Third-seeded College Heights Christian defeated top-seeded Mount Vernon 5-4 in the championship match of the Class 1 District 10 girls tennis tournament on Thursday at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
The Cougars started off the dual strong by winning two of the three doubles matches.
College Heights received singles wins from senior Jeanna Smathers and junior Londyn Eidson.
The match was deadlocked 4-4 and came down to the final singles match.
College Heights freshman Lilly Cummins battled back after dropping the first set against Mount Vernon’s Raegan Pendleton, winning the second set with a 7-3 tie-breaker and the third set 10-7.
This is College Heights’ first district championship in girls tennis since 2019.
College Heights will next meet Rogersville on Monday in the sectional round of the state tournament.
INDIVIDUAL DISTRICT
Monett’s Elizabeth Smith and College Heights Christian’s Natalie Brueggemann were the top two singles players at the individual district tournament.
The advancing doubles teams were both from Mount Vernon, Audrey Bittle and Molly Burk and Adelynn Hall and Raegan Pendleton.
Webb City’s Aubree Lassiter earns a kill in the Cardinals’ loss to Republic on Thursday. Photo by Israel Perez.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — The Class 5 13th-ranked Republic Tigers went on the road and earned a 25-15, 25-21 and 25-16 sweep over the Class 4 ninth-ranked Webb City Cardinals in Central Ozark Conference action on Thursday inside the Cardinal Dome.
Once Republic (21-5, 5-2 COC) gained the momentum in each set over Webb City (18-5, 4-3 COC), the Tigers never relinquished it.
Republic and Webb City traded points in the opening set until a sideout kill from Alaina Norman followed by a four-point service run from Brooklyn Claxton that featured a pair of aces gave the Tigers a 14-10 advantage. Holding a 17-13 lead on a kill from Rilynn Finley, the Tigers scored the next five points—thanks to three Finley kills—to lead 22-13 before finishing off the set soon after.
An early six-point service run from Republic’s Reese Frey, with Addison Fanning earning three kills, gave the Tigers a 10-5 lead in the second set. Webb City used a three-point service run from Mia Lenker that featured an ace and a block from Aubree Lassiter and another three-point run from Kirra Long later in the set put Webb City on top 16-15, with the Cardinals ultimately taking a 20-17 advantage on a kill from Jaeli Rutledge. Republic scored eight of the next nine points to come all the way back for the 25-21 win. Finley added four kills in that span.
Webb City tied the third set at 5-5 off a kill from Makayla Mayes before Republic responded by going on a 14-4 run to hold a 20-9 lead that proved to be too great for Webb City to rally. Finley had two kills, Norman had two kills and Fanning had two kills for the Tigers.
Rutledge led the Cardinals with 12 kills, while Lassiter and Mayes added four kills apiece.
Savannah Crane handed out 17 assists and Sophia Crane recorded a team-high 13 digs. Avery Gardner added eight digs and Jadyn Catterson had six digs.
Webb City takes part in the Lori Endicott Volleyball Tournament hosted by Willard over the weekend.
CARL JUNCTION 3, BRANSON 0
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction dominated on Senior Night to beat Central Ozark Conference foe Branson 25-18, 25-17 and 25-21 on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs honored seniors Acadia Badgley, Sara Buchele, Miya Carnes, Aubreigh Fowler, Kylie Scott and Abigail Wilson with Senior Night ceremonies.
Buchele had six digs and three aces, while Scott finished with 14 kills and 10 digs. Carnes closed with 35 assists and 13 digs, with Wilson finishing with 13 digs and two aces. Karissa Chase had 17 kills.
Carl Junction takes part in the Lebanon Pinkfest Tournament over the weekend.
THOMAS JEFFERSON 3, VERONA 0
The Thomas Jefferson Cavaliers earned a 25-12, 25-15, 25-14 victory over Verona on Thursday night.
The Cavaliers are now 20-6 overall and 5-0 in conference action.
Lannah Grigg had six kills and four aces for the Cavaliers, while Gabbi Hiebert recorded 10 digs, nine kills and seven blocks.
Also for the Cavaliers, Maci Shifferd contributed four kills and five digs, Mary Nguyen had 19 assists and seven digs and Maggie Sutton and Nayab Rehman recorded 11 digs apiece.
Thomas Jefferson is at Liberal on Monday.
COLLEGE HEIGHTS 3, MCAULEY 0
College Heights earned a clean sweep of area and Ozark 7 Conference rival McAuley 25-16, 25-23 and 25-12 on Thursday.
The Cougars improve to 12-9-3, while the Warriors fall to 8-16-5.
Maddy Colin led CHC with 24 assists, eight kills and 12 digs. Bailey Peeples led the Cougars in kills with 10, while Toryn Fink and Caroline Satterlee had five kills. Lilly Plassman had 28 digs and four aces in service, while Allie Stout had 17 digs and two aces. Katie Moss had 14 digs.
College Heights hosts Diamond on Monday.
McAuley is at Exeter on Tuesday.
