AURORA, Mo. — With five runners in the top 14, Carl Junction’s girls captured the team championship at the Hot Dawg Cross Country Invitational on Thursday at Aurora High School.
In the first meet of the 2022 season, the Bulldogs compiled 35 points, with Providence Christian (50), Cassville (58) and Sarcoxie (83) rounding out the team places.
Alexis Carpenter led Carl Junction by finishing seventh in 23:21. Also for the Bulldogs, Delaney Harris was 10th, Audrey Fletcher took 11th, Bailey Feken was 12th, Sadie Burchett finished 14th and Klohe Burk took 20th.
Providence Christian’s Gabbie Bishop was the girls champion with a time of 18:55.
Cassville’s Jolie Evans placed third (21:19), Pierce City’s Emma Hunt was fourth (21:44), Mount Vernon’s Rylee Simons took sixth (22:50), Aurora’s Drew Mayes finished eighth (23:35) and Cassville’s Jadyn Williams-Reed placed ninth (23:39).
Sarcoxie’s Laney Dorris took 13th and McDonald County’s Anna Price, Clara Horton, Kate Cheney and Madison Burton finished 16th through 19th, respectively.
On the boys side, Providence Christian won the team championship with 31 points. Rounding out the team standings were Cassville (43), McDonald County (70), Carl Junction (112), Aurora (147), Marionville (178), Mount Vernon (197) and Valley Springs (215).
Cassville’s Caleb Leach won the boys race in 17:40.
Carl Junction’s Jack Lawson finished fourth in 18:09 and McDonald County’s Hunter Leach placed sixth in 18:49.
Cassville’s Charles Elliott and Ethan Bohmke finished eighth and ninth, while Mac County’s Lane Pratt was 10th.
McDonald County’s Blaine Ortiz took 16th and Carl Junction’s Alexander Allison finished 17th.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Local athletes performed well at the Springfield Invitational boys swim meet on Thursday.
Carthage finished second in the team standings with 192 points. Defending state champion Glendale took first with 271 points.
Webb City (139) and Joplin (133.5) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. There were 11 teams in attendance.
CARTHAGE RESULTS
Carthage won two events and finished second in three others.
The Tigers won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:46, with Kellen Frieling, Braxton McBride, William Wright and Eli Cox competing.
Frieling took first in the 100 backstroke in 57.79.
Carthage was second in the 400 free relay, as McBride, Cox, Frieling and Will Wallace recorded a time of 3:33.
McBride was the runner-up in the 50 free with a time of 23.41, and he placed third in the 100 free (52.09).
Wright took second in the 500 free (5:34), while Frieling finished third in the 200 freestyle in 1:58.
Finishing fifth in their events were Wallace (500 free), Wright (200 IM) and Cox (100 fly).
The Tigers were seventh in the 200 free relay, with Trey Nye, Landon White, Wallace and Wright swimming.
WEBB CITY RESULTS
Micah Brouwer placed second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05. Brouwer finished third in the 200 IM in 2:14.
Judah Ritchie placed fifth in the 100 backstroke in 1:03.
The Cardinals were fifth in the 200 medley relay, with Ritchie, Brouwer, Emiliano Vasquez and Cody Herndon competing.
Webb City’s 400 free relay finished fifth, with Kenlee, Adrien Black, Brouwer and Ritchie swimming.
The team of Vasquez, Kenlee, Aiden Patterson and Cody Herndon finished sixth in the 200 free relay.
Vasquez took sixth in the 50 free, while Steve Kenlee finished sixth in the 500 free and seventh in the 100 fly. Black was seventh in the 500 free.
JOPLIN RESULTS
Joplin’s Nathan Wardlow won a pair of individual events. He took first in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:10. Wardlow also won the 500 freestyle, clocking a time of 5:15.
Stump noted Wardlow swam state-consideration times in both events.
Zane Newman placed third in the 50 freestyle in 23.99 seconds, a state-consideration time. Newman finished ninth in the 100 butterfly.
Parker Hinman placed fourth in the 100 backstroke (1:01) and also finished sixth in the 200 IM (2:16), recording state-consideration times in both events.
The Eagles fared well in all three relays.
The team of Wardlow, Newman, Ian Vermillion and Hinman finished third in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:43.
Joplin’s 200 medley relay team of Wardlow, Hinman, Vermillion and Newman finished fourth with a time of 1:51.
The Eagles were eighth in the 200 freestyle relay, as Jordan Goins, Jackson Mordica, Isaiah Thom and Gideon Speer recorded a time of 2:01.
