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BOYS GOLF: Webb City, Carl Junction finish 2nd, 3rd at Bird Dog; Satterlee wins individual title

Posted on by Jason Peake

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The host Webb City Cardinals earned second place in the team standings by virtue of winning a tiebreaker against conference and district rival Carl Junction and Joplin junior Harry Satterlee won top individual honors with his 2-under par 70 on Monday in the Bird Dog Invitational at the Briarbrook Golf Course.

Nixa claimed the top prize at 304, four strokes ahead of Webb City and Carl Junction eight days before these schools and several others will battle for the Central Ozark Conference championship at the same course with Carl Junction assuming host duties.

Nixa’s Jack Holden finished second at even-par 72 and Webb City’s Braxten Cahoon, Carl Junction’s Jack Spencer and Monett’s Jaxon Bailey each shot 2-over 74 to round out the top five individual finishers Monday.

“I am very, very happy with the outing today,” Webb City coach Jackson Boyer said. “Three guys in the 70s. That happened (April 17) at Carthage and we needed help from our four and our five. Actually, our five-hole came through (Monday) with a 77 and he’s done that in practice. He’s still fairly new to golf … Jackson Lucas made a statement. We’re still trying to find our top five for conference and district.”

“We played pretty good,” Carl Junction coach Ryan Jones said. “Any time you’re playing golf, you’re more worried about what you shoot as opposed to everybody else. I feel like our scores weren’t too bad today. Nixa is a really good golf team and you’re just going to have to catch them on the right day to be able to beat them. Today, they played good enough.”

Webb City’s Cooper Forth shot 76 to finish in the top 10, Lucas stepped up and finished in the top 10 as well behind his 77 on Monday, and Levi Lassiter and Jack Good shot 81 and 91, respectively, for the Cardinals on a day when truly every shot counted.

“Braxten Cahoon, our senior, he came out on his home course, and he had a pretty disappointing last few years at this tournament for his standards and he showed up today and helped the team,” Boyer said. “Of course, there’s Cooper Forth and Levi Lassiter. It came down to a tie with Carl Junction for second, so we took our number five score against their number five score. All five contributed today and it’s a big accomplishment.

“We had cool temperatures early. Greens are running smooth. This is the time of the year where there’s enough warm weather to let the grass catch up a little bit. I thought the wind was going to pick up (Monday), but it just never did. It was absolute perfect conditions for golf today, so guys came out and answered the call.”

Carl Junction’s Tommy Walker joined Spencer in the top 10 with his score of 77, Logan Lowry and Jacob Teeter shot 78 and 79 to finish right on the periphery of the top 10, and Zach Merwin and Jayden Wingo shot 94 and 95 to round out the Bulldogs’ scores Monday.

“We’re right there,” Jones said. “Again, it’s another runner-up. We won the (St. Mary’s) Colgan Invitational last week, but for the most part, we’ve settled in. We’re consistent in our numbers. We are who we are. We’re close enough to beat anybody, but we just need to have one of those days where putts drop, and we don’t make just one mistake here or there. We’re in the mix of being a really, really good golf team. We just need one day where we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Satterlee, who shot 1-under par 70 and beat Republic’s Cason Bekemeier in a playoff to win the previous week’s Abbiati’s BBQ Invitational at Carthage and a 4-under 68 to win the Joplin Invitational earlier this season, again showed why he’s one of the best golfers around.

“Obviously, it’s all-around the same score nowadays, definitely pretty consistent,” Satterlee said. “It was obviously 2-under, anybody will take it … it’s just one tournament.

“It (Briarbrook) was playing pretty easy, to be honest. Par-5s are gettable. I played the par-5s even, which was disappointing, but I made up for it on par-4s.”

Satterlee did not require a playoff Monday, though, as he was the only golfer among the nearly 90 golfers to shoot under par.

“They’re fun, though,” Satterlee said. “But I was excited to win it by a couple strokes. I have to stay focused … the job’s not finished.”

Satterlee won the Bird Dog his sophomore year with a 2-under 70.

His sights are not only the more immediate future of the upcoming conference and district tournaments, but Satterlee also recently committed to play golf at the college level for NCAA Division I school Cincinnati, a member of the American Athletic Conference alongside schools like Houston, Memphis, Temple, and Wichita State.

“I took a visit in mid-February,” Satterlee said. “I got to see the facilities and they laid out the red carpet for me. I’m excited for the future. There’s a couple more schools talking with me, but at the end of the day, I decided that I wanted to pursue my academic and athletic career at Cincinnati.”

Team champion Nixa and individual champion Satterlee will look to defend their respective titles at next Tuesday’s conference tournament.

“Nixa is one of the best teams in Southwest Missouri and we get them again next week on the same course in our conference tournament,” Boyer said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge again.

“At this point, the kids know what they’re capable of physically, it’s the mental preparation. Anybody that’s ever played golf knows that it’s between the ears and having a plan and being able to bounce back from a bad shot. I tell the kids the secret to golf is to not hit two bad shots in a row. No one’s going to go out and play perfect, but if you can limit those (bad) shots and be mentally tough, especially around the green when you’re chipping and putting, that’s going to be our emphasis at practice until we enter the playoffs.”

