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GIRLS TENNIS: Thomas Jefferson’s Ding advances in Class 1 individual state tourney

 

Thomas Jefferson’s Allison Ding advanced in the MSHSAA Class 1 individual state tennis tournament by earning a win on Friday during sectional play at the TJ courts.

Thomas Jefferson’s Allison Ding is pictured.

Ding defeated Logan-Rogersville’s Caitlyn Archer 3-6, 7-5, 10-4. 

In the other singles match, Bolivar’s Sophia Vestal defeated Thomas Jefferson’s JeJe Jeyaraj 3-6, 6-4, 10-3.

In the sectional doubles matches, Willow Springs’ McKylie Cox and Madisyn Perkins defeated Nevada’s Laura Kimmell and Halley Elkington 6-1, 6-0 and Bolivar’s McKinley Hedges and Brynley Waters topped Lamar’s Cora Pittsenbarger and Avery Bennett 6-1, 6-4.

The Class 1 individual state tournament begins at 1 on Friday at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.

Also of note, Thomas Jefferson will travel to Bolivar to take on the Liberators on Monday in the team sectional.

PREP CROSS COUNTRY: Thomas Jefferson’s Atteberry takes first at Wheaton invite

Thomas Jefferson’s Kip Atteberry crossed the line first in the varsity boys 5K at Thursday’s Wheaton Invitational. 

Atteberry finished in 17:49.

Southwest’s Christian Long (18:08) and Caden Uthe (18:15) finished second and third, respectively, while Purdy’s Bryce Ozbun (18:18) took fourth and Marionville’s Gabe Whitman (19:45) was fifth.

Finishing sixth through 10th were Wheaton’s Blake Morgan, Diamond’s Wesley Roughton, Pierce City’s William Holmes, Southwest’s Otis Rainer and Wheaton’s Fernando Gonzalez.

Rounding out the top 15 were Marionville’s Eli Epperson, Wheaton’s Camren Brattin, Pierce City’s Steven Leavitt, Diamond’s Jaxson Mein and Southwest’s Henri Balk.

Also competing for Thomas Jefferson were Eann Espinoza (21st), Jack Goodhue (24th) and Sheraz Anis (25th). 

Thomas Jefferson’s Sarah Mueller was the runner-up in the girls race with her time of 24:31. 

Sheldon’s Madison Garren took first in 23:07.

Wheaton’s Lakeisha Wise was third, while Pierce City’s Lauren Blackburn and Southwest’s Cally Bowyer finished fourth and fifth.

Rounding out the top 10 were Marionville’s Sofi Armfield, Hurley’s Cali Frogley, Wheaton’s Lori McNeill, Southwest’s Alexis Raucstadt and Marionville’s Kristlyn Smith.

Thomas Jefferson’s Mia Grubbs was 11th, with teammate Julianne Wachtel was 17th. 

 

PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: CHC, TJ, Seneca, Mac County earn wins; area teams drop COC matches

 

COLLEGE HEIGHTS CHRISTIAN DOWNS MCAULEY CATHOLIC

 

College Heights notched another conference win after defeating McAuley 25-18, 25-19 and 

25-9 on Thursday.

With the win, CHC improves to 13-5-1 and 3-1 in Ozark 7 play.

Addie Lawrence led the Cougars with 16 kills, with Lauren Ukena right behind

 with 14 kills. Ava Masena had 15 digs, while Maddy Colin had 31 assists, 11 digs, 15 service points and four aces. Lindsay Griesemer had 13 digs and 10 service points, while Marley Woodford added 10 points in service. 

College Heights takes part in the El Dorado Springs Invitational volleyball tournament on Saturday.

 

THOMAS JEFFERSON SWEEPS VERONA

 

Thomas Jefferson secured a 3-0 home victory over Verona, as the Cavaliers won 26-24, 25-14, 25-18.

Nico Carlson compiled seven kills, five blocks and five aces for Thomas Jefferson, while Lannah Grigg added six kills and a block.

Also for the Cavaliers, Alexis Stamps and Yasmina Mokhtar contributed three kills apiece, while Mayson Solum had 11 assists. 

Mary Nguyen had four assists and three aces.

Thomas Jefferson (11-12-3) is at Liberal on Monday. 

