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GIRLS SOCCER: Neosho returns solid core in ’22

 

Led by a pair of returning all-district performers, the Neosho High School girls soccer team features eight players who played significant varsity minutes last season.

Returning players who are expected to lead the Wildcats this spring are seniors Erika Ornelas, Breanna Alvarado, Lorlei Pelep and Yulisa Maldonado, juniors Gissele Vargas and Miranda Mendoza and sophomores Eva Maldonado and Ivie Brisco.

Ornelas and Brisco are forwards, while Alvarado, Vargas and Eva Maldonado are midfielders. Pelep, Yulisa Maldonado and Mendoza are defenders. Ornelas and Alvarado both earned all-district honors last season. Ornelas scored 10 goals last year, while Alvarado had seven goals. 

With that group of girls leading the way, Wildcats coach Steve Schnackenberg noted the expectations are set high.

“Our players have really come together and developed a strong bond that will help lead to a successful season,” Schnackenberg said. “They have been working hard and very motivated these first weeks of practice. They are very excited.”

Newcomers expected to contribute at the varsity level include senior midfielder Jamie Tevalan, sophomores Abby Coutu (D), Lindsey Cifuentes (D), Vivi Medrano (M) and freshmen Audrin Roberts (GK) and Kimberly Hernandez (M). 

“I’m excited for them because I think they will fill their roles and contribute to the team right away,” Schnackenberg said of the newcomers.

Schnackenberg noted the program’s numbers are up, which will equal more overall team depth.

“We have a good-sized freshman class this year, so our numbers are really good,” he said. “This will lead to more JV experience, the ability to play more girls up to get varsity experience this year and take some of the pressure off the starters all of the time.”

As far as strengths of the group, Schnackenberg said the team has great chemistry.

“We have a group of amazing young ladies and all of them are on the same page,” he said. “I’m so excited for this season to see how they respond to tough competition and continue getting better every day.”

The Wildcats went 8-14 last season.

Neosho will be in Class 3 District 6 with Branson, Carl Junction, Hillcrest, McDonald County, Parkview, Webb City and Willard. 

The Wildcats began the season with a 3-2 win over Liberty-Mountain View on Thursday. 

Neosho is scheduled to host Pittsburg (Kan.) on March 31. 

TRACK & FIELD: Carthage claims team titles at McDonald County; College Heights athletes fare well

 

ANDERSON, Mo. — In the opener of the 2022 prep track and field season, Carthage’s girls and boys both claimed the team championships at McDonald County’s Ebenee Munoz Memorial Stampede on Thursday.

Carthage’s girls took first in the team standings with 148 points. Cassville (132), McDonald County (124.5), Monett (92) and Jasper (86) rounded out the top five teams. 

The Carthage boys scored 192.5 points to top the standings. 

McDonald County (109), Cassville (105), Monett (103.5) and Southwest (72) finished second through fifth.

Athletes from College Heights Christian also fared well at the meet. 

 

CARTHAGE HIGHLIGHTS

The Carthage girls won three of four relays. The team of Aven Willis, Sydnee Dudolski, Lexa Youngblood and Joey Hettinger took first in the 4×100 in 53.69 seconds. 

Carthage’s 4×400 relay team of Willis, Youngblood, Ava Bunner and Maggie Boyd took first in 4:27, while the 4×800 team of Morelia Reyes, Boyd, Grace Brown and Bunner won in 10:54. 

The Tigers were third in the 4×200, with Willis, Dudolski, Trisha Kanas and Millie Templeman competing. 

Winning individual events for the Carthage girls were Bunner (800), Boyd (1600), Katy Witherspoon (3200) and Karlie Nichols (shot put). 

Hettinger took second in the high jump and was fourth in the long jump, while Templeman placed third in the triple jump. 

Dudolski placed third in the 200, with teammate Trinity Francis fourth. Jenna Calhoon placed third in the 800, while Reyes was fourth in the 1600.

On the boys side, the Tigers won three of the four relays.