Nixa won by 10 strokes last season with a 307 at Branson’s Pointe Royale Golf Course, while Ozark finished second at 317, Joplin third at 318, Webb City fourth at 327, Carl Junction fifth at 332, Carthage sixth at 336, Republic seventh at 343, Willard eighth at 356, Branson ninth at 363, and Neosho 10th at 370.

Nine of those 10 schools competed Monday at Briarbrook.

“That’s a good thing that we’re back here,” Jones said. “I would expect the course will play a little longer, a little different next week. We’ll play a different set of tees and it will have a little more teeth to the course. Our kids are used to that, and we’ll see if we’re good enough. This is as good as the Central Ozark Conference has been, as far as I can remember, in almost the 20 years I’ve been doing this. It’s a talented field next week, but I like our team and I like our chances if we go out and do what we’re capable of … we can make some noise next week.”

 

2023 Bird Dog Invitational

(at Briarbrook Golf Course)

Team scores: Nixa 304, Webb City 308, Carl Junction 308, Carthage 321, Ozark 330, Joplin 335, Branson 336, Monett 336, Frontenac 344, Republic 346, Seneca 361, Neosho 362, Mount Vernon 381, McAuley Catholic 384, Thomas Jefferson 393, Nevada 395, Diamond 423, Lamar 450.

Team Results

NIXA (304): Jack Holden 72, Chance Willhite 75, Noah Naugle 78, Peyton Burbridge 79, Meyer Lively 80.

WEBB CITY (308): Braxten Cahoon 74, Cooper Forth 76, Jackson Lucas 77, Levi Lassiter 81, Jack Good 91, Carson Judd 84, Braden McKee 87.

CARL JUNCTION (308): Jack Spencer 74, Tommy Walker 77, Logan Lowry 78, Jacob Teeter 79, Zach Merwin 94, Jayden Wingo 95.

CARTHAGE (321): Max Templeman 79, Owen Derryberry 79, Colson Brust 80, Britt Coy 83, Ben Nicholas 89.

OZARK (330): Kyle Fitzpatrick 78, Boston Huddleston 80, C.J. Jackson 81, Christian Colvin 91, Carter Cronister 101.

JOPLIN (335): Harry Satterlee 70, Hobbs Campbell 85, Dylan Bozarth 87, Ian Surbrugg 93, Cash Tyson 100.

BRANSON (336): Andrew Bristow 79, Ben Presley 81, Reese Ruprecht 86, Kaden Alms 90, Evan Johnson 92.

MONETT (336): Jaxon Bailey 74, Jake Hoyt 81, David Southard 90, Cal Butterworth 91, Clay Butterworth 99.

FRONTENAC (344): Aidan Hill 79, Cole Niederklein 80, Vinny Pile 89, Trey Cramer 96, Cooper Born 108.

REPUBLIC (346): Cason Bekemeier 77, Brayden Tharp 87, Jace Henry 88, Bryce Ondrick 94, Luke Heavin 101.

SENECA (361): Jeremy Haase 85, Eli Olson 89, Jace Wilson 93, Evan Davidson 94, Gabe Garcia 111.

NEOSHO (362): Colby Shadwick 84, Collier Hendricks 91, Conner Reiboldt 92, Camp Ramsey 95, River Feagans 98.

MOUNT VERNON (381): Owen Smith 91, Carter Meirick 93, Justin Orr 98, Jaiden Edwards 99, Clayton Turner 118.

MCAULEY CATHOLIC (384): Evan D’Amour 91, Rocco Bazzano-Joseph 94, Trey Martinez 98, Bradley Wagner 101, Liam Buerge 109.

THOMAS JEFFERSON (393): Jack Tyrell 85, Beck McKinney 94, Tony Touma 100, Benjamin Carroll 114, Ethan Ranger 116.

NEVADA (395): Preston Drake 95, Peyton Wyant 98, Talan Chandler 101, Hunter Gruenhagen 101, Wyatt Jenkins 110.

DIAMOND (423): Peyton Marbough 99, Jarron Hembree 101, Nathan Gray 103, Nik Paulk 120.

LAMAR (450): Koen Littlejohn 106, Cade Moore 107, Stratton Brazier 112, Trey Shaw 125.

AURORA: Ross Baker 91, Luke Stellwagen 92.

MCDONALD COUNTY: Jordan Saylor 105, Kole Lewis 106, Huston Porter 127.

TRACK & FIELD: Host Tigers, area athletes shine at Lamar Relays

Posted on by Jason Peake

LAMAR, Mo. — Local tracksters competed at the Lamar Rotary Relays on Thursday.

Lamar’s boys won the team, while the Lamar girls were second in the final team standings. The team champion in the girls meet was Pittsburg, Kansas.

Seneca and McAuley Catholic were among the Joplin area schools competing.

 

BOYS HIGHLIGHTS

Monett’s Konner Poynter won three events—the 100-meter dash in 11.42 seconds, the 110 hurdles in 15.55 and the 300 hurdles in 40.26. He was second in the 200 in 22.66 seconds. 

Lamar’s Terrill Davis (high jump, triple jump) and East Newton’s Chase Sorrell (800, 1600) won two events apiece. 

Winning events for Lamar were Ian Ngugi (200), Tyson Williams (discus), Cameron Sturgell (javelin) and Trace Wooldridge (shot put). 

Other event winners were Monett’s Julio Cruz (3200) and Nevada’s Drew Beachler (long jump).

Lamar’s boys won three relays, the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400. East Newton won the 4×800. 

