D3 Championship: Speed helps the flight of the Angels

Speed kills. And quickness isn't too far behind. Racine St. Catherine's utilized both of those attributes on the basketball floor Saturday afternoon while posting a 61-41 victory over Seymour in the Division 3 championship game of the WIAA State Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison. The Angels' superior speed in the open court and quickness on defense triggered a bunch of the success of the Metro Classic Conference squad experienced against Seymour. So did the exploits of superb senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1959723' first='LaMont' last='Hamilton']. St. Catherine's defense forced 17 turnovers and turned those miscues into 26 points while Hamilton, a 6-foot-0 dynamo, scored 26 points, grabbed seven rebounds, handed out five assists and had three steals in the final game of his remarkable high school career. The all-time leading scorer in Racine city history, Hamilton started for four years for the storied program at St. Catherine's and completes his prep career with 2,353 points, including 715 in 28 games as a senior (25.5 ppg). His ability to break down the Seymour defense led to scoring chances for himself and his teammates. Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2739730' first='A.C.' last='Ward'] had 12 points, four rebounds and 3 steals while junior [player_tooltip player_id='2954990' first='Jayden' last='Phillips'] came off the bench to score seven points for the Angels, who beat Saint Thomas More and Milwaukee Audubon at the regional level, Racine Lutheran and Oostburg in the sectional round, and Lake Mills and Seymour at the state tournament to end the season 25-4. St. Catherine's improved to 15-1 in WIAA State Tournament games and won its seventh state championship since joining the organization from WISAA in 2000. This is the first state crown, though, for fifth-year coach Ryan Thompson. St. Catherine's seven state titles is tied for second most in state history along with Dominican and Beloit Memorial. Seymour, which completed a season that included a runner-up finish at state and the Bay Conference championship with a 28-2 record under coach Bobby Kuchta, got a solid showing from senior [player_tooltip player_id='2391083' first='Kyler' last='Marks']. Marks, a 6-foot-5 forward and the Player of the Year in the Bay Conference, finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot for the Thunder, who made just four-of-20 shots from three-point range for 20 percent. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='2508494' first='Isaac' last='Feske'] also played a solid game for the Thunder with 10 points and seven rebounds. Seymour fell to 5-5 in state championship contests. BOXSCORE Racine St. Catherine's 22-39 = 61) Ward 12, Hamilton 26, Vinson 6, Ozier 5, Watson 0, Phillips 7, Lockridge 1, Kidd 3, Calvillo 0, Zamecnik 0, Aleman 1, Sugars 0. Three-point field goals: Hamilton 4, Ozier 1, Phillips 1, Kidd 1. FT: 4-8. Fouled out: None. Record: 24-4. Seymour (15-26 = 41) X. Salzman 0, Geyso 4, Marks 13, Krause 5, Feske 10, Cornell 7, Johnson 0, G. Salzman 0, VanDenHeuvel 0, Laabs 2, Jansen 0, Danforth 0. Three-point field goals: Marks 2, Krause 1, Cornell 1. FT: 11-13. Fouled out: None. Record: 28-2.

Speed kills.

And quickness isn't too far behind.

Racine St. Catherine's utilized both of those attributes on the basketball floor Saturday afternoon while posting a 61-41 victory over Seymour in the Division 3 championship game of the WIAA State Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison.

The Angels' superior speed in the open court and quickness on defense triggered a bunch of the success of the Metro Classic Conference squad experienced against Seymour.

So did the exploits of superb senior point guard LaMont Hamilton LaMont Hamilton 6'0" | PG Racine St Catherines | 2026 State WI .

St. Catherine's defense forced 17 turnovers and turned those miscues into 26 points while Hamilton, a 6-foot-0 dynamo, scored 26 points, grabbed seven rebounds, handed out five assists and had three steals in the final game of his remarkable high school career.

The all-time leading scorer in Racine city history, Hamilton started for four years for the storied program at St. Catherine's and completes his prep career with 2,353 points, including 715 in 28 games as a senior (25.5 ppg).

His ability to break down the Seymour defense led to scoring chances for himself and his teammates.

Senior forward A.C. Ward A.C. Ward 6'3" | PF Racine St Catherines | 2026 State WI had 12 points, four rebounds and 3 steals while junior Jayden Phillips Jayden Phillips 5'11" | CG Racine St Catherines | 2027 State WI came off the bench to score seven points for the Angels, who beat Saint Thomas More and Milwaukee Audubon at the regional level, Racine Lutheran and Oostburg in the sectional round, and Lake Mills and Seymour at the state tournament to end the season 25-4.

St. Catherine's improved to 15-1 in WIAA State Tournament games and won its seventh state championship since joining the organization from WISAA in 2000. This is the first state crown, though, for fifth-year coach Ryan Thompson.

St. Catherine's seven state titles is tied for second most in state history along with Dominican and Beloit Memorial.

Seymour, which completed a season that included a runner-up finish at state and the Bay Conference championship with a 28-2 record under coach Bobby Kuchta, got a solid showing from senior Kyler Marks Kyler Marks 6'5" | SF Seymour | 2026 State WI .

Marks, a 6-foot-5 forward and the Player of the Year in the Bay Conference, finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot for the Thunder, who made just four-of-20 shots from three-point range for 20 percent.

Junior Isaac Feske Isaac Feske 6'3" | SF Seymour | 2027 State WI also played a solid game for the Thunder with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Seymour fell to 5-5 in state championship contests.

BOXSCORE

Racine St. Catherine's 22-39 = 61)
Ward 12, Hamilton 26, Vinson 6, Ozier 5, Watson 0, Phillips 7, Lockridge 1, Kidd 3, Calvillo 0, Zamecnik 0, Aleman 1, Sugars 0. Three-point field goals: Hamilton 4, Ozier 1, Phillips 1, Kidd 1. FT: 4-8. Fouled out: None. Record: 24-4.
Seymour (15-26 = 41)
X. Salzman 0, Geyso 4, Marks 13, Krause 5, Feske 10, Cornell 7, Johnson 0, G. Salzman 0, VanDenHeuvel 0, Laabs 2, Jansen 0, Danforth 0. Three-point field goals: Marks 2, Krause 1, Cornell 1. FT: 11-13. Fouled out: None. Record: 28-2.