COLUMBIA, Mo. — On a memorable day for the Joplin High School cross country program, Hobbs Campbell broke the school record for a 5K and the Eagles finished fourth in the top division at the Gans Creek Classic.
A junior, Campbell crossed the finish line in 15 minutes, 39.9 seconds on Saturday. He placed 17th in the Gold Division while taking over the top spot in the JHS record book. Andrew Beard ran a 15:46 at the Chile Pepper Festival in 2001.
Athletes from Joplin and Webb City competed in the Gold Division, which featured large schools from the state.
Hobbs Campbell poses with JHS coach Dustin Dixon after breaking the school record on Saturday in Columbia. Campbell finished 17th in the top division with his time of 15:39. Submitted photo.
On the same course that will host the state championships, Joplin’s boys finished fourth in the team standings with 218 points. The top three teams were Festus (105), Rock Bridge (105) and Kickapoo (136).
“There were 101 teams in attendance and we finished fourth among most of Missouri’s best teams,” Joplin coach Dustin Dixon said. “We’re making steps in the right direction.”
Also competing for the Eagles were Evan Matlock (34th), Nicholas Horton (52nd), Ian Horton (60th), Zaben Barnes (69th), Chance Tindall (202nd) and Max Russell (238th).
Webb City finished 18th in the standings.
Leading the Cardinals were Dustin Brockmiller (42nd) and Roman Borboa (63rd). Also running for Webb City were Evan Stevens (88th), Jose Banda-Antillon (168th), Blake Vaughan (170th), Mason Hedger (174th), Samuel Weller (212th) and Daunte Smiles (281st).
GIRLS GOLD DIVISION
In the girls race, Webb City’s Abi Street placed 17th with a time of 19:03.
Joplin’s Jennalee Dunn finished 28th in 19:31, Webb City’s Riley Hawkins was 30th in 19:39 and Joplin’s Allie Keizer finished 47th in 20:01.
Also competing for Webb City were Alanna Bundy (98th), Isabelle Lopez (136th), Lauren Kuechler (160th) and Elliett Capron (183rd).
Also running for Joplin’s girls were Sage Mitchell (96th), Jackaline Triplett (161st), Meridyth Mai (171st), Avery Burks (172nd) and Masyn Briggs (173rd).
Webb City finished 17th in the team standings and Joplin was 20th. The top three teams were St. Teresa’s Academy, Rock Bridge and Lafayette (Wildwood).
More than 2,000 runners competed in the event’s 10 races.
Abi Street of Webb City competes at the Gans Creek Classic on Saturday. Street was the top local female finisher in the Gold Division. Photo by Cody Thorn.
GRANBY, Mo. — The Neosho High School cross country teams had a stellar showing at the East Newton Invitational on Saturday.
Neosho’s boys captured the team championship, while the girls squad finished second.
BOYS
The Wildcats and the host Patriots both finished with 48 points, with Neosho claiming first place and East Newton taking second via the tie-breaker.
New Covenant’s Tanner Talley took first in 15:37 and Neosho’s Kaden Cole was the runner-up with a time of 15:44.
East Newton’s Kelton Sorrell finished third in 15:58, while his teammates Gabe Bergen and Chase Sorrell were fifth and sixth, respectively.
Southwest’s Christian Long finished seventh and Lamar’s Pierce Heins was eight. Southwest’s Caden Uthe, Purdy’s Bryce Ozbun and Neosho’s Carson Newell placed ninth, 10th and 11th.
Lamar’s Cameron Bailey was 13th and Neosho’s Connor Jordon was 14th. Lamar’s Blaine Breshears and East Newton’s Isaac Bales were 15th and 16th.
Neosho’s Harry Slinkard finished 19th, while teammate Gabriel Mabrey was 23rd and Bryce Hall finished 26th.
Lamar’s Quintin Webb was 20th, McDonald County’s Hunter Leach finished 29th, Neosho’s Brandon Doyle was 30th and East Newton’s Mason Silva finished 31st.
