Below is a link to the full results from Thursday’s Joplin Outdoor Invitational Swim Meet that was held at the Schifferdecker Family Aquatic Center.
Joplin Outdoor Invite full results
Joplin Outdoor Invite
Team standings: Blue Springs 467, Webb City 339.5, Joplin 291.5, Monett 234, Carthage 207, Marshfield 180, Camdenton 177, Hillcrest 72.
FULL STORY: Eagles win three events, Webb City finishes second in team standings
JOPLIN AT NIXA
Last week: Joplin def. Webb City 41-40; Nixa def. Branson 42-6.
Last year: Joplin def. Nixa 45-14.
OUTLOOK: Joplin hits the road for the first time in 2020 with a trip to the newly remodeled Eagles Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Joplin is coming off a back-and-forth battle with Webb City, while Nixa’s season opener was anything but close against Branson. Joplin’s offense gained 379 yards of offense against Webb City, with quarterback Always Wright completing 18-of-22 passes for 197 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Running back Nathan Glades carried the ball 24 times for 161 yards rushing and three scores on the ground to lead the rushing attack, averaging 6.7 yards per touch. Wideout Dante Washington caught a team-high six passes for 78 yards and a score, while Trayshawn Thomas caught four passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive end, Joplin held Webb City scoreless in the third quarter and earned a takeaway in the fourth quarter to help seal the win in the second half.
Nixa is under new management, with John Perry in his first season at the helm of the Eagles. Sophomore quarterback Austin McCracken started in place of suspended QB Reid Potts and lit up Branson with four touchdown passes, a record-setting performance at the school.
HOW TO WATCH: Fox Sports Joplin’s live stream for Friday’s game can be found here: http://www.citylinktv.com/channel/joplin-web-tv/.
The Joplin High School girls tennis team won three of six singles matches, but it was not enough, as the Branson Pirates defeated the Eagles 6-3 on Thursday night.
The Pirates won all three doubles matches.
Elaine Knipple and Graclyn Kemp edged Emma Watts and Kennedy Schwartz 9-7 at No. 1 doubles, while Chase Carlin and Madelyn Volz beat Jensen Vowels and Lauren Laird 8-1 at No. 2. At No. 3 doubles, Branson’s Macy Scott and Madelyn Faria defeated Cloey Blank and Patience Adams 8-1.
Watts handled Knipple 8-1 at No. 1 singles, while Schwartz topped Carlin 8-4 at No. 2.
Scott edged Vowels 8-6 at No. 3 singles, but Joplin’s Laird beat Kemp 8-5 at No. 4.
Branson’s Faris edged Blank 8-6 at No. 5 singles, and Volz defeated Adams 8-2 at No. 6.
Joplin played without the services of Astrid Cardenas.
Joplin hosts Carthage at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
CARTHAGE AT CARL JUNCTION
Last week: Carthage def. Ozark 35-14; Carl Junction def. Willard 29-12.
Last year: Carthage def. Carl Junction 35-7.
OUTLOOK: This will be Carl Junction’s home-opener at Bulldog Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Both teams are coming off confidence-building wins in Week 1. And in both Central Ozark Conference contests, the Tigers and Bulldogs gave up just two scores apiece.
In a breakout performance, Carthage sophomore running back Luke Gall scored five touchdowns in Week 1. Gall racked up 259 rushing yards, showing that the Tigers are much more than just the ‘Patrick Carlton Show.’ Carl Junction’s Alex Baker, in his first start since his sophomore year, was impressive at QB, as he threw three touchdown passes and totaled nearly 300 yards against Willard. CJ’s Brady Sims ran for two scores, while Drew Patterson and Noah Southern hauled in touchdown passes. Southern made 11 tackles to lead the CJ defense.
Carthage has won three of four meetings with Carl Junction since the Bulldogs joined the COC.
HOW TO WATCH: Carl Junction TV or The Carthage Tiger Sports Network
The Webb City Cardinals will look to bounce back from a Week 1 loss when they host the Neosho Wildcats on Friday night in a Central Ozark Conference football clash.
Kickoff for the home opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Cardinal Stadium.
After his team dropped a hard-fought 41-40 decision at Joplin last Friday, Webb City coach John Roderique noted the Cardinals have responded well in practice this week.
The veteran coach added a film session provided the team with evidence of what areas need to improve.
“We watched the film, and the film tells you everything you need to know about what you did or what you didn’t do,” Roderique said. “Now we understand what direction we need to go as far as getting better. The first game is always a good indicator of where you’re at and that’s how we’ve approached it.”