 

CARL JUNCTION FALLS TO OZARK IN FIVE SETS

 

OZARK, Mo. — Carl Junction battled to five sets but ultimately lost 25-18, 14-25, 25-16, 22-25 and 15-11 on Tuesday in Central Ozark Conference play.

The loss gives Carl Junction a 18-6 overall record and 4-2 Central Ozark Conference record.

Destiny Buerge had 17 kills and 14 digs to lead the Bulldogs, while Logan Jones had 50 assists and 17 digs. Kylie Scott added 17 kills. Karissa Chase had 11 kills and five blocks, while Olivia Vediz finished with 35 digs.

Carl Junction is at Joplin on Tuesday.

 

JOPLIN COMES UP SHORT AT REPUBLIC

 

REPUBLIC, Mo. — Joplin suffered a 3-1 loss at Republic on Thursday.

The Tigers topped the Eagles 25-8, 25-13, 22-25, 25-14.

Joplin hosts Pittsburg on Monday. 

 

WEBB CITY SUFFERS ROAD LOSS AT NIXA

 

NIXA, Mo. — Webb City suffered a 3-0 setback at Nixa, as the Eagles defeated the Cardinals 25-8, 25-22, 25-11.

Webb City fell to 13-9-1, while a talented Nixa squad improved its record to 21-2.

Brenda Lawrence recorded seven kills and four digs for the Cardinals, while Kate Brownfield added six kills and Kearston Galardo had four. 

Kyah Sanborn handed out 16 assists, while Jenna Noel, Sophia Crane and Sanborn all recorded five digs apiece. 

Webb City is at the Willard Tournament on Saturday. 

 

CARTHAGE DROPS COC MATCH TO WILLARD

 

WILLARD, Mo. — Taking on last year’s Class 4 champion, Carthage dropped a 3-0 decision at Willard on Thursday in COC action.

The set scores were 25-12, 25-22 and 25-17 in favor of the host Tigers. 

Sydnee Dudolski had seven kills and seven digs to lead Carthage, while Sophie Shannon added six kills and three blocks and Mia Camarillo had five kills.

Raven Probert had 15 assists and six digs, while Olivia Bourgault had a team-high 18 digs. 

Willard improved to 18-3-1 and 5-1 in the COC.

Carthage (15-12, 3-3 COC) is at Branson on Tuesday. 

 

SENECAL BEATS MONETT IN THREE SETS

 

SENECA, Mo. — Seneca swept Monett 25-8, 25-16 and 25-7 on Pink Night to earn a Big 8 Conference win on Thursday.

With the win, the Indians improve to 11-11-2, 3-1 in conference play

Parker Long had 10 kills and 10 digs for Seneca, while Rylee Darnell finished with 28 assists and two aces. Jera Jameson added seven kills, six aces and 10 digs, with Brylee Sage adding five kills and three aces. Braxton Raulston had four aces and eight digs, while Tatum White finished with four aces.

Seneca hosts Lamar on Tuesday.

 

MCDONALD COUNTY TOPS EAST NEWTON IN FIVE SETS

 

GRANBY, Mo. — McDonald County earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory over East Newton on Thursday. 

The Mustangs defeated the Patriots 25-22, 25-15, 24-26, 9-25, 15-8.

Samara Smith had 20 kills for the Mustangs, while Abby Wiseman handed out 47 assists.

Also for McDonald County, Kirklyn Kasischke had 46 digs, while Megan Elwood added 24 digs. 

McDonald County is at Webb City on Monday for a non-conference match.

PREP SOFTBALL: Joplin wraps regular season with run-rule win over Waynesville

Joplin scored seven runs in the first two innings to build an insurmountable lead as Jill McDaniel dominated in the circle once again to help the Eagles finish the 2021 regular season on a high note—beating Waynesville 12-0 in five innings on Senior Night.

With the win, Joplin closes the regular season with a 16-13 record. This was the first season the Eagles finished with an above .500 record since 2015-16, when Joplin went 26-9 and made a run at state.

Joplin’s Izzy Yust applies the tag at second as Ryleigh Surridge (15) looks on. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

“To come out here and do it the way we did—swing the bats, play clean defensively and throw it well in the circle—it’s definitely a big boost for us heading into districts next week,” Joplin coach Manny Flores said. “I think you can tell by the way we are playing right now that these girls are having so much fun competing as a group night in and night out.”