McAuley Catholic’s Michael Parrigon finished third in the 1600 (4:50) and teammate Joe Staton was eighth in the pole vault (8-6.25). 

Seneca’s Blake Hurn finished fifth in the 100 and eighth in the 200, while Grant Landers was fifth in both the long jump and triple jump, Ethan Altic took sixth in the 800 and Brock Pendergraft placed seventh in the javelin.

 

GIRLS HIGHLIGHTS

Jasper’s Crystal Smith won four events—the 200 in 26.64 seconds, the 100 hurdles in 15.32, the 300 hurdles in 47.03 and the high jump (5-5.75).

Lamar’s Kiersten Potter (1600, 3200) and El Dorado Springs’ McKinli Mays (triple jump, 800) each won two events. 

Other individual event winners were Seneca’s Isabella Renfro (shot put), Monett’s Vayla Smith (400) and Lamar’s Elise Ferris (long jump).

Lamar’s girls won the 4×800.

McAuley Catholic’s Kendall Ramsey placed third in the 1600 (5:53) and seventh in the 800 (2:43).

Also for Seneca, Amber Garrison finished fourth in the javelin, Cambry Long took fifth in the 200, Amber Garrison was sixth in the shot put, Anna Adkins finished seventh in the high jump and Harley Lankford took seventh in the discus.

 

Lamar Rotary Relays

Boys team scores: Lamar 175, Monett 107, Nevada 79, East Newton 74, Pittsburg 67, El Dorado Springs 52, Jasper 44, Butler 40.5, Pierce City 25.5, Seneca 25, Liberal 18.5, McAuley Catholic 14, Miller 4.5, Lockwood 4.

Girls team scores: Pittsburg 104, Lamar 87, El Dorado Springs 85, Butler 74.5, Monett 74.5, Jasper 57, Nevada 42.5, Pierce City 42, Seneca 36, Liberal 32, Sheldon 24, Miller 16.5, East Newton 16, Lockwood 11, McAuley Catholic 8, Bronaugh 6.

 

BOYS GOLF: McAuley tops Thomas Jefferson in dual

Posted on by Jason Peake

Boys golf teams from McAuley Catholic and Thomas Jefferson competed in a dual on Thursday at Schifferdecker Golf Course.

McAuley had a four-person score of 181 and Thomas Jefferson turned in a 195.

McAuley’s Evan D’Amour and Thomas Jefferson’s Tony Touma tied for medalist honors, as both golfers shot 41.

Three golfers shot 46—McAuley’s Rocco Bazzano-Joseph and Trey Martinez and TJ’s Jack Tyrrell. 

Also competing for McAuley were Bradley Wagner (48) and Liam Buerge (56).

Also competing for Thomas Jefferson were Beck McKinney (49), Ethan Renger (59) and Thomas Harrold (63).

TRACK & FIELD: College Heights sweeps Ozark 7 titles; TJ, McAuley finish second, third

Posted on by Jason Peake

The College Heights Christian, Thomas Jefferson, and McAuley Catholic boys and girls track and field squads each finished in the top three teams in the high school divisions Wednesday of the Ozark 7 Conference at Thomas Jefferson’s J.P. Humphreys Track and Field Complex.

College Heights finished with 232 points on the girls side, while Thomas Jefferson took second at 157.5 points and McAuley Catholic finished third with 62 points.

College Heights posted 199 points to win the Ozark 7 on the boys side, while Thomas Jefferson finished second with 145 points and McAuley Catholic third with 97 points.

Athletes from College Heights Christian, McAuley Catholic and Thomas Jefferson compete in the 4×200 relay at the conference meet on Wednesday. Photo by Jason Peake.

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS

Behind a pair of outstanding individual performers, as well as points in every facet Wednesday, both the College Heights boys and girls defended their conference titles.

“I was very pleased with the kids and their performances today,” College Heights coach Daniel Lewis said. “We’ve been battling a lot of injuries and we had a couple kids who this was their first day back, and they weren’t able to perform to the level they’re used to, but they helped us get the points that we needed. We had another kid get hurt during the meet and wasn’t able to finish the events. We relied on our sprinters a lot today.

“The highlights would be Jayli Johnson on the girls side. She won the 100, 200, and 400. On the boys side, Caleb Quade won the long jump, triple jump, and high jump, and ran on the winning 4×2. Obviously, they contributed a lot.

“We’ve got a bunch of good kids. Our three fastest boys sprinters have been injured and on the girls side, our fastest girl (Addie Lawrence) has been injured. She hasn’t run all year, either. For the position we’re in and how many injuries we’ve had, I’ve been very pleased with what we’ve done.”

College Heights senior Jayli Johnson runs to a first-place finish in the 100-meter dash at Wednesday’s Ozark 7 Conference Meet at Thomas Jefferson. Photo by Jason Peake.

On the girls side, Johnson won the 100-meter dash in 13.87 seconds, the 200 in 27.90, the 400 in 1:07.06, and the javelin with a toss of 69 feet, 5 inches, earning the Cougars 40 of their points alone from her four individual event victories.

Lauren Ukena placed second and Amelia Hagale fourth in the 100, Ukena finished second and Jesalin Bever third in the 200, Marla Anderegg finished second and Lilly Lackey fifth in the 800, Anderegg finished second in the 1600 and third in the 3200, and Bever won the 100 and 300 hurdles and Ukena placed second in both events.

