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Day: May 7, 2022

BOYS TENNIS: Cavaliers advance to individual state tournament

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

The Thomas Jefferson boys tennis team is sending a doubles team and a singles player to the Class 2 individual state tournament. 

The Cavaliers punched their tickets to state by finishing second in their respective brackets at the Class 2 District 7 tournament at Belton High School. 

“I’m proud of the guys today,” Thomas Jefferson coach Tom Brumfield said. “We had tough matches with Barstow as expected. We feel good about moving a doubles team and a singles player on to state.” 

Thomas Jefferson’s Ian Ding and Tyler Brouhard took second in the doubles bracket and advanced to state. 

After an opening round bye, Ding-Brouhard defeated Webb City’s Tristan Lynch-Felipe Perez 6-0, 6-0. In the semifinals, Ding and Brouhard beat Barstow’s George Colombo-Aaram Salam 6-1, 6-3.

In the title match, Barstow’s Richard King-Robert King defeated Ding and Brouhard 6-0, 6-1.

Thomas Jefferson’s Lala Qian and Devan Murali finished fourth in the doubles bracket. 

Qian-Murali beat Grandview’s Kenneth Reyes-George Scott 6-0, 6-0, defeated Webb City’s Jacob McDonald-Christian Alberts 6-2, 6-1 and then lost to Barstow’s King-King 6-0, 6-0. 

In the third-place match, Barstow’s Colombo-Salam topped Qian-Murali 6-3, 6-4. 

In other doubles action, Webb City’s McDonald-Alberts defeated Carl Junction’s Cameron Ball-Jayden Wolf 6-1, 6-1, while Webb City’s Lynch-Perez beat CJ’s Ben Morey-William Russel 6-1, 6-4.

In singles action, Thomas Jefferson’s Prithvi Nagarajan was the runner-up, earning a spot at the state tourney.

Nagarajan beat Belton’s Jacob Dolphin 6-1, 6-0 and defeated Barstow’s Liam Groden in the semifinals (score unavailable). 

In the championship match, Barstow’s Sankeerth Gandhari defeated Nagarajan 6-0, 6-1.

In other singles action, Thomas Jefferson’s Hari Nagarajan defeated Belton’s Van Driel Van Driel 6-2, 6-3 and then lost to eventual champ Gandhari 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals.

Webb City’s Aiden Peterson and Lucas Lowery suffered opening-round losses. 

Carl Junction’s Dan Hodson defeated Lowery but then lost to Gandhari in the quarterfinals. Carl Junction’s Blaine Wilkerson defeated Grandview’s De’Qevion Pointer 6-0, 6-0 in the first round before falling to Barstow’s Groden in the quarterfinals. 

 

TEAM DISTRICTS NEXT

The Class 2 District 7 team tournament begins on Monday. 

Second-seeded Thomas Jefferson takes on seventh-seeded Grandview, fourth-seeded Webb City meets fifth-seeded Carl Junction and third-seeded Belton plays sixth-seeded Ruskin.

Barstow is the No. 1 seed and has a first-round bye. 

After winning the Class 1 state title last season, Barstow was bumped up to Class 2 this year due to MSHSAA’s championship factor. Thomas Jefferson finished second at last year’s Class 2 state team tournament.

GIRLS TRACK & FIELD: Joplin’s Dunn, CJ’s Montez and Ward shine at COC Meet

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Joplin’s Jennalee Dunn and Carl Junction’s duo of Ally Montez and Sydney Ward won two individual events apiece at Friday’s Central Ozark Conference Track Meet at Carthage High School’s David Haffner Stadium.

Pictured is Joplin senior Jennalee Dunn. Dunn won two events at the Central Ozark Conference Track Meet on Friday. Photos by Shawn Fowler.

A senior standout at JHS, Dunn crossed the line first in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:07. A Cornell recruit, Dunn also won the 800 in 2:20. 

Montez and Ward played a part in four event wins, two individual events apiece and two relays, leading Carl Junction to a third-place finish in the team standings. 

The Bulldogs finished with 87 points. Nixa was the COC champ with 163.5 points and Ozark took second with 99.5.

A senior standout, Montez was a double winner in the hurdles. A Pittsburg State signee, Montez won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.9 seconds, nearly two seconds faster than the runner-up. She also won the 300 hurdles in 45.77 seconds. Montez, who repeated as COC champ in both hurdle events, also played a big role in two winning relays. 

