On Saturday, Nov. 30, junior forward Todd Bieg helped earn a win for the Blue Jays at the 67th Annual Turkey Tournament Championships at Borgia High School. The basketball team defeated the Fort Zumwalt North Panthers 61-52. His performance at the tournament not only secured a trophy for his team, but the special honor of Most Valuable Player.

“[Being named MVP] was great,” Bieg said. “I got to share the win with my teammates and my family.”

The Blue Jays entered the tournament seeded fourth, managing to defeat both the first seed, the Borgia Knights, and the second, the Panthers. 

“[The most exciting game] was probably my first game,” Bieg said, “my first [game] was my first varsity start, so that was pretty big.”

Entering his second year on the varsity basketball team as a starter, Bieg dominated. He scored an average of 12 points per game in the Turkey Tournament. In the semi-final against the returning champions, St. Francis Borgia High School, Bieg scored 16 points against the Knights. 

“The game against Borgia [was exciting],” Bieg said. “[They are] our cross-town rival, [it] was a pretty good game.”

Another standout at the tournament was the presence of school spirit in the St. Francis Borgia High School Main Gym. According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the gymnasium was near-capacity during the Washington vs. Borgia game on Fri, Nov. 29. The Blue Jay Sixth Man student section took up a large percent of the gym, filling the bleachers with red and green, Santa hats, lights, and christmas sweaters. 

“Last year we didn’t really have that many people [watching], but this year we had a lot of people,” Bieg said. “It was pretty cool.”

The previous year, the Blue Jays won only 2 games in the tournament, losing in the consolation game to the Union High School Wildcats. Their record at the end of the 2018-19 season was 8-18. Bieg hopes to help the Blue Jays comeback from last season and finish with a higher record. The basketball team is currently undefeated, so great things are expected from the Blue Jays this winter. Spectators in the Big Blue Jay Gym should keep their eye on Bieg, who is focused on the future of the team, and is only getting started. 

“I’m looking forward to continue winning games,” Bieg said, “and hopefully do well in districts and go on from there.”