Your online home for Joplin area sports coverage.

GIRLS SWIMMING: Carthage wins Joplin invite; host Eagles take 2nd

 

Led by eight event wins, Carthage won the Joplin Invitational girls swim meet on Tuesday.

The Tigers compiled 291 points and the host Eagles finished second with 255 points.

Hillcrest, Nevada, Thomas Jefferson and Greenwood rounded out the team standings.

 

CARTHAGE HIGHLIGHTS

Carthage won the 200 medley relay in 2:16, with Aubree Santillan, Olivia Manning, Caelyn Samuelson and Kamryn Dininger competing.

Carthage’s 200 freestyle relay team of Santillan, Dininger, Samuelson and Manning took first in 2:04.

Dininger, Santillan and Manning took first in two individual events apiece.

Dininger won the 50 freestyle with a time of 30.78 seconds and the 100 freestyle in 1:08.

Santillan and Samuelson finished first and second in the 200 freestyle with their times of 2:34 and 2:53, respectively. Santillan also took first in the 100 backstroke in 1:15.

Manning won the 200 IM in 2:44 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:25. 

Samuelson and Anne Kennedy took second and third in the 100 butterfly. 

Kennedy was fourth in the 100 backstroke and Rylee Wallace placed fifth in the 400 free.

The Tigers were fourth in the 400 freestyle relay, with Kennedy, Wallace, Jocelyn Yost and Alexis Fosdick competing.

 

JOPLIN HIGHLIGHTS

Joplin’s Kiki Thom won the 100 butterfly in 1:20 and she was the runner-up in the 50 freestyle with a time of 30.79 seconds.

Gwen Zamanzadeh took first in the 400 freestyle with a time of 6:42. She also placed third in the 200 freestyle.

Emma Marshall was the runner-up in the 400 freestyle (7:02). 

Joplin’s 400 freestyle relay team of Thom, Izzy Zamanzadeh, Gwen Zamanzadeh and Brylea Smith finished second in 5:27.

The Eagles placed third in the 200 medley relay, as Izzy Zamanzadeh, Smith, Thom and Gwen Zamanzadeh recorded a time of 2:35.

Izzy Zamanzadeh placed third in the 100 backstroke and Smith took fourth in the 100 butterfly.

Joplin was fifth in the 200 free relay, with Emma Taylor, Evelyn Watson, Kylea Thullesen and Kennedy Kelley competing.

 

THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGHLIGHTS

Thomas Jefferson’s Kat Pruitt and Natalie Carroll finished second and third, respectively, in the 200 IM. Pruitt recorded a time of 2:44 and Carroll finished in 2:46.

The Cavaliers finished fourth in the 200 freestyle relay, with Pruitt, Sophia Stinnett, Emalee Ro and Carroll competing.

Ro was sixth in the 50 freestyle.

 

NEVADA HIGHLIGHTS

Nevada’s 400 freestyle relay team of Payton Bales, Chloe Morris, Avery Ogle and Mary Kate Russell took first in 5:03.

The Tigers finished second in the 200 medley relay, as Bales, Ogle, Russell and Morris recorded a time of 2:34. 

Nevada was also second in the 200 freestyle relay, with Bales, Morris, Ogle and Russell competing.

Maddie Jeffries finished fourth in the 50 free and Miah Edmunds was fourth in the 100 freestyle.

 

JOPLIN INVITATIONAL

Final team standings: Carthage 291, Joplin 255, Hillcrest 154, Nevada 144, Thomas Jefferson 93, Greenwood 71.

 

The Carthage High School girls swim team won the Joplin Invitational on Tuesday. Courtesy photo.

LADY MUSTANG CLASSIC: McDonald County will meet Farmington in title game

ANDERSON, Mo. — Overcoming a double-digit deficit, the McDonald County girls basketball team defeated Bentonville West 51-50 in overtime in a semifinal contest of the Lady Mustang Classic on Tuesday night.

With the win, the host Mustangs will meet Farmington at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in the tourney’s championship game.

Farmington defeated Springdale 54-42 in the other semifinal.

On Tuesday night, McDonald County trailed 21-10 at the end of the first quarter. 

But the Mustangs won the second period 17-5 to take a 27-26 lead at halftime.

The hosts had to come from behind again, as Bentonville West held a 38-33 advantage at the end of the third quarter.

The game was tied at 46 at the end of regulation before the Mustangs outscored the Wolverines 5-4 in the extra session.