The Bulldogs won the 4×100 relay in 50.85 seconds, with Olivia Vediz, Montez, Hannah Cantrell and Sydney Ward running. CJ’s girls also won the 4×400, as Ward, Emily Rice, Delaney Harris and Montez crossed the line at 4:07. 

Just a freshman, Ward also won two individual events to go with the gold medals in the relays. Ward won the 100-meter dash in 12.35 seconds and took first in the 200 in 25.47.

Also for the Bulldogs, Emerson Lundien was the runner-up in the pole vault and Vediz was fourth in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump.

Webb City’s girls finished fifth in the standings.

Webb City freshman Sami Mancini won the shot put with a toss of 10.31 meters, while sophomore Dawsyn Decker took first in the javelin with a heave of 39.22 meters. Abi Street was the runner-up in the 3200, while Decker (shot put), Ripley Shanks (pole vault) and Aubree Lassiter (discus) all finished third in their respective events. Taking fourth for the Cardinals were Chase Stilley (high jump) and Riley Hawkins (800).

Carl Junction senior Ally Montez won both hurdle races at the COC Track Meet on Friday at Carthage High School.

Webb City’s girls were third in the 4×800 relay, with Sophia Crane, Alanna Bundy, Izzy Lopez and Hally Philpot competing.

The Joplin girls won three events overall. In addition to Dunn’s two golds, Joplin’s 4×200 relay team of Allie Lawrence, Abigayle Lowery, Amaya Montgomery and Brynn Driver took first in 1:47. The Eagles were second in the 4×100, with Kaylie Anderson, Abigail Eckert, Lowery and Phia Vogel competing. 

Taking fourth in their events for JHS were Maria Loum (pole vault) and Lowery (200).

Carthage’s Joey Hettinger was the runner-up in the high jump (1.55m).

Carthage’s 4×100 relay team of Aven Willis, Sydnee Dudolski, Lexa Youngblood and Hettinger finished third. The Tigers were fourth in the 4×200 relay, with Willis, Dudolski, Ashlyn Brust and Youngblood competing. 

Neosho’s Riley Kemna placed third in both the 1600 (5:11) and 3200 (11:37). 

 

COC TRACK MEET

Girls team standings: Nixa 163.5, Ozark 99.5, Carl Junction 87, Branson 85, Webb City 80, Republic 75, Joplin 74, Carthage 33, Willard 23, Neosho 21. 

 

FULL RESULTS: Central Ozark Conference Championship Meet 2022 – Central Ozark Conference Meet 20 (Raw) (milesplit.com)

 

Carthage High School hosted the 2022 COC Track Meet on Friday. All photos by Shawn Fowler.

 

 

 

BOYS TRACK & FIELD: Fowler wins three events, leads Joplin to COC Meet championship

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Donovyn Fowler showed he’s more than a jumper on Friday night at Carthage High School’s David Haffner Stadium.

A senior standout, Fowler won three events against the league’s best, leading the Joplin Eagles to a Central Ozark Conference championship. 

Led by five event wins, Joplin compiled 112 points to finish at the top of the team standings. Willard was second with 97 points and Republic took third with 92.

Joplin senior Donovyn Fowler won three events at Friday’s COC Track Meet in Carthage. Photo by Shawn Fowler/SoMo Sports.

An Oklahoma signee, Fowler repeated as the conference long jump champion by recording a mark of 7.45 meters. The jump is not only a JHS school record, but also the top mark in the state of Missouri this season. 

Fowler won the triple jump with a leap of 15.15 meters, improving upon his runner-up finish last year in the event. Fowler has now placed first in both jumping events at every meet this season.

But that’s not all. Fowler also took first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.71 seconds. Those points proved key for the Eagles. 

Fowler also ran a leg of Joplin’s 4×100 relay team with Davin Thomas, Luke Vieselmeyer and Tayshaun Palmer that finished fifth. 

In addition to Fowler’s three wins, the Eagles won two other events, as senior Donovahn Watkins took first in the shot put with a heave of 18.23 meters and junior Hobbs Campbell crossed the line first in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:55. 

