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SECTIONAL TRACK & FIELD: College Heights girls advance to state in Class 3; Lamar boys win team title

WEST PLAINS, Mo. — The College Heights Christian girls track team advanced to state in three events at Saturday’s Class 3 Sectional 3 meet at West Plains High School.

The top four finishers in each event advanced to next weekend’s state meet in Jefferson City.

College Heights Christian’s 4×400-meter relay team of Jesalin Bever, Jayli Johnson, Allie Stout and Lauren Ukena finished third in 4:15.

The CHC 4×200 relay team of Johnson, Stout, Ukena and Bever finished fourth with a time of 1:48.

A senior, Johnson finished fourth in the 400 with a time of 1:01.

In other events, Bever finished seventh in the 100 hurdles and Ukena was eighth in the 200. 

The CHC girls finished eighth in the 4×100 relay, with Johnson, Stout, Ukena and Addison Lawrence competing.

 

LAMAR BOYS WIN TEAM TITLE

Lamar’s boys won the team title with 109 points. East Newton was second with 72.5, while Fair Grove was third with 69 and Owensville was fourth with 67.

Lamar’s boys won the 4×100, took second in the 4×800 and finished third in both the 4×200 and 4×400 relays.

Lamar’s Tyson Williams won the discus (149-9) and took second in the shot put (48-4.25).

Pierce Heins was the runner-up in the 400 and Jase Dillon was second in the high jump.

Also for the Tigers, Trace Wooldridge was third in the shot put, Ian Ngugi finished third in both the 100 and 200, Carson Sturgell took third in the pole vault, Cameron Sturgell was third in the javelin, Terrill Davis finished third in the long jump and Blaine Breshears was fourth in the 400.

 

OTHER CLASS 3 HIGHLIGHTS

East Newton’s Chase Sorrell won the 800 in 1:58 and took first in the 1600 with a time of 4:31. A junior, Sorrell was fourth in the 3200.

East Newton’s Michael Crowe won the high jump (6-1.25), Eden Enlow took first in the javelin (153-3) and Dominic Shaw won the shot put (48-9.75) and took second in the discus (148-11).

For the Cassville boys, Matteo Lumetta took third in the 3200, Caleb Leach finished fourth in the 800, Ashton Wheeler was fourth in the long jump and Charles Elliott took fourth in the 300 hurdles. Cassville won the boys 4×800 relay.

Mount Vernon’s Jacob Erpelding was fourth in the 110 hurdles and Aurora’s Daunte Floyd finished third in the triple jump.

On the girls side, Seneca’s Isabella Renfro won the shot put with a toss of 39-2.75.

Lamar’s Kiersten Potter won the 3200 in 11:33 and took second in the 1600 in 5:20, while Elise Ferris won the long jump (16-10) and Audra Lloyd finished third in the discus.

Mount Vernon’s Camryn Cornell was third in the high jump, Nina Cowherd placed fourth in the 100 and Kadence Krempges took fourth in the pole vault. Mount Vernon’s girls finished third in two relays, the 4×100 and the 4×200.

Cassville’s Jolie Evans finished third in the 800 and fourth in the 3200, while teammate Aaliyah Franklin took fourth in the discus.

Aurora’s Makena Hall won the 100 hurdles and the pole vault and took third in the long jump, while teammate Maisie Phillips was fourth in the 100 hurdles.

East Newton’s Brooke White finished third in the shot put.

Seneca’s Cambry Long just missed qualifying in the 400 after finishing fifth.

DISTRICT HOOPS: Three-point shooting, late free throws lead Aurora past Seneca in title game

MONETT, Mo. — The Aurora Lady Houns earned their first district title in girls basketball since 2012 with a 48-38 win against the Seneca Indians in the Class 4 District 12 championship game on Saturday evening at E.E. Camp Gymnasium.

Aurora lived and nearly died by the 3-point shot with five trifectas in the second quarter turning a 15-8 deficit after one quarter into a 25-22 halftime lead before cooling off dramatically in the second half.

Fortunately for Aurora, both teams endured a scoring drought for a large portion of the third and the Houns entered the fourth quarter leading 34-28.

Kylee Cole and Makena Hall made 3-pointers early in the fourth to give Aurora a 40-33 lead.

Aurora’s shooting touch from the stripe came in handy in the fourth period, as they made eight of their nine free throw attempts down the stretch to deliver a knockout blow to the Indians.

Seneca’s outstanding sophomore guard Hazley Grotjohn scored almost seemingly at will in the first half, and she had 13 of the Indians’ 15 points in the first half and five of their seven in the second half to add up to 18 of Seneca’s first 22 points.

Grotjohn missed her second free throw right before halftime, but her putback before the buzzer gave Seneca the last three points of the first half after top-seeded Aurora scored 17 of the first 21 points of the second quarter.

Grotjohn started out the second half much like she had during the first with two baskets right out of the gate that had Seneca down one at 25-24 and 27-26.