College Heights finished second in the 4×100, won the 4×200, took second in the 4×400, and won the 4×800.

In the field events, Maddy Colin won gold and Bailey Peoples tied for third in the high jump, Allie Stout and Peoples finished second and third in the long jump, Peoples won the triple jump while Isabelle Clevenger and Lindsay Griesemer finished third and fourth, Peoples placed fourth in the shot put, Colin finished second and Lackey fifth in the discus, and Colin took second in the javelin.

On the boys side, jumpin’ junior Quade swept the long, triple, and high jump for 30 points and contributed to another 10 points by running the second leg on the winning 4×200 relay.

Steven Calandro, Ian Edwards and Jace Edwards finished third through fifth in the 110 hurdles, Logan Decker, Colsen Dickens and Derek Bowman finished second, fourth and fifth in the 100, Colton McMillan and Josiah Thomas placed fifth and sixth in the 1600, Ethan Ukena won the 400 and Levi Durling and Dickens finished third and fourth, Calandro took second, Ian Edwards fourth and Jace Edwards fifth in the 300 hurdles, Derrick McMillan and Quade finished third and fourth in the 800, Decker placed second in the 200, and Thomas finished second and Jace Edwards sixth in the 3200.

Out in the field, Decker finished second in the high jump and the long jump, Ukena placed second in the triple jump, Bowman took fourth in the long jump and the triple jump, Gavin Doll finished fifth in the shot put and discus, and Dickens took fifth in the javelin.

The 4×100 won first and both the 4×400 and the 4×800 finished second.

The Cougars have district and sectional competition ahead in the next month.

“We’re putting together some relays that I think can get us to state,” Lewis said. “We have a good opportunity there. Caleb Quade can probably make it in the jumps. Of course, the girls are up to Class 3 because we won Class 1 two years ago. Both the 4×200 and the 4×400 are probably going to go and then Jayli in the 4 has a good chance to go to state.”

Thomas Jefferson’s Kip Atteberry and McAuley Catholic’s Michael Parrigon were the top two finishers in both the 1600 and the 3200 at Wednesday’s Ozark 7 Conference Meet at TJ. Photo by Jason Peake.

THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGHLIGHTS

Thomas Jefferson had a series of solid individual and team performances to finish second on both the boys and girls side of the Ozark 7.

“I’m just proud of our team overall,” Thomas Jefferson coach Clayton Carnahan said. “Every one of our athletes gave 100 percent today and did their absolute best for themselves and their team. We saw a lot of personal records, we had at least one school record, and so I couldn’t be more pleased with the performance of the kids.

“I think all of our relay teams worked very well together and we’ve got a lot of good long-distance kids in eighth grade and coming up the line. I’m proud of their work.”

Pictured is Thomas Jefferson’s Tyler Brouhard.

On the boys side, Thomas Jefferson senior Jay Ball won the discus with a school record of 111-7, finished third in the discus, and placed fourth in the javelin.

Kip Atteberry won the 800, the 1600 and the 3200, Tyler Brouhard won the 100 and the 200, Benji Carroll took second in the discus and fourth in the shot, Sheraz Anis finished second in the 110 hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles, and the Cavaliers’ 4×100 placed fourth, 4×200 second, 4×400 third, and 4×800 third.

On the girls side, meanwhile, the 4×100 and 4×400 relays won conference titles.

In the field events, Gabriella Hiebert and Nico Carlson finished second and third in the high jump, Hiebert won the long jump and Avery Hocker finished third in the long jump, Hocker placed second in the triple jump, Lannah Grigg finished second and Macie Shifferd fifth in the shot, and Grigg won the discus and finished third in the javelin.

Hocker placed fourth in the 100 hurdles, Carlson third in the 100, Sarah Mueller, Shifferd and Samantha Seto third through fifth in the 1600, Leah Studer third and Jenna Joseph fifth in the 400, Hiebert and Seto third and fourth in the 300 hurdles, Mueller and Joseph third and fourth in the 800, Haley Orr fifth and Studer sixth in the 200, and Shifferd second, Seto fourth and Mueller fifth in the 3200.

Postseason competition looms ahead for the Cavaliers and the rest of the state.

“We’ve done everything that we can at this point in the season,” Carnahan said. “There’s a little bit more grit before we get to districts and state, but we’re looking at taking the most amount of people to state that we ever have. I’m very happy with that.”

 

MCAULEY CATHOLIC HIGHLIGHTS

The Warriors’ day Wednesday included three conference titles on the boys side and a three-event conference champion on the girls side, as both teams finished third behind fellow Joplin schools College Heights and Thomas Jefferson.

“I am really proud of our effort and performances on such a windy day,” McAuley Catholic coach Andy Youngworth said. “We still have a long way to go to close the gap on College Heights and Thomas Jefferson, but I feel we took a step forward despite the point differential. We only had 11 (boys) athletes compete today and it is hard to cover all 19 events.

“(Our girls) finished fourth last year and our goal was to move up one place. Again, we lack the depth to compete against College Heights and Thomas Jefferson, but I am proud of their efforts as well.”

Individual winner Tripp Miller set a new school record in the javelin with a toss of 107-6, while the 4×400 and the 4×800 both won conference titles.

Michael Parrigon finished second in the 800, 1600, and 3200 behind Thomas Jefferson standout Kip Atteberry.

