Desiree Felker is the new head volleyball coach at Joplin High School.
Joplin announced the hire on Wednesday via Twitter.
“We are proud to announce Desiree Felker as our new head volleyball coach,” Joplin Athletics tweeted. “Desiree is coming to us from Webb City with a wealth of volleyball experience and passion. She will be teaching at JHS. Please help welcome her to the Eagle family.”
Felker has been an assistant at Webb City for head coach Rhonda Lawrence.
“I am so excited to start this new journey,” Felker tweeted on Wednesday. “Six years ago when I started teaching and coaching I never dreamed I would have this opportunity. I am so thankful for everyone that has helped me along the way. My time in Webb City has been amazing, but I am thrilled to be an Eagle.”
Felker replaces Staci Saunders, who resigned at the conclusion of the fall season.
Saunders spent the last 10 seasons as Joplin’s head coach after previously being an assistant at her alma mater for 12 years.
Felker is a Carl Junction High School graduate, where she was a standout player for Sarah Wall’s Bulldogs.
VERONA, Mo. — College Heights Christian limited Verona to single-digit scoring in three of the four quarters en route to victory on Tuesday.
The Cougars (15-2) didn’t allow a field goal over the first eight minutes, jumping out to a 10-2 lead after the first quarter. CHC knocked down three 3-pointers as a team in the second quarter and ballooned the lead to 19 points by the intermission. Grace Bishop had two of the triples, while Jayli Johnson also connected from the perimeter.
Bishop led all scorers with 18 points, with Catie Secker adding 10 in the win for the Cougars. Johnson and Layni Lett each scored eight.
College Heights hosts Wheaton on Friday.
PARKVIEW 63, CARL JUNCTION 55
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Parkview outscored Carl Junction 22-6 in the first quarter and rode that cushion to the win over the Bulldogs on Tuesday.
Kamari Ouck scored 14 of her game-high 28 points to pace the way for the Vikings in the opening eight minutes. Mikaela Whalen scored eight of her 19 points in the fourth quarter to stave off a CJ comeback.
The Bulldogs (11-5) outscored the Vikings 18-12 in the final quarter, with Destiny Buerge scoring 10 of those points. Buerge finished the game as the second-leading scoring, putting up a team-high 26. Klohe Burk scored 12 and Jessa Hylton finished with 10 in the loss.
Carl Junction is at Neosho on Feb. 1.
MCAULEY CATHOLIC 41, WHEATON 30
The Warriors overcame a sluggish start and finished strong in a 41-30 come-from-behind win over Wheaton.
Wheaton led 11-1 early in the game.
“From that point forward, our defense played very well,” McAuley coach Mike Howard said. “Even though we had an off night offensively, our defense kept us in the game and was the focal point in this victory. I couldn’t be more proud of their efforts tonight.”
McAuley led 25-24 at halftime and 30-28 at the end of the third quarter. The Warriors finished strong, outscoring the visitors 11-2 in the final frame.
Kennedy DeRuy scored 15 points to lead the Warriors, while Kayleigh Teeter added 10. Lily Black added seven points and Gliza Damaso chipped in six.
MOUNT VERNON 71, MARSHFIELD 57
Lacy Stokes poured in 37 points to lead the Mountaineers. Stokes, a Missouri Southern recruit, hit two treys.
Ellie Johnston added 16 points for the Mountaineers, who outscored Marshfield 23-9 in the second period.
Webb City used a 15-3 run in the third period to pull away.
The Cardinals led 16-13 at the end of the first quarter, but trailed 38-36 at intermission.
Webb City outscored Harrisonville 19-5 in the third period before the fourth quarter was nearly even.
Cohl Vaden scored 17 points to lead the Cardinals, while Trenton Hayes had 13. Luke Brumit and Alex Martin contributed 11 points apiece and Mekhi Garrard and Nickhai Howard scored 10 points apiece.
Webb City (12-3) plays the host Eagles (13-2) at the Nixa Tournament on Wednesday.
THOMAS JEFFERSON 73, JASPER 37
JASPER, Mo. — Thomas Jefferson’s relentless pressure on both ends of the floor led to an early double-digit lead that was never relinquished as the Cavaliers cruised to their 13th win of the season on Tuesday.