Joplin held Senior Night ceremonies for Liz Snider, Ryleigh Surridge and Madisyn Tracy after the win.

“The leadership those girls have provided on and off the field are why we are moving in the right direction,” Flores said. “I couldn’t be more proud of what they have accomplished both on and off the field. I wish them the best of luck as they pave their own paths.”

McDaniel earned the complete-game win in the circle after blanking the Tigers over five innings of work. She allowed two hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out five.

“The way that she has progressed from the start of the year until now, she is a completely different pitcher,” Flores said. “She is coming in there with a lot of confidence in herself and a lot of confidence in her defense and it is showing. She is throwing well and giving us a chance to win no matter who we are competing against. I am really proud of her.”

Emma Ray took the loss after allowing 12 runs, 10 earned, on eight hits, seven walks and four strikeouts in four innings.

After back to back walks opened the bottom of the first, Joplin’s Jadyn Pankow gave her team the lead with a two-run single to right-center field before moving to second on the throw. Pankow came around to score later in the inning on a throwing error to make the score 3-0.

Snider hit a sharp grounder off the diving first baseman’s glove to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to make the score 5-0. Pankow followed with an RBI single to right field to push the lead to 6-0. McDaniel drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in the seventh run later in the inning.

Joplin’s Abby Lowery makes contact during the Eagles’ win over Waynesville on Thursday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

“Anytime you can come out and put seven runs up in the first couple of innings, it gives everyone a lot more confidence,” Flores said. “It allows you to come out and play a little looser. We saw that today.”

Joplin added a run in the third on a Waynesville error and put the game out of reach with a four-run fourth inning, which was highlighted by a solo home run from McDaniel.

Pankow had four hits, including a double, three RBI and scored two runs to lead Joplin. Snider had a hit, three RBI and scored two runs. Surridge had two hits and scored two runs. McDaniel had a home run and two RBI.

UP NEXT

Joplin kicks off its postseason with a rematch against Republic in the first round of the Class 5 District 6 tournament. The matchup is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Nixa High School.

“Our district is so loaded top to bottom and I am really looking forward to just playing a fun and competitive game against a really good team,” Flores said. “We are going to have to show up and play loose and confident. If we can show up the way we have the last couple of weeks, I am looking forward to the competition our district brings.”

PREP SOFTBALL: Probert hits game-winner as Carthage earns walk-off win over Ozark

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Presley Probert delivered a two-run double into left field to lift the Carthage Tigers to a 5-4 walk-off win over the Ozark Tigers on Thursday in a Central Ozark Conference softball clash at the Fair Acres Sports Complex. 

With an eighth straight win, Carthage is now 18-11. The Tigers finished 7-2 in the COC.

Carthage trailed 4-3 entering the bottom of the seventh, but the hosts would not be denied.  

Mary Grace Richmond reached on an error to start the inning and Kate Potter singled to left, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Landry Cochran was retired after popping up a bunt attempt for the first out.

Facing a 2-2 count, Probert smacked a fastball all the way to the fence in left field, driving in the tying and winning runs.

The host Tigers had to overcome a three-run deficit. 

Probert’s sacrifice fly to right gave Carthage a 1-0 lead in the third, but Ozark plated three runs in the fourth and one in the sixth to take a 4-1 lead. 

Carthage pushed across two runs in the sixth, as Jordyn Jones and Jensyn Elder contributed run-scoring singles to trim the hosts’ lead to a single tally.

A senior shortstop, Probert drove in three runs on two hits. Richmond had two hits and scored twice. 

Elder was the winning pitcher. She struck out 10, walked two, scattered seven hits and allowed three earned runs. 

Jordyn Foley took the loss. She allowed four earned runs on 10 hits and struck out six. 

Abby Ford had two hits and an RBI for Ozark, while Courtney Merrell and Karissa Roberts had one RBI apiece.

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Carthage is hosting its annual invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Tigers meet Kearney at 3 on Friday to begin tourney play.

Also of note, Carthage is the fifth seed for the Class 5 District 6 tournament. The Tigers take on fourth-seeded Kickapoo at 3 on Tuesday in Nixa.