On the girls side, Kendall Ramsey won titles in the 800, 1600, and 3200, with times close to her PR or a little better, according to Youngworth, on a very windy day.

 

Ozark 7 Conference Track Meet

(At J.P. Humphreys Track and Field Complex)

Boys team scores: College Heights 199, Thomas Jefferson 145, McAuley Catholic 97, Wheaton 52, Verona 30, Exeter 16.

Girls team scores: College Heights 232, Thomas Jefferson 157.5, McAuley Catholic 62, Exeter 25, Wheaton 21, Verona 17, Golden City 0.5.

 

McAuley’s Kendall Ramsey, College Heights’ Marla Anderegg and Thomas Jefferson’s Sarah Mueller were the top three finishers in the girls 1600 at Wednesday’s Ozark 7 Conference Meet. Photo by Jason Peake.
Athletes from College Heights Christian and Thomas Jefferson compete in the 4×200 relay on Wednesday at the Ozark 7 Conference Track Meet at Thomas Jefferson.

 

 

BOYS GOLF: McAuley Catholic wins Cassville invite

Posted on by Jason Peake

CASSVILLE, Mo. —McAuley Catholic won the team championship at the Cassville Invitational boys golf tournament on Thursday at the Cassville Golf Club.

McAuley and Marshfield both had team scores of 366, but the Warriors claimed the team championship on a tie-breaker (fifth player’s score).

McAuley’s Rocco Bazzano-Joseph finished third overall with an 81, while teammate Trey Martinez placed 10th with an 88.

Also competing for McAuley were Evan D’Amour (96), Bradley Wagner (101) and Liam Buerge (110).

Hollister’s Garrett Snyder was the individual medalist with an 80 and Sarcoxie’s Matt Swayne was the runner-up, also with an 80.

After McAuley’s Bazzano-Joseph, Thomas Jefferson’s Jack Tyrrell finished fourth with an 83.

Marshfield’s Wyatt Davis placed fifth with an 85, Sarcoxie’s Eli Ellis was sixth with an 85, Lockwood’s Kolton Kleeman took seventh with an 87, Marshfield’s Michael Alves was eighth with an 88 and Aurora’s Luke Stellwagen placed ninth with an 88.

Also competing for Thomas Jefferson were Beck McKinney (91), Tony Touma (98), Ethan Renger (129) and Teo Chevillard (130).

Lucas Hall led Cassville with a 93, while McDonald County was led by Kole Lewis (107). Diamond was paced by Nathan Gray (110) and Seneca was led by Hunter Hanes (116).

 

Cassville Invitational

Team standings: McAuley Catholic 366, Marshfield 366, Reeds Spring 377, Sarcoxie 382, Lockwood 385, Mount Vernon 390, Thomas Jefferson 401, Aurora 406, Cassville 408, Lamar 547. Incomplete teams: Hollister, McDonald County, Seneca, Diamond, Pierce City.

BOYS GOLF: College Heights, McAuley Catholic gain experience

Posted on by Jason Peake

Boys golf teams from College Heights Christian and McAuley Catholic gained experience on Tuesday with a dual at Twin Hills.

College Heights had a four-person score of 208 to McAuley’s 213.

The top performer of the dual was McAuley’s Evan D’Amour, who carded 46.

Full results are below.

COLLEGE HEIGHTS (208): Logan Decker 50, Gavin Doll 50, Hudson Clevenger 53, Corbin Cronenwett 55, Anderson Smith 56

MCAULEY CATHOLIC (213): Evan D’Amour 46, Trey Martinez 51, Liam Buerge 55, Eli Cearnal 61, Nicholas Svec 63, Jadyn LaFerla 63

TRACK & FIELD: Seneca girls, Jasper boys claim team titles at first-ever Bordertown Relays

Posted on by Jason Peake

SENECA, Mo. — Seneca’s girls and Jasper’s boys captured the team championships at the inaugural Bordertown Relays on a warm and windy Monday at the Seneca Schools Athletic Complex.

Seneca’s girls compiled 186 points to top the team standings, while Pierce City was second with 171. 

Rounding out the girls team standings were Jasper (109), Wyandotte (83), Fairland (76), College Heights Christian (48) and McAuley Catholic (16).

The top three boys teams were Jasper (136), College Heights (130) and Seneca (128.5).

Also competing were Pierce City (99), McAuley Catholic (67.5), Fairland (56), Wyandotte (54) and Ketchum (34). 

McAuley Catholic’s Kendall Ramsey, Seneca’s Dalisia Reed and College Heights Christian’s Marla Anderegg are among the athletes competing in the 1600 on Monday. Photos by Jason Peake.

SENECA HIGHLIGHTS

Seneca’s Addyson Jones competes in the 4×200 relay on Monday at the Bordertown Relays.

Seneca’s girls won six events en route to capturing the team championship at their new facility.

Seneca won the girls 4×200 relay in 1:59, with Anna Adkins, Addyson Jones, Olivia Leonard and Savannah Johnson competing.

The team of Adkins, Cambry Long, Riley Hamilton and Johnson took first in the 4×400 with a time of 4:40.

The Indians were second in the 4×100, with Johnson, Jaycie Graham, Parker Long and Leonard competing.

Winning individual events for the Seneca girls were Cambry Long (400, triple jump), Isabella Renfro (shot put) and Amber Garrison (javelin).