“We had noteworthy performances in multiple individual events,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. “Senior Jacob Glenn, one of our state qualifying swimmers from last year, is out with an injury. The guys are pushing themselves in practice and in the races to make it back to state this season. We already have consideration cuts in two out of three relays.”
Springfield Invitational
Team standings: Glendale 271, Carthage 192, Springfield Central 148, Webb City 139, Joplin 133.5, Camdenton 112.5, Ozark 100, Nevada 72, Greenwood 53, Republic 39, Hillcrest 26.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage’s boys soccer team earned a 7-1 win over College Heights Christian with McAuley Catholic on Thursday.
The Tigers received first half goals from Eric Garcia (15th minute), Silas Laytham (38th minute) and George Laytham (40th minute).
The Tigers scored the first three goals of the second half. Welle Welle scored in the 42nd minute, there was an own goal in the 43rd minute and Garcia notched a goal in the 53rd minute.
College Heights got on the board in the 59th on a goal from Michael Parrigon.
Welle added a goal in the 71st minute for the final margin.
Carthage hosts Willard on Tuesday. College Heights is at McDonald County on Tuesday.
NEVADA, Mo. — Thomas Jefferson girls tennis hit the road to open the season and came away with a 7-2 win over Nevada on Thursday.
The Cavaliers (1-0) were 5-1 in singles action and 2-1 in doubles play.
In singles, No. 1 Allison Ding earned an 8-2 win over Alyssa Mitchell, while TJ’s Jeanna Jeyaraj lost to Hennessy Brown 8-4. Kyla Yang earned an 8-6 win, while Warda Morsy defeated Kourtnee Vestal 8-4. Jessica Joseph earned an 8-2 victory over Alissa Stutesman, with Mayson Solum wrapping singles action for the Cavs with an 8-4 win over Susannah Kimmell.
In doubles, Ding and Jeyaraj finished off Mitchell and Brown with an 8-5 win, while Yang/Solum fell 9-8 (7-5) to Elkington/Vestal. Morsy/Joseph defeated Stutesman/Kimmel 8-5.
Thomas Jefferson hosts College Heights on Tuesday.
JOPLIN FALLS TO BRANSON
Joplin’s girls tennis team dropped a Central Ozark Conference match to Branson on Thursday, with the Pirates earning a 6-3 win over the Eagles.
At No. 1 doubles, Branson’s Andrea Fuentas and Slyvie Barbour defeated Emma Watts and Brynn Driver 8-2, while Joplin’s Jensen Vowels and Mya Ndedi Ntepe beat Avery Webber-Carly Vanderplum 8-2.
Branson’s Cassandra Carter-Jasmine Tran won the No. 3 doubles match 8-5 over Alex Carson and Bonnie Smith.
At No. 1 singles, Watts defeated Fuentas 8-0.
Branson’s Barbour beat Ndedi Ntepe 8-3 and Webber defeated Vowels 8-2, but Driver topped Vanderplum 8-5.
Carter beat Carson 8-5 and Tran topped Gwenna Street 8-0.
The Eagles are at the Edwardsville Invitational this weekend.
NEOSHO FALLS TO REPUBLIC
NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho came out on the wrong side of a 9-0 loss against Republic on Thursday.
In singles action, Neosho’s Claudia Martensen lost 8-2 to Jasmine Howard, while Lyndsey Doke also fell 8-2 against Isabelle Wells. Republic’s Mari Davidson defeated Neosho’s Keely Keeton 8-1, while Sydnee Minto lost 8-2 to Grace Replogle. Lauren Nageotte fell 8-0 to Monica Henry and Claire Burghart lost 8-3 to Taylor Massey to wrap singles action.
In doubles play, Republic’s teams of Howard/Davidson, Wells/Matilyn Carpenter and Henry/Lilly Carlo all had 8-0 wins over Martensen/Keeton, Doke/Minton and Nageotte/Burghart.
CASSVILLE, Mo. — Joplin softball hit the road and hung crooked numbers on the scoreboard in four of the seven innings en route to a 10-4 win over Cassville on Thursday.
Joplin (6-1) collected 18 hits as a team, scoring twice in the first inning, another in the second, two times in the fourth and fifth innings and three times in the seventh to pace the way to victory.
Jill McDaniel earned the win in the circle after allowing two unearned runs on three hits and nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings, while Caelyn Bobski allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in 2/3 of a relief inning.
Jadyn Pankow and Abby Lowery each had first-inning RBI doubles to start the scoring. Bailey Ledford pushed the lead to 3-0 in the second inning with an RBI double to left. Maria Loum and Ledford had back-to-back run-scoring singles in the fourth inning to make the score 5-2.