Thomas Jefferson (13-2) held Jasper scoreless in the first quarter while putting up 21 points on the offensive end to jump out quickly. Drew Goodhope knocked down a 3-pointer on the way to seven first-quarter points, while Jay Ball added six and Dhruv Gheewala scored five.
The Cavaliers scored 21 points in each the second and third quarter to build a 63-27 advantage with eight minutes to play.
Gheewala and Goodhope led the way for Thomas Jefferson with 16 points apiece. Ball and Caden Myers added 12 each, while Noah Hamlett put up 11 in the win.
Thomas Jefferson is at Golden City on Thursday.
KICKAPOO 89, JOPLIN 69
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Joplin Eagles hung tough early with a formidable foe, but ultimately fell short on Tuesday night, as Kickapoo defeated their former Ozark Conference rival 89-69.
Kickapoo led 17-14 at the end of the first quarter and the Chiefs were up 40-30 at intermission.
The hosts put up 26 points in the third period to Joplin’s 17 for a 66-47 advantage. The fourth quarter was even for the final margin.
Joplin’s Always Wright scored 24 points, while All Wright added 21. Dante Washington also reached double figures for the Eagles (10-6) with 10, while Terrance Gibson chipped in nine points.
Kickapoo had three players score at least 21 points. Trevon Brazile scored 23, Anton Brookshire added 22 and Isaac Haney had 21.
The Chiefs (10-2) are ranked third in Class 6.
Joplin is at East Newton on Thursday.
SPRINGFIELD CENTRAL 48, CARL JUNCTION 41
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction took a 33-32 lead into the final eight minutes of action before Springfield Central outscored the Bulldogs 16-8 down the stretch to earn the win.
Carl Junction trailed 27-23 at the half before Josh Cory’s five-point third quarter led the Bulldogs to a lead to start the fourth. Cory led CJ with 13 points, while Sincere Williams added 10. Blake Poorman scored nine.
Carl Junction is at Neosho on Feb. 2.
WHEATON 62, MCAULEY 37
Wheaton outscored McAuley in every quarter on the way to the win over McAuley Catholic.
Kelton Park scored scored eight points in the first quarter to help stake Wheaton out to a 16-10 lead. The Warriors (4-10, 0-2 Ozark 7) trailed by double digits at the half, as Wheaton continued to pull away through the final horn.
Daniel Wagner led McAuley with 15 points, while Thomas Black scored 11. Matthew Dohmen scored six.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Carthage defeated Webb City 59-12 on Tuesday night.
Recording wins by fall for the Tigers were Bradyn Tate (113 pounds), Carlos Reyes (120), Kip Castor (126), Eli Sneed (138), Davion King (145), Brett Rockers (170) and Anthony Salas (220).
Carthage’s Braxdon Tate earned a major decision, 10-0, at 152, while Luke Gall edged Roger Carranco 8-6 at 182.
At heavyweight, Carthage’s Alexis Vasquez defeated Kole Carr, 15-5, a major decision.
Webb City’s Jacob Ott won by fall at 195. Webb City’s Dominic Boles defeated Cody Reeves 7-2 at 132, while Brayden Hollingsworth edged Grey Petticrew 2-0 at 160.
MARSHFIELD 42, CARL JUNCTION 32
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. —Carl Junction’s Dexter Merrell (138), Cole Stewart (145) and Jesse Cassatt (182) all pinned their opponents.
Carl Junction’s Max Matthews recorded a tech fall at 113, winning 15-0.
At 285, Carl Junction’s Kameron Bennett earned a 5-4 decision over Maguire Wilson.
In another close one, Mashfield’s Marcus Gritts defeated Dylan Frazier 6-5 at 126.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Led by a number of stellar performances, and with its overall team depth on full display, Carl Junction’s girls repeated as team champions at the Central Ozark Conference Swimming and Diving Championships on Tuesday night at Webb City’s Buck Miner Swim Center.
The Bulldogs finished on top of the team standings with 307 points.
Carl Junction coach Stephanie Miller noted it was a memorable night for her Bulldogs, who concluded a long day by posing for photos with the COC championship plaque.
“This was great,” Miller said. “I love the competition and the close races. I’m really proud of the girls. It’s sometimes harder to come in and defend a title, so I’m really proud of them. It was a lot of fun.”
Carl Junction won six events and took second in two others. The Bulldogs also swam some record-setting times along the way.
