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Day: February 11, 2023

WRESTLING: Local girls advance to state tournament; Joplin’s Washom makes history

Posted on by Jason Peake

Local girls wrestling teams competed at district tournaments on Saturday.

The top four finishers in each weight class advanced to the state tournament. 

Five Joplin area schools had state-qualifiers.

 

CLASS 2 DISTRICT 3

OZARK, Mo. — Joplin High School junior Erika Washom made history by finishing fourth at 135 pounds at the Class 2 District 3 tournament to advance to the state tournament. 

Washom will be the first female to represent JHS at the state tournament. 

Washom was the lone local state-qualifier from this district tourney, which was held at Ozark High School.

After an opening round bye, Washom won by fall over Waynesville’s Gabriela Hoag. Washom suffered a loss by fall to Nixa’s Brenya Crahan, but she recorded a win by pin over Webb City’s Kylie Jennings.

In the third-place match, Willard’s Ashlan Thompson earned a 4-1 decision over Washom. 

Unable to advance for Joplin were Coryaunna Mueller (110 pounds), Amy Kessler (145), Mya Ndedi Ntepe (155) and Illahna Burtrum (190).

Competing but unable to advance for Neosho were Jilian Ramirez (135) and Carmen Peren (170). 

Webb City’s Jennings (135), Layla Espinoza (140) and Emma Combs (170) competed but were unable to advance. Jennings won three matches by fall but suffered losses to Lebanon’s Taylor Johnson and Washom.

Lebanon (224) and Nixa (194) were the top two teams.

 

CLASS 1 DISTRICT 3

CLINTON, Mo. — Athletes from Seneca, Cassville, Monett and Nevada secured state berths on Saturday at the Class 1 District 3 tournament at Clinton High School. 

Seneca had a pair of district champs, as Liberty Cornell was the top finisher at 155 pounds and Isabella Renfro took first at 190 pounds. Also for the Indians, Louzella Graham placed third at 115 to give Seneca three qualifiers.  

Cassville had three district champions— Annie Moore (115), Kailey Artherton (120) and Faith James (130). Also for Cassville, Hailey Roark was the runner-up at 140 and Taylor Glidewell finished third at 190. 

For Monett, Brooke Bluel was the runner-up at 120, Mary Jastal placed third at 105 pounds and Kayrie Burdett (110) and Jenna Spencer (115) both finished fourth.

Nevada had four qualifiers, as Drew Leer was the runner-up at 235, Sydnee Baldwin finished third at 110, Teresa Dawn was third at 145 and Xaveria Dawn placed fourth at 100 pounds.

Athletes from Carl Junction, McDonald County, Diamond and Aurora concluded the season at the district tourney.

Holden was the team champion with 141.5 points and Cassville was second with 137 points.

 

WRESTLING NOTES

In a change this year, Missouri now has two classifications for girls wrestling.

The state wrestling tournament will now be a four-day affair at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. It was previously a three-day event.

The Class 1 girls and Class 1-2 boys tournaments will be held on Feb. 22-23, while the Class 2 girls and Class 3-4 boys tourneys are slated for Feb. 24-25.

Area boys wrestling teams will compete at district tourneys on Friday and Saturday, with state berths on the line.

HOOPS ROUNDUP: Neosho boys beat Ozark for memorable win; Carthage boys hang tough with No. 2 Nixa; Mac County boys, Nevada girls earn Big 8 West titles

Posted on by Lucas Davis

NEOSHO BOYS 52, OZARK 47

NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho built an early cushion and held off Ozark for the Wildcats’ first win over the Tigers since 2010. 

The win is the fourth Central Ozark Conference win for the Wildcats, who moved to 17-5, 4-1 after the victory on Friday, which ties the school record for conference wins by Neosho.

Neosho limited Ozark (9-13, 2-3 COC) to 13 points in the first half and led by nine at the intermission. The Wildcats outscored the Tigers 22-4 in the third quarter to take a commanding 16-point lead. Ozark put on a rally in the fourth quarter, but Neosho staved off the comeback for the win.