SENECA 3, MONETT 0
SENECA, Mo. — Seneca earned its fourth win of the season with a 25-19, 25-15 and 25-15 win over Monett on Thursday.
With the win, the Indians improve to 4-11-2.
Anna Adkins had 31 assists and five aces in service, while Jera Jameson had 14 kills and a block. Ella Graham finished with 13 kills, while Valencia Araujo added 13 digs. Maddy Hembree had three aces and nine kills.
Seneca takes part in the El Dorado tournament on Saturday and hosts Lamar on Tuesday.
WILLARD 3, JOPLIN 2
Despite a solid effort, Joplin suffered a five-set loss to Willard on Thursday in Central Ozark Conference action inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
The Tigers defeated the Eagles 21-25, 25-16, 17-25, 25-14, 15-9.
Bailey Owens led Joplin with 25 kills, 13 digs and five blocks, while Raelin Calderon added 13 kills and Janiah Vaughn had six kills and six digs.
Also for the Eagles, Adalynn Noirfalise compiled 35 assists, 10 digs, three aces and three kills, while Phia Vogel contributed seven digs and Aiyana Kroll had a team-high six blocks.
Joplin hosts Pittsburg (Kansas) on Monday in the home finale.
TUESDAY’S LATE RESULT
CARTHAGE 3, BRANSON 1
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage defeated Branson 22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 on Tuesday night in Central Ozark Conference action.
Jaidyn Brunnert contributed 20 assists, 10 digs and eight kills, while Sadie Comer had 17 assists and 16 digs and Riann Schwartz had 22 digs.
Also for Tigers, Millie Templeman had nine kills, Peyton Ray added seven kills, Ava Bourgault had 13 digs and seven kills and Ella Schwartz had nine digs and four aces.
Also of note, the Carthage volleyball program raised $15,000 for Hope 4 You, a local foundation that helps women in their fight against breast cancer.
A number of area golfers advanced to their respective state tournaments with their performances on Thursday at district tournaments.
CLASS 4 DISTRICT 3
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Joplin and Carthage each had a pair of individual state qualifiers at Thursday’s Class 4 District 3 girls golf tournament at the Bill and Payne Stewart Golf Course.
At the district tournament, the top two teams and the top 13 individuals not on the qualifying teams advance to the state tournament.
Carthage’s Addison Foust tied for fifth place with a 7-over-par 78 and teammate Shay Gaddis tied for seventh with a 79.
Joplin’s Drew Yockey and Scarlett Satterlee both advanced, as Yockey finished 12th with an 85 and Satterlee tied for 15th with a 90.
Joplin’s Kenna Haley tied for 27th with a 96. The final individual qualifiers carded 91.
The top two teams were Springfield Catholic (335) and Raymore-Peculiar (342). Joplin finished fifth with a 375 and Carthage was ninth with a 402.
Raymore-Peculiar’s Adeline Swan was the medalist with a 3-under-par 68.
The Class 4 state golf tournament will be held Oct. 16-17 at Silo Ridge Country Club in Bolivar.
CLASS 3 DISTRICT 3
MARSHFIELD, Mo. — Nevada’s Emree Cameron captured the Class 3 District 3 individual championship by shooting a 2-under-par 68 at Whispering Oaks Golf Course.
Marshfield’s Marlene Edgeman was the runner-up with a 1-under 69.
In addition to Cameron, four other local players advanced, two from Carl Junction and one from Webb City.
Carl Junction’s Anna Burch finished 12th overall with a 90, Webb City’s Avry Hodson placed 16th with a 98, Carl Junction’s Olivia Teeter was 17th with a 99 and Nevada’s Paige Hertzberg was the 13th and final individual qualifier, finishing 19th with a 101.
Carl Junction’s Addison Teeter just missed advancing after finishing three strokes behind Hertzberg (104).
The qualifying teams were Rolla (368) and Branson (397).
Carl Junction and Camdenton tied for third with identical team scores of 402.
The Class 3 state tournament will be held Oct. 16-17 at Crown Pointe Golf Club in Farmington.
CLASS 2 DISTRICT 3
Due to recent rain in the area, the Class 2 District 3 golf tournament has been moved to Monday at the Cassville Golf Club.
Seneca, Cassville, East Newton, Lamar, Monett and Mount Vernon will be among the teams competing.
Joplin scored a pair of runs in the first inning and three more in the second to build an insurmountable five-run lead in a win over Waynesville on Thursday.
The victory was the final regular season contest for the Eagles, who finished with a 15-13 record.
Caelyn Bobski earned the complete-game win after pitching seven shutout innings and allowing four hits, walking five and striking out six.
Emma Ray took the loss after allowing five runs on nine hits, a walk and six strikeouts in six innings.
Joplin’s two-run first was fueled by a leadoff single by Bailey Ledford in front of a two-run home run from Abby Lowery.
Lowery singled home Ledford again in the second inning to highlight the scoring in the frame. Jadyn Pankow added an RBI on a ground out.
Lowery finished with two hits, three RBI and two runs scored, while Ledford scored twice on two hits. Libby Munn also had two hits, while Maria Loum had a hit and scored a run.