Webb City’s Shane Winters was 33rd and teammate Ryne Burgess finished 37th.
McAuley’s Phillip Motazedi and Drew Zeb finished 55th and 56th, respectively, while Armando Alberto was 71st.
GIRLS
Republic (34) and Neosho (49) were the top two teams.
Parkview’s Lilah Genel took first in 18:50, while Republic’s Mihane Nambara was second in 18:57.
Neosho’s Chloe Wood finished third in 19:19, while Lamar’s Kiersten Potter took fourth (19:38).
Neosho’s Riley Kemna finished sixth (19:54), while East Newton’s Alonna Eytcheson placed 10th (21:28).
Neosho’s Bailey Miller finished 11th, East Newton’s Gracie Johnson was 16th and Lamar’s Mikayla Madison placed 17th.
Neosho’s Makenna Davis and Lakyn Prough were 18th and 19th, while teammate Adrianna Adams was 21st.
East Newton’s Elizabeth Barratt was 22nd, Webb City’s Emily Countryman finished 24th, Lamar’s Abigail Diggs was 25th, Southwest’s Cally Bowyer was 26th and McDonald County’s Clara Horton took 27th.
Neosho’s Jayden Adams finished 28th, Wheaton’s Lakeisha Wise was 29th and Webb City’s Rachel Miller finished 30th.
For College Heights Christian, Madelynn Jordan finished 40th, Madi Carson was 42nd and Jayli Johnson was 49th.
EAST NEWTON INVITATIONAL
Boys team scores: Neosho 48, East Newton 48, Lamar 69, Republic 83, Galena 171, McDonald County 173, Webb City 196, School of the Ozarks 232, Parkview 270, McAuley Catholic 271, Reeds Spring 306, Wheaton 317, Diamond 331.
Girls team standings: Republic 34, Neosho 49, Parkview 93, East Newton 107, Spokane 139, McDonald County 161, Webb City 167, Reeds Spring 195.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — A dominant outing in the circle from Jensyn Elder led Carthage to a 1-0 victory over Camdenton on Saturday in a non-conference softball clash at the Fair Acres Sports Complex.
A senior, Elder struck out 16, walked only one and scattered three hits in the complete-game shutout. Elder threw a first-pitch strike to 17 of 25 batters.
The lone run of the game crossed home in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Ashlyn Brust singled to left and scored on Kate Potter’s two-out triple to right.
Carthage had seven hits. Presley Probert went 2-for-3, while Natalie Rodriguez, Brooklynn Dolon-Main, Elder, Potter and Brust contributed one hit apiece.
Camdenton’s Cayden Vonsande took the loss but only allowed one run. She struck out five.
Carthage is now 13-11. The Tigers host Nevada at 4:30 on Monday.
Joplin quarterback Always Wright accounted for five total touchdowns while the JHS defense allowed a single score in four quarters to lead the Class 6 third-ranked Eagles past Willard 56-7 on Friday at Junge Field.
“We enjoy being around each other, and not just the coaches or players but the whole group,” Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said when asked about the chemistry his football team is showing this year. “They are a loose group for sure. There are times I scratch my head, but I enjoy every second I am with them. I am going to relish it.”
Joplin’s offense totaled 459 yards on the way to eight total touchdowns, while the Eagles’ defense limited Willard to 96 total yards of offense and forced the Tigers to punt six times.
“They came out and ran some stuff that they hadn’t shown on film and I thought we did a good job lining up to it, understanding our assignments and tackling well,” Jasper said. “Both sides of the ball are playing off each other well. … The guys are executing well (on offense). … It is nice to have all of those chess pieces.”
The win pushes Joplin to 5-0 on the season, while the loss sends Willard to 0-5. Joplin is in a tie atop the Central Ozark Conference with Carthage (5-0), while also holding the second ranking in Class 6 District 3 with 43.34 points. Lee’s Summit North (5-0) is first in the district rankings with 45.91 points.