“It’s just a blessing,” Miller said. “My whole team was in the water tonight. No one was in quarantine. Everyone’s healthy, so I’m just so thankful for that. It’s just a blessing to be in the pool. We’re not taking that for granted.”
Carl Junction’s depth showed, as the Bulldogs scored big points in nearly every event.
“I’ve got 18 girls and I’m pretty sure all but two scored points tonight, which is phenomenal,” Miller said. “That’s just amazing. We won a lot of races, but when we didn’t win, we still recorded our best times.”
Carthage took second with 259 points.
“We performed OK,” Carthage coach Braden McBride said. “We had some personal bests and I was proud of that. We were a swimmer short, but I don’t think it would have made a ton of difference. Carl Junction is just loaded. But I thought we did pretty well overall. We saw some improvements. They’re all getting better.”
Webb City finished third with 202 points.
“For the most part, I thought we did fantastic,” Webb City coach Shawn Klosterman said of his team’s showing. “There was a lot of very inspired swimming. It feels good. This is always an exciting meet. They always get inspired. I love it. It was nice to see some lifetime bests out of some kids. We weren’t expecting those until the state meet. There were just so many time drops.”
Ozark (186), Nixa (150), Republic (78) and Joplin (75) rounded out the standings.
The Carl Junction Bulldogs pose with the COC championship plaque at the conclusion of Tuesday’s meet.
CARL JUNCTION RESULTS
The Bulldogs won all three relays.
“We loaded our relays tonight and had some girls do all three,” Coach Miller said. “I haven’t done that before. But we have good relays and they have fun, so why not?”
Carl Junction’s 200-yard medley relay team of Skyler Sundy, Abigail Wilson, Sophia Hensley and Alanza Montez recorded a state-qualifying time of 1 minute, 57 seconds.
The 200 freestyle relay featured Emma Lacey, Montez, Sundy and Chloe Miller and also swam a qualifying time of 1:43. The time is a COC record and a new pool record.
Carl Junction’s 400 freestyle relay capped a stellar meet for the Bulldogs. Swimming the relay were Chloe Miller, Montez, Sundy and Lacey. Their time of 3:51 is a COC record and was also a pool record.
Chloe Miller, Lacey and Sundy all won individual events.
Miller touched the wall first in the 200 freestyle in 2:02, while Lacey won the 50 freestyle in 25.95. Both swam state-consideration times.
Sundy’s winning time of 1:01 in the 100 backstroke is not only a state-qualifying mark, but also a COC record.
Miller was the runner-up in the 500 freestyle, while Lacey and Wilson took second and third in the 100 breaststroke. Lacey swam a state-qualifying time in the breaststroke (1:09.6).
Madeleine Garoutte took third in the 100 butterfly, with Hensley fourth in the same event. Carsyn Smith was fourth in the 100 backstroke.
Also for the Bulldogs, Montez took sixth in the 50 free, Carsyn Smith was sixth in the 200 free, while Hensley and Wilson finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 200 individual medley.
Abigail Holcomb finished seventh in the 500 free, with Kennedy Johnson eighth, while Bryn Neria was ninth in the 100 freestyle.
Carl Junction’s Abigail Holcomb competes during Tuesday’s COC swim meet at Webb City. Photo by Israel Perez.
CARTHAGE RESULTS
Carthage’s Madison Riley won the 100 butterfly with a consideration time of 1:02.
The Tigers were second in two relays, the 200 medley and the 400 freestyle.
Riley, Aubree Santillan, Nadya Housh and Hope Fultz competed in the medley, with Riley, Cassidy Smith, Housh and Fultz swimming the freestyle.
Santillan and Riley placed second and third in the 100 backstroke.
Smith took third in the 100 freestyle and Fultz was fifth.
Housh and Ava Lacey took third and fourth in the 500 free, while Housh placed third in the 200 IM, with Santillan fifth.
Lacey and Fultz finished fourth and fifth in the 200 free. Smith was fifth in the 50 free, Victoria Martinez took fifth in the 100 fly, while the Tigers finished fifth in the 200 free relay (Smith, Santillan, Martinez, Lacey).
Carthage’s Cassidy Smith competes during Tuesday’s COC meet. Photo by Israel Perez.
WEBB CITY RESULTS
Sophia Whitesell won the 500-yard freestyle in a state-consideration time of 5:32.
