The senior class of Claire Cobb, Madi Polston, Maddy Queathem, Malia Rodgers and Olivia Shaw is enjoying a successful run with the Montgomery County girls basketball team, helping the Wildcats win more than 80 games with two district championships.

The seniors can thank Chris Rodgers for that. Chris, who is Malia’s father, coached the five girls when they were in youth basketball years ago.

“He was our first ever coach,” Polston said. “He basically raised us in basketball. We grew up with him. He has done so much more for us than we even thank him for. I really thank him for everything in basketball.”

The quintet celebrated Senior Night on Feb. 6 by helping the Wildcats cruise past Mark Twain 67-30 in a Eastern Missouri Conference home game. The five players – along with the five seniors on the boys basketball team – were honored with their parents after the contest and took pictures with Chris Rodgers.

“I had a lot of fun,” Polston said. “I’ve been playing with these girls for a long time. I can’t imagine doing it with anybody else.”

Maddox James, Mason Leu, Hayden McKenzie, Cade Smith and Jake Stellwagen are the seniors on the boys squad. They helped the Wildcats beat Mark Twain 73-35.

Leu and Smith have been playing with the Wildcats since they were freshmen. They helped the program win over 70 games with two district titles.

“We’ve been successful all four of my years,” Smith said. “It’s been really fun. I got to play with my brother (Drake) when he was still in high school.”

Also being recognized were seniors Aleida Eldringhoff and Presley Schluss. Both are managers of the girls basketball team.

In the girls contest, Queathem scored 26 points with seven 3-pointers. Rodgers, who is the Wildcats’ all-time leading scorer, finished with 10 points. Polston scored six and Shaw and Cobb each had five.

Next year, the five seniors will be going their separate ways. Rodgers and Polston will attend State Fair Community College, while Shaw will head to Mineral Area College to play volleyball. Cobb and Queathem are undecided on what college they’re going to.

Polston said she hopes the group will stay connected after high school graduation.

“We’re all close enough that we’re going to stay in touch,” said Polston, who plans to major in radiology at State Fair. “I think we’re always going to be friends. You lose a lot of friendships after high school, but when a group has been together and played together as long as we have, I don’t think that’s going to happen with us.”

But first, the seniors are looking to help the Wildcats win their third straight district title. They will compete at the Class 3, District 7 tournament at North Callaway, which will start on Feb. 19.

“Winning that tournament is like nothing else,” Polston said. “I really hope we get to do it again this year and go even farther than what we did last year.”

In the boys contest, Stellwagen – a transfer from Verona High School – finished with 21 points with five 3-pointers to lead the Wildcats. Smith scored nine points in his first varsity start and Leu, who recently returned after missing several games due to an injury at the South Callaway Tournament, had two points.