Joplin’s boys swim team finished second in the final standings at the Parkview Invitational on Tuesday in Springfield.
Kickapoo was the top team with 278 points. Joplin was the runner-up with 231 points, while Nixa took third with 219.
Rounding out the team standings were Lebanon (170), Greenwood (115), Hillcrest (101) and Parkview (60).
The Eagles had several noteworthy performances at the meet.
Nathan Wardlow swam state-consideration times in two events, the 200-yard freestyle (1:59) and the 100 backstroke (59.48). Wardlow won the 200 free and finished second in the 100 backstroke.
Zane Newman won the 100-yard freestyle in 53.15 seconds, a state-consideration time.
Newman finished second in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.93, improving his state-consideration time in the event.
Joplin’s 200 freestyle relay team of Wardlow, Newman, Ian Vermillion and Parker Hinman took first place with a consideration time of 1:39.
The Eagles have now recorded consideration times in all three relays.
Joplin’s team of Jordan Goins, Isaiah Thom, Gideon Speer and Jackson Mordica took second in the 400 freestyle relay in 4:33.
The Eagles finished third in the 200 medley relay, as Wardlow, Hinman, Vermillion and Newman recorded a time of 1:52.
Vermillion was the runner-up in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:23. He was also fifth in the 100 butterfly.
Thom placed third in the 500 freestyle, while Hinman and Mordica finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 100 breaststroke.
Joplin coach Aaron Stump noted the Eagles have been making steady progress.
“The guys did a nice job returning to the pool after a long weekend,” Stump said. “I look forward to having a week of practice to make some adjustments for our next meet in Monett. We plan to work on relay starts and rearrange our 200 medley relay to see how that impacts our time in that event.”
REPUBLIC, Mo. — Joplin’s girls tennis team suffered an 8-1 setback at Republic on Tuesday in Central Ozark Conference action.
Joplin’s lone win came at No. 3 doubles, as Bonnie Smith and Zayda Derganc defeated Monica Henry and Lilly Carlo 9-7.
At No. 1 doubles, Republic’s Jasmine Howard and Mari Davidson defeated Mya Ndedi Ntepe and Alex Carson 8-4.
At No. 2 doubles, Isabelle Wells and Matilyn Carpenter beat Jensen Vowels and Brynn Driver 8-4.
In singles action, Howard beat Ndedi Ntepe 8-1, Wells topped Vowels 8-2, Carpenter defeated Driver 8-3, Davidson bested Carson 8-1, Grace Replogle beat Gwenna Street 8-2 and Carlo defeated Smith 8-0.
THOMAS JEFFERSON 6, COLLEGE HEIGHTS 3
Thomas Jefferson improved to 2-0 on the season with a 6-3 win over College Heights Christian with McAuley Catholic on Tuesday.
The Cavaliers swept all three doubles matches.
At No. 1 doubles, Thomas Jefferson’s Allison Ding and Kyla Yang defeated Natalie Brueggemann and Ella Bishop 8-3.
At No. 2 doubles, TJ’s Jessica Joseph and Mayson Solum beat Emery Yantis-Jeanna Smathers 8-3.
At No. 3 doubles, Thomas Jefferson’s Warda Morsy and Haley Orr edged CHC’s Avery Baker and Kayla Wickie 8-6.
The two teams split the six singles matches.
At No. 1 singles, Ding beat Brueggemann 8-0.
College Heights’ Yantis defeated Yang 8-4 at No. 2 singles and teammate Bishop beat Morsy 8-5 at No. 3 singles.
TJ’s Joseph defeated Smathers 8-3 and Solum beat Baker 8-3. At No. 6 singles, CHC’s Isabella Clevenger edged Orr 9-8 (7-9).
CARL JUNCTION 9, NEOSHO 0
Carl Junction swept all nine matches in a Central Ozark Conference matchup with Neosho on Tuesday at the Joplin Athletic Complex.
