Gateway Region 16s Set for Nationals
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We are getting even closer to nationals and today we want to look at the teams who will represent the Gateway Region in the 16s divisions across the board. As a reminder, Open, USA, and Liberty bids come via qualifiers…
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Continue ReadingWe are getting even closer to nationals and today we want to look at the teams who will represent the Gateway Region in the 16s divisions across the board. As a reminder, Open, USA, and Liberty bids come via qualifiers or reallocation. National and Freedom come out of the region and American can come out of both.
Open
HPSTL 16 Royal
16 Royal took care of business right away, traveling to Florida and capturing the Sunshine Classic title in early March. They went 8-2 in the tournament but won at the right time to secure their Open bid. That wouldn’t be their only success as they also had a second-place finish at Windy City. I saw them last weekend in the pre-national tournament in Lawrence and they appear to be ready for the big stage. Tara Greenberry Tara Greenberry 6'3" | MB Incarnate Word | 2025 State #117 Nation MO has continued to get better and better in the middle. Hannah Leftridge Hannah Leftridge 5'10" | OH St. Pius X (Festus) | 2025 State MO , Reagan Nelson Reagan Nelson 6'0" | OH Pattonville | 2025 State #107 Nation MO , and the company are taking care of the pins. Harper Highfill Harper Highfill 5'6" | DS/L State MO is quickly becoming one of the top defensive prospects in the class.
National
Rockwood 16 Elite
Rockwood earned the region’s National bid after a good showing in the region’s events. After playing a heavy Open schedule, look for them to be in contention for the top prize when the tournament begins. They also journeyed to Florida and came back with a 9th-place outing. Brytn Lyon Brytn Lyon 6'1" | S St. Dominic | 2025 State MO and Maddy Bach Maddy Bach 5'9" | S Parkway West | 2025 State MO are both quality setters on this roster making the magic happen. Gabrielle Clinkscale Gabrielle Clinkscale 5'8" | OH Ladue Horton Watkins | 2025 State MO and Jenna Cubbage Jenna Cubbage 5'11" | MB Eureka | 2025 State MO will look to find the floor often.
USA
HP Illinois 16 National
HP went to MEQ to get their USA bid in March with a 5th-place finish. They came back with a runner-up showing in the same division at Windy City. In late April their year concluded with a 2nd-place weekend in the region’s bid weekend.
Rockwood Thunder 16 Navy
While HP went to Mideast, Rockwood went Northeast to gain their entry into nationals in the USA division. They would go 8-2 en route to a runner-up trophy. 16 Navy had numerous top ten weekends in the USA division and should be primed for a battle-tested tournament.
Liberty
Core STL U16 Navy
The trend we are seeing is all of the Missouri teams were smart enough to go to Florida in early March for the weather. Core STL was one of those teams to return with a bid after ending in second place. Their record was 7-3 over the tournament stretch. For good measure, they followed that performance up with a 4th place run at MEQ in the same division. Cameron Kohmetscher is driving the offense from the setter position.
American
HPSTL 16 Orange
16 Orange earned the region’s American bid after a third-place output in their bid event. Their qualifier season was a mix between USA and LIberty. Some of these results include a 5th-place showing at MEQ and an 8th-place at Windy City.
Freedom
HP South 16 Premier
Premier was able to get the Freedom bid coming out of the Gateway region. They took aim at a Liberty bid at both Show Me and Windy City and fell short.