Isaiah Green led Neosho with 16 points, while Kael Smith finished with 13 points. Carter Baslee scored 10 to give the Wildcats three players in double figures. Carter Fenske added eight and Brock Franklin scored five. 

Neosho is at Carl Junction on Tuesday.

 

NIXA BOYS 66, CARTHAGE 64

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage trailed by one possession for much of the final 10 minutes of game action but never found that final momentum surge to get the lead down the stretch in a loss to Class 6 second-ranked Nixa (22-0, 5-0 COC) on Friday in Central Ozark Conference action.

The Tigers (12-10, 2-4 COC) trailed by eight with less than six minutes to play in the third quarter before rallying back to cut the deficit to one, 44-43, by the start of the fourth quarter. Each time it looked as if Carthage would grab the momentum, the Eagles had an answer until the final horn.

Max Templeman led all scorers with a game-high 23 points to lead Carthage in scoring. Justin Ray knocked down two 3-pointers on the way to 16, while Clay Kinder had 10 points and two 3-pointers.

Kael Combs finished with 21 points and three 3-pointers to lead Nixa in scoring.

Carthage hosts Branson on Tuesday for Senior Night.

 

MCDONALD COUNTY BOYS 60, NEVADA 57

NEVADA, Mo. — The McDonald County Mustangs clinched an outright Big 8 West championship by beating the Nevada Tigers on Friday inside Wynn Gymnasium.

McDonald County improved to 13-10 and the Mustangs went 6-0 in the Big 8 West. 

Sterling Woods scored 24 points to lead the Mustangs and Destyn Dowd added 10 and Cross Dowd had nine. 

Nevada is now 11-13 and they went 4-2 in the Big 8 West. 

Drew Beachler scored 17 points to lead Nevada, while Brice Budd had 16 points and Jack Cheaney added 14.

Nevada led 41-40 entering the fourth quarter. The Mustangs outscored the Tigers 20-16 in the final frame. 

McDonald County will take on Rogersville in the overall Big 8 Conference championship on Tuesday.

Nevada is at Reeds Spring on Tuesday.

 

SENECA BOYS 40, WYANDOTTE (OKLA.) 49

SENECA, Mo. — Four players scored in double figures for the Indians.

Cooper Long led Seneca with 18 points, while Morgan Vaughn had 16, Blake Hurn added 12 and Ethan Altic scored 11.

 

NEVADA GIRLS 47, MCDONALD COUNTY 35

NEVADA, Mo. — Nevada’s girls finished off an undefeated run through the Big 8 West.

The Tigers improved to 19-4 overall and they went 6-0 in the Big 8 West.

The Mustangs fell to 10-13 and they went 4-2 in Big 8  West play.

Nevada will host Marshfield on Monday for the overall Big 8 championship. 

On Friday, the Tigers had to come from behind, as the Mustangs led 10-4 at the end of the first quarter.

Nevada outscored Mac County 20-12 in the second period for a 24-22 halftime advantage.

The Tigers built a 40-29 cushion entering the fourth quarter and the hosts never relinquished their lead.

Senior guard Maddy Majors led the Tigers with 17 points and junior guard Clara Swearingen added 11 points.

Roslynn Huston scored 14 points to lead the Mustangs, while Carlie Martin added 13.

 

SENECA GIRLS 64, WYANDOTTE (OKLA.) 33

SENECA, Mo. — Hazley Grotjohn poured in 33 points for Seneca.

Parker Long also reached double figures with 14 points for the Indians.

HOOPS: College Heights engineers Senior Night sweep against McAuley

Posted on by Jason Peake

The College Heights Christian girls outscored their rival McAuley Catholic 31-14 in the first and third quarters on their way to a 47-28 win on Friday evening at the College Heights Athletic Complex on Senior Night.

With McAuley Catholic’s defense keyed on slowing down or stopping College Heights sophomore and leading scorer Libby Fanning, open perimeter shots became available for College Heights’ guards.

Ava Lett stepped up to the challenge and knocked down four 3-point shots Friday on her way to a team-high 14 points, including five points during a critical 12-0 run in the fourth quarter that extended the Cougars’ lead from 35-25 to 47-25.