Grotjohn would only make one more field goal the rest of the way, however, and finished her night with a game-high 24 points.

Seneca senior Parker Long finished her final high school game with seven points.

Grotjohn and Long combined for all 28 Seneca points after three quarters.

The Indians finish an injury-plagued season 12-16 overall and they only lose two seniors in Long and Daylin McKnight.

Cole led Aurora with 16 points, Ellie Creasey finished with 12 points, Jaelyn Ernest added 10 points, Hall had six points, and Payden Blevins scored four points.

Aurora, who defeated Seneca 63-24 at home back in December, won a proverbial dogfight Saturday to improve to 20-8 and win a district title for the first time in more than a decade.

The Houns could match their most wins in a season since 2009 when they play District 11 champion Ava (24-4) in the Class 4 sectionals on Monday at Gibson Arena on the campus of Missouri S&T in Rolla.

Ava defeated Rogersville 47-40 for a district title on Saturday and the Bears have only lost once in the 2023 calendar year with their first three losses this season in December against Class 5 West Plains (57-44) and Class 6 schools Nixa (53-33) and Ozark (42-32).

The Bears are ranked eighth in Class 4 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association.

The Bears and the Houns have no previous meetings listed on the MSHSAA website.

BASEBALL: Aurora suffers season-ending setback to Summit Christian

 

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — The Aurora Houn’ Dawgs saw their stellar season come to an end in the sectional round of the Class 4 state tournament.

Isaac Truesdale delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Summit Christian to a 4-3 win over Aurora on Wednesday. 

Aurora concludes the season with a record of 21-6. The Houn’ Dawgs had won 13 straight games before Wednesday’s sectional setback. 

Summit Christian (23-2) will meet Rogersville (24-7) in the quarterfinals on Thursday. 

The Eagles had the bases loaded with no outs in the second, but Aurora starting pitcher Trey Mulholland maneuvered out of trouble by striking out two and inducing an inning-ending groundout.

The Houn’ Dawgs plated three runs in the third inning. 

Ryan Clark and Jaesik Friggle scored on back-to-back Summit Christian errors before Mulholland contributed a run-scoring single to right, with Aaron Fisher scoring. 

The Eagles tied it up in the bottom of the fifth, as Fischer Ethridge delivered a two-run single and later scored from third on a passed ball. 

Summit Christian pushed across the winning run in the seventh. With two outs, Morgan Wilkins was hit by a pitch and Eli Guffey walked. Truesdale then singled to center. 

Garrett Ferguson was the winning pitcher. He gave up three runs, none earned, on two hits and struck out 13. 

Mulholland went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out eight. Friggle took the loss after allowing a run in the seventh. 

Aurora’s seniors are Mulholland, Fisher, Friggle, Clark and Brendon Hall. 

 

SECTIONAL TRACK: Local athletes advance to state meet; East Newton boys continue to shine

 

HOLLISTER, Mo. — A stellar season continues for the East Newton High School boys track and field squad. 

With 86 points, the Patriots topped the team standings at the Class 3 Sectional 3 meet at Hollister High School. 

Overall, athletes from East Newton, Seneca, Lamar, Cassville, Aurora and Mount Vernon earned state berths by finishing in the top-four of their respective events. 

The Class 3 state track meet will be held next weekend in Jefferson City. 

 

EAST NEWTON

The Patriots won the 4×800 relay in 8:28, with Kelton Sorrell, Mason Silva, Robert McFarland and Chase Sorrell competing. 

East Newton also won the 4×400 relay, as Gabe Bergen, Chase Sorrell, Michael Crowe and Kelton Sorrell recorded a time of 3:31. 

Kelton Sorrell took first in the 800, while Chase Sorrell placed second in the 1600. Chase and Kelton finished second and third, respectively, in the 3200. 

Bergen won the 300 hurdles and was third in the 110 hurdles. 

Also finishing third in their events for East Newton were Michael Crowe (high jump) and Dominic Shaw (discus).

For the East Newton girls, Alyssa Coffey placed fourth in the discus to advance. 

 

LAMAR 

Lamar’s boys won the 4×200-meter relay in 1:31, with Adam Kluhsman, Ian Ngugi, Thomas Gammon and Trace Willhite competing. 

The Tigers also won the 4×100 in 43.94 seconds, with Gammon, Ngugi, Kluhsman and Willhite running. Lamar’s boys were third in the 4×400. 

Willhite won the discus and was also third in the javelin. Blaine Breshears was the runner-up in the 800, Tyson Williams placed fourth in the discus and Terrill Davis was fourth in the long jump.

The Tigers finished third in the 4×800.

For the Lamar girls, Phajjia Gordon won the shot put and took third in the discus, while Kiersten Potter finished third in the 3200 and was fourth in the 1600.

Lamar’s Marcy Miller was second in the high jump and Elise Ferris placed fourth in the long jump. 