Libby Munn hit Joplin’s second home run of the season, with a two-run shot to center field in the fifth inning. Munn added a two-run single in the seventh inning, with Izzy Yust adding an RBI single later in the inning to wrap the Eagles’ scoring.
Ledford led the Eagles at the plate with five hits, two RBI and a run scored. Lowery had two doubles and a triple to go along with two runs scored and an RBI. Munn homered on the way to two hits, a team-high four RBI and a run scored. Loum, who scored a run and drove in a run, and Kirsten McMillen each had two hits in the win.
Joplin hosts the Paige Neal/Christina Freeman Invitational softball tournament on Friday and Saturday at the Joplin Athletic Complex. Joplin opens with a matchup against Broken Arrow at 10 a.m. on Friday to start pool play.
College Heights opened the season with a four-set win (25-17, 18-25, 25-20 and 25-18) over Lockwood on Thursday.
The Cougars are a perfect 1-0 on the season, and were led by Addie Lawrence’s 22 kills. Maddy Colin added 33 assists, while Ava Masena had 13 digs and 17 points in service. Marley Woodford led the Cougars with five blocks in the win.
College Heights is back in action on Saturday when the Cougars take part in the Jasper Invitational volleyball tournament.
SENECA WINS IN FIVE SETS OVER REEDS SPRING
SENECA, Mo. — Seneca started the season 2-0 after its second straight five-set win to open the year, this time defeating Reeds Spring 20-25, 25-21, 25-20, 24-26 and 15-11 on Thursday.
Brylee Sage led the Indians with 49 assists and two aces, while Parker Long had 19 kills, 17 digs and a block kill. Jera Jameson had 15 kills, an ace and a block kill, while Braxton Raulston had 10 kills and 15 digs defensively. Ella Graham added 15 digs as well.
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — After suffering a humbling setback in the season opener, the Webb City Cardinals needed to get well in Week 2.
It’s safe to say they did just that.
Propelled by a fast start, Webb City grabbed the momentum early and never relinquished it en route to a dominating 47-7 win over Carl Junction on Thursday night in a Central Ozark Conference clash at Bulldog Stadium.
“No one likes losing that first game, especially at home,” Webb City senior standout Dante Washington said. “We felt like we had to redeem ourselves tonight. Tonight was a great experience. It’s a great feeling.”
Dante Washington looks for running room against Carl Junction on Thursday night. Washington scored a pair of touchdowns in Webb City’s 47-7 win. Photo by Israel Perez.
Simply put, the Cardinals bounced back nicely from last Friday’s loss to Nixa with what could be described as a statement victory.
“We’d talked about how important it was for us to come out and play well,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “Sometimes you just need a win to make you feel better. I thought our kids were really focused and played well. They were definitely ready to play. We feel better this week, but we still have to make corrections and get better.”
On the first night of September, the Cardinals held a comfortable 34-0 cushion at intermission, taking advantage of four first half Carl Junction turnovers, three interceptions and a lost fumble.
“I thought getting off to a fast start was huge,” Roderique said. “We got the momentum really quick. Our defense got a stop and gave our offense a short field. And then our offense was able to convert. The start was definitely what we would want and obviously not what they would want. I think it was all about getting started quick and getting some positive things going for us.”
Carl Junction’s first drive ended with a fumble, with Webb City recovering.
Landon Johnson scored on the fourth play of Webb City’s first series on a 26-yard QB keeper.
Taking advantage of great field position after a short punt, the Cardinals went up 12-0 with 7:03 remaining in the first quarter on Omari Jackson’s 1-yard touchdown run.
In a highlight reel play, Washington showed off his speed and elusiveness on the way to an 82-yard punt return touchdown.
“With the adrenaline going, I was just excited to touch the ball,” said Washington, who returned three punts for 151 yards and also converted three PAT kicks. “Anytime I touch the ball I want to make the best play out of it. My guys were blocking great and I had the opportunity to take it all the way back.”
Webb City QB Landon Johnson gets into the end zone as Carl Junction’s Kyler Stewart makes an effort to bring him down. Photo by Israel Perez.
The ensuing 2-point conversion made it 20-0.
Taking a direct snap out of the wildcat formation, Washington sprinted to a 37-yard touchdown run with 7:13 left in the second quarter, making it 27-0.
“Dante is a dynamic guy,” Roderique said. “The biggest takeaway from last week was we need to get him the ball more.”
Cole Cavitt’s 21-yard touchdown sprint up the middle with just under two minutes to play in the first half gave the visitors a commanding 34-0 cushion.
Webb City added second half touchdowns by Aidan Alberty and Breckin Galardo to take a 47-0 lead. With that, six different players reached the end zone for the Cardinals.