At No. 1 doubles, Carl Junction’s Jenna Besperat and Naiyah Wurdeman defeated Neosho’s Claudia Martensen and Lyndsey Doke 8-1.
Carl Junction’s Isabel Read and Alyssa Graves beat Georgia Housh and Keely Keeton 8-1 at No. 2 doubles, while Emily Rice and Emily Higgins topped Sydnee Minton and Lauren Nageotte 8-0 at No. 3 doubles.
At No. 1 singles, Besperat beat Martensen 8-0, while Wurdeman defeated Doke 8-0 at No. 2.
In other singles matches, Read beat Housh 8-0, Graves defeated Keeton 8-1, Rice topped Minton 8-0 and Higgins defeated Nageotte 8-0.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Carthage Tigers took first place at their own invitational swim meet on Tuesday at the Fair Acres Family YMCA.
Carthage topped the standings with 460 points. Blue Springs took second with 392 points, while Camdenton finished third with 205.
There were seven teams in attendance.
Carthage won four events and finished second in three others.
The Tigers took first in the 200-yard medley relay, as Kellen Frieling, Braxton McBride, William Wright and Eli Cox recorded a time of 1:47.
The team of Frieling, Cox, Wright and Will Wallace won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:45.
Carthage finished third in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:46, with McBride, Trey Nye, Landon White and Daryl Martin competing.
Individual winners for the Tigers were McBride (200 freestyle) and Frieling (100 backstroke). McBride touched the wall in 2:04, while Frieling clocked a time of 57.85.
Taking second in their individual events were Wright (200 IM), McBride (100 freestyle) and Wallace (500 free), while Aydan Nye placed third in the 500 free.
Finishing fourth in their events were Cox (200 free, 100 fly), Frieling (50 free) and Ryan Steinbach (500 free).
Noah Blackford took fifth in the 200 IM and Wallace was sixth in the 100 breaststroke.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — After a scoreless first half, Carthage erupted for three unanswered goals after the break to earn a 3-0 win over Willard on Tuesday at Haffner Stadium.
The Tigers got on the board in the 51st minute with a goal from Kleverzon Paz.
Carthage went up 2-0 in the 68th minute after a goal from Aldo Sanchez-Cancinos. The goal was assisted by Neyzer Ramos-Garcia.
The third goal came in the final minute of the game was scored by George Laytham, with Henry Hernandez assisting.
Carthage will compete at the Parkview Tournament on Friday and Saturday.
NEOSHO 2, WEBB CITY 1 OT
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Juan Perez scored the game winning goal on a penalty kick in overtime to lift Neosho past Webb City 2-1.
After neither team scored in the first half, Neosho’s Byron Gomez scored in the 46th minute.
Webb City’s lone goal was scored by Alex Flores. It came in the 75th minute.
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The home Carl Junction Bulldogs and the visiting Webb City Cardinals battled scoreless through the first four innings before erupting for a combined 14 runs in a 10-4 victory Tuesday for the Cardinals against their conference and district rival.
The Cardinals broke through and scored first with three runs in the fifth, then plated two more in the sixth and five more in the seventh for a commanding eight-run advantage.
Carl Junction scored two in the fifth and two in the seventh.
The Bulldogs missed their opportunities to score first Tuesday — Hannah Cantrell was called out for interference in the first negating a run, Kiley Spencer was picked off at first after reaching on an error to start the second, a Hannah Cole bunt turned into a double play in the third, and Carl Junction left the bases loaded in the fourth.
Webb City’s Joleesa Jarmin started in the circle against Carl Junction. All photos by Jessica Greninger.
Webb City sophomore Rylynn McFarland made one of the biggest plays in the game when her strong throw home from right field kept Sammie Sims at third in the fourth.
The Cardinals then never looked back after they started the scoring the next half-inning.
“Overall, defensively, we did a good job of keeping them in check and keeping their runners from scoring,” Webb City coach Shauna Friend said. “We still have a lot of work to do, both offensively and defensively. It was good to see the bats get going the last couple innings. That’s good motivation for us going into the rest of the season. This being the first conference game, it was good to come out with a win. Just keep getting better every day is our goal.”
