Nixa High School hosted the Riann Lubinski Cross Country Invitational on Tuesday.
There were separate divisions for small schools (Class 1-3) and large schools (Class 4-5).
LARGE SCHOOL DIVISION
In the boys race, Branson’s Tristen Bough took first in 16:12, while Parkview’s Connor Ayres was second in 16:20.
Monett’s Julio Cruz finished fourth in 16:48 and Carl Junction’s Collin Emmert placed sixth with a time of 17 minutes.
Carl Junction’s Jack Lawson finished 21st and Joplin’s Jabin Brown was 22nd.
Also competing for the Bulldogs were Brock Feken (25th), Kellen Badgley (34th), Caleb Graham (44th), Luke Battagler (60th), Alexander Allison (61st), Gavin Hall (66th), William Schultz (80th) and Trenton Schepers (91st).
Also running for Joplin were Aidan Koch (28th), Parker Durham (29th), Maquire Mai (41st), Ethan Gibson (49th), Joseph Beranek (50th), Asher Mobley (52nd), Brodie Lane (54th), Gabriel Crocker (77th) and Jeremyah Hendricks (90th).
McDonald County was led by Hunter Leach’s 43rd place finish.
Branson (48) and Nixa (49) were the top two teams.
In the girls race, Parkview’s Lilah Genel (19:11) and Republic’s Mihane Nambara (19:12) took first and second.
Carl Junction had five runners finish in the top 19—Ally Montez (10th), Hannah Franks (11th), Sadie Burchett (14th), Riley Briggs (18th) and Alexis Carpenter (19th).
Monett’s Sadie Camp was 24th and Joplin’s Cylee Gilreath finished 25th.
Also competing for Carl Junction were Bailey Feken (28th), Delaney Harris (29th), Bryanna McCabe (30th), Aubrey Fletcher (51st) and Klohe Burk (61st).
Also running for Joplin were Isabella Cruse (38th), Kelly Kumbier (52nd), Emily Nelson (63rd) and Elisia Spiering (64th).
McDonald County’s Clara Horton was 44th.
Nixa (39), Republic (52) and Carl Junction (70) were the top three teams.
SMALL SCHOOL DIVISION
College Heights Christian’s Caleb Quade finished 17th in the small school boys race with a time of 19:19. Quade was CHC’s lone entrant.
Blue Eye’s Ryan Cardenzana took first in 16:26.
Led by Pierce Heins’ seventh place showing, Lamar was the team champion (45).
In the girls race, Blue Eye’s Riley Arnold (19:21) and Lamar’s Kiersten Potter (19:45) finished first and second.
College Heights Christian’s Madelynn Jordan (24:25) and Madi Carson (24:43) finished 24th and 26th, respectively.
Also competing for CHC were Sophia Moore (48th) and Stella Moore (64th).
The Joplin Eagles earned a 7-2 win over the Carl Junction Bulldogs on Tuesday in girls tennis action at the Joplin Athletic Complex courts.
“This was a closer match than what the final score says,” Joplin assistant coach Richard Perry told SoMo Sports. “A few matches could have gone either way. I’m just glad most of them went our way.”
The Eagles won two of the three doubles matches.
Joplin’s Astrid Cardenas and Emma Watts defeated Jenna Besperat and Nicole Sherwood 8-3 in the No. 1 doubles match.
“Astrid and Emma were able to improve to 15-0 on the season, which is fantastic,” Perry said. “It’d be nice to keep the streak going into districts next weekend.”
At No. 2 doubles, Carl Junction’s Naiyah Wurdeman and Emmy Higgins defeated Abry Stayton and Mya Ndedi-Ntepe 8-4.
Joplin’s Cloey Blank and Brynn Driver won the No. 3 doubles match 8-5 over Valeria Poor and Alyssa Graves.
“Brynn and Cloey showed up strong for us in doubles,” Perry said. “They have really been doing a good job getting involved at the net to put away the point.”
In singles, Cardenas beat Wurdeman 8-2 and Watts edged Besperat 8-6.
“Emma had a tooth and nail match in singles where no one could get more than a two game lead at any one point for the whole thing,” Perry said. “She finally was able to get the best of her opponent at the end which ended up being our fifth win of the day to officially clench us the team win.”
Stayton defeated Sherwood 8-1, while Ndedi-Ntepe nipped Poor 8-6.
“Abry played lights out in her singles match today,” Perry said. “She has really elevated her game in the last few matches and I’m very proud of what she is able to do. Mya bounced back from a tough doubles loss to get a hard-fought win in singles against a veteran player.”
