Warrenton forwards Caleb Strauss and Trevor Alberternst finished their season as first-team Gateway Athletic Conference honorees, school officials announced last week.

The duo combined to average 24.2 points for the Warriors, and were the only GAC North teammates to land on the first team.

“That kind of shows that with the success we had as a team all year, you’re going to have guys get rewarded like that at the end of the year,” Warrenton Head Coach Mike Uffmann said. “When teams are game-planning for us, those are the top two that you look at right away. They were the focus of our offense and our defense, the numbers show that and our wins show that.”

Alberternst, the only senior in the Warrenton starting lineup, led the team with 12.3 points per game with a team-high 67.8 shooting percentage.

He averaged 4.5 rebounds, and scored 15 points or more in each of his last five games.

His season-high came Feb. 21 against Francis Howell Central, when he finished with 29 points on 13-of-16 shooting.

Strauss was just behind Alberternst with 11.9 points while leading the Warriors with 9.2 rebounds.

The junior upped his efficiency this season and shot 53.5 percent from the floor.

“We were always at our best when we were working our high-low game with those two,” Uffmann said. “It was always fun to watch. I remember watching the Incarnate girls run the high-low the other night, and kept thinking, ‘Man I’m going to miss our high-low with Trevor and Caleb.’ It was definitely fun to watch.”

Strauss is expected to contend for the conference player of the year award next season.

“Hopefully he’ll get bigger, better and stronger and finish more at the rim, and I think he’ll play with some toughness,” Uffmann said of Strauss’ potential as a senior. “I still want him to catch the ball at the elbow, take one dribble and go hammer one down on somebody. But that comes with toughness and finishing at the rim.”

Smith earns spot on second team

Junior point guard Brenden Smith took home GAC North second-team honors after averaging 7.9 points and a team-best 4.1 assists and two steals.

“The stats don’t necessarily show his worth to us,” Uffmann said. “He doesn’t jump off the stat sheet, but he does everything pretty well for us. He’s the guy that makes us go and he’s really valuable to the team, and he ignites our defense with good ball pressure.”

Uffmann said Smith’s biggest quality was his ability to take care of the ball.

“He had over a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is awesome because he had the ball in his hands so often,” Uffmann said. “He cut his turnovers in half from last year. He’s getting stronger with the ball, and he’s just a winner and a competitor. Every time we were in a close game down the stretch, he was a big part of it. He handles it well, he shoots it well and he’s smart. It’s tough to find high school kids who have all those intangibles.”