Campbell was a close runner-up in both the 1600 and the 3200. He was nipped at the finish line by Neosho’s Kaden Cole in the 1600 and by Ozark’s Gabe Bauer in the 3200. 

The Eagles were third in the 4×800 relay, with Evan Matlock, Ian Horton, Zaben Barnes and Nicholas Horton running. 

Also for JHS, Orion Norris took fourth in the 200 and Barnes was fifth in the 3200. 

Neosho’s boys finished sixth in the standings with 78 points, while Webb City was seventh with 70 points.

Pictured is Joplin’s Hobbs Campbell.

Neosho’s Cole won the 1600-meter run with a school record time of 4:15.19. A Missouri Southern recruit, Cole also placed third in the 3200. 

Also for the Wildcats, Jared Siler won the high jump (1.90m) and was the runner-up in the triple jump (12.91m). Finishing third in their events for the Wildcats were Eric Bebie (110 hurdles) and Isaiah Green (long jump, triple jump), while Tyrese Hill was fourth in the 100.

The Wildcats placed fourth in the 4×100, with Brock Franklin, Siler, Evan Haskins and Hill competing.

Webb City junior Grayson Smith returned from an ankle injury to win the pole vault. In his first action in weeks, Smith cleared 4.86 meters (16 feet), a school record. 

The Cardinals won the 4×100 relay in 43.65 seconds, with Jordan Thornburg, William Headrick, Dupree Jackson and William Wolfe competing. 

Webb City’s 4×800 relay team of Daunte Smiles, Roman Borboa, Mason Hedger and Evan Stevens finished second in 8:07. The Cardinals were third in the 4×200, with Thornburg, Wolfe, Jackson and Headrick competing.

Finishing third in their events for the Cardinals were Justin Allen (pole vault) and Wolfe (200), while taking fourth were Wolfe (high jump) and Trey Roets (javelin). Lucas Ott was fifth in the javelin

Carthage’s boys fared well in the relays. 

The Tigers were second in the 4×400, with Braxton McBride, Miquel Solano, Tyler Burt and Landen Schrader finishing in 3:27. 

The CHS team of Schrader, Luke Gall, Cooper Jadwin and Aiden Rogers were third in the 4×100.

The Tigers placed fourth in the 4×200 relay, with Schrader, Taye Washington, McBride and Jadwin running. 

Carthage’s Solano took third in the 800, while Daryl Martin placed fourth in the 300 hurdles. Also for the Tigers, Micah Lindsey was fifth in the shot put and sixth in the discus, Tyler Burt placed fifth in the 400 and Zachary Lansford took sixth in the javelin. 

 

COC Track Meet

Boys team standings: Joplin 112, Willard 97, Republic 92, Ozark 84.5, Nixa 82.5, Neosho 78, Webb City 70, Branson 68, Carthage 52, Carl Junction 5. 

 

FULL RESULTS: Central Ozark Conference Championship Meet 2022 – Central Ozark Conference Meet 20 (Raw) (milesplit.com)

 

The Joplin High School track team is pictured at the conclusion of the Central Ozark Conference Track Meet. The JHS boys took first in the team standings. All photos by Shawn Fowler.

 

 

 

 

 

BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Nixa tops Neosho; Branson knocks off Carl Junction

Posted on by Lucas Davis

NIXA 5, NEOSHO 4

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Neosho broke a 1-1 tie with Class 6 No. 3 Nixa by scoring two runs in the top of the sixth inning only to see the Eagles answer with a grand slam in the bottom half to fuel a win over the Wildcats on Friday in Central Ozark Conference action.

Neosho (11-14) took the 2-1 lead over Nixa (25-3) in the top of the sixth inning when Quenton Hughes  dropped down a bunt for a hit with runners on the corners and no outs. The Wildcats added a second run in the inning on a Nixa error.

Nixa loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning before Jack Edwards hit a grand slam to center field to clear the bases and give the Eagles a 5-3 advantage in the process.

The Wildcats scored a run on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh but stranded the tying run on third base.

Keith Piepmeier earned the win in relief after allowing one run on two hits and a strikeout in one inning of work. Hardy Dougan started and took a no-decision after allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits, two walks and four strikeouts.

Wyatt Shadwick took the loss after allowing four runs on three hits, a walk and a strikeout in 2/3 of a relief inning. 