Higgins defeated Blank 8-3 at No. 5 singles
“We had a tough time playing against Emmy,” Perry said of CJ’s Higgins. “She was able to get the better of my girls by being ferocious at the net in doubles and hustling hard in singles.”
Joplin’s Driver beat Graves 8-5 at No. 6 singles.
Joplin is at Willard on Thursday. Carl Junction is at Nevada on Wednesday and at Branson on Thursday.
WEBB CITY KNOCKS OFF NEOSHO
NEOSHO, Mo. — Webb City’s girls tennis team earned a 9-0 win over Neosho on Tuesday.
In singles action, Webb City’s Kirsalyn Hood beat Jasmine Martinez 8-2, while Kinzlea Smith defeated Lyndsey Doke 8-2 and Shelby Ensminger topped Alex Olsbo 8-2.
In doubles, Hood and Smith defeated Martinez-Doke 8-2, Ensminger and Hollingsworth beat Olsbo-Housh 8-0 and Ansley-Hoffman defeated Keeton-Minton 8-0.
Webb City is at Republic on Thursday. Neosho is at College Heights on Thursday.
THOMAS JEFFERSON SUFFERS FIRST SETBACK
The Thomas Jefferson girls tennis team suffered a 5-4 loss to Greenwood on Tuesday.
It was the first loss of the season for the Cavaliers after seven dual wins.
In singles play, Thomas Jefferson’s Allison Ding defeated Karson Feuerbacher 8-5.
Greenwood won the No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches, as Isabella Garcia defeated Jeanna Jeyaraj 8-5 and Aubrey Taylor beat Kyla Yang 8-4.
Thomas Jefferson’s Jessica Joseph defeated Emma Laney 8-3, but Warda Morsy lost to Kerri Vittalam 9-7 and Emalee Ro suffered an 8-4 loss to Chloe Deppe.
In doubles, Ding and Jeyaraj defeated Feuerbacher and Garcia 8-3.
Yang and Ro lost to Taylor and Laney 8-5, while Joseph and Morsy defeated Deppe-Sonnemaker 8-2.
Ozark broke a 3-3 tie with a run in the top of the seventh to earn a 4-3 win over Joplin in Central Ozark Conference action on Tuesday.
The Eagles (11-11, 0-5 COC) and Tigers (13-6, 4-1 COC), who were playing at the the JHS Athletic Complex after weather forced a venue change, traded two-run second innings before Ozark pushed across a run in the fourth to take the lead. Joplin tied it with a run in the bottom of the sixth only to see the Tigers use a sacrifice fly in the seventh to push across the go-ahead run.
Jordyn Foley earned the win in the circle after allowing three runs on five hits, two walks and 17 strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
Jill McDaniel took the loss after allowing four runs, one earned, on four hits, two walks and five strikeouts in seven innings.
Abby Ford had a pair of triples in her three hits, adding three RBI and a run scored to lead Ozark at the plate.
Abby Lowery had a double, an RBI and a run scored, while Izzy Yust tripled and scored twice for Joplin.
Joplin is at Republic on Thursday, while Ozark is at Kickapoo.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Neosho took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth before Carthage crossed home six times on the way to a 7-2 win in Central Ozark Conference action on Tuesday.
Jensyn Elder earned the win in the circle after allowing two unearned runs on three hits, 11 strikeouts and a walk in seven complete innings.
Chloe Patterson took the loss after allowing seven runs, one earned, on eight hits, two walks and six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
Neosho (11-6, 2-3 COC) took the initial lead in the top of the first when Abbie Carpenter drove in a run with a groundout before Carthage (11-11, 3-2 COC) tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Aspen Willis.
Carpenter reached on a bunt that turned into a Tigers’ error, allowing Lili Graue to score for a 2-1 Wildcats’ lead.
The bats came alive in the bottom half of the inning for Carthage. The Tigers tied the game at 2s on a Neosho error before Mary Grace Richmond singled home a run on a liner to right field to give the Tigers a 3-2 advantage. Presley Probert added a bases-loaded double later in the inning to add three insurance runs before Natalie Rodriguez capped the scoring with an RBI single up the middle to push the lead to 7-2.
Richmond and Rodriguez each had two hits to lead the Tigers. Richmond had an RBI and scored a run, while Rodriguez also drove in a run. Probert had a team-high three RBI.
Graue led Neosho with a hit and two runs scored, while McKaylie Forrest doubled.
Carthage is at Willard on Thursday, while Neosho is at Branson on Thursday.
