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Day: December 7, 2022

WRESTLING ROUNDUP: Carthage earns pair of wins; Carl Junction tops Seneca

Posted on by Jason Peake

The Carthage High School wrestling team stayed unbeaten in dual action with two wins on Tuesday night, while Carl Junction earned a victory over Seneca. 

CARTHAGE 64, CASSVILLE 6

Earning wins by fall for Carthage were Tanner Putt (106), Grady Huntley (120), Bradyn Tate (132), Gabe Lambeth (175) and Alexander Salas-Marquez (215).

Aydan Nye defeated Cassville’s Jaret Hinson 8-7 at 126 pounds, while Grey Petticrew earned a major decision, 11-3, over Riley James at 150.

Trey Nye edged Tristan Thompson 8-6 at 157, Davion King defeated Jake Anthonysz 7-0 at 165 and David Recinos earned a 5-3 decision over DJ Glidewell at 285. 

Carthage’s Alberto Sales (113), Brandon Perez (138) and Jamison Moser (190) won by forfeit. 

Cassville’s Colton Roark won by fall at 144.

CARTHAGE 75, BERRYVILLE 6

Carthage’s Aydan Nye, Tate, Perez, Jared Portillo (144), Petticrew, Trey Nye, King, Lambeth, Salas-Marquez and Recinos all won their matches by fall.

The Tigers won three matches by forfeit (106, 113, 120) and Berryville’s Tun Ou won by fall at 190.

Carthage (3-0) is at the Farmington Tournament on Saturday.

 

CARL JUNCTION 48, SENECA 33

Winning matches by fall for Carl Junction were Carter Foglesong (106), Sam Melton (126), Dexter Merrell (165) and Cayden Bollinger (285).

Seneca’s Hunter Hanes (113), Brady Roark (138), Trentyn Raney (144), Andrew Manley (150) and Nash Crane (215) won their matches by fall.

At 132, Seneca’s Eli Manley earned a 10-6 decision over Max Matthews. 

Carl Junction’s Lukas Walker (120), Marcus Lopez-Durman (157), Tony Stewart (175) and Cody Berry (190) all won by forfeit.

The Bulldogs host the CJ Classic on Saturday.

 

GIRLS SWIMMING: Local athletes see success at Monett invite

Posted on by Jason Peake

MONETT, Mo. — Girls swim teams from Joplin, Carthage and Thomas Jefferson fared well alongside the host Cubs at the Monett Invitational on Tuesday night.

 

JOPLIN HIGHLIGHTS

Joplin’s 200-yard medley and 200 freestyle relays both finished second. And both recorded state-consideration times. 

“The girls swam strong tonight,” Joplin coach Juliana Hughes said. “It is exciting to start out the season with two state consideration times for two out of the three relays. We have a few swimmers close to state times in their individual events, as well.”

Recording a time of 2:02 on the medley relay were senior Lily Rakes, freshman Brylea Smith, junior Kiki Thom and senior Megan Walser. The freestyle relay, which consists of Thom, senior Brooklyn Hiller, Rakes and Walser, finished in 2:00.

Also for the Eagles, Walser took first in the 500 freestyle (6:52) and was fourth in the 200 free.

Rakes placed second in the 100 backstroke and finished third in the 200 free.

Thom was the runner-up in the 100 butterfly and also took third in the 200 IM.

Joplin’s 400 freestyle relay team of sophomore Gwen Zamanzadeh, senior Allysun Higdon, Hiller, and sophomore Izzy Zamanzadeh took fourth.  

 

CARTHAGE HIGHLIGHTS

The Tigers won six events. 

Carthage’s 200 medley relay team of Aubree Santillan, Olivia Manning, Madison Riley and Joey Hettinger took first in 2:02.

The Tigers were first in the 200 free relay in 1:50, with Riley, Santillan, Manning and Hettinger competing.

Carthage’s 400 free relay took second and featured Kamryn Dininger, Brianna Dawson, Alexis Fosdick and Madelyn Kennedy.

Riley won the 200 freestyle in 2:03 and also took first in the 100 butterfly in 1:01. 

Santillan took first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:12.

Manning and Victoria Martinez placed first and second in the 200 IM.

Hettinger was the runner-up in both the 50 free and the 100 free, while Manning took second in the 100 breaststroke. Anne Kennedy was third in the 100 fly.

 

CAROL LEADS CAVALIERS

Thomas Jefferson’s Natalie Carol won two events— the 50 freestyle in 27.49 seconds and the 100 breaststroke in 1:18.