Dakota O’Brien scored 15 points to lead Mac County (7-1), while Carlie Martin added eight points, Carlee Cooper and Jamie Washam had seven points apiece and Roslynn Huston scored six.

Hallie Ford scored 17 points to lead Bentonville West.

In Wednesday’s other games, Webb City meets Bentonville West at 3:30 for fifth place and Springdale and Providence Academy will clash in the third-place game at 5 p.m.

In the opener of the Mustang Classic, McDonald County’s boys will take on RUSH at 6:30 ahead of the girls title game.

 

LADY MUSTANG CLASSIC

Tuesday’s scores

Webb City 46, Carl Junction 32

Farmington 54, Springdale 42

McDonald County 51, Bentonville West 50 (OT)

 

BOYS HOOPS ROUNDUP: Neosho wins home opener; McAuley tops Exeter; Carthage falls to talented Central; Webb City, TJ suffer losses

NEOSHO BOYS 65, MONETT 51

NEOSHO, Mo. — Utilizing a balanced attack, the Neosho High School boys basketball team improved to 3-2 on the season by beating the Monett Cubs 65-51 on Tuesday in the home opener.

Neosho led 19-16 at the end of the close first quarter, and the Wildcats extended their lead to 33-25 by halftime. 

Neosho took a 48-39 advantage into the final frame before outscoring the Cubs 17-12 in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats had four players score in double figures.

Senior Collier Hendricks and sophomore Kaiden Asberry scored 13 points apiece to lead Neosho. Asberry hit four 3-pointers and Hendricks made two. 

Two others reached double figures for the Wildcats, as junior Kanten Smith scored 11 points and classmate Ty Harris added 10. Senior Colton Southern added eight points.

Three players scored in double figures for the Cubs, as Ian Waterman had 15, Evan Witt scored 12 and Landyn Brandt added 11.

Neosho is at Seneca on Friday. 

Monett (1-5) is at Hollister on Friday.

 

MCAULEY BOYS 56, EXETER 44

EXETER, Mo. — McAuley held Exeter to single-digit scoring over the first three quarters on the way to building an insurmountable cushion en route to the win.

The Warriors led 12-7 after the first quarter before taking a 27-17 lead into the intermission. McAuley outscored Exeter 17-8 in the third quarter and paced the way down the stretch. 

McAuley had two players score in double figures.

Michael Parrigon had 20 points to lead the Warriors in scoring, while Bradley Wagner finished with 12 points.

Connor Taffner had nine points on three 3-pointers in the win.

McAuley hosts Northeast Vernon County on Friday.

 

SPRINGFIELD CENTRAL BOYS 74, CARTHAGE 55

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage’s boys basketball team suffered a non-conference loss to state-ranked Springfield Central on Tuesday night. 

Ranked sixth in Class 6 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, Central led 22-15 by the end of the first quarter.

The Bulldogs hit three treys early in the second quarter during a 12-2 run that extended their lead to 34-17.

Overall, Central outscored Carthage 17-11 in the second quarter for a 39-26 halftime advantage.

The Bulldogs held a 60-43 lead by the end of the third period. 

The fourth quarter was nearly even, 14-12 in favor of the visitors.  

Carthage was led by senior guard Justin Ray’s 22 points. Ray hit four 3-pointers. 

Carthage junior Taylor Stevens-Diggs added 10 points, while junior Trent Yates scored eight and junior Dylan Pugh had seven. 

Tyrique Brooks scored 22 points to lead Central, while Keion Epps added 19. 

Carthage (3-1) hosts Class 3 No. 7 Sparta (6-0) on Friday night.

 

ROGERS HERITAGE BOYS 66, WEBB CITY 43

ROGERS, Ark. — Webb City’s boys suffered a non-conference road setback on Tuesday. 

The game was deadlocked at 28 at halftime, but Heritage outscored the visitors 38-15 in the second half. 

The hosts won the third quarter 19-7 and the fourth period 19-8.

Barron Duda scored 13 points to lead the Cardinals, while Holton Keith added nine and Eli Pace and Joel Hendrix contributed six points apiece.

Ben Manuel scored a game-high 22 points for Heritage and Bryson Jackson added 19.

Webb City (3-2) hosts Cassville on Friday night.

 

JASPER BOYS 48, THOMAS JEFFERSON 18

Jasper held a three-point lead after the first quarter before outscoring Thomas Jefferson 40-13 the rest of the way en route to the win.