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction used it’s dominance in service to kick off Central Ozark Conference play with a 3-0 sweep of Carthage on Tuesday.
“I thought our kids played really well,” Carl Junction coach Cheryl Sharples said. “They really listened to the scouting report that we gave them and took advantage of it.”
The Bulldogs (6-2, 1-0 COC), winners of five straight matches, and Tigers (8-9, 0-1 COC) played even in the first set before a pair of early three-point service runs gave Carl Junction the momentum on the way to a 25-16 win. The Bulldogs caught fire in the later stages of the second set before pulling away to a 25-12 win. And after a back-and-forth start to the third set, Carl Junction gained footing midway through and never relinquished the lead for a 25-20 win and sweep.
“We did not play our best at all,” Carthage coach Bradyn Webb said. “CJ came out and played to win, and we did not. We are going to get back into the gym, figure it out and play a lot better.”
Carl Junction trailed 5-4 on a kill from Jessa Hylton in the opening set before a three-point service run by Hylton gave the Bulldogs a 7-5 advantage. Hylton had an ace to tie it before a block from Karissa Chase gave CJ the lead. Hylton followed with a kill to end the run.
After a block from Kylie Scott moments later put the Bulldogs on top 10-7, a three-point service run from Ellie Lawson gave CJ a 13-7 advantage. Lawson had an ace and Scott had a kill in the run.
“Our service runs really put us in a position to take them out of that game a little bit,” Sharples said. “They have hitters and big kids, so we wanted to make sure they weren’t a factor in the game.”
Chase came up with a kill on the right side to push the lead to 20-10, Carl Junction maintained that 10-point cushion throughout the remainder of the set with kills from Destiny Buerge, Scott and Logan Jones before Hylton registered a kill to seal the win.
Carl Junction used three early kills and an ace from Hylton, two kills from Scott and Buerge and a pair of aces from Maggie Brown to build a 13-8 advantage in the second game. The Bulldogs then scored the next seven of eight points — highlighted by three kills from Hylton — to take a commanding 20-9 lead on an ace by Jones.
“It all comes down to ball control, and tonight we just didn’t have it,” Webb said. “CJ has a tradition of winning, and that is a mentality. We are trying to change that at Carthage. You go and play to win every single game. That has not been a trend in the past, but we are working on it.”
The Tigers rebounded with a kill from Sydnee Dudolski, a kill from Sophie Shannon and a block from Dudolski to trim the lead to 20-12, but the Bulldogs answered with the final five points of the set fueled by a pair of aces from Hylton in service to close the second game.
“I thought we played really well in the second set,” Sharples said about her team’s close to the set. “Defensively, they were doing the things we asked them to and they were executing on offense. And, again, our serve was very effective.”
Carthage played with a slim lead for much of the early portions of the third set. Trailing 10-9, however, Buerge earned a kill to tie it and force a sideout before back to back kills from Hylton and Scott gave the Bulldogs a lead they wouldn’t give up.
Hylton had consecutive aces to give CJ an 18-14 lead before a kill from Chase and an ace from Olivia Vediz pushed the lead to 20-15. Buerge and Hylton each had a kill late to send CJ to the sweep.
“I talked to them a little bit going into that third set because I think the third set is the hardest set, especially when you’re up 2-0,” Sharples said. “You kind of start to get comfortable. So, I talked to them about not getting comfortable and not letting them get comfortable. We played with them and had some errors in there, but they were aggressive errors and you can live with those. Then, I think we cleaned up our game and kind of took it away.”
STATS
Hylton led all players with 15 kills to go along with a game-high six aces in service. Buerge had 10 kills, an ace and nine digs, while Vediz added 13 digs. Jones had 32 assists, 11 digs and three aces, with Chase adding two blocks.
EXETER, Mo. — College Heights Christian opened up Ozark 7 Conference play with a sweep of Exeter on Tuesday.
The Cougars (8-4-1, 1-0 OZark 7) earned a 25-11 win in the opening set before finishing off the sweep by the scores of 25-8 and 25-6.
Addie Lawrence led College Heights with 11 kills, five aces and 19 service points, while Maddy Colin added 21 assists. Lauren Ukena had five kills, six aces and 14 service points, while Lindsay Griesemer finished with seven kills and five aces. Ava Masena added 10 digs and 10 points in service.
College Heights hosts McDonald County on Thursday.
SENECA BEATS MCDONALD COUNTY FOR BIG 8 OPENING WIN
ANDERSON, Mo. — Seneca started conference play off on the right note, earning a three-game sweep of McDonald County in Big 8 play on Tuesday.