The 4×100 relay team of Luke Gall, Cooper Jadwin, Tyler Burt and Aiden Rogers won in 44.64. Gall, Jadwin, Mason Frisinger and Chris Mejia won the 4×200 in 1:37.

The team of Miquel Solano, Burt, Mejia and Landen Schrader took first in the 4×400 in 3:40. The Tigers were fourth in the 4×800. 

Carthage’s Solano won both the 800 (2:07) and the 1600 (4:45). Rogers won the 100-meter dash in 11.76 seconds, while Trenton Yates took first in the 300 hurdles in 44.48 and the triple jump. 

Schrader and Braxton McBride finished first and second, respectively, in the long jump, while teammate Gall was fourth. 

Taking second in their events were Schrader (100), Rogers (200), Burt (400) and Yates (110 H).

Finishing third were Caleb Fewin (3200), Mejia (triple jump), Daryl Martin (300 H) and Zachary Lansford (javelin). 

Schrader finished fourth in the high jump and Martin was fourth in the 110 hurdles.

 

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS

The College Heights girls finished sixth in the team standings with 63.5 points.

Addie Lawrence won three events — the 100 meter dash (13.26), the 200 (27.75) and the 400 (1:00). 

The CHC girls placed second in the 4×400 relay in 4:35.

Jayli Johnson finished third in the 100 and fifth in the 800, while Lauren Ukena took third in the 300 hurdles. Emily Winters finished sixth in the 400, while Maddy Colin took sixth in the discus and was seventh in the high jump. 

The College Heights boys took eighth place with 29 points. 

Matt Williams was fourth in the 100, Colsen Dickens took fourth in the 400 and Ethan Ukena placed fifth in the triple jump. Caleb Quade was sixth in the 1600 and seventh in the 800. 

The Cougars took fourth in two relays — the 4×100 relay and the 4×400.

 

MCDONALD COUNTY HIGHLIGHTS

For the McDonald County girls, Sosha Howard won the triple jump and took second in the long jump, while Mariana Salas won the javelin.

Lacey Nix placed second in the pole vault. Savannah Leib placed third in both the 400 and the high jump, while Anna Price and Melanie Gillming tied for third in the pole vault. Jada Alfaro was third in the shot put, while Peyton Cooper took third in the discus and Analisa Ramirez was third in the javelin.

Finishing fourth were Howard (100), Madison Burton (3200) and Mikala McCrory (triple jump).

McDonald County’s girls were third in the 4×100 relay, with Corina Holland, Leib, Nix and Price competing. The team of Nix, Holland, Maggie Pratt and Carlee Cooper finished fourth in the 4×200 relay.

The Mac County boys fared well in the throws. Eliam Eliam and Logan Harriman took first and second, respectively, in the discus, while Ricardo Salas and Andrew Moritz were the top two finishers in the javelin. 

Garrett Gricks and Morgan Grider placed second and third, respectively, in the shot put, while Toby Moore was fourth in the discus and sixth in the shot put.

Also for the Mustangs, Joshua Pacheco finished second in the triple jump and was fourth in the 200. 

The Mustangs placed third in the 4×200 relay, with Jared Mora, Pacheco, Samuel Barton and Esteban Martinez-Olvera competing. The Mustangs took fifth in both the 4×400 and 4×800.

Zeth Dake and Tyler Rothrock were fourth and fifth in the 3200.

 

OTHER EVENT WINNERS

Jasper’s Crystal Smith won four events — the 100 hurdles, the 300 hurdles, the high jump and the long jump. 

Other event winners in the girls meet were Cassville’s Annie Moore (PV) and Riley Morris (discus).

Other event winners on the boys side were Monett’s Konner Poynter (200, 110 H), Diamond’s Chase Housh (400), Purdy’s Bryce Ozbun (3200), Cassville’s Peter Littlefield (HJ), Eli Pickett (PV) and Bradan Dickinson (shot put).