The Cavaliers hold a 2-7 record, while Jasper improves to 4-3 following the win.

Jack Twiss, who knocked down two 3-pointers, had 10 points to lead Thomas Jefferson in scoring. Kohl Thurman added four, while Jackson Radius had three points and Spencer Long with one.

Gage Hall (14) and Wyatt Durman (10) each scored in double figures to lead Jasper in the books. 

Thomas Jefferson is at Pierce City on Jan. 5.

BOYS HOOPS: Carl Junction rallies back from early hole to beat Seneca in double OT

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction spent nearly the entire game fighting back from an early deficit before tying the contest late and going on to win 73-68 in double overtime against Seneca on Tuesday.

The Indians (2-3) used a strong spurt at the end of the first quarter to gain the momentum before pushing the lead to double digits early in the second period. The Bulldogs (4-2) made several runs at the lead before finally clawing back to tie the game late in regulation to force overtime. While one extra period wasn’t enough to decide the game, Carl Junction took the momentum in the second overtime period and never gave it up en route to the win.

“I thought our kids fought really hard,” Carl Junction coach Justin Pock said. “There were times where I didn’t think we were as crisp as we needed to be, especially early on. It took us a while to get out of the gates. They kept chipping away and kept fighting, and we’ve seen over the last two ball games that our team will fight no matter what the score is. … When it came together, it was all about heart and hustle.”

A SECOND HELPING OF OVERTIME

After both teams combined for two free throws and two scores from the floor in the first OT, Carl Junction’s Cooper Vediz and Seneca’s Morgan Vaughn traded makes out of the break before Wyatt McAfee drove baseline for a score and a 66-64 advantage in favor of the Bulldogs with 2:45 left.

After a pair of misses at the stripe for Seneca, Carl Junction pushed the lead to 67-64 with 1:44 on the clock after a 1-for-2 showing at the foul line from Quin Kennedy. 

Seneca got a corner 3-ball with 50 seconds left from Zane Grotjohn to tie the game at 67-all before Vediz pushed CJ back in front 69-67 with a bucket. 

Seneca trimmed the deficit to 69-68 after making one of two free throws with 27 seconds left before CJ extended the lead back to three, 71-68, on two charities by Jett Hocut.

The Bulldogs iced the game after an empty possession by the Indians in the waning seconds, which led to a rebound from Aidan Beachner, an outlet pass to Vediz, and a fast-break score in the closing seconds to clinch the win.

“I thought we had some good rebounds,” Pock said when asked what stood out in that second overtime. “Quin (Kennedy) had a really good rebound and I thought (Aidan) Beachner did a great job with that last rebound to seal it. We had some guys attack, and then Cooper (Vediz) and Jett (Hocut) hit some big free throws for us.”

HOW THEY GOT THERE

Seneca used the first surge of the game to take the momentum, closing the first quarter on a 9-2 run.

With Seneca leading 10-8 near the four-minute mark, a bucket inside from Morgan Vaughn off the assist from Jace Schulte started the run before Gavyn Hoover added a bucket on the drive. Vediz pulled up from midrange for a jumper before Schulte knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Gabe Sikes added a transition basket in press break with 15 seconds left to send Seneca into the second period holding a 19-10 advantage. 

Sikes added another bucket inside at the start of the second period to push the Indians’ advantage to double digits for the first time.

Carl Junction fought back to cut the deficit to one thanks to a 10-0 run near the midway point, with Brody Pant earning a steal and score on the break to kick things off before adding a three-point play after drawing a foul and converting the ensuing and-1 free throw. Jett Mills followed with a second-chance score inside and a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut the score to 23-22 with 3:16 left to play in the first half.

“Seneca is a good team, but we just had to get some things going,” Pock said of his team’s first surge to climb back into the game. “We just needed to see some shots fall and pick up our defense a little bit.”

Seneca had an answer to close the first half, scoring 11 of the next 13 points thanks to eight points from Grotjohn—which included a pair of NBA-range 3-pointers from the top of the key and the wing—to push the lead back up to 34-24 with less than 40 seconds to play in the second period.

Carl Junction used a score on a baseline drive from Deacon Endicott and a buzzer-beating 3-ball from Vediz at the volleyball line to end the first half trailing 34-29.

Carl Junction spent the second half trying to regain the lead, meandering around a two-possession deficit until McAfee scored on a drive with 1:20 left in regulation and Pant added two free throws with 40 seconds left to tie the game at 59-59, ultimately sending it to the first overtime.