GAME ACTION
After a quick series on defense that ended in a three-and-out for the Tigers, Joplin’s offense took over at their own 49 and needed just three plays to find the end zone in less than 1:30 of game action.
Wright had all day in the pocket to throw on first down before finding WR Terrance Gibson up the middle for a 42-yard completion down to the 9. After an 8-yard run to the 1 by WR Bruce Wilbert, RB Quinton Renfro carried the ball across the goal line for a score.
“They are our backbone,” Wright said about Joplin’s play on defense. “They are playing great right now.”
Joplin’s Bruce Wilbert returns a punt deep into Willard territory during the Eagles’ win on Friday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Willard got near midfield on the ensuing drive before being forced to punt, with Wilbert returning the ball 50 yards to the Tigers’ 28. On the ensuing Joplin drive, Wright scrambled right on third-and-long and took it to the house, breaking multiple tackles at the goal line, for a 26-yard touchdown to push the lead to 14-0 with 4:24 left in the opening quarter.
Willard got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter, aided by a couple of penalties by Joplin, when Owen Bushnell scored from 2 yards out to make the score 14-7 with 10:02 left in the first half.
Joplin answered quickly as Wright, who bought enough time floating around the pocket to smoke a brisket, heaved the ball downfield on third down to Gibson, who went over a nearby defender before taking it to the house for a 77-yard touchdown to make the score 21-7 with 8:15 to play in the first half.
“I could have eaten a bowl of cereal back there real quick,” Wright said with a laugh. “Without my offensive line, a lot of these plays don’t happen. I love those guys to death. … I knew I could trust Terrance to go deep. He’s a big receiver, so I know I have a lot of room to throw it up to him and let him go and get it.”
“It was kind of crazy because I didn’t think he was going to make that throw,” Gibson said. “The play got busted so I just ran deep, cut him and cut again and Always just threw it high enough to where I could get it.”
Wright added his third touchdown of the game on the following Joplin drive, scrambling right for 16 yards for a score to push the lead to 28-7 with time dwindling in the second quarter.
The Eagles didn’t slow down in the second half, as Joplin marched down the field on the opening drive before Wright found tight end LT Atherton for a 9-yard touchdown on third-and-goal to make the score 35-7.
After a Tiger punt, the fifth of the game to that point, Wright broke loose on the ground again for a 52-yard rushing score to push the lead to 42-7 and start the running clock.
Chavis Coleman added a 5-yard rushing touchdown with 6:49 to play before Kaden Gilmore scored from 12 yards out to wrap the scoring for the Eagles.
Joplin’s Terrance Gibson goes up for a deep reception that went for a 77-yard touchdown in the Eagles’ win over Willard on Friday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
STATS
Wright completed 12-of-15 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns and carried the ball four times for 95 yards and three touchdowns.
“I thought our offensive line did a great job of protecting him and he did a really good job of moving around in the pocket,” Jasper said of his quarterback. “He didn’t force anything. … We have seen defenses try to do two different things—try to cover well and force him to pull it down and tackle him, or bring people on every play and try to get the ball out of his hands. I think Always handles both pretty well.”
Gibson caught two passes for 118 yards and a score, while Atherton caught two passes for 21 years and a touchdown. Drew VanGilder rushed seven times for 69 yards, while Renfro added nine carries for 56 yards and a touchdown.
UP NEXT
Joplin hits the road for a matchup with Republic (3-2) on Friday.
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — When the Webb City Cardinals took the field on Friday night at Bulldog Stadium, it’s safe to say they were highly-motivated to rebound from last week’s disappointing setback.
And despite missing two key performers, the Cardinals looked like a team on a mission.
Senior running back Cade Wilson scored four touchdowns and Webb City’s defense didn’t give up a touchdown as the Cardinals earned a 41-6 Central Ozark Conference victory over Carl Junction in Week 5 of the 2021 prep football season.
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Wilson noted the Cardinals desperately wanted to get well after last Friday’s tough loss at Carthage.