Taking second for the Seneca girls were Jones (high jump), Garrison (shot put) and Harley Lankford (discus).

Finishing third in their respective events were Parker Long (javelin), Jaime Eitemiller (discus), Grace Elliott (pole vault), Johnson (100), Dalisia Reed (800) and Cambry Long (200).

Seneca’s boys won the 4×100 relay in 46.42 seconds, with Morgan Vaughn, Brodie Probert, Jackson Marrs and Blake Hurn competing.

The Indians were second in the 4×200 relay, with Ethan Altic, Canaan Miller, Probert and Hurn competing. Seneca’s 4×400 team of Nash Crane, Gavyn Hoover, Jude King and Miller finished fourth.

Seneca’s Grant Landers won two individual events, the long jump (19-7) and the triple jump (40-0.75).

Seneca’s Brock Pendergraft won the javelin (119-4). 

Probert was the runner-up in the 400, while Altic (triple jump, 800), King (javelin), Pendergraft (discus), Hurn (100) and Miller (300 H) all finished third in their events.

 

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS

Pictured is CHC’s Colsen Dickens.

College Heights’ boys won the 4×200 relay in 1:38, with Colsen Dickens, Caleb Quade, Ethan Ukena and Logan Decker competing. 

The Cougars also won the 4×400 in 3:44, with Ukena, Levi Durling, Quade and Dickens competing.

The CHC boys were second in the 4×800, with Ian Edwards, Jace Edwards, Zach Beaty and Steven Calandro running. 

The team of Dickens, Durling, Ukena and Decker finished third in the 4×100.

College Heights’ Calandro and Ian Edwards took first and second in the 110 hurdles. Calandro crossed the line at 19.8 seconds, with Edwards finishing in 20.09.

A junior, Calandro also won the 300 hurdles in 47.1 seconds.

Ukena was the runner-up in the triple jump, Quade took second in the high jump, while Durling and Quade placed third and fourth in the 200.

Also for the Cougars, Josiah Thomas took third in the 3200, Derek Bowman was fourth in the long jump, with Calandro fifth, Layden Shaffer finished fourth in the discus, Jace Edwards took fifth in the 300 hurdles, Bowman placed sixth in the triple jump, Dickens was sixth in the 100, Ian Edwards was sixth in the 300 hurdles and Derrick McMillan was sixth in the 1600.

On the girls side, College Heights sophomore Marla Anderegg won the 800-meter run in 2:44 and also took second in the 1600 in 6:04.

CHC’s Bailey Peoples was the runner-up in both the long jump and triple jump and was also seventh in the high jump, while Amelia Hagale took fourth in the 200 and seventh in the 100.

McAuley Catholic’s Michael Parrigon is among the athletes competing in the 1600 on Monday at the Bordertown Relays.

MCAULEY CATHOLIC HIGHLIGHTS

McAuley’s boys won the 4×800 relay in 9:25, with Michael Parrigon, Connor Taffner, Drew Zeb and Alex Bohachick competing.

The Warriors took third in the 4×400, with Parrigon, Dylan Taffner, Bohachick and Jack Jones running.

Parrigon was the runner-up in two events, the 1600 and the 800, while McAuley’s Trae Veer finished second in the 3200, fourth in the 1600 and fourth in the triple jump.

Zeb placed fourth in the 3200, while Jones took sixth in the long jump and Ethan Stabb placed seventh in the 300 hurdles.

For the McAuley girls, Kendall Ramsey was the runner-up in the 3200 and also finished third in the 1600.

 

OTHER LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

In the girls meet, Jasper sophomore Crystal Smith won four events—the high jump (5-1.5), the 100 hurdles (15.48 seconds), the 300 hurdles (47.36) and the 200-meter dash (26.82). Jasper’s Chandler Spear won the pole vault.

Winning individual events for Pierce City’s girls were Hayden Kramer (discus), Liliana Lasker (100) and Emma Hunt (1600, 3200).

Pierce City’s Clayten O’Hara won three events in the boys meet, the 100, 200 and 400.

Other individual event winners in the boys meet were Jasper’s Wyatt Durman (3200) Austin Taylor (shot put) and Noah Neher (discus) and Pierce City’s Austin Beaty (high jump) and Lincoln Johnson (pole vault).

Second place finishers for the Jasper boys were Durman (javelin), Taylor (discus), Juan Rivera (pole vault), Neher (300 H) and Mitchel Avalos (200).

 

Jasper’s Crystal Smith took first place in the 100-meter hurdles on Monday at the Bordertown Relays in Seneca. Smith won four events for the Eagles.

 

Athletes compete in the 4×200 relay on Monday at the Bordertown Relays in Seneca.

 

Athletes compete in the 100-meter dash on Monday at the Bordertown Relays at the Seneca Schools Athletic Complex.

BASEBALL: Atkinson throws one-hitter, Diamond runs wild in win against McAuley Catholic

Posted on by Jason Peake

The Diamond Wildcats pieced together eight runs with a little timely hitting and lots of aggressive baserunning and received an absolute gem from senior pitcher Jacob Atkinson during an 8-1 win over the McAuley Catholic Warriors on Friday at Wendell Redden Stadium within the Joplin Athletic Complex.