The Lamar girls qualified in the 4×200 relay by finishing fourth.

 

SENECA

For the Seneca girls, Katelyn Fyock placed third in the triple jump, Rylee Darnell finished third in the high jump and Isabella Renfro was third in the shot put. 

 

CASSVILLE

Cassville’s Marianne McCrackin, Annie Moore, Tori Mitchell and Jolie Evans won the 4×800 relay in 10:21. 

The team of Sharayah Seymour, Jolie Evans, Moore and Jadyn Williams-Reed took second in the 4×400. 

Moore won the pole vault, Riley Morris was the runner-up in the discus and Landry Parnell finished fourth in the javelin.  

On the boys side, Cassville’s Bradan Dickinson won the shot put and Caleb Leach was fourth in the 1600. 

The Wildcats were fourth in the 4×800 relay.

 

MOUNT VERNON

Mount Vernon’s Earl Trimble won the boys pole vault and Wyatt Cordray was fourth in the 110 hurdles.

Kadence Krempges tied for second in the girls pole vault to advance.

 

AURORA 

Aurora’s Makena Hall was the sectional champ in the girls 100 hurdles, while Maisie Phillips took third in the 300 hurdles. 

 

FULL RESULTS: MSHSAA Class 3 Sectional 3 2022 – Complete (Raw) (milesplit.com)

GIRLS HOOPS: Joplin girls end Seneca tourney with win; Aurora claims championship with victory over host Indians

SENECA, Mo. Joplin’s girls basketball team grinded out a hard-fought 43-33 win over Monett in the fifth-place game of the Seneca Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

Clinging to a two-point lead at intermission, the Eagles outscored the Cubs 23-15 in the second half.

It may not have always been pretty, but the Eagles were able to end the tournament on a positive note. 

“A win’s a win and we’ll take it,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. “In the second half, we played to our capabilities. I thought the girls did a better job of attacking in the second half and we did a much better job of moving our feet defensively. We were sluggish in the first half. It’s our third game in a row, but at the same time, we’re young so we should be able to handle that. Sometimes we have trouble being engaged from the get-go.”

The Eagles earned their seventh win of the season. 

Sophomore guard Brynn Driver led Joplin with 12 points, while junior guard Brooke Nice added 11.

Sophomore guard Isabella Yust contributed eight points, while junior forward Emma Floyd had six. Nice and Yust hit two 3-pointers apiece. 

Also for Joplin (7-12), freshman Bailey Ledford chipped in four points and senior Lily Pagan had two. 

Kim Parris scored nine points for the Cubs, while Natalie Turner had eight.

The game was deadlocked at 10 at the end of the first quarter. 

Monett led 18-14, but the Eagles scored six straight points to end the first half, as Nice recorded a hoop, Driver made one free throw before Yust buried a trey, giving Joplin a 20-18 halftime advantage. 

The Eagles were up one late in the third period when Pagan made one foul shot and Driver scored on a drive through the lane, extending Joplin’s lead to 31-27 heading into the fourth quarter. 

The Eagles would never relinquish their lead, as they outscored the Cubs 12-6 in the final frame. 

Driver, Nice and Yust made field goals to push the advantage to 39-31 with just under two minutes to play. 

Floyd noted his team played much better in the second half.  

“Defensively, in the first half we put them on the free-throw line too much,” Floyd said. “Offensively, we settled for the 3 too much. But the girls made the adjustments we needed to make in the second half.”

Joplin returns to Central Ozark Conference play at Ozark on Monday. 

 

AURORA 45, SENECA 36

A big second quarter propelled Aurora to the tourney championship. 

The Houn’ Dawgs outscored Seneca 19-3 in the second period and then held off the Indians late in the 10th annual event’s title game. 

Elizabeth Martin scored 27 points for Aurora. 

Aliya Grotjohn, a junior who recently surpassed 1,000 career points, scored 26 of Seneca’s 36 points. 

Makayla French and Grotjohn knocked down two treys apiece in the opening frame, and the Indians led 12-8.

But Aurora got going offensively in the second quarter while the Indians went cold from the field.

After the Houn’ Dawgs went on a 19-0 run, Grotjohn’s trey in the final minute of the first half accounted for Seneca’s only points of the frame and cut Aurora’s lead to 27-15 at the break.

Aurora led 32-17 when Grotjohn scored 11 straight points. Grotjohn’s sixth trey of the game trimmed Aurora’s lead to three, but the Houn’ Dawgs responded with seven straight points to seal the win. 

 

MUSTANGS TAKE THIRD

In the tournament’s third-place game, McDonald County defeated Purdy 40-22.

The Mustangs led 20-9 at intermission and 30-17 at the end of the third quarter en route to victory. 

Samara Smith scored 10 points for the Mustangs, while Carlee Cooper and Abby Wiseman added six points apiece.

Kinsley Mattingly scored six points for Purdy and Annabelle Bowman had five.