“We showed we can bounce back,” Wilson said. “It was a great week of practice honestly. All the seniors have been on everyone after last week. We’ve all just bounced back. We all have one goal…everyone knows what that is.”
Wilson ran for a touchdown in each of the four quarters.
“Cade’s an experienced guy and he was out there giving it everything he had,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “But it all starts up front. Let’s make no mistake about that. It always starts up front. I thought we did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage.”
Webb City’s Cade Wilson is tackled by Carl Junction’s Chance Benford on Friday night at Bulldog Stadium. Photo by Israel Perez.
Ranked fifth in Class 5 by the Missouri Media, Webb City improved to 3-2.
“I thought we played better,” Roderique said. “I still scratch my head about last week, but the kids did what they needed to do tonight. We created some turnovers on defense. Offensively, we did a good job. We’ve watched Carl Junction play outstanding on defense against everyone they’ve played. I thought our guys did a good job against a really stout defense.”
Webb City was without two starters, as senior quarterback Cohl Vaden missed the game for undisclosed reasons and senior running back and leading rusher Dupree Jackson is currently out of action after having hand surgery.
Webb City QB Landon Johnson is brought down by Carl Junction’s Carter Kennedy. Photo by Israel Perez.
Junior Landon Johnson filled in at QB for the Cardinals, while classmate Max Stovern started in place of Jackson.
“I thought Landon did a fantastic job,” Roderique said. “Those situations can be tough for a kid. But he did a nice job.”
“LJ’s played quarterback before and when he’s in there, I have faith in him 100 percent,” Wilson said. “And Max stepped up tonight. He helped me get those four touchdowns.”
Webb City led 14-3 at halftime and 21-6 at the end of the third period en route to victory. Defensively, Webb City allowed just two field goals.
“Our defense played really well,” Roderique said. “It was more of a bend but don’t break deal. It was a good bounce-back game for the defense.”
Wilson wasn’t the only Cardinal to perform well on Friday night.
Junior wide receiver and defensive back Dante Washington made an impact in various ways. He hauled in a touchdown pass, grabbed an interception and also had a number of stellar kick returns.
“He’s a pretty dynamic kid,” Roderique said. “It was a pretty good night for him. It was nice to see him have some success.”
The Class 4 Bulldogs fell to 2-3.
Carl Junction coach Doug Buckmaster said he was pleased with the play of junior quarterback Nathan Planchon, who is starting in place of the injured Kyler Perry. Buckmaster also noted there are still areas of concern at this point of the season.
“We needed to improve as a football team tonight, and I think our quarterback, Nathan Planchon, made a big step up from where he was a week ago,” Buckmaster said. “I think we took a big step forward in our passing game. We did very well in the passing game for the most part. We just didn’t have the running game to complement it. Unfortunately, we did turn the ball over a couple of times in the second half. But we moved the ball a lot tonight. We had multiple opportunities to put points on the board, but we just really struggled getting the ball in the end zone. That’s primarily due to a lack of a running game between the tackles. We’ve got to get better at running the football between the tackles. Hopefully we can fix that.”
Webb City senior running back Cade Wilson sprints to one of his four touchdowns on Friday night at Carl Junction. Photo b Israel Perez.
GAME RECAP
Wilson’s 3-yard touchdown run with 2:48 left in the first quarter gave Webb City a 7-0 lead. A nice punt return by Washington and a penalty on the Bulldogs set up the lone score of the opening frame.
Carl Junction got on the board with 7:37 remaining in the first half when Xavier Perkins converted a 27-yard field goal.
The Cardinals responded on the second play of the ensuing drive, as Wilson sprinted past the defense 57 yards.
The Bulldogs had a scoring chance just before the half, but a pass from the 3-yard line fell incomplete.
“We had an opportunity to score right before the half, but unfortunately we didn’t make a play,” Buckmaster said. “Those things happen. We just didn’t get it done.”
After the break, Webb City had a turnover on downs before Carl Junction’s Perkins knocked in a 33-yard field goal, trimming his team’s deficit to 14-6.