River Brill had two hits and scored a run, while Eli Zar doubled and scored a run. Hughes went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

 

BRANSON 9, CARL JUNCTION 3

BRANSON, Mo. — Carl Junction rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to take a brief lead before Branson used a seven-run sixth inning to take control of the Central Ozark Conference win.

The Pirates (15-12) scored single tallies in the third and fifth innings to take a two-run lead before the Bulldogs (8-15) answered with three runs in the top of the sixth inning highlighted by RBI singles from Shane Diskin and Lucas Vanlanduit before Cole Wilson doubled to left to score the go-ahead run.

Branson answered with seven runs on three hits, four walks and an error in the bottom half of the sixth for the game’s final momentum swing. Ridge Schroeder fueled the inning with a grand slam.

Kale Lankton earned the win in relief after allowing three runs on six hits, two walks and two strikeouts in four innings. 

Logan Eck took the loss in relief after allowing six runs, one earned, on two hits and four walks in 1 1/3 innings.

Six players registered hits for CJ, with Wilson and Jordan Woodruff doubling. Diskin and Vanlanduit each drove in one and scored once. 

 

BASEBALL: Webb City rallies late to beat Republic in extras

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

WEBB CITY, Mo. — The Webb City Cardinals handled adversity well on Friday night. 

After surrendering a two-run lead in the seventh inning, Webb City responded with five runs one frame later to earn an 11-6 win over Republic in a Central Ozark Conference clash at Chuck Barnes Field. 

The visitors on the scoreboard after the game was moved to Webb City due to the recent wet weather, the Cardinals were one strike away from victory in the seventh before the Tigers rallied to force extra innings. 

But the Cardinals weren’t demoralized. Instead, they were re-energized. 

The hosts erupted for five runs on three hits and five free passes in the top of the eighth.

“We felt like we had them beat in the seventh before we gave that up,” Cardinals coach Flave Darnell said. “I was really happy to see our guys come back from that. We’d like to re-do that seventh inning and just win it there. But our guys came back and got it started in the eighth. We’re really proud of them for the way they battled.”

Webb City improved to 14-14 overall and finished 6-3 in conference play. Darnell noted it was a nice way to end the conference slate.

“Like everybody, we set out to win the conference,” Darnell said. “Obviously, we didn’t do that, but we finished 6-3 in the COC. It’s nice to finish in the top tier of the league.” 

Down 2-0 after the Tigers scored twice in the second, the Cardinals plated five runs in the fourth.

Kenley Hood reached on an error, Cade Wilson walked and William Hayes recorded a bunt single to load the bases before Jeremiah Leaming’s sacrifice fly to center got the Cardinals on the board.

After Kaylor Darnell walked, Aidan Brock delivered a two-run single into right-center. Later in the inning, Eric Fitch smacked a two-run single into left for a 5-2 lead.

The Tigers (12-11, 5-3 COC) trimmed their deficit to one with two runs in the bottom half of the fourth. Republic stranded the tying run at third in the fifth, as Cardinals reliever Fitch worked out of trouble.

Webb City added a key insurance run in the sixth on Cy Darnell’s RBI single. 

Republic plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a hit by pitch and two hits, including Ace McWatters’ game-tying single. Earlier in the frame, the Tigers took advantage of a dropped third strike to extend the game. 

However, the Cardinals answered in a big way in the top of the eighth. Walker Sweet singled to get things started before Fitch walked and Cy Darnell reached on a fielder’s choice. 

After an out, Wilson was hit by a pitch and Hayes drew a walk with the bases loaded. 

Leaming followed with a run-scoring single. Walks to both McQuade Eilenstein and Sweet made it 11-6.

Sweet and Gage Chapman combined on a scoreless bottom half of the eighth, although the Tigers put two runners on-base before the final out was recorded.

“It’s good to be in those types of situations,” Darnell noted of the late adversity and pressure. “We start districts next weekend, so it was good for our guys to be in the situations they were in tonight. Playoff baseball is going to be tight.”

A junior right-hander, Kaylor Darnell started on the mound for the Cardinals. He went 3 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on five hits in the no-decision.

Fitch, Sweet and Chapman all threw in relief. Sweet was credited with the win after going 2 1/3 innings. 