The Indians (5-3, 1-0 Big 8) started the night with a 25-18 win before completing the sweep with 25-19 and 25-18 victories.
Parker Long had 10 kills and 12 digs to lead Seneca, while Ellie Barnes had seven kills, two aces and two blocks. Tatum White had seven kills, while Brylee Sage had seven digs. Braxton Raulston finished with eight digs and four aces, while Jera Jameson had four blocks and seven digs. Sage and Rylee Darnell, who had two aces, combined for 29 assists in the win.
Seneca hosts Aurora on Thursday, while McDonald County (1-6, 0-1 Big 8) is at College Heights on Thursday.
THOMAS JEFFERSON BEATS MCAULEY CATHOLIC
Thomas Jefferson earned its first conference win of the season after beating McAuley Catholic 25-22, 25-22, 24-26 and 25-21 on Tuesday in Ozark 7 action.
The Cavaliers move to 7-7-1 overall and 1-1 in Ozark 7 action, while the Warriors fall to 5-9-1 and 1-1 in the Ozark 7.
Nico Carlson led Thomas Jefferson with nine kills, five blocks and three aces, while Mayson Solum had 11 assists. Leah Studer finished with two kills and four assists, while Mary Nguyen had five kills.
Thomas Jefferson hosts Southwest on Thursday, while McAuley is at Purdy.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Utilizing a balanced attack at the net to gain the momentum early in each set, Webb City earned a 3-0 victory over Joplin on Tuesday night in a Central Ozark Conference volleyball matchup inside the Cardinal Dome.
Although the Cardinals pulled off the sweep, it was far from easy.
In what could be called an intense rivalry clash, the Cardinals defeated the Eagles 25-22, 25-20, 25-15.
Each set played out similarly, as Webb City gained the lead early, only to see the scrappy Eagles battle back.
In the end, the Cardinals were able to take advantage of their numerous weapons at the net while also making the most of the Eagles’ unforced errors.
“I liked that we stepped up out there, maintained control and remained pretty steady,” Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence said. “There weren’t a lot of peaks and valleys. We knew even when it got tight that we had control of ourselves. We didn’t get down and just kept going after them. We were trying to push to the holes and really swing hard. I’m proud of them just because of the balance. And they were steady on the mental side of it. I think that’s huge in volleyball.”
Joplin coach Desiree Felker was pleased with her team’s effort, although she noted her squad could have performed better.
“We worked really hard tonight,” Felker said. “When things got hard I think we shot ourselves in the foot quite a few times. Unforced errors…that was kind of the story. In the second set we had 12 hitting errors. It’s hard to win volleyball games that way. I have to give credit to Webb City. They made things happen when they needed to. But I’m proud of my kids. I don’t think we showed what we’re capable of tonight.”
There was another storyline in this one. At this time last year, Felker was an assistant at Webb City.
“Joplin-Webb is always going to be a tough game,” Lawrence said. “And Coach Felker was my assistant the last six years before she went over there. Emotions were high for both sides. My kids played for her and she helped me train them. And she knows their faults and weaknesses, so we knew it was going to be a tough match. But it’s always fun. I felt like we really stepped up and did a good job of maintaining our play.”
With a fourth straight win, Webb City hiked its record to 9-4-1 overall and 1-0 in the COC. Joplin fell to 5-3-2 and 0-1 in conference action.
Webb City’s Kyah Sanborn is pictured setting up a teammate during Tuesday’s matchup with Joplin inside the Cardinal Dome. Webb City won the COC contest 3-0. Photo by Shawn Fower.
NAMES & NUMBERS
Junior outside hitters Brenda Lawrence and Kate Brownfield recorded eight kills apiece to lead the Cardinals’ balanced attack at the net. Seniors Kearston Galardo and Makenzie Storm contributed six kills apiece, while sophomore Aubree Lassiter added four kills.
“Looking at our stats, we were so balanced and that’s what I love about this team,” Coach Lawrence said. “There’s not just one person teams can shut down to take us out of our game. We didn’t have Kearston on the floor in the first set tonight, but we still maintained good, hard swings all in different positions. Jenna Noel is going to step up and be a leader wherever you tell her to go.
“Kearston and Brenda have really hard swings, but they’ve learned to be more strategic with them,” Coach Lawrence added. “Kate Brownfield tools any block that’s in front of her and knows where that hole is with perfect timing. Kenzie’s always going to put down a good ball too. The balance of the attack keeps everybody excited.”
Also for the Cardinals, junior setter Kyah Sanborn handed out 25 assists, while sophomore libero Sophia Crane had a team-high 17 digs.