McAuley Catholic opened the scoring with one run in the first, then Diamond scored eight unanswered with one in the second, four in the third, one in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Atkinson surrendered a RBI single to Noah Black in the first, then he allowed no more hits the final six innings and in fact retired the Warriors in order five of the final six innings.

“We were really aggressive today,” Diamond coach Dayton Shaw said. “We’ve been wanting to run and today was the first day that we’ve been really aggressive. We hit and run probably 10 times. That helps keep us out of double plays and gets guys in scoring position.
“Yeah, it all started with him (Atkinson) today. He kinda struggled this year. We talked today about just going right at people and not being so cute with off-speed pitches. Pound the zone with fastballs and you get ahead and you can try off-speed. With that different approach, he had his best outing of the year so far today by far.”

McAuley Catholic’s Rocco Bazzano-Joseph worked a walk in the first, stole second, and scored on Black’s two-out hit to left. Atkinson cut off left fielder Peyton Marbough’s throw and threw out Black at second to retire the side.

Grady Bentley led off the Diamond second with a walk, stole second, and scored on an Austin Girdner RBI double. The Warriors kept a tie score by throwing out Girdner at home on a grounder to third baseman Chase Gardner, who delivered a strike to catcher Bradley Wagner.

Atkinson led off the four-run Diamond third with an infield single, the Wildcats’ only hit of an inning during which the Warriors committed all three of their errors.
The Wildcats arguably showed their most aggressiveness on the bases in the third with three stolen bases, extra bases taken from errors, and one run scored on a wild pitch.

Brayden Clement and Girdner each finished with two RBI for the Wildcats and Bentley scored two runs on a day when the Wildcats racked up 13 stolen bases against the Warriors. Bentley had three steals, Clement, Matt Navarro and Thomas Gow two each, and Girdner, Marbough, Ty Stokes, and Daniel Weiss one each.

Atkinson allowed one run (earned) on one hit with seven strikeouts and two walks over seven innings. Atkinson finished with 87 pitches, 57 of them for strikes, while three McAuley Catholic pitchers combined to walk six Diamond batters.

Black had McAuley Catholic’s lone hit and lone RBI, while Bazzano-Joseph and Gardner worked the walks against Atkinson.

Diamond improved to 2-7 overall and the Wildcats’ 8-1 win Friday ended a four-game losing streak. The Wildcats are back in action Monday with their Southwest Conference opener against Pierce City.

McAuley Catholic dropped to 2-3 overall, meanwhile, and the Warriors have a home Ozark 7 Conference game Monday against Wheaton.

BOYS GOLF: McAuley Catholic wins triangular, TJ duo share medalist honors

Posted on by Jason Peake

The Thomas Jefferson boys golf team hosted McAuley Catholic and New Covenant in a nine-hole triangular match on the front nine at Schifferdecker Golf Course on Tuesday. 

McAuley posted a four-person score of 198 to capture first place honors by two strokes over Thomas Jefferson, who totaled a 200. New Covenant tallied a 236 to finish third.

Thomas Jefferson’s Jack Tyrrell and Beck McKinney shared medalist honors after carding identical scores of 44.

McAuley’s Evan D’Amour and Thomas Jefferson’s Tony Touma tied for third place after both carded 45.

Also competing for McAuley were Trey Martinez (46), Rocco Bazzano-Joseph (48), Chase Gardner (59) and Liam Buerge (61).

Also competing for Thomas Jefferson were Thomas Harrold (67) and Teo Chevillard (67).

Competing for New Covenant were Zach Johnson (55), Michael Wiles (57), Max Rhoads (58), Timmy Whalen (66) and Kamden Mourer (69). 

TRACK & FIELD: McAuley Catholic sees numbers increase for boys, girls

Posted on by Jason Peake

McAuley Catholic coach Andy Youngworth, who previously coached cross country and track and field at Carthage for three decades, enters his second season at the helm of the Warriors boys and girls track programs.

On the boys side, McAuley Catholic returns seniors Jack Jones (jumps, sprints, sectional qualifier in 4×400), Joe Staton (sectional qualifier in pole vault, mid-distance, hurdles), and Drew Zeb (distance, sectional qualifier in 4×800), juniors Dylan Taffner (sprints, sectional qualifier in 4×400) and Ethan Stabb (sprints, sectional qualifier in 4×400), and sophomore Michael Parrigon (distance, sectional qualifier in the 800 and 1600).

Pictured is McAuley Catholic’s Michael Parrigon.

Parrigon holds the school record in both the 800 and 1600, and he earned all-state honors in cross country in the fall. Parrigon finished 21st in Class 1 in 17 minutes and 56.5 seconds.

Newcomers are sophomores William Holder (throws) and Tripp Miller (javelin, sprints) and freshmen Max Anreder (throws), Alex Bohachick (sprints, jumps, hurdles, mid-distance), Paul Stachura (throws), Connor Taffner (distance), and Trae Veer (distance), who also earned all-state honors in cross country earlier this school year.

“Our team is a little bigger this year, 13 athletes with varied experience,” Youngworth said. “We have a good group of kids who have worked hard this spring so far and feel we will be more competitive this season. We are sharing several kids with baseball, so we will not be at full strength for several meets. We have a little more depth this year in some areas, especially in the throws and jumps.

“Last year, we implemented the basics of our program: team over self, hard work, do the best you can do, and good things will happen. In year two, we are reinforcing this philosophy while challenging the kids with harder workouts. So far, the kids have accepted every challenge.”

