successive winning season.
Olivia Hemmerle, Belleville East softball
A right-handed senior pitcher, Hemmerle pitched four consecutive no-hitters and became East’s all-time strikeouts leader. She sits at 646 strikeouts with at least a month of the season remaining. She broke the previous record of 644 set by 2008 graduate Autumn Allen, who has been Hemmerle’s pitching coach since she was a 10-under player. The no-hitter streak began with an 18-0 win over Collinsville, continued with a 10-0 win over Belleville West, a 5-0 win over Mount Vernon and concluded with a 16-0 win over Alton. Hemmerle’s effort against Mount Vernon was an 11-strikeout perfect game. It was the ninth time, according to IHSA records, a pitcher had four consecutive no-hitters.
Riley Massey, De Smet volleyball
A 6-foot-4 senior outside hitter, Massey helped lead the Spartans to the championship of the Parkway Central Classic, annually one of the area’s toughest tournaments. The Spartans won five matches to earn the tournament title and improved to 21-1, capping the event with a 19-25, 25-19, 25-22 victory against Lindbergh. Massey had 12 kills and 11 digs in the title match and was named the tournament’s MVP. Earlier in the week, Massey had 13 kills and seven digs as De Smet beat CBC in four sets in a Metro Catholic Conference match. For the season, Massey ranks among area leaders with an average of 3.4 kills per set. He has signed to play basketball for North Dakota State.
Jacob Noland, Kirkwood baseball
A junior center fielder, Noland launched into the area leaderboard in a couple of statistical categories after a performance to remember. In a 19-3 victory against Parkway Central in a Suburban Conference Red Pool game, Noland was 5 for 5 with four home runs — including one grand slam — and 13 RBI. For the season, Noland is hitting .408 with five home runs and 27 RBI, both which rank among area leaders. Also last week, Noland was 1 for 3 with a walk in a 4-3 conference victory against Seckman and 1 for 3 with a 2-run double in a 7-1 nonconference win over Fort Zumwalt West. The Pioneers are 11-3, their best start since 2019, when they last had a winning record.
Peter O’Leary, MICDS lacrosse
A junior midfielder who has committed to play for the Air Force Academy, O’Leary helped the defending state champion Rams to a pair of wins. In a 19-2 victory against John Burroughs, O’Leary had career highs of 14 ground balls and three caused turnovers while winning 15 of 19 faceoffs and scoring one goal. He then was 12 of 14 on faceoffs, caused one turnover and won seven ground balls in an 8-5 home win against Memphis University School. O’Leary ranks among area leaders with a .72 faceoff winning percentage and an average of 7.3 ground balls per game. Last season, he was named player of the game in the Rams’ Class 2 state championship win over SLUH.
Amelia Ward, Francis Howell track and field
A junior, Ward won three events at a meet for the second consecutive week including a sweep of the hurdles races, this time at Parkway North’s Fred Lyons Invitational. Ward won the 100-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 14.93 seconds, ran a winning time of 44.90 in the 300 hurdles and captured the triple jump with a mark of 11.22 meters (36 feet, 9.75 inches). She also anchored Howell’s third-place 400 relay at the Lyons meet. A week earlier at Jefferson City’s Licklider Relays, Ward was part of two program records with her winning time of 44.78 in the 300 hurdles and the winning 400 relay’s time of 49.3. As a sophomore, Ward was a Class 5 state qualifier in the 200.
