LeRoy (Illinois) won its first 2016 IHSA Boys Basketball State Championship with a 38-35 win against Chicago Leo.
Matt Chastain led the way as he had 41 points, 15 boards and blocked seven shots in the semifinal and title games. Chastain averaged 26 points per game this season.
For his efforts, Chastain, who plays in Illinois’ Class 1A, reportedly started to catch the collective eye of some Division I coaches and leads the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Performances of the Week.
The rest of the top performances as the winter seasons begins to wrap up and spring sports begin around the nation:
Blake Frye, baseball, River Road (Texas)
Frye, a senior three-sport athlete, was dominant in the two spring sports that he competed in last week. First up: a 15 strikeout complete game that the Wildcats won 3-1, over San Jacinto Christian Academy. Frye followed that performance up with a 200 meter victory in a track & field meet. Frye was also a member as the Wildcats won the 400-meter relay.
Kaira Simmons, girl’s track and field, Rockledge (Florida)
Simmons did well to win nearly all of her events, as she competed across four competitions in a recent meet. Simmons won the long jump, triple jump, the 4 by 500 relay, and placed third in the 200 (first among Brevard runners).
Nick Aloi, boy’s basketball, Lincoln Park (Pennsylvania)
Lincoln Park has a 25-4 record this season and Aloi has been a difference-maker. The senior scored 19 in a win against Washington on Wednesday and 23 against Quaker Valley last Saturday. “We have experienced guards on our team,” Aloi told timesonline.com. “We all know what we have to do. We have that chemistry as a team.”
Juston Betz, boy’s basketball, Providence (Indiana)
Providence defeated Crawford County in the Class 2-A Paoli Sectional title game and it would have been difficult to do so without Betz’s performance. Betz put his clutch gene on display, scoring 24 points.
Alia Parsons, girl’s basketball, Silverton (Oregon)
Parson’s led Silverton to an OSAA 5A State Championship title with a 39-38 win over Springfield. Her free throw decided the game, and she added 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
Sean Birk, boy’s basketball, El Camino (California)
Birk, a senior guard, led the way for El Camino in defeating the No. 1-seeded Pomona Diamond Ranch 63-58 in the SoCal Regional Division IV quarterfinals. Birk scored 16 points, six assists and eight rebounds in the win.
Meg Hair, girl’s basketball, Jamesville-DeWitt (New York)
The Red Rams didn’t show any nerves as they won their first New York State Class A Title game, comfortably defeating Floral Park 82-37. Hair was spectacular in the win, scoring 24 points.
Jamyrin Jackson, boy’s basketball, Everett (Michigan)
Every time Everett has a state tournament game, it can count on Jackson to be a leading scorer. Jackson has scored 20 points in the last five state tournament games for Everett, including a 21-point performance in a 54-48 win over East Lansig.
“It starts with Jamyrin and his ability to shoot the ball,” Everett coach Desmond Ferguson told Gannett partner The Lansing State Journal. “He’s got an uncanny knack to knock down shots. He’s done that for the last couple of years, soobviously this year he gives us experience and a senior leader who has been there and done that and can help lead our team.”
Tajae Stevenson, girl’s basketball, Kennedy (New Jersey)
Stevenson had 18 points, nine rebounds, three steals, one block and one assist in a 51-47 group 4 semifinal victory overEast Orange.
“I knew sometimes my teammates were struggling scoring the ball,” Stevenson told northjersey.com, “so I knew I had to do more to help the team out in order for us to come out with a win.”