Roderique said he’s confident his team has cleaned up some areas of concern.
“Conditioning-wise, I didn’t think we handled the heat very well on Friday,” he said. “We’ve certainly put an emphasis on conditioning this week. We had some missed alignments and missed tackles on the defensive side. And we had some missed assignments offensively.”
Offensively, the Cardinals racked up 385 rushing yards in Week 1, and senior running back Devrin Weathers had four touchdowns.
Webb City’s defense gave up more than 40 points for the first time since 2013 when Springdale Har-Ber defeated the Cardinals 42-35.
Neosho is coming off a 21-0 home loss to Republic.
The Wildcats managed just 146 yards of total offense, with 131 on the ground and 15 through the air. Drayke Perry ran for 63 yards on 15 carries, while Talon Mitchell contributed 40 rushing yards.
Neosho quarterback Evan Haskins left the game with an injury and did not return. His status for Friday’s game is up in the air.
The Wildcats couldn’t generate much offense and the hosts committed two costly turnovers.
Republic totaled 298 yards of offense, with 197 rushing and 101 passing.
The Tigers used two quarterbacks, Avery Moody and Gavyn Beckner. Moody ran for all three touchdowns, while Beckner accounted for all of the passing yards.
Republic led 14-0 at the half and the Tigers added a score in the fourth quarter.
Roderique expects Leon Miller’s Wildcats to be an improved squad in Week 2.
“Everybody has things they look at from the first game and realize they need to do better,” Roderique said. “They (Neosho) had some missed opportunities. You can’t always take a lot from the first game as far as an indication of what type of team somebody has. We know they’re physical and they have some speed.”
Roderique noticed something else while watching film of the Wildcats.
“Their new turf made a great background for their game,” Roderique said. “Hat’s off to their administration, their school and their community for getting that done. It’s really nice.”
THIS ‘N THAT
The Cardinals won last year’s meeting with the Wildcats 34-6, also one week after a loss to Joplin. Neosho hasn’t beaten Webb City since 1999.
HOW TO WATCH: Webb City School District
The Neosho Wildcats suffered a 9-0 loss to Willard on Thursday in Central Ozark Conference tennis action.
In singles play, Jungeun Go defeated Michelle Lindsay 8-3, Kristen Flynn beat Emily Lemus 8-3 and Ana Chunn topped Ana Ramirez 8-0.
Kaytlen Ibarra Saucedo defeated Angelica Vynyas 8-2, Abby Wade beat Claudia Martensen 8-3 and Alyssa Flynn topped Mariana Anaya 8-1.
In doubles action, Go-Chunn defeated Lindsay-Lemus 8-3, K. Flynn-Ibarra-Saucedo beat Ramirez-Martensen 8-2 and Wade-A. Flynn defeated Anaya-Jasmine Martinez 8-0.
Neosho (0-3) meets Carl Junction on Tuesday.
The Thomas Jefferson girls tennis team earned a dominating 9-0 win over Nevada on Thursday.
The Cavaliers won the singles matches by a combined score of 48-7.
Thomas Jefferson’s Allison Ding beat Alissa Stutesman 8-0, Johanna Jeyaraj handled Emily Boutassa 8-0 and Juliana Joseph defeated Hailey Elkinton 9-0.
Sydney Stamps beat Caitlyn Roberts 8-0, Victoria Henson-Miyauchi topped Laura Kimmell 8-3 and Jessica Joseph beat Susannah Kimmell 8-4 in what was the closest match of the dual.
In doubles, Ding-Jeyaraj defeated Stutesman-Boutassa 8-0, while Juliana Joseph-Stamps beat Elkinton-Roberts 8-0 and Henson-Miyauchi-Jessica Joseph topped Kimmell-Kimmell 8-3.
Thomas Jefferson (2-1) hosts College Heights on Tuesday.
Taking the court inside Kaminsky Gymnasium for the 2020 home opener, the Joplin High School volleyball team overcame a sluggish start with a solid finish.
The Eagles defeated Cassville 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-7) in non-conference action.
“After the first game, I felt like we got into a groove,” Joplin coach Staci Saunders said. “We got the jitters out of the way and we started playing like a team. We proved that when we play together, we play so much better. It was a team effort.”
Senior outside hitter Aubrey Ritter led the Eagles with 17 digs, 12 service points and 11 kills.
“Aubrey is a difference-maker,” Saunders said. “She’s just a great all-around player.”
Senior setter Addison Saunders recorded 20 assists, 12 service points with four aces for the Eagles, while junior middle hitter Kacy Coss compiled 14 service points, 10 kills and four blocks.
