Althoff seeks fifth sectional title
Top-ranked Crusaders favored; Benton, Central, Vienna want to spoil the party
03/04/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The final game of the regular season for Belleville Althoff sort of shocked the whole southern Illinois landscape.

The Crusaders didn't look good in its finale at home, losing to 1A Edwardsville Metro-East Lutheran.

It was the only loss of the campaign for Coach Greg Leib's club that wasn't against a 3A or 4A squad.

From the outcome of the Chester Regional this past week, it appears that Coach Leib got his kids' attention heading into the postseason.

Althoff, the 2A top-ranked team in the AP Polls for most of the season and the top-seeded team in the brutal Sub-Sectional A, romped past Chester in the semifinals, 61-35, and culminated the week by blistering Pinckneyville, 74-56.

The title game win over the Panthers was over quickly as Althoff stormed out to a 40-20 halftime lead and coasted back to St. Clair County with regional championship in hand.

Now the Crusaders are the odds on choice to win the Carterville Sectional starting Tuesday night.

The schedule in the Gateway Conference wasn't too difficult but the non-conference slate was tougher than a $2 steak.

Besides the defeat to Metro-East Lutheran, the other four losses came to 4A Quincy, 3A Mt. Zion, 3A Lincoln and 4A Edwardsville.

Quincy, Mt. Zion and Lincoln all won regionals Friday night and Edwardsville made it to the regional title game before losing to Alton.

Althoff defeated Alton earlier in the season and Coach Leib's club also has wins over three 3A teams who are in the sectionals this week; Centralia, Mt. Vernon and Triad.

Belleville Althoff pounded Breese Central 71-51 at the Mt. Vernon Shootout back on December 7 the night after beating Centralia on the road the night before.

Three Crusaders average double-figures in scoring for the 27-5 squad.

Bryden Gryzmala, a 6-foot senior guard, leads the squad in scoring at 19.2 per game.

Senior guard, and football recruit by the University of Oregon, Dierre Hill, Jr. adds 14.5 points a contest for the Crusaders.

Zach Winkeler adds 13.4 per game and is a 6-1 senior.

The other two starters; 6-2 junior Luke Smith and 6-5 senior Patton Leib, the coaches' son, add points to the totals.

Hill, Jr. is the top man on the glass with 7.2 rebounds a contest.

Winkeler and Hill, Jr. each scored 21-points in the win over Pinckneyville.

Vienna, the upset winner of the Anna-Jonesboro Regional, has a tall task ahead when they face Althoff.

In his first season at the helm, head coach Burlin Brower got his club playing well at the right time as they took out Massac County to take home the honors last Friday for the sixth boy's regional title in the program's history, 40-35, to deny the Patriots a fourth-straight regional title.

Six-two senior Hunter Webb is one of the leaders on the 23-11 squad as a double-figures scorer for the Eagles.

Jacob Waters, a 6-4 senior, and 5-10 senior Job Winterrowd are part of the process that led to the first regional championship since 2007 for the Eagles

Six-foot senior Jackson Ethridge and 6-2 senior Brayden Smith along with Brayden Hurst, a 6-3 junior, and 5-10 sophomore Silas Kreuter show that the Eagles have depth.

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The first semifinal on Tuesday night is a rematch of last season's sectional title game.

Benton knocked off Breese Central at Benton last season 36-34 and the Cougars would like nothing better than to send the Rangers home this week.

Coach Jeremy Shubert won a instant classic over Columbia, 57-55 in double overtime at the Carlyle Regional championship game on Friday night.

Unsung hero Conlan Haar made the defensive play of a lifetime with a steal and fast break lay in that beat the buzzer and the Eagles in front of a sold out crowd at Carlyle.

It marked the 20th regional crown for the program and the fourth in-a-row for this state-ranked club.

Seniors 5-11 Kaden Rakers (14.6 p.p.g.) and 6-4 Griffen Becker (11.6 p.p.g.) lead a balanced scoring attack for the now 27-5 club.

Contributions from 6-3 senior Preston Baker (7.1 p.p.g.) and 5-10 senior Easton Becker (7.2 p.p.g.) keep the opponents honest.

Junior Jackson Kampwerth and Bryce Wieter each added offense to the totals.

The Cougars beat state-ranked Columbia three times this season and also hold wins over 3A Centralia and 2A Auburn, both of which won regionals on Friday night, along with Nashville (twice) and Breese Mater Dei and Carlyle.

All won at least 20-games this winter.

The Rangers won some close games and lost some others this winter for Coach Ron Winemiller.

Benton enters the sectional 28-4 after winning their first 16-games including tournament championships at Goreville and Pinckneyville.

They lost twice to Pinckneyville this season and were shocked by 1A Mounds Meridian in the title game of their own Benton Invitational Tournament.

Nashville was the other loss as they finished their part of the SIRR Mississippi Division at 7-3 for third place.

But while Pinckneyville and Nashville lost last week, the Rangers survived and are in the sectional for the 41st time in the program's storied history.

Docker Tedeschi, the Rangers' 6-9 senior and Colorado State recruit, is the top dawg for the Rangers and he gets the attention of the opposing defenses.

He scored 21-points on Friday night as Benton beat Carterville, 56-49 to advance to the sectional.

Six-two senior Kyle Thomas added 16-points in the win Friday and the Rangers got seven-points from senior guard Nolan Schafer.

Coach Winemiller has gotten contributions from senior Grant Owens, sophomore Jaxton Wiggs and senior Treyson Severin.