“Sophia was on fire tonight,” Klosterman said. “She kind of surprised me tonight in the 500. She’s never gone that fast. It was a lifetime best.”
Whitesell also placed second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:19.
Skylar Powell finished third in the 50 free and was fourth in the 100 free.
Webb City’s 200 medley relay team of Ella Holt, Makenzie Storm, Whitesell and Olivia Honey placed third.
The Cardinals were fourth in the 200 freestyle relay, with Powell, Holt, Hally Philpot and Avery Mitchell competing.
Webb City was also fourth in the 400 free relay, with Powell, Philpot, Mitchell and Whitesell swimming.
Also for the Cardinals, Holt was fifth in the 100 backstroke, Storm took fifth in the 100 breaststroke, Philpot placed sixth in the 100 free, while Mitchell was seventh in the 50 free and the 100 breaststroke.
In the diving competition, Webb City’s Kyndie Crockett was the runner-up with a score of 275.5.
Webb City’s Sophia Whitesell is pictured during the COC meet. Photo by Israel Perez.
JOPLIN RESULTS
The Eagles placed fourth in the 200 medley relay, with Mairi Beranek, Taegen Smith, Allie Lawrence and Mya Johnson competing.
Joplin’s team of Lawrence, Sophia Schwartz, Ava Perrin and Johnson were sixth in the 200 freestyle relay, while Lily Rakes, Schwartz, Beranek and Perrin placed sixth in the 400 freestyle relay.
Beranek finished ninth in the 100 backstroke, with Schwartz 12th.
Smith was ninth in the 100 breaststroke, while Megan Walser and Rakes were 11th and 12th, respectively, in the 500 freestyle.
Kennedy Schwartz finished 11th in the 100 butterfly, Lawrence was 12th in the 100 free, Rakes finished 13th in the 200 free and Smith was 13th in the 200 IM.
Pictured is Joplin’s Megan Walser. Photo by Israel Perez.
MEET NOTES
Nixa’s Lillie Blevins was the diving champ with a state-qualifying score of 388.65.
Republic’s Karissa Metzger won the 100 breaststroke in a COC record and state-qualifying time of 1:09. The time was faster than the previous pool record that was set in 1984.
“There were a lot of impressive times,” Klosterman said, noting several records. “That just says a lot about our conference. It’s getting better. I love seeing the close races and there were a lot of close races for first place tonight. And that’s just so fun to watch.”
This was the third year the conference held an official girls swim meet. Webb City won the inaugural event in 2019 and Carl Junction won it last year.
No fans were allowed at this year’s event, but Webb City hosted a live stream of the meet.
“It’s hard to have a meet with no spectators, but I think the atmosphere here was still pretty darn good and the racing went great,” Klosterman said. “I hope there were a lot of people watching from home.”
Olivia Honey of Webb City is pictured. Photo by Israel Perez.
Carl Junction’s Louise Collette is pictured. Photo by Israel Perez.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage and Hillcrest tipped off Tuesday night in a back and forth boys basketball game that would come right down to the buzzer.
In the end, Hillcrest would leave town with a 56-53 win.
Hillcrest made the first basket, but Carthage responded by going on a 6-2 run thanks to two baskets from sophomore Max Templeman and a field goal from senior Silas Templeman.
The Hornets responded to nearly pull even, but freshman Justin Ray of the Tigers hit two 3-pointers to give Carthage a 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair, as each team exchanged runs.
Carthage started with a 5-0 run, as the Templemans continued their big games. Hillcrest answered with a 7-2 run. With just two minutes left, the Tigers had three straight rebounds on the same possession that eventually led to an ‘and one’ from Silas Templeman.
The Tigers also had baskets from senior Sam Feurt and junior Caden Kabance to end the half on an 8-2 run. They led 27-19 at the break.
Neither team was able to establish a solid run in the third quarter, exchanging baskets for the entire period. Max Templeman added two more field goals, Kabance added one and junior Joel Pugh added a basket and two free throws.
Hillcrest scored 14 points of their own, pulling the score to within five. Carthage continued their solid night of rebounding to maintain their lead of 37-33 heading into the fourth.
“We are a small team, and basically we have to start five guards,” Carthage coach Nathan Morris said. “The fact that we were able to battle on the boards like that was huge. Rebounding was something we keyed in on at halftime. We didn’t grab a couple there at the end that hurt us, so it’s something we still want to keep working on.”