Megan Mueller placed third in the 100 breaststroke.

 

MONETT HIGHLIGHTS

Monett’s Sonnie Winfrey won the 100 freestyle in 1:03. Winfrey was the runner-up in the 200 freestyle and Grace Lee took second in the 500 free.

Emma Parrigon was third in the 50 free, Ruby George took third in the 100 free and Katie Geiss placed third in the 100 backstroke.

The Cubs won the 400 freestyle relay in 4:30, with Geiss, Winfrey, Jenna Herald and Elizabeth Snarey competing.

 

 

BOYS HOOPS: Carl Junction pulls away from Aurora in home opener

Posted on by Lucas Davis

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction closed each of the first three quarters on a significant scoring run on the way to defeating Aurora 72-46 in the home opener on Tuesday.

Carl Junctions Ayden Bard lines up a 3-pointer in the Bulldogs win over Aurora. Photo by Sloan Uebinger.

The Bulldogs (3-1) trailed for much of the first eight minutes before a late scoring surge gave them a slight advantage heading into the second quarter. Carl Junction again found life at the end of the second period and used another scoring run late to push the lead to eight points by the intermission. Continuing the trend of the night, the Bulldogs closed the third quarter with even more momentum to cement the win in front of the Carl Junction faithful.

“This was great for the home opener,” Carl Junction coach Justin Pock said. “I thought we had a good crowd tonight. The boys are really playing well. We have a mix of seniors and freshmen and some juniors in there. They are playing well together. The ball is not sticking. They’re finding each other. … It takes all of us, and they did a good job of that tonight.”

The Bulldogs trailed for much of the opening quarter and were down 15-9 before closing the period on a 7-0 run to take a 16-15 advantage into the second quarter. Junior Jett Hocut had a 3-pointer, while freshman Cooper Vediz grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback and senior Ky Warren closed the quarter with a baseline jumper to grab the lead for the Bulldogs.

“Today, kids always remember the last play,” Pock said about the significance of grabbing the lead before the quarter change. “We talk about focusing on the next play, but what they remember is the last. It was a momentum swing for us. Things weren’t going right early and they didn’t wallow or anything like that. I thought the guys did a good job of continuing to push forward.”

Holding a slim 29-28 cushion, Carl Junction closed the second quarter just as it did the first. The Bulldogs scored the half’s final seven points to take an eight-point, 36-28 advantage into the intermission.

Hocut started the run with a putback bucket before sophomore Wyatt McAfee added a jumper in the paint and a make at the charity stripe for a 34-28 lead. Senior Lucas Vanlanduit closed the first half with a steal and score on the break just before the horn.

Carl Junction essentially put the game out of reach with a 12-2 surge at the end of the third quarter. Leading by nine, 44-35, the Bulldogs used a 3-pointer from senior Ayden Bard and a free throw from Vediz to build a 48-35 lead. After Aurora’s Haze Hoffman scored inside, CJ ended the period with back to back scores from Vediz inside before Hocut scored on the break off a Houn’ Dawgs’ turnover and Bard scored on a drive just before the buzzer to give CJ a 56-37 cushion.

“One thing I think we have done all year is play with a lot of effort,” Pock said of his team’s play at the end of each quarter. “Even if things don’t go our way, like in the beginning of the game, we always talk about how we have to finish out the quarter. Sometimes there is too much emphasis on the start of the quarter. We want to finish it strong, and I felt like we did that tonight.”

Vediz scored on the drive out of the final break to push the lead to more than 20, with the Bulldogs never looking back in the win.

SCORING

Bard finished with a game-high 22 points for the Bulldogs, including a pair of 3-pointers. Vediz finished with 18 points. Vanlanduit added eight points and Warren finished with six.

UP NEXT

Carl Junction hosts Pittsburg on Friday.

BOYS HOOPS ROUNDUP: Thomas Jefferson cruises past Everton as Ball makes history; Pittsburg tops Nevada; McAuley falls

Posted on by Lucas Davis

THOMAS JEFFERSON 65, EVERTON 35

EVERTON, Mo. — Thomas Jefferson outscored Everton in every quarter and Jay Ball eclipsed the 1,000-point career scoring mark on the way to the win on Tuesday. 

The Cavaliers (5-1) led 18-6 after the first period and never looked back. TJ pushed the lead 36-19 by halftime and doubled up Everton 19-8 in the third quarter to build an insurmountable cushion.