 

FULL RESULTS: McDonald County Ebenee Munoz Memorial Stampede 2022 – Complete Results Varsity (Raw) (milesplit.com)

BASEBALL: Neosho opens inaugural Roy B. Shaver Classic with two wins

NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho opened up the inaugural Roy B. Shaver Classic baseball tournament in exciting fashion, putting early crooked numbers up on the scoreboard on the way to a 13-3 win over Reeds Spring in five innings on Thursday at Roy B. Shaver Field.

“It was an exciting win,” first-year Neosho coach Bo Helsel said. “There were a lot of balls hit hard, but I don’t think we played our best game. … We preach throwing strikes and not striking out. We had too many strikeouts today, but our pitching threw a lot of strikes. … That was a big win for us for sure.”

Neosho opened with two runs in the first inning before adding four runs in the second and four more in the third inning to build an insurmountable advantage. The Wildcats (3-0) added a single tally in the fourth inning for good measure. The Wolves (1-3) scored three times in the top of the fifth, but Neosho answered back to push the lead back to 10 and end the game early.

Kael Smith earned the complete-game win in the circle for Neosho, allowing three runs, one earned, on seven hits, a walk and six strikeouts in five innings of work.

“The kid is a grinder,” Helsel said. “He is 2-0 now and he just pumps strikes. His changeup was working really well today. He was keeping that down, and he was spotting his fastball. He was throwing strikes all day long and when you do that, you have a chance to be successful.” 

Dayne Smith took the loss after allowing 10 runs, five earned, on eight hits, two walks and four strikeouts in three innings of work. Blake Siege allowed three runs on four hits and two walks in 1 2/3 relief innings.

The Wildcats started the scoring in the bottom of the first when River Brill led the game off with a single before moving to second on a walk. Brill stole third later in the inning, coming around to score the game’s first run after the throw down to third ended up in the outfield. Eli Zar doubled to left-center field to plate Austin Rodriguez to push the lead to 2-0.

Neosho hung a four spot on the scoreboard in the second inning to take complete control of the game. Two consecutive errors by the Wolves allowed the first two Wildcats to reach base to start the inning. Carson Williams followed with a two-run double to left-center to push the lead to 4-0. Wyatt Shadwick added to the lead three batters later when he yanked a ball over the wall in left field for a two-run home run to make the score 6-0 to cap the inning’s scoring.

Neosho added four more runs in the bottom of the third inning to extend the lead to 10-0. After Carter Baslee scored on an error, Carter Fenske had an RBI double to left field, while Brill drove home a run after pulling a single through the right side of the infield. Rodriguez wrapped the scoring with an RBI off sacrifice fly to left field.

“In baseball, when hitters have a lead, they relax,” Helsel said of his team’s start offensively through the first three innings. “Baseball is a sport you can get so tight in, but when you get those early crooked numbers—it was huge for us.”

Zar tripled to lead off the fifth and came around to score on a sac fly from Quenton Hughes to make the score 11-0. 

Reeds Spring prolonged the game after scoring three runs on five hits in the top of the fifth, but Neosho answered back with two more runs in the bottom half to end the game via run rule.

Brill, Zar and Reese Miller each had two hits to lead Neosho on offense. Fenske and Williams doubled. Zar doubled and tripled, while Miller had two triples and Shadwick homered. Shadwick, Hughes and Williams each drove in two, with Rodriguez, Brill, Miller, Fenske and Williams all scored two runs.

Jonathan Foster and Smith each had two hits and an RBI to lead Reeds Spring.

NEOSHO 4, PARKVIEW 3

Neosho ended the evening defeating Parkview in the nightcap of Day 1.

No other information was available at the time of publication.

Neosho will play in the championship game of the Roy B. Shaver Classic at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Joplin, Carl Junction suffer road losses; Carthage drops home game to McDonald County

 

RED OAK 4, JOPLIN 1

CLAREMORE, Okla. — Red Oak (Oklahoma) scored three times in the first inning and went on to beat Joplin 4-1 on the first day of the Tiger/Zebra Classic on Thursday.

The loss drops Joplin to 1-3 on the season. The Eagles continue action in the Tiger/Zebra Classic on Friday with games against a pair of Oklahoma schools—McAlester and Claremore.