“I think when we step on the floor, we always have a belief we are going to win,” Pock said of his team’s resiliency in the second half. “They don’t always know how it’s going to happen, but the guys continue to do what they need to do. They fought hard every possession until we made some shots and got some good things going.”

SCORING LEADERS

Vediz scored 22 to lead Carl Junction in scoring. Endicott and Pant had 13 each, while Kennedy closed with 11. McAfee finished with eight.  

Vaughn finished with 17 points to lead Seneca in scoring, while Grotjohn had 15, including three 3-pointers. Hoover had 12—10 in the second half. 

UP NEXT

Carl Junction takes part in the Mustang Classic on Thursday, hosted by McDonald County.

Seneca hosts Neosho on Friday.

WRESTLING: Carthage boys upend Joplin; Eagles win girls dual

 

Carthage’s boys wrestling team earned a 44-27 dual victory over Joplin on Tuesday night.

At 106 pounds, Carthage’s Tanner Putt won by fall over Lucas Allen and Caden Groom pinned Joplin’s Gabriel Kabutha at 113.

Carthage’s Uziel Teo won by fall over Jacob Porter at 120 and teammate Wyatt Hole pinned Joplin’s Dylan Houston at 126.

Joplin’s Andrew Burke won by fall over Mason Pugh at 132 pounds, but Carthage’s Bradyn Tate pinned Jacob Close at 138.

At 144, Joplin’s Toryn Jones earned a 7-6 decision over Dylan Huntley, but Carthage’s Israel Perez defeated Ben Hedrick 8-5 at 150. 

Joplin’s Johnathon Burke won by fall over Keagon McCoy at 157, while Carthage’s Lenny Escobar earned a technical fall, 17-2, over James Clemens at 165.

At 175, Joplin’s Andrew Esterline earned an 8-4 decision over Joshua Hill and Ethan Bentz defeated Carthage’s Alexander Salas-Marquez 4-2 at 190.

Carthage’s David Recinos pinned Johnny Williams at 215 and Joplin’s Josiah Hazelwood won by forfeit at 285.

 

JOPLIN GIRLS 36, CARTHAGE 24

In the girls dual, Joplin defeated Carthage 36-24. 

At 135 pounds, Carthage’s Irish Lee won by fall over Elizabeth Gibson.

At 140, Joplin’s Ericka Washom won by fall over Arianna Medrano.

Carthage won by forfeit at 100, 115 and 125. 

Joplin won by forfeit at 130, 145, 155, 170 and 235. 

Both teams were open at 105, 110, 120 and 190.

LADY MUSTANG CLASSIC: First half surge leads Webb City past Carl Junction

ANDERSON, Mo. — Webb City scored the final 10 points of the first half and never trailed after intermission on the way to a 46-32 win over Carl Junction on Tuesday in a consolation bracket contest of the 2023 Lady Mustang Classic at McDonald County High School. 

Up nine at the break, Webb City outscored Carl Junction 18-13 in the second half.

Carl Junction led 13-11 at the end of the first quarter, with junior forward Dezi Williams scoring 10 points in the opening frame.

The Bulldogs led 19-18 after two straight hoops from senior forward Kylie Scott, but the Oral Roberts signee picked up her third foul and had to go to the bench. 

Webb City closed the first half on a game-changing 10-0 run, with two buckets from Addie Burns and one apiece from Malorie Stanley, Jenna Schulz and Adalyn Maxwell. 

With the late surge, the Cardinals held a 28-19 halftime advantage.

Scott scored the first basket of the second half, but then picked up her fourth foul of the contest on an offensive foul call.

The Cardinals outscored the Bulldogs 9-5 in the low-scoring third quarter for a 37-24 lead.

The Bulldogs scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, but Scott fouled out with just over six minutes left on another charge call on a drive through the lane.

Carl Junction pulled within seven with three minutes left after a pair of buckets inside from Williams, but Webb City scored the final eight points of the game for the final margin.

Eight players scored for Webb City’s balanced attack, as Stanley and Burns recorded 11 points apiece and Abby Sargent added nine. 

Williams scored 14 points to lead the Bulldogs, while Scott added 12 points in limited minutes. 

Webb City (2-5) will play Bentonville West in the tourney’s fifth place game at 3:30 on Wednesday. 

Carl Junction (4-4) will return to action next Tuesday at home against McDonald County.