“We’ve got a lot of kids that can score,” College Heights coach John Blankenship said. “Ava Lett stepped up and had a great game tonight, shot well, and Maddy Colin. We had three kids around double-digits. Our scoring was balanced tonight, which makes us a better team than if Libby’s scoring 25 points and the rest have four, six or eight. I like that balance more.”

Fanning recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, Colin added eight points, senior Addie Lawrence finished with five points, seniors Jayli Johnson and Lauren Ukena each added four points, and Kinley Marsh’s free throw resulted in her lone point scored.

McAuley Catholic played nearly even with College Heights in the middle quarters Friday and entered the fourth down 35-23 after Lett hit one of her four trifectas late in the third.

“We came out flat in the first half,” Blankenship said. “Coach (Mike) Howard does a great job with his kids. We’ve played so often. He knows us, who to guard, and what to expect. We try and throw in a few wrinkles here and there and had some success with a little bit of a variation we had on their zone offense against their extended 2-3 (zone).

“We had to make some adjustments at halftime and talked about our energy and our passion. We picked that up. We were not very intense with our defense in the first half, so the kids responded well and had a strong second half.”

The Cougars honored their seniors before the boys varsity game.

“Jayli, Lauren, and Addie, they’ve been so committed to our program over the four years,” Blankenship said. “They’ve made our team and our program so much better. One of the goals we always have for our seniors is to make the program better.

“Defensively, Lauren and Jayli are just tenacious and we’re able to extend our pressure with their speed. They read in the passing lanes really well and Lauren had several steals and layups tonight.

“Addie, she’s a great shooter. She struggled from the floor a little bit tonight, but she’s having so much trouble with her knee and that makes it hard. She’s capable of knocking down four to six threes a night, which makes the defense have to get out and guard her and that opens up our interior with Libby a little bit more.

“Our seniors are key in what we’re doing and they’ll certainly be missed when they graduate.”

College Heights improved to 14-10 overall and 5-0 in the Ozark 7 Conference, and the Cougars have a big one Tuesday on the road against eighth-ranked in Class 1 and fellow unbeaten in Ozark 7 play Golden City (20-4 overall, 4-0 Ozark 7).

Kloee Williamson led McAuley Catholic with 14 points, the trio of Lily Black, Avery Gardner and Vanessa Diaz each produced four points, and Kendall Ramsey added two points.

The Warriors dropped to 8-16 overall and 3-2 Ozark 7, and they return home Tuesday one last time this season to face Bronaugh.

 

College Heights boys 55, McAuley Catholic 31

College Heights scored eight of the game’s first 10 points, McAuley Catholic answered with a 13-0 run to go ahead 15-8 late in the first quarter, and College Heights entered halftime with a 35-21 lead after turning a 19-16 deficit upside down with a 19-2 stretch to end the first half.

The Cougars, in fact, earned a 39-12 advantage after McAuley’s last lead at 19-16.

“We picked it up on defense and we did a little better job taking care of the ball,” College Heights coach Eric Johnson said. “Our offense got some more looks and we got some steals off the press too that got us some easy baskets early. We weren’t too happy with our start because we had three or four turnovers and they hit some open shots.”

Caleb Quade scored a game-high 19 points, including 15 of them in the first half to spark the Cougars, and seniors Curtis Davenport and Bo Sitton each finished in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Davenport scored nine of his points during that 19-2 run before the half.

Jayce Walker and senior Noah Hipple each contributed five points, Colsen Dickens scored three points, and senior Ben Thomas reached the scoring column with a made free throw.

College Heights’ four seniors, who have been a part of two district championships during their high school career so far, were honored before the game Friday.

“They’ve been with us all four years and Curtis has been a four-year starter,” Johnson said. “Ben, Bo, and Noah, they’ve been with the varsity last two years and they’ve stepped up this year and filled their roles. All four are great kids, and it’s been real enjoyable coaching them.”

College Heights improved to 19-5 overall and 5-0 Ozark 7, and the Cougars have one more conference bout Tuesday on the road against Golden City (16-8 overall).