Carl Junction got on the board with 2:30 remaining on Tony Stewart’s 17-yard run.
The game was played on Thursday due to ref shortages in the area. Both teams hit the field less than a week after their respective season openers.
“I was concerned about the short week, but our kids really stepped up,” Roderique said. “We didn’t have much prep time. I’m proud of our kids and I’m proud of our coaches.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
Carl Junction’s Sam Hagerman looks to avoid Webb City’s Kaylor Darnell.
Webb City compiled 327 yards, with 270 rushing and 57 passing. Johnson ran for 65 yards, while Alberty added 51.
“Landon played really well and he directed the offense really well,” Roderique said. “Our offensive line did a good job. And I thought our coaches did a great job this week of getting our kids prepared.”
Kaylor Darnell, Greyson Smith and Billy Wolfe had interceptions.
Roderique noted he was pleased with the play of his team’s defense, which didn’t give up much all night.
“Outstanding,” Roderique said. “We had guys making plays everywhere. We played with so much energy. It was a great team defensive effort.”
Carl Junction recorded 190 yards, with 97 rushing and 93 passing.
Stewart ran 10 times for 37 yards, while Dexter Merrell had 32 rushing yards on nine carries. Merrell completed 7-of-20 passes for 97 yards with three interceptions. Malakhi Moore had 41 receiving yards on one catch.
Ranked second in Class 5 by the Missouri Media, Webb City improved to 1-1.
Receiving votes in Class 4, Carl Junction fell to 1-1. The Bulldogs were coming off an impressive 42-21 Week 1 victory at Ozark.
In Week 3, Webb City hosts Republic and Carl Junction is at Neosho.
JOPLIN, Mo. — The Missouri Southern football team trailed just 10-7 heading to the fourth quarter but a pick six from the 14th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney with ten minutes to go proved to be the turning point as Southern fell 24-7 to the Lopers inside Fred G. Hughes Stadium.
The Lions (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) got a 4-yard rushing touchdown from Dawson Herl, his first of his career, while Nathan Glades rushed for 47 yards. Herl was 12-of-27 passing for 105 yards with a long of 30. Jaedon Stoshak had four catches, while Chris Boudreaux had two catches for 54 yards.
Nick Williams punted the ball seven times for an average of 47.6 yards and a long of 61 yards including three inside the 20.
Defensively, Richard Jordan Jr. had 16 tackles, including nine solo, and two for a loss of six yards. Jordan moves up to No. 7 on the all-time tackle list and has 305 in his career passing Jared Brawner. Colton Winder had eight tackles, while Coleman Booker had seven, including two for a loss of seven yards and a sack. Dylan Bolden had a key interception that led to a Lions’ touchdown.
The Southern defense held Harlon Hill runner up TJ Davis to just 44 yards passing and 129 on the ground and zero touchdowns. The 44 yards passing is 134 yards lower than what he averaged a season ago.
The Lopers got on the board first with a five-yard rushing score from Montrez Jackson with 7:18 left in the first quarter.
As the second quarter was winding down, Bolden picked off a pass in the UNK zone setting up a Lions’ score. After getting to the four-yard line, Herl lined up and took the ball right up the middle for the four-yard score.
From that point, neither team scored until 9:55 left in the fourth quarter when Darius Swanson picked off a pass and returned it to the endzone for a touchdown. The Lopers added a late score.
The Lions will be back in action next week when Southern travels to Northeastern State. Kickoff from Tahlequah is set for 6 p.m.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — The Webb City Cardinals jumped out strong on the Harrisonville Wildcats and put together a 3-0 home-opening victory (25-8, 25-11, 25-21) Thursday evening for their first win of the season.
Webb City improved to 1-1 in the early season and the Cardinals return to action Thursday, Sept. 8, at home against Rogers (Ark.) Heritage.
Head coach Rhonda Lawrence surveyed the strides the Cardinals made three days after their season-opening four-set loss against Bentonville West (Ark).
“We’ve got to get a little more consistent on the energy production all game long,” Lawrence said. “Not just the first set. We’ve got to put three all-out efforts together. In the second game tonight, we did fine, but we’re still not quite to our full potential just yet. It’s super early, and I’m OK with that, but we definitely need to come out with a little more confidence. Just little tweaks here and there we’re going to have to make, and the little things are going to be hugely important when you get into big games. We’re headed in the right direction.”
Webb City won the first set 25-12 on Monday.
“Our serve receive was a lot better tonight compared to Bentonville West,” Lawrence said. “Our connection with our hitters is getting better. When we get into a faster pace offensively, we are thriving. We really like the faster pace, but we’ve got to do a something a little more on our side to get hyped up and get going faster sooner.