Ball finished with a double-double after scoring 23 and grabbing 14 rebounds on his historical night. He is the eighth player in school history to reach the 1,000-point scoring mark. Levi Triplett knocked down a pair of 3-pointers on the way to 12 points, while Tyler Brouhard also sank two triples and finished with 14 points. He added eight rebounds and six assists. Kohl Thurman had eight points.

Brady Gladden had 18 points to lead Everton.

Thomas Jefferson hosts Miami on Friday in the home opener.

 

PIERCE CITY 41, MCAULEY 39

PIERCE CITY, Mo. — Pierce City outscored McAuley 16-9 in the second quarter to build a five-point lead by halftime and held off the Warriors down the stretch to earn a win on Tuesday.

“I am disappointed in the loss,” McAuley coach Tony Witt said. “This is a game we could have won, but we let it slip away. I am proud of our guys, though. We could have given up in the third when we were down nine, but they battled back and took a brief lead with three minutes left in the game.”

Noah Black led McAuley with 13 points, including two 3-pointers. Rocco Bazzano-Joseph also sank two 3-balls on the way to nine points. Michael Parrigon and Bradley Wagner each finished with six points. 

McAuley is at Sarcoxie on Friday.

 

PITTSBURG 59, NEVADA 51

NEVADA, Mo. — Nevada led 25-24 at halftime, but the visiting Purple Dragons took a 40-34 lead into the fourth period.

The Dragons outscored the Tigers 19-17 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Brice Budd led Nevada with 14 points. He connected on 8 of 10 free throws. Riddick Shook added nine points on a trio of 3-pointers.Three others scored eight points for the Tigers—Jack Cheaney, Cade Beshore and Caden Klumpp.

Mason English scored 22 points to lead Pittsburg and Jackson Turnbull added 14 points.

Nevada (0-3) plays Raymore-Peculiar at 4 p.m. on Thursday at the Carthage Invitational. 

GIRLS HOOPS ROUNDUP: Carthage beats Lamar; TJ tops Everton; Nevada upends Pittsburg

Posted on by Lucas Davis

CARTHAGE 64, LAMAR 30

LAMAR, Mo. — Carthage outscored Lamar by 14 in the first half and pulled away from Lamar in the second half on the way to a road win on Tuesday.

Taking a 34-20 lead into the second half, Carthage (4-1) outscored Lamar 17-4 and 13-6 in the third and fourth quarter to blow the lead open.

“Our swarming pressure defense was too much for Lamar to handle tonight,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said to SoMo Sports. “Those tips and steals on defense led to some quick transition points on offense. We can score in bunches when we get both parts of our game going like that.

“I was really pleased with our defense in the second half especially. Limiting any varsity team to just 10 points in a half is pretty impressive. Offensively, we still aren’t shooting the ball that well from the perimeter. Once we get our outside shooting where we want it to be, we will be a very potent team.”

Maggie Boyd finished with a game-high and career-high 24 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, while Kianna Yates finished with 19 points. Lauren Choate put up 11 to give Carthage three players in double figures.

Zavorie Wiss had 11 and Marcy Miller finished with 10 to lead Lamar.

Carthage’s girls host Central on Monday.

 

THOMAS JEFFERSON 53, EVERTON 18

EVERTON, Mo. — Thomas Jefferson built an 11-point lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back in a win over Everton on Tuesday.

The Cavaliers took a 33-12 lead into the half and held Everton to two points in the third quarter and four points in the fourth defensively en route to the win.

With the victory, the Cavaliers improve to 3-1 on the season with the win.

Gabbi Hiebert buried five 3-pointers on the way to a game-high 24 points to lead Thomas Jefferson. Lannah Grigg was right behind with 21 points.

Thomas Jefferson opens the home portion of its season when the Cavs play host to Miami on Friday.

 

NEVADA 60, PITTSBURG 41

NEVADA, Mo. — Clara Swearingen poured in a career high 29 points to lead Nevada to a non-conference win over the Purple Dragons from Kansas.

A junior guard, Swearingen hit four treys in the win.

Maddy Majors added 17 points with three 3-pointers for the Tigers, who improved to 3-2. 

Nevada led 20-9 at the end of the first period and the hosts were up 32-13 at intermission. The Tigers held a comfortable 47-28 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Jacqueline Hall scored 13 points for Pittsburg and Alyssa Hotze added 10. 

Nevada hosts Clinton at 7:30 on Wednesday night.