Noah Black led McAuley Catholic with nine points, Bradley Wagner added seven, Rocco Bazzano-Joseph hit a pair of threes for his six points, Jack Jones and Joe Staton each had four points, and Kable Reichardt added one point.

The Warriors fell to 6-18 overall and 1-4 Ozark 7, and they return home Tuesday for their last home game of the season with a clash against Bronaugh.

BOYS HOOPS: Webb City falls short in COC clash with Class 6 No. 6 Republic

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

WEBB CITY, Mo. — A valiant effort wasn’t enough for the Webb City Cardinals.

Webb City’s late rally fell short, and Class 6 No. 6 Republic left town with a 63-50 Central Ozark Conference victory over the hosts on Friday night in front of a large homecoming crowd inside the Cardinal Dome.

After a close first half, the Tigers doubled up the Cardinals 18-9 in the game-changing third quarter.

Webb City used a spirited surge in the fourth quarter to pull within eight, but Republic stymied the comeback attempt down the stretch. 

“I was happy with our effort,” Webb City coach Jason Horn said. “We had a slow start, but we bounced back after that start, and we gave ourselves a chance. Our kids competed well. We just needed to finish a few more plays to give ourselves a better chance against a good team like Republic.”

Webb City slipped to 15-7 overall and 2-4 in conference games. 

Junior guard Barron Duda scored 14 points for the Cardinals, while senior forward Alex Martin added 12 points before fouling out. 

Sophomore guard Holton Keith contributed nine points, six assists and three steals, while junior guard Omari Jackson added seven points. Joe Adams and Eli Pace chipped in four points apiece.

Webb City shot 49 percent from the floor (20-of-41) but went just 2-for-8 on 3-pointers. 

Republic improved to 20-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference. 

Sophomore guard Brenley Hagewood led the Tigers with 23 points, while senior guard Ahlante Askew added 10 points and junior guard James Rexroat had nine.

The Tigers made 20-of-35 field goal attempts (57 percent), including 6-for-15 from beyond the arc (40 percent). Republic out-rebounded Webb City 27-11.

The Tigers, who never trailed, built an early double-digit lead at 17-7 by the end of the first quarter. 

Webb City was down 23-9 early in the second period, but the Cardinals finished the first half on an 18-7 burst.

Duda, Keith, Jackson and Martin all contributed points during the spurt. Duda knocked down three late free throws to cut Webb City’s deficit to 30-27 at intermission. 

The Tigers owned the third quarter. 

Republic started the second half on a 17-3 run to take a 47-30 lead. The Tigers led 48-36 at the end of the third period.

“We had some really good looks and we ran our sets well, but we just didn’t capitalize in the third quarter,” Horn said. “We missed a couple bunnies around the basket. Republic got the ball to their shooters. I thought we guarded the 3-point line better than we did on Tuesday, but Republic hit a couple that allowed them to stretch their lead. They got us out of sorts a little bit, too.”

The Cardinals didn’t go down quietly. 

With an 8-4 spurt to start the final frame, capped by a hoop inside by Martin and a layup from Pace, Webb City pulled within eight at 52-44.

That’s the closest the hosts would get, however. 

The Tigers finished the game on an 11-6 run to secure the win. 

“I don’t think we capitalized on some things offensively when we had good looks,” Horn said. “I thought Republic did. We showed resolve and fought back late in the game, so I’m pleased with the effort. We just have to put four quarters together.”

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Webb City is at Joplin on Tuesday night for another COC contest.

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

BOYS HOOPS: Joplin takes lead into the fourth quarter, never relinquishes it in win over Willard

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Joplin trailed after the first and second quarters before a hustle play by a senior to close the third period gave the Eagles a lead they would never relinquish down the stretch of the fourth quarter in a 74-63 win over the Tigers in Central Ozark Conference action on Friday.

“Willard is playing really well right now,” Joplin coach Bronson Schaake said. “It was a battle of matchups. We are a bigger team and they are a small, quick team. It’s hard for our guys to get there and contest. They were making a lot of 3s, but I thought we adjusted enough and got enough stops. I thought we did a better job in the second half of getting to the paint to open up the outside.”