“Blocking, we’ve got to get a little bit of timing and alignment up. We’ve got some good blockers. We just seem to be getting a lot of touches up there, and I want them to actually put it down on the other side. It’s one of the most difficult skills of the game. We need to be a little more flexible with each other, as far as what offense and what set we’re running, and that’s going to come together more as we get into the season.”
Senior outside hitter Kate Brownfield led the Cardinals on Thursday with 11 kills and three aces, junior middle blocker Aubree Lassiter added eight kills, and senior outside hitter Brenda Lawrence tallied six kills.
Meanwhile, junior libero Sophia Crane had 19 digs, senior setter Kyah Sanborn recorded 27 assists, and sophomore opposite hitter Kirra Long added two blocks.
“Our kills are always spread out,” Coach Lawrence said. “That’s nice for us, to spread out the offense and then they can’t just focus on and shut down one or two of us. It’s nice when one or two get on a roll because that helps with the energy production.
“We were balanced tonight. Kate Brownfield’s bringing a little bit extra diversity in her attacking and that makes her hard to deal with and Brenda’s always going to be a tough hitter to shut down because she’s got a strong arm and she’s playing smarter, finding the smart shots rather than just hard shots.”
Webb City opens Central Ozark Conference play Tuesday, Sept. 20, against conference and district rival Carl Junction.
Joplin notched its first win of the season in its home opener after making quick work of Cassville with a 3-0 sweep on Thursday inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
Joplin senior Jayla Hunter digs a kill attempt during the Eagles’ win over Cassville on Thursday in the home opener. Photo by Jessica Greninger.
The Eagles moved to 1-2 on the young season after earning a 25-11, 25-14 and 25-12 victory over the Wildcats (1-4).
“It felt really good, especially after heading up to Kansas City on Tuesday and not getting the results that we wanted,” Joplin coach Desiree Felker said. “It kind of left a bad taste in our mouth. … It felt nice to get back out on the court refreshed and refocused in front of our fans and do what we know how to do.”
“Our fans did a really good job of showing up and being loud for us,” Felker added about playing in front of the home crowd. “It was Middle School Night, where we recognized our middle school teams, and they did a really good job of cheering us on.”
Joplin and Cassville played to a 6-all tie in the first set before a kill from junior Bailey Owens followed by a five-point service run from senior Jayla Hunter put the Eagles in front for good with a 12-6 lead. Hunter had a pair of aces in the run.
“That was huge for (our confidence at the service line),” Felker said of the early run by Hunter. “She did a really good job back there tonight.”
Joplin pushed the lead methodically to 19-9 with kills from senior Paisley Parker, senior Abby Edwards and senior Serafina Auberry sprinkled throughout.
Junior Raelin Calderon essentially put the game out of reach with a four-point service run that included a trio of aces to push the opening-set lead to 23-9.
“Her serve really came on in the past couple of weeks,” Felker said of Calderon. “She puts a lot of pressure on our passers in practice, which makes us better serve receivers. She has figured out how to contact the ball where she needs to drive it low over the net, which makes it really difficult to pass. She has been working hard on kind of perfecting it and I think she is in a really good place.”
Joplin senior Kaya Cooper earns an assist for the Eagles in their win over Cassville on Thursday. Photo by Jessica Greninger.
Owens ultimately closed the opening set out with a kill followed by a block.
“Bailey Owens did a great job tonight,” Felker said. “It was nice to have her back on the court tonight. She does a great job of playing with confidence and playing big. Whenever she is on, she is really tough to stop.”
The Eagles continued to use the service line to establish themselves in the second game, with Auberry using a four-point run that was filled with three aces and a kill from Owens to stretch Joplin’s 13-11 advantage to 17-11.
Hunter added another long run, six points, with several aces along the way to push the advantage to 24-12, with the Eagles closing out the set shortly after.
“We did a really good job of setting the tone from the service line,” Felker said. “We kept them on their heels and put some pressure on them. We made a few too many serving errors, but we made up for it with how aggressively we were serving. That is something we are going to want to clean up in the future.”
Joplin found little resistance in the third set, cruising to the home-opening sweep.
STATS
Owens led the Eagles with seven kills, three digs and a block. Hunter and Calderon each had six aces in service, while Hunter added a team-high 18 digs and Calderon contributed four kills. Auberry had three aces in service and five kills, while Parker finished with 11 digs. Kaya Cooper had 11 assists, with Abby Hembree adding nine assists.
UP NEXT
Joplin is back on the road with a matchup at Springfield Central on Tuesday.