 

WEBB CITY 54, MCDONALD COUNTY 33

ANDERSON, Mo. — Webb City improved to 3-1 with a non-conference win at McDonald County.

Both teams have home games on Thursday night, as McDonald County hosts Monett and Webb City entertains Miller.

WRESTLING: Neosho gives strong performance in sweeping Nixa, Joplin

Posted on by Jason Peake

NEOSHO, Mo. — The Neosho Wildcats swept their conference and district rivals Nixa (63-15) and Joplin (58-12) on Tuesday night.

Not counting forfeits, the Wildcats only lost three varsity matches on the evening in a commanding performance against their new Class 4 opponents.

Neosho, for the last 15 years a perennial state title contender and a nine-time state champion in Class 3, got bumped up to the state’s highest wrestling classification this season.

“It’s a good test for us,” Neosho coach Jeremy Phillips said. “Nixa is a solid program. We knew that going in. We had some adversity today. We had to do some shuffling with our lineup because our weight management isn’t exactly what it needed to be. That’s definitely something we’re going to have to improve upon.

“With adversity, I told them that how we deal with it will either make us or break us. If we use the adversity to come together and be stronger and intensify our fight, then it could make us into something special. That’s what I told them at the end. There are some young, tough kids and there’s some seniors that are very solid at leading us.”

The Wildcats picked up plenty of bonus points in their dual wins Tuesday and several members of their deep and talented freshman class stepped up in the spotlight.

Brody Mitchell (120 pounds) pinned Nixa’s Sam Mayes in 4 minutes and 54 seconds, Carter Howard (138) won a 6-4 decision against Aidan Ward, Josh Scheuerman (144) pinned Curtis Glossip in 3:05, Chase Kivett (15) pinned Owen Diemoz in 36 seconds, Jonny Chrisco (157) pinned Tobias Thompson in 2:43, Eli Zar (165) won by forfeit, Collyn Kivett (175) pinned Rylee Wright in 1:19, Ulysses DeLeon (190) pinned Ty Hartman in 3:19, Nico Olivares (285) pinned Charles Speake in 3:50, Connor Reiboldt (106) pinned Kaden Ulrich in 3:16, and Sam Fryar (113) won by forfeit.

Nixa’s Payton Link (126) won by forfeit, two-time state champion and University of Oklahoma recruit Zan Fugitt (132) pinned River Feagans in 3:15, and Brennan Carey (215) held on tightly for a 4-3 decision against Gabriel Busteed.

“We have some things we need to work on and Nixa’s not going to forget this, I’m for sure,” Phillips said. “We will see them down the road at conference, district, and state now. We’ve got to build on it, that’s the key. We can’t hang on to this win. We can’t think we’re where we need to be because we’re not. This challenge of Class 4 is one that we could be ready for, if we take this challenge for our growth.”

Busteed, who had the full support of his teammates and coaches on the sideline as well as the student section on one side of the gymnasium and Neosho parents and fans on the other, made Carey earn his victory in their match Tuesday.

“That match with Busteed at 215 was a heckuva match,” Phillips said. “He’s got the heart of a champ. That loss was really a win for us because that kid (Carey) is a returning third-place medalist and national champion. I used Busteed as one of my motivational factors going into tonight. There wouldn’t be a guy I’d rather stick out there in a fight, like an underdog in a David and Goliath matchup.

“That heart of a champion is something that I want all of them to have. We’ll continue to use that, because we will be underdogs this season. I kinda like that. They’re not giving us much respect, but that’s okay. We’ve got to go earn it. Hopefully, they’ll use this momentum and do just that.”

In the 58-12 win Tuesday against Joplin, Fryar (113) won by forfeit, Howard (132) pinned Andrew Burke in 2:00, Hunter Butler (138) won a 5-1 decision against Freddy Cerrato Martinez, Chase Kivett (144) pinned Alex Short in 4:54, Chrisco (150) won a 19-5 major decision against Orion Norris, Kade Lawson (157) pinned Cole Gandy, Zar (165) won by DQ against Ethan Bentz, Collyn Kivett (190) pinned Drew VanGilder in 5:23, Anthony Boettger (215) won a 6-1 decision against Draven VanGilder, Olivares (285) pinned Justice Rogers in 1:42, and Reiboldt (106) won by forfeit.

Nixa defeated Joplin 66-12 in the first dual of the evening — Bentz (165) pinned Logan Elmer in 1:13 and Drew VanGilder (190) pinned Hartman in 2:53.

Neosho competes Friday and Saturday in the Missouri Duals in Jefferson City.