Webb City improved to 4-5 overall and 1-0 in the Central Ozark Conference. The Cardinals return to action Thursday on the road against conference and district foe Willard.
Webb City enters Willard on a three-game winning streak, and the Cardinals, who have a starting lineup featuring four juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen, are making strides early in the season.
“A lot of the girls are getting some confidence, since basically nobody’s been a starting varsity player until our first game of the season,” Friend said. “It’s going to take them a little time to get the experience they need to be confident on the field and at the plate, but they’re doing a great job. Very pleased with the conference win, and just ready to keep playing and improving throughout the year.”
Dawsyn Decker and Sydney Strickland each led Webb City’s 14-hit attack Tuesday with three, Kylee Sargent, Liz Rhuems and Jensyn Pickett each had two, and Lily Hall and Alex Maturino each added one.
Decker drove in four runs, Sargent added three RBI and three runs scored, and Strickland also scored three runs.
Carl Junction dropped to 3-3 overall and 0-1 COC. The Bulldogs return to the field Wednesday on the road against Big 8 school Cassville.
“I was telling the girls afterwards that it could have gone one way or the other it seemed like early,” Carl Junction coach Zak Petty said. “We left too many people on base. We made a couple untimely errors. That’s not like us. We kept chipping away and coming back but missing that first run and getting it called back on an interference call, that’s a tough break.
“We battled well. Again, that’s a learning experience and it’s tough. When it’s a rival, you’ve got a little more emotion going on. Overall, pretty happy with it and there’s some things we can definitely clean up, for sure.”
Cantrell and Ryleigh Palmer each led Carl Junction with three hits, Sims and Madi Olds each had two, and Spencer and Izzie Southern each added one.
Spencer drove in two runs, Palmer and Southern each picked up RBI, and Sims scored twice and Cantrell and Palmer once each.
The teams, which only included one senior among their 20 varsity contributors Tuesday, combined for 26 hits.
Carl Junction’s Kiley Spencer delivers a pitch to the plate against Webb City on Tuesday. All photos by Jessica Greninger.
College Heights volleyball improved to 6-1-1 on the season with a clean sweep of Pierce City on Tuesday.
The Cougars defeated the Eagles 25-13, 27-25 and 25-19.
Addie Lawrence led the way for CHC with 15 kills, while Lauren Ukena had 10 kills, four aces and 12 points in service. Maddy Colin had 25 assists and two blocks. Ava Masena had eight digs and 15 points in service, while Lindsay Griesemer finished with nine digs and nine service points.
The Cougars host Sarcoxie on Thursday.
SENECA RALLIES PAST MOUNT VERNON
SENECA, Mo. — After dropping the first two sets, Seneca rallied back for a third straight five-set win to open the season with a 3-0 start.
Mount Vernon earned 25-18 and 26-64 wins in the first two games before Seneca rallied with 2514 and 25-16 wins before finishing off the winner-take-all fifth set by the score of 15-11.
Seneca was led by Brylee Sage’s 32 assists, while Parker Long had 16 kills, 15 digs and three aces. Braxton Raulston had 18 digs, 11 kills and a block assist. Jera Jameson had six kills, two aces and a block assist, while Tatum White had four aces and Amber Garrison one block kill.
Seneca hosts Diamond on Thursday.
CARL JUNCTION EARNS ROAD WIN
ROGERSVILLE, Mo. — Carl Junction picked up its first win of the 2022 season by beating Rogersville 3-0 on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs beat the Wildcats 27-25, 25-21, 25-18 in the non-conference clash.
Destiny Buerge and Kylie Scott led the way for the Bulldogs. Both players recorded 16 kills and two aces apiece.
Logan Jones handed out 32 assists from the setter position for Carl Junction, while Jocelyn Brown had seven digs.
Aubreigh Fowler and Karissa Chase contributed three blocks apiece.