But the Cardinals extended their lead to 21-6 when Wilson scored his third TD of the game, this time on a 4-yard run at the 6:29 mark of the third period.
Wilson added a 16-yard touchdown scamper to start the final frame, giving the visitors a 28-6 advantage.
Washington hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Johnson with 6:23 left and had an interception moments later.
Webb City’s Billy Wolfe put the finishing touches on the win with a 47-yard pick-six with just under two minutes to play.
Buckmaster noted there were positives in the loss.
“We’re a good defensive football team,” Buckmaster said. “When we can put some points on the board, we’re going to be a tough out for a lot of people. We just need to cash in on our opportunities. I am proud of our kids. We’re competitors. We’re lacking in numbers and depth this year. But we’ll compete. We don’t play anyone in our own classification until the playoffs and we may play the toughest schedule in the state of Missouri. And I believe we got out of here without losing anybody to injuries and that’s big to get through this stretch healthy after having Carthage, Joplin and Webb City in three of four weeks.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
Webb City compiled 337 yards of offense, with 271 rushing and 66 passing.
Wilson ran 14 times for 149 yards. Omari Jackson ran five times for 53 yards, while Stovern had 28 yards on eight carries. Johnson ran six times for 27 yards.
Johnson completed five passes for 66 yards with one TD and one INT.
Washington caught two passes for 49 yards. He also had a 36-yard kick return and a 35-yard punt return.
Cooper Crouch averaged 38 yards on three punts.
Lucas Ott was credited with nine tackles, while Kaylor Darnell had eight and Brentan Wilson had six.
Carl Junction had 303 yards, 268 passing and 28 rushing.
Planchon completed 21 of 42 pass attempts for 256 yards. He was picked off three times. Dexter Merrell caught eight passes for 106 yards, while Ayden Bard had two receptions for 66 yards and Dalton Mills hauled in six passes for 54 yards.
Chance Benford was credited with five tackles for the CJ defense.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Webb City hosts Branson next Friday, while Carl Junction hosts Neosho in Week 6.
WEBB CITY 41, CARL JUNCTION 6
Webb City 7 7 7 20— 41
Carl Junction 0 3 3 0 — 6
SCORING SUMMARY
WC: Cade Wilson 3 run (Cooper Crouch kick)
CJ: Xavier Perkins 27 field goal.
WC: Wilson 57 run (Crouch kick)
CJ: Perkins 33 field goal.
WC: Wilson 4 run (Crouch kick)
WC: Wilson 16 run (Crouch kick)
WC Dante Washington 14 pass from Landon Johnson (Crouch kick)
WC: Billy Wolfe 47 interception return (Kick failed)
Webb City’s Kaylor Darnell attempts to tackle Carl Junction’s Dexter Merrell during Friday’s game. All photos by Israel Perez.
Webb City’s Cooper Crouch (49) and Kaylor Darnell (1) converge on Carl Junction QB Nathan Planchon on Friday.
BRANSON, Mo. — The only drama in Carthage’s 42-14 win over Branson at Pirate Stadium on Friday night had nothing to do with the scoreboard. Just before halftime, junior running back Luke Gall, a key driver of the Tigers’ offense and a force at linebacker for the defense, limped off the field to the sideline.
Tigers’ coach Jon Guidie, though, said he simply wanted to be careful with his two-way star.
He did return to the game, though with Carthage leading 35-0, he carried the ball just once in the second half and played one series on defense.
“(Gall)’s fine,” Guidie said. “Just trying to be as careful as we can with everybody.”
As they have all season, the Tigers started fast, scoring on just their second play of the game as Cale Patrick dove into the end zone for a senior quarterback Caden Kabance pass and a 30-yard touchdown reception.
Carthage scored on its next four consecutive drives to take a 35-0 lead into halftime.
Gall, typically the Tigers’ bellwether on offense, was outdone by Kabance, even before the former was forced to the sideline, though Gall found the end zone twice before exiting the game.