After trailing the first two quarters of the game, Joplin went into the fourth quarter with the lead after senior Terrance Gibson scored inside and drew contact with four seconds left in the third period to make the score 46-45 in favor of Willard. Gibson missed the and-1 charity but grabbed his own rebound and took the ball to the rack for a bucket at the horn, sending the Eagles into the final eight minutes on top 47-46.

“He is a high-energy kid,” Schaake said of Gibson’s play at the end of the third quarter to spark Joplin. “When he is active like that on the boards and attacking, we are a different team. Energy plays like that can swing the momentum … and basketball is all about momentum swings. Kids want to look up and see the results if they’re working hard.”

Trailing late in the third quarter turned out to be the last time Joplin was behind in the contest, as the Eagles extended the early in the fourth before holding off the Tigers down the stretch.

Freshman Fred Taylor knocked down a second-chance baseline floater to open the fourth quarter before Gibson scored and drew contact after rolling to the hoop off the assist from junior All Wright, with Gibson knocking down the and-1 attempt to push the lead to 52-46 with 6:16 to play.

After a bucket from Willard’s Braden Bagley, Taylor buried a 3-ball at the 5:15 mark to give Joplin a 55-48 advantage.

Willard cut the lead to 55-51 with 3:40 left in regulation before Wright knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back to double digits, 61-51, with less than three minutes to play. 

Junior Quin Renfro knocked down a 3-pointer of his own shortly after to push the Joplin lead to 13 points with two minutes to play.

“All is a closer and one of the best players in the state,” Schaake said. “You can always rely on him to make big shots late. I thought Quin and (Whit) Hafer were big at the end for us, too. You need guys like that to finish off wins.”

Joplin finished 9-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to help the Eagles hold onto the lead and preserve the conference win.

Wright finished with a team-high 19 points to lead Joplin, while Renfro dropped 18 points on his birthday to finish second in scoring. Gibson finished with 12 points and Taylor added 10 to give Joplin four players in double figures.

Drew Quinlan led Willard with 24 points, including six 3-pointers. Cooper Wilken made five 3s on the way to 16 points, while Russell Roweton finished with 12.

Joplin hosts Webb City on Tuesday.

GIRLS HOOPS: Willard stymies Joplin early on way to COC win 

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Willard forced Joplin into a bevy of turnovers early to fuel a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter en route to a 47-32 win in Central Ozark Conference action on Friday.

“They put a lot of pressure on us early,” Joplin coach Brad Cox said. “We are continuing to get better at handling the pressure, we just aren’t there yet. Once we got into the halfcourt game, I thought we played amazing. … Our girls played really hard. We just need to keep getting better.”

The Tigers (7-13, 2-4 COC) forced the Eagles (4-18, 0-6 COC) into 10 turnovers during the first quarter thanks in large part to running the press early to fuel a 22-3 lead by Willard after the first eight minutes of action. Joplin’s lone field goal came from Bailey Ledford with 1:32 left in the quarter.

“Their press really gave us a problem,”Cox said. “We made some adjustments, but it was a little too late. The press has been one of our Achilles’ heels this year. … The press and rebounding was really the difference in the first quarter. We adjusted well to it, but we have to learn to start  the game as strong as we finish it.” 

Kailyn Washington had six points to lead the Tigers in scoring, while Carolina Crawford and Scarlett Floyd each added four points in the quarter.

Turnovers plagued the Eagles through the first half of the second period, as the Tigers stretched the lead to 27-3 on a 3-pointer from Karli Wheeler with five minutes to play in the half.

Joplin picked up the pace offensively in the back half of the second quarter, getting buckets from Izzy Yust, Bailey Ledford and Serafina Auberry.

Joplin ultimately trailed 32-15 at the intermission.

Willard pushed its lead to more than 20 for the first time with 2:48 left on the clock in the third quarter when Mia Davault knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner to make the score 37-15. 

The Tigers took a 40-17 lead into the fourth quarter and never relinquished the momentum before the final horn. 

Yust led Joplin with nine points, while Ledford finished with eight. 

Wheeler led Willard with 10 points, while Crawford and Washington each added eight in the win.

Joplin hosts Webb City on Monday.

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