Despite Carthage leading the entire game, Hillcrest wasn’t ready to call it quits quite yet.
Max Templeman continued his streak with two more baskets, giving him 17 points on the night.
After a quiet third quarter, Silas Templeman went off for eight points, with three field goals and two free throws. He had 15 points. Ray also added a basket, and Kabance hit two free throws.
The Hornets similarly made almost all of their baskets, most of them threes, to tie the game at 53 with just under a minute left.
After regaining possession on a rebound, Hillcrest held the ball as the clock ran out and Crishawn Haggard drained a three on a buzzer-beater to give them a 56-53 win.
“It’s frustrating to lead for almost the entirety of the game and to not be able to close it out,” Morris said. “Our guards were better tonight. We have three really young guards and, on some nights, they struggle, but tonight they played really well. We are not a big team, so we must keep complete energy for 32 minutes. We’re getting there and I know this team is hungry to get there.”
Despite a strong finish, it was the slow start to every quarter that plagued Joplin in its 53-50 loss to Pittsburg on Tuesday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
Pittsburg used a significant scoring run to start each quarter, which ultimately resulted in Joplin fighting its way back all game long, trailing by as much as 18 points in the fourth quarter. The Eagles closed the contest out with a tremendous surge, but never had a chance at a game-tying shot.
“That is something we just talked about in the locker room—we have to start quarters better,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. “The third quarter all season seems to be our bugaboo. Maybe we just need to skip halftime and keep on playing. We have to figure out how to put 32 minutes together. I told the girls that I was extremely proud (of the finish). I think we were down 15 with three minutes to go. That is great. But we have to learn to not dig ourselves into that hole and be engaged right from the get go.”
The Dragons jumped out to an early 11-2 lead before the Eagles (6-9) rallied with the final six points of the first to trim the lead one, 11-10. Emma Floyd, Lily Pagan and Brynn Driver all had baskets to close out the first for Joplin, with Driver’s counting for a three-point play.
Pittsburg started the second period on a 7-3 run to push the margin to 18-13 by the 3:35 mark. Jaqueline Hall had a steal and a score on the break and Madden Petty knocked down a 3-pointer.
“She is a really good player,” Coach Floyd said of Petty. “We just had trouble staying in front of her. We have to be disciplined in our defense. I thought she and (Hall) were able to get inside and get to the paint all night long to create a shot for themselves or create for somebody else, and we have to be better than that. Our girls know that.”
With Joplin trailing 25-20 to start the second half, Pittsburg opened the third quarter with the first four baskets, with AJ Fornelli accounting for a pair of those buckets, to extend the lead to double digits for the first time, 33-20.
The Dragons led by as much as 16 in the third before Joplin closed the quarter with scores from Brooke Nice and Driver to cut the margin to 41-29. Pittsburg used a 9-3 run to open the fourth to send the lead up to a game-high 18 points, 50-32, with less than four minutes to play. Petty led the surge with five points, including a 3-pointer.
The Eagles, like they had several times over the course of the game, fought their way back down the stretch to cut the lead to two possessions, 53-48, on a 3-pointer from Driver with 9.8 seconds left as part of a 16-3 run. Joplin added a basket at the buzzer but never had a chance at the tie. Driver accounted for seven points during the run, while Pagan and Floyd both scored four to lead the way.
“I think a lot of it is just having the mindset of what we are doing,” Coach Floyd said when asked what differences he saw from his team from the start of each quarter to its finish. “We can’t wait to be punched in the mouth. We are a very reactionary team, but we’ve been preaching all year we want to be the aggressor.”
TROUBLE AT THE STRIPE
Joplin struggled from the free-throw line in the loss to Pittsburg. The Eagles shot 6-for-15 from the charity stripe in the first half before making just 1-of-5 free throws in the second half to finish with a 7-for-20 conversion rate.
“We told the girls that we miss anywhere from 12 to 15 free throws tonight and we lost the game by three,” Coach Floyd said. “I don’t know what it is. We take time in practice to shoot them when we’re tired and when we are fresh. We just have to be able to step up to the line and knock down free throws. They are free points. … Those are killers.”
SCORING LEADERS
Driver led Joplin with a team-high 17 points, while Pagan scored 12 and Floyd added 10. Nice contributed eight.
Petty scored a game-high 24 points to lead Pittsburg, with Hall adding 11 in the win.