Kabance put up 179 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns, while chipping in 102 yards and the touchdown to Patrick through the air. Gall finished with 100 yards on 10 carries and his two touchdowns, giving him 15 in just five games this season.
“Caden had some nice, big runs and Luke had some fantastic runs, too,” Guidie said. “He was Luke, just didn’t get a whole lot of carries tonight. But yeah, just having both those guys, kind of a one-two punch, and then we were able to throw on top of that, Caden had a nice touchdown pass. Just really proud of both those kids.”
Meanwhile, Branson managed just two first downs by halftime as the Carthage defense continued its season-long dominance. In fact, the only time Branson got into Carthage territory against the Tigers’ first-string defense was at 7:09 in the third quarter, helped by a defensive pass interference penalty.
Including the win over the Pirates, the Tigers give up just a shade over 11 points per game on average this season. That’s compared with 46.4 points on offense Carthage is now averaging. Even so, Guidie said his team is staying focused on its larger goals and not thinking about the way it has arrived at its unblemished record.
“I don’t know if this is good or bad, but we certainly weren’t jumping up and down and going nuts there after that win,” he said. “I think our kids felt like they could have played a little bit better and could have executed a little bit better. And I think it’s probably a good sign that they’re certainly not satisfied with where we’re at or how we played despite the score tonight.”
Next week, Carthage will entertain the Willard Tigers, 0-5 on the season, before a Sept. 28 matchup with fellow unbeaten Joplin at Junge Field.
The host Eagles were the runner-up at the Joplin Invitational girls tennis dual tournament on Friday at the JHS court.
Glendale took first place, with Joplin second, Carl Junction third and Logan-Rogersville fourth.
The Eagles earned wins over Carl Junction and Rogersville and suffered a loss to Glendale.
“Overall, we had a great showing in doubles, which will always give us a better chance to win matches when we can get the lead early and confidence up,” JHS assistant coach Richard Perry said. “Everyone was able to get wins for the team at some point during the day, and that is great for them. I’m pretty happy with second place because this was a tough group of schools to deal with. Many of the matches today could have gone either way, which many times isn’t the case.”
Joplin defeated Rogersville 5-1.
In doubles, Joplin’s Astrid Cardenas and Emma Watts defeated Cayenne Martin and Caitlyn Archer 6-3, while teammates Abry Stayton and Mya Ndedi-Ntepe beat Madelynn Jared and Liz Mullins 6-2.
Rogersville’s Nadia Simon and Lydia Coryell beat Cloey Blank and Brynn Driver 6-4 at No. 3 doubles.
In completed singles matches, Joplin’s Stayton beat Jared 6-0, Ndedi-Ntepe defeated Mullins 6-1 and Blank handled Simon 6-0.
“We were able to start off the day hot,” Perry said. “We got a 2-1 lead from doubles. We went straight into Abry, Mya and Cloey in singles and they were all able to cruise to victory, giving us a fast win to start the day. Mya was playing with all the hustle in the world. She didn’t want to concede a single point, even when she was already way ahead, which is what I like to see.”
Next, Joplin earned a 5-1 win over Carl Junction.
In doubles, Cardenas and Watts defeated Jenna Besperat and Nicole Sherwood 6-2. Carl Junction’s Naiyah Wurdeman and Emmy Higgins defeated Stayton and Ndedi-Ntepe 7-5 at No. 2 doubles, while Joplin’s Blank and Driver beat Valeria Alamina-Poor and Alyssa Graves 6-2.
In completed singles matches, Watts topped Besperat 6-2, Blank edged Higgins 6-4 and Driver defeated Graves 7-5.
“I was a bit nervous going into this match because I knew our last meeting earlier this week could have gone either way,” Perry said. “Carl had also just played close to a very good Glendale roster so I thought today was going to be a real fight. We came out much stronger overall in doubles than we did on Tuesday. I felt better going into singles with another 2-1 lead, but the girls obviously felt amazing because we were able to sweep through three singles matches in a row with Brynn and Cloey winning close ones. I was really happy for Cloey because she has had trouble in singles all year and she lost to Emmy earlier this week and it wasn’t very close. Today was Cloey’s day and she battled the whole time and together. Brynn and Cloey were able to get us three out of the five points needed. Emma got the last point for us in convincing fashion. She wanted to prove she could do better against Jenna than what she did on Tuesday.”