Carl Junction (1-1) is at Aurora on Thursday.
THOMAS JEFFERSON TOPS EXETER
Thomas Jefferson defeated Exeter 25-12, 23-25, 25-20, 25-15.
The Cavaliers are now 4-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
Thomas Jefferson’s Lannah Grigg had eight kills to go along with four aces, three assists and two digs.
Macie Shifferd contributed six kills, two aces, one assist and one block, while Nico Carlson compiled eight assists, five kills, three digs and two aces.
Thomas Jefferson’s Leah Studer had seven assists and five aces, while Mary Nguyen chipped in four digs, four kills and an ace.
JOPLIN FALLS TO SPRINGFIELD CENTRAL
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Joplin went on the road and fell 25-18, 25-21 and 25-18 to Springfield Central on Tuesday.
Bailey Owens led Joplin (1-3) with nine kills and a block, while Paisley Parker had seven kills and 10 digs. Kaya Cooper and Abby Hembree each had 10 assists for the Eagles, while Jayla Hunter finished with 14 digs.
Joplin hosts McDonald County on Thursday.
MCAULEY TOPS NEVC
McAuley Catholic defeated Northeast Vernon County 25-18, 25-21, 25-18.
Lilly Black and Kloee Williamson had 10 kills apiece for the Warriors.
After four scoreless innings, Carthage put the go-ahead run on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning only to see Joplin rally for four runs with two outs in the sixth on the way to a 4-1 win in the Central Ozark Conference opener on Tuesday at the JHS Athletic Complex.
Joplin junior Bailey Ledford squares a ball up in the Eagles’ come-from-behind win over Carthage in the conference opener on Tuesday at the JHS Athletic Complex. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
“We keep finding ways to grind out wins when it matters,” Joplin coach Brenden Schneider said. “If we can continue to do things like that, we are going to be really tough. If we continue to play defense and we continue to throw strikes, our girls are going to be a force. But we have to keep playing that way. Overall, coming off of a big weekend when you could rest on your laurels a little bit coming into this game at 10-2, I am just really proud of them. It was a big district win and a big conference win.
“We have a lot of girls who are trying time and time again to make something happen,” Schneider added about his team’s start to the season. “That is a credit to them for understanding the game and knowing what they need to do.”
Joplin is now 11-2, 1-0 in the COC on the season, while currently riding a five-game winning streak.
Carthage falls to 5-6, 0-1 COC.
“We talked about eliminating the little mistakes and how we are sometimes just one hit away from breaking an inning open,” Carthage coach Stephanie Ray said. “We are young and are still going through growing pains, but we don’t want to use that as an excuse because I still feel like this is a group of kids who, at any moment, can go on a 10-game run.”
IN THE CIRCLE
Joplin senior Jill McDaniel delivers to home during the Eagles’ win over Carthage on Tuesday. McDaniel earned the complete-game win with one run allowed on four hits, seven strikeouts and no walks. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Jill McDaniel earned the complete-game win in the circle after allowing one run on five hits and seven strikeouts in seven innings.
“The thing I was most impressed with about Jill was that she didn’t walk anyone,” Schneider said of his senior pitcher. “Regardless of how many strikeouts she had or how many hits they had off of her, and one run allowed is a nice line to have, but the cherry on top for me really is no walks. That tells you she is locked in and pounding the zone, and our defense likes that because they get to go out and make plays for her.”
Ashlynn Jackson started and took the loss for Carthage after allowing four runs on six hits, one walk and four strikeouts in six innings of work. “She gets in the circle and competes every time,” Ray said of the pitching effort from her senior. “She spins it well and does a great job of keeping hitters off balance by mixing speeds. She pitched a great ballgame there.”
GAME ACTION
Carthage and Joplin took a scoreless pitcher’s duel into the top of the fifth inning when the Tigers were able to find the scoreboard thanks to the first multi-hit inning of the game. With runners on first and third and two outs, Aven Willis came up with an infield hit on a high chopper to the pitcher, reaching first base before the throw to plate the go-ahead run for a 1-0 lead.