“I thought Kacy Coss had a great night,” Saunders said. “She served tough and played tough.”
Also for the Eagles, Allie Lawrence had nine kills and eight digs, Baileigh Riley handed out 15 assists and had eight digs, Kaylie Anderson contributed 11 digs, Angelina Schramm chipped in five kills and three blocks while Emma Floyd had three blocks.
“I thought our setters made good decisions and worked really well together,” Saunders said. “Our hitters hit hard and fast.”
Cassville took the first set, with junior outside hitter Sharayah Seymour leading the charge.
“I have to give Cassville credit,” Saunders said. “That outside hitter can hit a volleyball. We had a hard time stopping her in the first game, but we made some adjustments. Our blocking stepped up.”
The Eagles took control early in the next three sets.
Joplin led the second set 21-11 en route to victory.
In the third set, Ritter’s kill gave the Eagles a comfortable 17-7 lead. Late kills from Lawrence, Ritter and Coss, along with an ace from Schramm finished off the set.
The Eagles rolled in the fourth set, taking a 12-5 lead after kills from Coss and Lawrence. Coss later served a pair of aces before Ritter slammed two late kills to help the hosts conclude the night.
“In the last three games, our girls really played tough,” Saunders said.
Joplin (1-1) will host McDonald County on Tuesday night at 6:30. It will be Senior Night for the Eagles.
Due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, teams do not shake hands before or after the match. Players on each bench are spread out in chairs to social distance. Those players not on the court also wore masks on the sidelines. Also, the teams are not switching sides at all.
Saunders noted the changes have taken time to get used to, but are necessary in order to play.
JHS JV, freshman win
Joplin’s junior varsity team defeated Cassville 25-15, 25-2.
Logan Bruggeman and Abby Edwards had four kills apiece to lead JHS, while Abby Hembree had 24 service points with 10 aces. Kaya Cooper had eight digs.
The Eagles took the freshman contest 25-9, 25-9.
Janiah Vaughn had 19 service points and five aces for the Eagles, while Morgan Ferro had six kills and Macy Taylor had nine assists.
MONETT, Mo. — In the opener of the 2020 season, the Webb City Cardinals finished strong to earn a 4-1 win over the Monett Cubs on Thursday in non-conference prep softball action.
The Cardinals (1-0) did not have a baserunner in the first five innings, and the game was scoreless entering the sixth inning.
That’s when the Cardinals finally broke through, as the visitors plated four runs in the sixth.
During the big inning, Bri Batson reached on an error, Brynna Cupp singled to right field and then Peyton Hawkins was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Emma Welch then lined a run-scoring single back up the middle before Kaylyn Gilbert followed with a bases-clearing triple to right, giving the visitors a 4-0 cushion.
That was plenty of run support for Webb City senior pitcher Haidyn Berry, last year’s COC player of the year. Berry allowed just four hits and struck out six in the complete-game win.
Monett’s Caitlyn Calhoun was charged with the loss, but she gave up just three hits. Calhoun had two of Monett’s four hits.
The Cubs threatened in the third, putting runners on second and third with no outs. But the hosts were unable to score, as Berry maneuvered out of trouble by inducing three-straight pop outs.
Monett got on the board in the bottom of the sixth, as Calhoun tripled and courtesy runner Maddie Mettlach scored on Allyson Inman’s RBI single.
The Cubs fell to 0-3 on the season.
Both teams will compete at the Paige Neal/Christina Freeman tournament on Friday and Saturday at the Joplin Athletic Complex. In 4 p.m. games Friday, Monett meets Carthage, while Webb City takes on Neosho.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — The 1-2 punch of Maddy Peeples and Brenda Lawrence led Webb City to a straight-set victory over Harrisonville on Thursday in non-conference volleyball action inside the Cardinal Dome.
The Cardinals defeated the Wildcats 25-20, 25-20, 25-11.
Peeples compiled 15 digs and 10 kills, while Lawrence recorded 13 digs and 11 kills.
Also for the Cardinals, Anna Hettinger handed out 21 assists and had eight digs and three aces, while Farryn Holcomb had 12 digs and Kyah Sanborn had 11 digs. Kenzie Storm chipped in six digs and five kills.
Webb City hosts Aurora on Monday night.
The Joplin High School boys swim team hosted an outdoor invitational at the Schifferdecker Family Aquatic Center on Thursday.
In the eight-team field, Blue Springs captured the team title with 467 points. Webb City (339.5) and Joplin (291.5) finished second and third, respectively, while Monett (234) and Carthage (207) were fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Eagles had three first-place finishes.