Trevor Lyons earned the win after allowing one run on six hits, a walk and six strikeouts. Denver Hamilton earned the save for Red Oak with two strikeouts in one relief inning.

Ethan Guilford took the loss after allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits, two walks and seven strikeouts in five innings. Joe Jasper allowed one run on two hits and a strikeout in one relief inning.

Red Oak took the early advantage after scoring all of its first-inning runs with two outs. Chase Pair highlighted the inning with a two-run single to right field. The third run of the inning came home on a Joplin error.

After four scoreless innings by both teams, Joplin cut the lead to 3-1 in the top of the sixth when Tyler Schumann doubled to right field with one out to score Guilford, who walked to lead off the inning.

Red Oak answered back in the bottom half when Tanner King singled home Cason Hood on a line drive to center with one out to push the lead back to three.

Hood doubled and scored a run to lead Red Oak at the plate. Pair had a hit and team-high two RBI.

Schumann doubled and had an RBI for Joplin. Guilford, who scored a run, Layten Copher, Byler Reither and Brady Mailes all had hits for Joplin.

 

HOLLISTER 10, CARL JUNCTION 6

HOLLISTER, Mo. — The Carl Junction Bulldogs rallied for four runs late in the game, but it wasn’t enough, as the host Tigers held on for a 10-6 non-conference victory.

Hollister held a comfortable 10-2 advantage after the fifth inning when the Bulldogs plated two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. 

Carl Junction (0-3) received two hits apiece from Jordan Woodruff, Dalton Mills and Drew Massey. Massey and Logan Eck drove in two runs apiece, while Mills scored three runs. 

Eck took the loss after allowing six runs, two earned, on six hits and two walks in three innings. Lucas Vanlanduit, Mekhi McGarry, Hunter Cantrell and Kyler Stewart all pitched in relief.

Hollister’s Hunter Jones was the winning pitcher. He went 4 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on five hits while striking out five. 

Ethan Wright drove in three runs for the Tigers, who improved to 4-0.

The Bulldogs will play two games at McDonald County on Saturday. The Bulldogs meet the Mustangs at 10 a.m. and then meet Camdenton at 2.  

 

MCDONALD COUNTY 5, CARTHAGE 3

CARTHAGE, Mo. — McDonald County rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh inning to earn a 5-3 win over Carthage on Thursday at Carl Lewton Stadium. 

McDonald County improved to 3-1 on the season. 

The Mustangs had six hits, one apiece by Cole Martin, Weston Gordon, Levi Helm, Isaac Behm, Cross Dowd and Tucker Walters. 

Gordon, Helm, Behm and Destyn Dowd drove in one run apiece for McDonald County. 

Helm went three innings on the mound, allowing one run on one hit while striking out three. Cross Dowd, Destyn Dowd and Gordon pitched in relief. 

Carthage fell to 0-3. 

The Tigers had four hits, one apiece by Caden Kabance, Nate Norbury, Parker Copeland and Clay Kinder. 

Kade Arr started for the Tigers and scattered three hits in four innings, striking out four. 

Zach Geter and Bradyn Tate pitched in relief. Geter allowed two runs on three hits in two innings. Tate struck out three in a scoreless frame. 

Carthage scored a run in the first when Logan Carmickle scored from third on a wild pitch. 

The Tigers added two runs in the bottom of the fourth, as Copeland and Kinder both scored on errors. 

In the fifth, the Mustangs plated three runs on a walk, a hit and three errors to tie it up. 

The score held up until the seventh. 

The Mustangs loaded the bases when Helm scored the go-ahead run by charging home from third on a wild pitch. An insurance run scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Destyn Dowd.

The hosts went down in order in the bottom of the seventh. 

The Tigers will play two games on Saturday at Joe Becker Stadium in Joplin. Carthage meets Marshfield at 10 a.m. and Ava at 3.

The Mustangs will debut their new turf field on Saturday with a game against Carl Junction at 10 a.m.