Cy Darnell, Hayes, Leaming and Brock all had two hits apiece for Webb City, while Fitch, Leaming and Brock each drove in two runs. 

The game, which took just under three hours to complete, featured 20 hits, 15 walks and six errors. The two teams combined to strand 27 runners, 16 by Republic and 11 by Webb City.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Darnell said. “Things were kind of contagious on the mound and contagious offensively. It wasn’t a great day of clean baseball, but we were able to come out with the win.”

Webb City is the second seed for the Class 5 District 7 tournament. The Cardinals will take on No. 7 Grandview at 2 on May 14 in Neosho. 

“We’ve played a really tough schedule and we’ve been in a lot of tight pressure situations all season,” Darnell added. “We hope games like this prepare us for districts. We’ll see.” 

The Cardinals host Joplin for a non-conference game at 11 a.m. on Saturday. 

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

DISTRICT SOFTBALL: College Heights cruises past Southwest in district opener behind Colin’s perfect game

Posted on by Lucas Davis

NEOSHO, Mo. — Second-seeded College Heights (with McAuley) opened up district play against seventh-seeded Southwest the best way possible—hanging crooked numbers up on the scoreboard inning after inning while starting pitcher Maddy Colin tossed a four-inning perfect game in the circle.

The Cougars scored three times in the first, twice in the second and plated six runs in the third before finishing off the 15-0 victory in four innings over the Trojans with four more runs touching home in the fourth frame in Class 2 District 6 action at the Neosho Athletic Complex.

“I thought we played great offensively,” College Heights coach Mike Howard said. “We hit the ball really well and had really good base running. After how we played over the weekend, that was definitely a great confidence boost moving forward.”

College Heights improves to 19-4, setting a new program for wins in a season in the progress.

IN THE CIRCLE

Colin was electric from the start, striking out the first six batters she faced before ultimately punching out 10 of the 12 batters she faced without allowing a base runner in four innings en route to the complete-game win.

“She is a workhorse and lives for this moment,” Howard said about his sophomore hurler. “When the game is big and the bright lights are on, that is when she is at her best. She really proved that tonight after not throwing all week long because we couldn’t get outside because of the weather.”

Alli Fosse took the loss after allowing 10 runs on 10 hits, two walks and a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings. Kaleigh Tull allowed five runs, two earned, on three hits, two walks and a strikeout in 1 2/3 relief inning.

GAME ACTION

College Heights pushed across three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take control of the district contest in the early onset. Addie Lawrence picked up an RBI on an infield single that scored Jayli Johnson, who walked to lead off the inning before stealing second and moving to third on a groundout. Lawrence eventually came around to score on a wild pitch before Colin, who reached on a single, scored on an RBI groundout from Aaliyah Perez to make the score 3-0.

“Once it is district time, you never know what is going to happen,” Howard said. “Weird things happen. If we let them hang around later in the game, all of the pressure is on us. We wanted to really jump out on them at the start and I thought our girls had a good game plan in the box. We took a good approach and hit the ball well to get that early lead.”

Two more runs came across the plate in the second inning to give the Cougars a five-run advantage. The first run touched the plate on a throwing error by Southwest before Colin doubled to deep center field to plate Lawrence for a 5-0 lead.

College Heights blew the doors off the hinges in the third inning, plating six runs to build an insurmountable lead. The first run came home when Johnson reached on a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded. Kloee Williamson followed with an opposite-field RBI single to make the score 7-0. Lawrence singled home two runs in the next at-bat before Williams and Lawrence later came home to score on the same wild pitch to push the lead to 11-0.

“It shows that we weren’t content,” Howard said of the six-run third inning. “We were prepared for this game and went up there with a good approach and a mindset of doing whatever we can to get runs across. It gives us more confidence moving forward.”

Johnson added an RBI single with runners at the corners and one out in the fourth before Williamson tripled home two runs on a line drive to center field to push the lead to 14-0. Lawrence reached on an error to allow the 15th run of the game to score and end the game.

IN THE BOX

Lawrence had three hits, four RBI and scored three times, while Colin, who doubled, had three hits, drove in one and scored once. Williamson, who tripled, and Johnson had two hits each. Williamson drove in three and scored three times, while Johnson scored three runs and picked up two RBI. Lauren Ukena, Avery Eminger and Kallie Spencer all had hits for CHC.

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