Zane Reavley won both the 200-yard freestyle (2:02) and the 500 freestyle (5:43), while Ben Wardlow touched the wall first in the 100 freestyle (51.92).
Joplin’s 200 medley relay team of Jacob Glenn, Wardlow, Zane Newman and Reavley placed second with a time of 1:51, while the Eagles also took second in the 200 freestyle, with Colin Vermillion, Jonah Hensley, Reavley and Wardlow finishing in 1:42.
Wardlow placed second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05, Newman placed third in both the 200 free and the 500 free and Ian Vermillion finished fourth in the 500 free.
Also for the Eagles, Glenn was seventh in both the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke, while Hensley finished eighth in the 100 free.
The Eagles placed seventh in the 400 free relay, with Ian Vermillion, Aidan Kester, Jackson Mordica and Colin Vermillion competing.
The Cardinals were third in the 200 medley relay, with Judah Ritchie, Zion Wood, Micah Brouwer and Ethan Shipley competing. Webb City was also third in the 400 freestyle relay, with Emiliano Vasquez, Shipley, Steve Kenlee and Brouwer swimming.
The Cardinals finished fourth in the 200 free relay, with Vasquez, Wood, Logan Dean and Cody Herndon swimming.
Vasquez placed third in the 100 butterfly and sixth in the 50 free, while Brouwer took third in both the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke.
Shipley was fourth in the 200 free and fifth in the 100 free, Steve Kenlee took fifth in the 500 free and Johnathan Kenlee was sixth in the 100 fly.
Webb City’s Carson Forcum took second in the diving competition, with teammates Logan Thibault and Eric Keeling finishing fifth and seventh, respectively.
Carthage’s Ezekiel Ramirez was the runner-up in the 200 free, while Eli Cox and Landon White were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 100 fly.
Kellen Frieling took sixth in the 100 backstroke and Will Wallace placed seventh in the 500 free, with teammate Lucas Lowery eighth.
Carthage’s 200 freestyle relay team of Ramirez, Cox, Frieling and White placed third. The Tigers were sixth in the 400 free relay, with Wallace, White, Gibson Huelat and Aaron Vang swimming.
Monett’s Matthew Fillinger was second in both the 200 IM and the 100 freestyle, while Isaac Lindsey was third in the 100 backstroke for the Cubs.
Taking first in their events for Blue Springs were Gabe Marthaler (200 IM and 100 breaststroke), Josiah Thomson (diving) and Larry Baldwin (100 backstroke). Blue Springs also won the 200 medley relay in 1:47 and the 200 free relay in 1:38.
Camdenton’s Gavin Schulte won the 50 free (22.93), the 100 butterfly (57.48), while the Lakers took first in the 400 free relay (3:42).
Joplin seniors Kohl Cooper, Jonah Hensley, Zane Reavley, Colin Vermillion and Ben Wardlow were recognized at the team’s lone home meet.
Joplin Outdoor Invite
Team standings: Blue Springs 467, Webb City 339.5, Joplin 291.5, Monett 234, Carthage 207, Marshfield 180, Camdenton 177, Hillcrest 72.
Seneca volleyball fell in three sets (25-17, 25-17, 25-8) to Reeds Spring on Thursday.
Kendyl Petty led the Indians (0-2) with five kills, while Jera Jameson finished with four kills, two blocks and three aces. Myla Hembree also added four kills, while Rylee Darnell had 17 assists.
Seneca is in action against Mount Vernon on Tuesday before hosting Diamond on Thursday for Senior Night.
CASSVILLE, Mo. — Joplin softball put up crooked numbers in the second and third innings en route to a 9-5 win over Cassville on Thursday to clinch the Eagles’ first victory of the season.
Cassville (1-2) pushed across a run in the bottom of the first before Joplin’s offense exploded for four runs in the top of the second to lead 4-2 after two innings. The Eagles (1-1) went to work offensively in the third, hanging five runs on the scoreboard to build a 9-2 advantage. Cassville added two runs in the sixth and a single tally in the seventh.
Madisyn Tracy earned the win in the circle for the Eagles, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits, with one walk and a strikeout in six innings. Brittany Shryock pitched one inning in relief and allowed one run on two hits with a strikeout.
Bell Edwards took the loss after allowing nine runs, two earned, on six hits and two strikeouts. Alyssa Whisenhurt allowed four hits and no runs over four innings of work.