Carthage senior Ashlynn Jackson delivers home during the Tigers’ conference loss to Joplin on Tuesday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
McDaniel doubled to center field with one out in the bottom half of the inning to get the Eagles in business. Unfortunately, a flyout followed by an out at third after the runner tagged up resulted in an inning-ending double play.
Joplin again threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when Bailey Ledford and Abby Lowery led off the inning with singles.
Both runners moved up 90 feet with two outs inning when Ledford took advantage of a mental lapse on defense with a delayed steal of home to tie the game at 1-1 and completely shift the momentum of the game in the process.
“It was funny because I was thinking about it, but she is the one who initiated it,” Schneider said. “That is (a varsity player) who understands what her abilities are. … Bailey and I kind of made eye contact and she said, ‘I really want to take it. I think I can.’ I told her, ‘OK, get a big secondary and we’ll see what happens.’ She executed perfectly, obviously. Credit to her because it was something she was thinking about and wanting to do. I didn’t have to bring it up to her. What an awesome play.”
Joplin senior Izzy Yust fires to first for an out during the Eagles’ win over Carthage on Tuesday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Izzy Yust followed with an infield hit to the hole in short to reach first and plate the go-ahead run in the process for a 2-1 lead.
“I think, for her, it was one of those moments where she knew what she had to do,” Schneider said. “Lately, she has been in some critical spots for us. What more could you ask from a senior shortstop?”
The Eagles were not done, with Libby Munn followed with a two-run home run to center field to bolster the lead to 4-1 by the time the dust settled.
“Libby is on a tear right now,” Schneider said. “I think she has three or four home runs over the last week. Credit to her because you could see in her second at-bat (that she found the timing). … You knew with her coming back up, if she could get something right there, she would be all over it. And she was. I think it was a five or six-pitch at-bat. She does a great job of just grinding through at-bats.”
AT THE PLATE
Munn homered, finished with two RBI and had a run scored for Joplin, while Ledford and Lowery each had a hit and scored a run. Yust had a hit, scored a run and drove in a run, while McDaniel registered a double at the plate.
Ashlyn Brust, Brooklyn Dolon-Main, Shelby Hegwer and Willis all had hits for Carthage. Abby Rogers scored a run.
ON DECK
Joplin hits the road for a matchup at Seneca on Wednesday before traveling to Branson on Thursday.
Carthage is on the road again with a matchup at Ozark on Thursday.
NIXA, Mo. — Olivia Emery tossed a complete-game gem and Neosho generated just enough offense to earn a 2-1 victory over Nixa on Tuesday in a Central Ozark Conference pitcher’s duel.
A freshman right-hander, Emery was stellar in the circle. She allowed just one run on three hits and three walks while striking out seven in seven innings to earn the pitching victory.
Nixa’s Madison Meierer threw well in defeat. She allowed one earned run on six hits in seven innings with 10 strikeouts and one walk.
In the COC opener for both teams, the Wildcats plated a single tally in the second inning when Abbie Carpenter singled and later scored on an error.
The Eagles tied it up in the bottom half on Sara Sweaney’s home run to left field.
Neosho took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on Maelynn Garrett’s RBI double to right field, with Autumn Kinnaird scoring the go-ahead run.
Nixa threatened in the seventh, as Harper Simpson doubled to lead off the inning. But Emery retired the side to secure the win.
She struck out Natalia Pharris for the first out and induced a ground out off the bat of Paige Garetson.
The Eagles had the tying run on third in the bottom of the seventh, but Phoebe Gardner lined out to Neosho second baseman Grace Johnson to end the game.
The Wildcats recorded six hits. McKaylie Forrest went 2-for-3 and was the lone player with multiple hits. Forrest and Garrett recorded doubles.
Neosho (5-2) hosts New Covenant Academy at 4:30 on Wednesday.
Decker drove in four runs, Sargent added three RBI and three runs scored, and Strickland also scored three runs.