In the dual that decided the tourney championship, Glendale defeated Joplin 5-2.
Joplin won the No. 1 doubles match, as Cardenas and Watts beat Chloe Stenger and Ann Beatty 6-4.
At No. 2 doubles, Glendale’s Letizia Carradori and Olivia Edwards topped Stayton and Ndedi-Ntepe 6-0. Joplin’s Blank and Driver topped Liliana Strang and Alyssa Akin 6-3 at No. 3 doubles.
However, Glendale won four singles matches to secure the win. Edwards beat Ndedi-Ntepe 6-2, Strang topped Blank 6-1, Akin defeated Driver 6-2 and Stenger won by forfeit when Cardenas withdrew.
“Astrid was going into this match with some back pain but she said she wanted to push through it for the doubles match to give us a good chance to compete,” Perry said. “She did just that. She and Emma got their 19th straight win of the season and have yet to lose a match. Brynn and Cloey also got a nice win in doubles giving us another 2-1 lead going into singles.
“Unfortunately our singles didn’t play out as well. Astrid’s back was hurting too much to finish her match and the other girls playing came up short,” Perry said. “Emma and Abry were winning their matches when we ended up pulling them off.”
In other matches, Glendale defeated Carl Junction 5-4.
The Bulldogs won all three doubles matches.
Besperat and Sherwood won the No. 1 doubles match 6-4, Wurdeman and Higgins earned a 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles and Alamina-Poor and Graves won 7-5 at No. 3.
Sherwood defeated Beatty 6-3 at No. 3 singles, but Glendale won the other five singles matches.
Carl Junction beat Rogersville 5-4.
The Bulldogs won two of three doubles matches. Besperat-Sherwood beat Martin-Mullins 6-1 and Alamina-Poor and Graves defeated Simon-Coryell 7-6 (7-3). Wurdeman and Higgins suffered a 6-4 loss.
Wurdeman, Besperat and Alamina-Poor won singles matches against the Wildcats to pull out the win.
In the other dual, Glendale defeated Rogersville 5-0.
The Joplin High School girls tennis team is pictured after taking second place at the Joplin Invitational on Friday. Submitted photo.
NEVADA, Mo. — For the first time in 17 years, the hosts won the Nevada Lady Tiger Invitational at the Frank E. Peters Municipal Golf Course.
Nevada recorded a team score of 375 on Friday, 10 strokes better than second place Carthage (385).
Rounding the team standings were Webb City (400), Joplin (425), Carl Junction (457), Stockton (458) and Butler (459).
“Words cannot describe how proud I am of these ladies,” Nevada coach Brian Leonard said. “To win our tournament after 17 years was a very emotional time for me.”
Nevada freshman Emree Cameron was the individual medalist with a 71 and Carthage senior Hailey Bryant was the runner-up with a 75.
Webb City’s duo of Laya McAllister (92) and Sydney French (94) placed third and fourth, respectively.
Nevada’s Katie Pennington (97) and Riley Severance (98) were fifth and sixth, while Webb City’s Sophia Coulson (99) finished seventh.
Carthage’s Caitlin Derryberry (100) finished eighth, while Carthage’s Aubri Fisher (101) and Joplin’s Lindsey Belnap (101) and Kenna Haley (101) tied for ninth place.
Joplin’s Sophia Schwartz finished 14th with a 108, while Carthage’s Ava Lacey and Nevada’s Pagie Hertzberg tied for 15th with scores of 109.
Carl Junction’s Anna Burch was 17th with a 111, while Carthage’s Shay Gaddis finished 19th (112). Carl Junction’s Alex Teeter tied with Butler’s Keera Brockman for 20th with 114s.