Tatum Stogsdill walked to lead off the second frame for Joplin before stealing second to get into scoring position. Reece Schroer bunt singled to put runners on first and third before Abby McGinnis reached on an error to score Stogsdill and tie the game at 1-1.
The small-ball style of play continued to pay off for the Eagles, as Ryleigh Surridge followed with a bunt single to score Schroer, giving Joplin a 2-1 lead. An error on Cassville allowed the third run in the inning to score, with Surridge later scoring on a passed ball in the frame to stake Joplin to a 4-1 advantage.
The Wildcats cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom half of the inning when Kyren Postelwait tripled to left to score a run.
McGinnis pushed the Joplin lead to 6-2 in the third with a two-run single to center field, scoring Kirsten McMillen and Stogsdill. Ashley Phillips doubled to right later in the frame to score McGinnis. Following a Bailey Ledford bunt single in the next at-bat, Isabella Yust brought home Phillips with a single to left. Ledford scored on an error to wrap the inning with the Eagles leading 9-2.
Ledford, Yust and McGinnins led Joplin with two hits each. Elisabeth Snider, Schroer, Surridge and Phillips all tallied a hit. McGinnis and Stogsdill each scored two runs, while McGinnis also led the Eagles with two RBI.
Postelwait led Cassville at the plate with three hits, including a home run, a triple and a double. She drove in three runs and scored twice. Edwards and Kenzie Dilbeck had two hits each.
Joplin is in action Friday and Saturday as the host of the Paige Neal/Christina Freeman Joplin High School Softball Tournament.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage soccer coach Jacob Osborne was not happy with the way his Tigers played in their season-opening 2-1 win over Branson, and he wanted to see a better effort against College Heights on Thursday.
He got what he was looking for, as Carthage (2-0) scored six times in the first half en route to an 8-0 win over the Cougars (0-2) at David Haffner Stadium.
“It was a good step forward,” Osborne said. “I told them before the game that we are not going to start the season where we end it (in terms) of level of play. The key for us is to try to take a step forward each game. That is what we did today, we took that first step.”
The Tigers put the pressure on the Cougars early with two goals in the first 12 minutes of action. Adrian Garrido broke the scoreless tie with a goal in the 10th minute. Elmerson Contreras found the back of the net shortly after with a goal in the 12th minute off an assist from Walter Mejia.
“The focus tonight was coming in and not going straight ahead to try and get the ball and go, go, go,” Osborne said. “We wanted to have more patience in the build up, and wait until the defense made the mistake and then try to exploit that mistake. Our kids did a really good job of that tonight.”
Carthage didn’t let up with the early lead. Garrido struck again in the 20th minute off an assist by Neyzer Ramos Garcia to push the lead to 3-0. Contreras scored his second goal of the first half in the 31st minute off the assist from George Laytham.
“I expect both of them to score a lot of goals for us this year,” Osborne said of Garrido and Contreras. “Adrian was our leading scorer last year as a sophomore, and I believe he is one of the best players in the area. He is a super smart player who can read the game really well, his skill level is super high and he can finish.
“Elmerson had a bad first game, and he will be the first one to tell you that is probably going to be the worst game he plays all year. I think he was wanting to make up for that today and get back on the right track, and he did. His first goal was a hustle play, and he just continued with it.”
The Tigers took a 5-0 lead when Lester Mejia scored in the 36th minute on the assist by Garrido. The final goal of the first half came in the 40th minute when Marcos Valdez found the back of the net off the assist from Jesus Alvarado to send Carthage into the locker room with a 6-0 cushion.
“It really was just what we’ve been working on and talking about,” Osborne said of the team’s offensive strategy. “We were trying to create space for our attackers, pulling out the defense. All of our kids did a good job of that tonight, having the patience to send it back to the defense and reset if the play wasn’t there instead of trying to force it.”
Laytham added a goal in the 50th minute of action, while Alvarado ended the contest in the 58th minute with the golden goal.
“We have a lot of skill,” Osborne said. “And it’s not just our attackers who have a lot of skill. Our defenders, the outside backs, and our starting goalkeeper is even skilled with his feet. That is a luxury that a lot of coaches in our area do not have. … That is something I am fortunate to have here.”
Angel Ordonez (in goal first half) and Inmer Paz Hernandez (in goal second half) were credited with the shutout.
Carthage hosts Joplin on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on Senior Night.
“Joplin always has good speed, and they generally are very organized in the back, defensively,” Osborne said. “We will have to work harder than we did today to be able to break them down. They have some kids with some skill as well, and on top of that, they always play hard. We will have to have our speed of play be very high, and we have to be smart with the ball.”
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