Joplin hosts the Class 5 District 7 Tournament as the fourth seed and matches up with fifth-seeded Carthage at 7 p.m. on Oct. 12.
NEVADA 16, CARL JUNCTION 0 (4 INNINGS)
NEVADA, Mo. — Nevada hung six runs up in the first inning and added crooked numbers in every frame after on the way to a 16-0 win over the Bulldogs on Wednesday.
The Tigers added to their six-run lead with four runs in the second, two in the third and four more in the fourth to finish off the run-rule win.
Peyton Eaton earned the win after pitching four scoreless innings, scattering five hits and striking out three for Nevada.
Hannah Cole took the loss after allowing 10 runs on nine hits and two walks in two innings.
Eaton hit two home runs and totaled five RBI in two runs scored at the plate. Kaleiah Johnson doubled and homered twice on the way to a game-high seven RBI and two runs scored. Ella Heatherman also doubled and homered for the Tigers, who are now 24-7.
Madi Olds and Kiley Spencer both doubled for Carl Junction.
The Joplin High School boys swim team won its home invite on Thursday at Missouri Southern.
The Eagles finished with 95 points, while Nevada (36) and Parkview (16) rounded out the team standings.
Joplin won all but two events.
Winning individual events for the Eagles were Jackson Mordica (200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke), Parker Hinman (200 IM, 100 free), Ian Vermillion (100 butterfly, 100 backstroke), Isaiah Thom (50 free) and Jordan Goins (400 free).
Joplin’s 200 freestyle relay team of Thom, Jackson Mordica, Owen Mordica and Hinman took first in 1:56.
The Eagles were second in two relays, the 200 medley and the 400 freestyle.
Nevada’s 200 medley relay team of Kolton Evans, Trace Gould, Cooper Pennington and Jacob Sohm took first place with a time of 2:05.
The Tigers won the 400 freestyle relay in 4:39, with Gould, Jayden Thankamani, Pennington and Evans competing.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — The home finale went well for the Webb City Cardinals.
A five-run second inning, timely hitting and stellar pitching propelled Webb City past Monett 8-2 on Thursday afternoon in a non-conference prep softball clash.
“It was a great way to end our regular season schedule at home,” Cardinals coach Shauna Friend said. “We’ve got one more game left in the regular season on Monday at Kickapoo, and it was good to see us come out and play good softball today. I’m proud.”
It was Webb City’s final home game on the schedule. However, if the Cardinals capture a district title, there’s a chance they would host a quarterfinal contest.
The Cardinals have won 12 of their last 15 games. And with the postseason arriving next week, Coach Friend noted she’s been pleased with how her squad has been playing.
“I think we’re right where we want to be,” Friend said. “We were a little up and down early in the season, but we got things going in the right direction. I like that our offense has come alive in the past few games. We need to keep that going. Our pitching was good today. I think everything is falling into place for us.”
Webb City hiked its record to 24-10, while Monett fell to 17-9.
GAME RECAP
Monett took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on Jenna Herald’s sacrifice fly to left field, but the Cardinals plated five runs in the game-changing second frame.
During the big inning, Lily Hall hit an RBI triple to right, Rilley Hanes delivered a run-scoring single into right, Abby Sargent contributed an RBI single into left and the Cubs were unable to haul in Dawsyn Decker’s fly ball in shallow left field, allowing the hosts to take a 5-1 advantage.
“That five-run inning was big and that run support helped our pitchers settle in,” Friend said.
Next, Hall smacked a two-run home run to right in the third, giving the Cardinals a 7-1 advantage.
The Cubs got a run back in the fourth after doubles from both Herald and Kaehler Swearingen, but Webb City added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when Sargent walked and later came home on Alex Maturino’s RBI grounder.
Neither team scored after the fourth inning.
The Cardinals scored their eight runs on nine hits. A sophomore second baseman, Hall went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Sargent and Jensyn Pickett each scored two runs.
Two Webb City hurlers limited the Cubs to three hits.
Sophomore Makenzie Wynn earned the pitching victory after holding the Cubs to two runs on three hits and three walks in four innings.
Freshman Addie Burns tossed three scoreless innings in relief. She didn’t allow a hit, only two walks.
“Our two pitchers both did a great job today,” Friend said.
Monett’s Kilee Wilson took the loss after surrendering seven earned runs on nine hits and two walks in six innings.
The Cubs are the No. 1 seed for the Class 3 District 6 tournament.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Webb City will conclude the regular season at Kickapoo on Monday. Friend said the game was added to the schedule so the team wouldn’t have such a long layoff before beginning the district tournament.
Again, the postseason arrives next week.
Second-seeded Webb City will meet seventh-seeded Raytown at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12 in a quarterfinal contest of the Class 4 District 7 tournament at Nevada’s Bushwhacker Field. The host Tigers are the top seed, with Belton seeded third and McDonald County fourth.
“It’s definitely a tough district,” Friend said. “It will take some really good softball to get out of that district for any team. There are a lot of solid teams in the district. But I think we’re ready.”