Crane’s play stood out to Coach Lawrence.
“Sophia Crane…I can’t ask for a better passer,” Lawrence said. “She had 17 digs and that’s a lot for a three-set match. That’s pretty awesome for a sophomore. Her passes were nails.”
Storm added nine digs, while Brownfield had eight, Sanborn chipped in seven and Noel had five.
Senior outside hitter Angelina Schramm led Joplin’s attack at the net with six kills. Abby Edwards added five kills, while Emma Floyd and Allie Lawrence contributed four kills apiece and Bailey Owens had three.
Junior setter Kaya Cooper had 12 assists, while classmate Abby Hembree added seven assists.
Junior defensive specialist Paisley Parker had a team-high 17 digs, while Lawrence had nine digs and Cooper added eight.
The Eagles had 24 attack errors, 10 more than the Cardinals.
MATCH RECAP
Joplin’s Emma Floyd and Angelina Schramm block at the net against Webb City’s Kate Brownfield. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
The first set was tied at nine when Webb City pulled away with a 5-0 surge. Lassiter had two aces during the run.
A kill from Lawrence extended Webb City’s lead to 20-15, but the Eagles showed a lot of fight, pulling within a point at 23-22. But the Cardinals scored two straight to take the opening set.
Webb City led 15-8 in the second set but the visitors were able to tie it up at 17 after an ace from Parker.
However, Webb City responded with five straight points. Joplin stopped the run but two late kills from Lawrence and a Joplin attack error gave the set to the hosts.
Webb City scored the first eight points of the third set to gain all of the momentum. Sanborn served seven straight points during the surge.
As they did all night, the Eagles fought back and pulled within three at 12-9.
The Cardinals re-took control by utilizing their firepower at the net, using an 8-2 spurt to take a 20-11 lead en route to victory.
Felker noted her Eagles can take some positives away from the setback.
“I’m extremely proud of my kids,” Felker said. “They hung in there when things got tough. They didn’t go away. They kept working hard. And that’s not always easy. It just didn’t go our way tonight.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Webb City is at Ozark on Thursday night, while Joplin travels to Branson on Thursday.
Joplin’s Paisley Parker serves during Tuesday’s match at Webb City. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
The Webb City Cardinals celebrate a point against Joplin on Tuesday inside the Cardinal Dome. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
The Joplin Eagles celebrate a point against Webb City on Tuesday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Emma Floyd of Joplin hits at the net while Makenzie Storm of Webb City attempts to block. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City took control with a three-run first inning and finished strong with a six-run seventh on the way to a 15-3 Central Ozark Conference softball victory over Carl Junction on a windy Tuesday at Chuck Barnes Field.
Webb City, which scored runs in every inning except the second and sixth, improved to 10-7 overall and 3-2 in the COC. Carl Junction fell to 2-17 and 0-5 in conference play.
The game was originally scheduled to be played at Carl Junction, but was moved to Webb City’s turf due to wet field conditions.
The visitors on the scoreboard, Webb City plated three runs in the top of the first.
Peyton Hawkins smacked a two-run home run to left. Later in the inning, Emalee Lamar singled and scored after a Ripley Shanks double and a Carl Junction error.
Kaylyn Gilbert’s solo home run to center gave Webb City a 4-0 lead in the third.
The Bulldogs got on the board in the bottom of the third, as Hannah Cantrell doubled to left and later scored after a Webb City error.
The Cardinals added four runs in the fourth.
Lamar contributed a sacrifice fly, Hannah Wells came home on a CJ miscue in the field, Shanks hit an RBI double and later scored on another error for an 8-1 lead.
In the fifth, Webb City’s Morgan Brannon was hit by a pitch and later scored on Wells’ sac fly.
Carl Junction scored twice in the sixth when Cantrell lined an RBI single to left and Addie Brock drew a bases-loaded walk.
In the six-run seventh, Webb City’s Wells delivered a two-run single, Shanks added a run-scoring single of her own before Hicks added a two-run double and Dawsyn Decker contributed a sac fly.
Hawkins, Gilbert and Shanks had three hits apiece for the Cardinals, while Lamar and Hicks added two hits apiece.
Laney Taylor was the winning pitcher. She gave up two earned runs on five hits and five walks. Taylor struck out seven. Hawkins recorded the final three outs.
Cantrell had two hits to lead the Bulldogs.
Hannah Cole was charged with the loss. Cole allowed 10 earned runs on 16 hits and three walks. She struck out three.
Both teams return to action on Thursday, as Webb City is at Nixa and Carl Junction is at Ozark.
