Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should know by now that the Class 5 District 10 boys and girls basketball tournaments begin this week in Columbia.

Hickman is hosting the six-team girls tournament that starts tomorrow, while first-round boys’ action begins Tuesday at Rock Bridge.

Beginning with the girls, here’s a brief look at the top teams involved.

● Hickman (19-6): Seeded first and ranked eighth in Class 5, the Kewpies have relied heavily on the offensive production of Texas recruit Yvonne Anderson. When the Kewpies are at their best, they’re getting points from Chasity Prince and at least one other player. That third option - perhaps Miriam Tesfamikael or maybe Nicole Schulz - might prove pivotal this week.

● Rock Bridge (19-6): Seeded second and ranked ninth in Class 5, the Bruins have the most depth of any team in the district. With skilled guards Claire Schaeperkoetter, Andrea Seabaugh and Amaya Williams, and the district’s most imposing post player in 6-foot-3 junior Katherine Harry, the Bruins have the players to produce a playoff berth.

● Helias (17-6): Despite the return of all five starters from last year, the third-seeded Crusaders didn’t fare too well against the top two district seeds. Hickman blasted Helias by 36 points in December, and Rock Bridge used a big third quarter Thursday to pull away for a 62-40 senior night victory. A semifinal rematch with Rock Bridge is likely.

● Jefferson City (14-11): If Anderson hadn’t moved to Columbia two years ago, Jays junior Sydney Crafton probably would be the best player in this district. With Jefferson City likely facing its third game this month against Hickman in the semifinals, the Jays will need Crafton at her best. Hickman won the previous meetings by eight and 11 points, but an upset isn’t out of the question.

Camdenton and Smith-Cotton received the fifth and sixth seeds, respectively.

And for the boys …

● Rock Bridge (22-2): Seeded first and ranked seventh in Class 5, the Bruins blasted every district foe they faced. The perimeter shooting of John Worley, Skylar Tolson and Ricky Kreklow has complemented the double-double output on the inside of 6-8 junior Jordan Dressler. Exactly how did this team manage to lose two games?

● Jefferson City (14-10): Sure, they lost to Hickman this month and I remember well how Rock Bridge ripped them in a 23-point rout at Fleming Fieldhouse, but the second-seeded Jays proved with Friday night’s win over Rockhurst that they can’t be counted out just yet. If that makes me a sellout, so be it. Roland Mitchell and Matt Morris are a tough twosome to stop.

● Helias (16-9): Jerry Buescher picked up his 800th coaching win this season, and three more victories would provide something quite possibly more meaningful - the Crusaders first district basketball title as a Class 5 program. Offense has been a problem for Helias, though. Look no further than Friday’s 55-26 loss to Rock Bridge. Ugh!

● Hickman (11-13): The fourth-seeded Kewpies are the district wildcard. They’ve given Rock Bridge its closest game among district foes and beat Jeff City. Of course, Hickman also got crushed by the same two teams this season. It’s all a matter of which Hickman team shows up to play this week. When Lyle Harris and Eric Franklin are running and Demarea Liddell and Tyler Stevens are rebounding, the Kewpies are usually in good shape.

Fifth-seeded Smith-Cotton and Camdenton round out the district field.

● MORE DISTRICT DOPE: The Class 4 District 8 Tournament also begins tomorrow at Moberly Area Community College.

Moberly (21-3) claimed the top seed in the six-team boys tournament, while Fulton (18-6) was selected No. 1 for the girls. Both programs are coming off undefeated North Central Missouri Conference campaigns. The conference basketball titles were Moberly’s first in 33 years and Fulton’s first in school history.

Fulton’s boys and Kirksville’s girls were seeded second and also received first-round byes into Wednesday’s semifinals. The remainder of the boys field includes (in order of seeds) Kirksville, Mexico, Hannibal and Warrenton. The remaining girls teams include third-seeded Mexico, followed by Hannibal, Warrenton and winless Moberly.

Four games are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow and Wednesday. The girls championship is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, followed by the boys at 7:30.

● SUPERHERO STRODTMAN: Hickman soccer Coach Jon Strodtman finally lost his eight-year battle with cancer on Monday when he died at his home.

As the assistant for activities at Hickman, Kay Lindner witnessed on a daily basis the impact that Strodtman had on the students and athletes he came in contact with.

"I think the best thing about Jon is every single day I see a kid who has been influenced by him," Lindner said. "Whether it’s writing an essay for an English class or a scholarship application where they have to write an essay about their hero, nine times out of 10 it’s about Jon.

"How many of us can be that lucky? We all hope that we’ve influenced somebody … but here’s a man who impacted so many people. It’s just absolutely amazing."

More evidence of Strodtman’s impact was on display yesterday during his memorial service. Hundreds were on hand for the service held at Hickman Auditorium.

Before Strodtman’s death, T-shirts were made in an effort to raise money for his mounting medical expenses. Fittingly, the white shirts had a purple Superman emblem on the front with Strodtman’s name and college jersey number - 13 - on the back.

The shirts are still available for $10 at the high school or by contacting Lindner at (573) 214-3007.

● RECRUITING NEWS: The college commitments keep on coming.

● After he gets over the illness that cut short his state wrestling tournament, Rock Bridge three-time state medalist Taylor Crane plans to sign a scholarship to MU.

● Columbia swim Coach John Hamilton reports that Rock Bridge senior Wyatt Hodges has committed to swim at Purdue.

● Three Southern Boone athletes will stay in state to continue their athletic careers. Boys soccer players Ricky Old and Tyler Knierim are headed to William Woods and Truman State, respectively, while Courtney Branch signed to play basketball at Missouri Valley College.

● Jefferson City baseball standout Jordan Coons plans to join Hickman senior James Hudelson at Jefferson College. The junior college is located in Hillsboro.

● OLDIES BUT GOODIES: Here’s a capsule look at the 2008 class of Rock Bridge Athletic Hall of Fame inductees. The new members were honored during Friday night’s boys basketball game.

● Matt Benedict (’86): Two-time all-state selection was named all-conference and all-district three years in basketball. … Lives in Minneapolis

● Elizabeth Sulzberger Hollas (’86): Member of three state-championship tennis teams and one runner-up. … All-conference, all-district, all-state, and a Prince High School All-American. … Resides in Longview, Texas

● Kirk Sloan (’81): Two-time all-state in cross country, winning individual title in ’80. … Added state championship in the 3,200-meter run in the spring of ’81 and held school record of 9:23.87 until 2006. … Resides in Branson.

● Brian Washington (’81): Lettered in four sports, excelling in football and basketball. … All-conference and all-district at running back, defensive back, punter and kicker. …Lives in Columbia.

● Ben Wilson (’79): Two-time state champion golfer for teams that placed second and first. … Lives in Warrensburg.

● APOLOGY IN ORDER: After grumbling about the lack of student support for the Rock Bridge girls basketball team this season, I unfortunately gave supporters of the team something to grumble about this week.

Due to a miscommunication, the Tribune didn’t have a reporter cover the Bruins’ senior night win over Helias on Thursday.

I would like to publicly apologize to the Rock Bridge players and Coach Jill Nagel for the unforgivable foul-up and promise to personally cover the Bruins’ remaining games from here on out.

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