Joplin, meanwhile, hosts Cassville on Thursday and goes to Arkansas on Saturday for a tournament hosted by Bentonville West.

BOYS HOOPS: New-look Webb City rolls in season opener

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City’s new-look lineup made an impressive debut.

Featuring five new starters, Webb City took control early en route to a convincing 78-60 victory over Lamar on Tuesday night in the opener of the 2022-23 boys basketball season inside the Cardinal Dome.

The Cardinals held a commanding 48-24 advantage by halftime, and the hosts were up comfortably 67-37 by the end of the third quarter.

“I thought our guys played really well tonight,” Cardinals coach Jason Horn said. “They played very unselfishly and they played hard. They did some positive things on the defensive end and they rebounded the basketball really well. And at any point, we have five guys on the court who play with a high motor. They share the basketball and they get along really well. I really like this group.” 

Tuesday’s non-conference clash was deadlocked early when Webb City erupted for 14 unanswered points. During the surge, the Cardinals were able to push the pace and get several hoops in transition while also limiting the Tigers to one-and-done on the other end.

“We were contesting shots and forcing them into some tough shots,” Horn said. “We got the game going at the pace we wanted. We’ve had a lot of practices under our belts and they’ve probably had just two shoot-arounds. We thought that would be to our advantage. As soon as we got the pace going up and down, they were taking some shots they probably won’t take when they get to midseason form. And our guys were sharing the basketball, making the extra pass and that freed us up for a lot of those 3-pointers.” 

Webb City’s Alex Martin shoots over Lamar’s Jack Killmon during Tuesday’s game inside the Cardinal Dome. Webb City won the game 78-60. Photo by Derek Livingston.

Of course, many of Lamar’s athletes were still playing football this past weekend, as the Tigers suffered a loss in the state title game. Horn’s Cardinals have been in a similar position in years past.

Three players reached double figures for Webb City, as junior guard Barron Duda poured in 25 points. The 6-foot-3 Duda made nine field goals, including four treys. 

Duda recorded a double-double, as he pulled down 14 rebounds. He scored 22 points in the first half.

“Offensively, he was huge for us because we got into some early foul trouble,” Horn said. “He carried the load. And I thought our guys did a good job of finding him.”

Webb City senior guard Joe Adams and sophomore guard Holton Keith scored 13 points apiece, while 6-5 senior forward Alex Martin added eight points to go along with 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Eli Pace contributed seven points for the Cardinals, who hit nine 3-pointers in the game.

Webb City’s starting lineup featured Adams, Pace, Keith, Duda and Martin.

After Lamar halted the hosts’ early spurt, a 3-pointer from Adams gave Webb City a 22-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Duda caught fire in the second quarter, hitting four 3-pointers while also converting an old-fashioned 3-point play in the period as the Cardinals doubled up the Tigers by the break at 48-24.

“Lamar has a good 3-2 zone defense,” Horn said. “We were able to get into the gaps and we were able to find Barron on some kick-outs. Our guys looked to get the ball to the guy who had the hot hand.” 

Webb City’s cushion ballooned to 67-37 by the end of the third quarter and Horn got his subs plenty of playing time in the final frame.

Webb City’s lone returning starter this season, senior forward Trey Roets, is currently out of action due to a shoulder issue. 

The Cardinals are also currently playing without the services of 6-2 junior forward Jonah Spieker. Of course, the Cardinals are also without senior Dante Washington, who will miss the season after suffering a knee injury during the football season.

Ian Ngugi scored 13 points to lead Lamar, while Joel Beshore added 12. 

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Webb City (1-0) will compete at this week’s Carthage Invitational. The Cardinals open tourney play against Leavenworth at 8:30 on Thursday night. 

“The Carthage tournament is loaded and we’ll have our work cut out for us against Leavenworth,” said Horn, who is now in his seventh season at Webb City. “They’ve got a good group. We’ll start preparing for them tomorrow.” 

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

 

Webb City’s Barron Duda looks to score in the lane against Lamar on Tuesday night. Duda scored 25 points for the Cardinals. All photos by Derek Livingston.

 

Webb City’s Holton Keith makes a layup against Lamar’s Ty Willhite on Tuesday night inside the Cardinal Dome.

 

Webb City’s Joel Hendrix puts a up shot against Lamar on Tuesday night. Webb City won the game 78-60.

 

Webb City junior guard Barron Duda scored 25 points against Lamar on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams. Photos by Derek Livingston.

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