The Warriors have winning the Ozark 7 Conference meet, improving on their seventh-place district finish, and getting at least one athlete to qualify to state for the first time since 2019 as their goals for the upcoming season.

“We have a challenging schedule this year, competing against Class 2, 3, and 4 teams in most meets,” Youngworth said. “We will use these competitions to improve our times and marks and not worry about team points. College Heights is the defending conference champion and has most of their team back for the 2023 season. They have set the standard and we are striving to be that team overtime. We must first find a way to top Thomas Jefferson, who beat us by 5 ½ points last year.”

McAuley Catholic placed third overall in the Ozark 7 last season, behind their crosstown rival small schools.

The Warriors have the Springfield Catholic Invitational (March 24), the Diamond Invitational (March 28), the Galena (Kan.) Invitational (March 30), the Seneca Invitational (April 3), the Hillbilly Relays in Pierce City (April 11), the East Newton Invitational (April 13), the Sarcoxie Inch by Inch (April 14), the Ozark 7 meet at Thomas Jefferson (April 19), the Lamar Invitational (April 20), and the Girard (Kan.) Invitational (April 28) before district, sectional, and possibly state competition in May.

“We have a good work ethic and kids are willing to sacrifice individual success for team success,” Youngworth said. “That chemistry is crucial to our success this year and in years down the road. We believe we will be competitive in the relays, distance events, and field events. We have several young throwers, and I am excited about their future.

“The success we had in cross country has proven to the kids that success in Class 1 is possible with hard work and an unselfish attitude. We have put together a great coaching staff with years of experience and that will obviously put our kids in a better position to have success.”

The Warriors’ coaches this season are Youngworth, Georgia Antillon, A.J. Broadus, Chris Moreno, Payton Roberts and Darbi Stancell.

“We will be weak in the open sprint events as we focus on relay experience,” Youngworth said. “To be honest, having more kids out in the future will ease that problem. We are a very small school and share kids with other sports. Despite that, we are assembling a good group and have a growing middle school program that will continue to add depth to the team in the years to come.”

On the girls side, McAuley Catholic will have junior Kendall Ramsey (distance) and sophomores Genevieve Billings (distance) and Marbellie Villanueva (distance) back for another season, while freshmen Vanessa Diaz (jumps, sprints), Kierra Mays (throws), Samantha Perrin (jumps, hurdles, mid-distance), Brooke Righter (hurdles, mid-distance), and Cristal Torres (throws, sprints) give the Warriors dramatically increased numbers.

Ramsey earned conference titles in the 1600 and 3200, qualified for sectionals in both events, and qualified for state in the 3200 last season. She finished eighth in Class 1 at state in cross country this fall with a time of 21:07.6.

Ramsey also holds the school record in the 3200, and she finished 10th at state in the event last season.

“We don’t have any seniors on the team, so leadership is a potential concern,” Youngworth said. “That said, junior Kendall Ramsey has done a great job leading a group of girls that has little or no high school track and field experience.

“We will be weak in the open sprint events and relays this season. With only eight girls, we will try to spread them out in events where they will have some success and hopefully be able to put together a couple of relays that can compete. We are assembling a good group and have a growing middle school program that will continue to add depth to the team in the years to come.”

With only three girls last season, McAuley Catholic finished fourth in the Ozark 7 meet and Youngworth said the girls have the goal of moving up one spot in the standings this season.

BOYS HOOPS: All-Ozark 7 Conference team released

Posted on by Jason Peake

OZARK 7 CONFERENCE BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM

Coach of the Year — Eric Johnson, College Heights Christian

Player of the Year — Josh Reeves, Golden City

 

FIRST TEAM (all unanimous)

Curtis Davenport, College Heights 

Caleb Quade, College Heights

Jay Ball, Thomas Jefferson

Tyler Brouhard, Thomas Jefferson

Jacob Stellwagen, Verona

 

SECOND TEAM

Levi Triplett, Thomas Jefferson

Ty Force, Golden City 

Nathan Tackett, Exeter

Noah Black, McAuley Catholic

Michael Hang, Wheaton

 

HONORABLE MENTION TEAM

Zachary Lee, Exeter

Jessy Gamel, Verona

Andrew Martinez, Verona

Spencer Parrill, Golden City

Blake Morgan, Wheaton

Rocco Bazzano-Joseph, McAuley Catholic

 

DISTRICT HOOPS ROUNDUP: College Heights boys advance, McAuley boys suffer season-ending loss

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

COLLEGE HEIGHTS BOYS 61, WHEATON 40

VERONA, Mo. — Second-seeded College Heights defeated seventh-seeded Wheaton 63-40 on Monday night in the opening-round of the Class 2 District 12 tournament.

College Heights (22-5) advanced to the district semifinals, where they’ll take on third-seeded Purdy (17-10) at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Verona High School.

Purdy beat sixth-seeded Miller 56-40.

The other semifinal features No. 1 Marionville vs. No. 5 Verona at 6.

Verona defeated No. 4 Pierce City 65-63 and Marionville had a first-round bye at the top seed.

No other information on CHC’s win was available to SoMo Sports. 

 

SHELDON BOYS 54, MCAULEY CATHOLIC 40

GOLDEN CITY, Mo. — Fifth-seeded McAuley Catholic saw its season come to an end on Monday night against fourth-seeded Sheldon in the opening-round of the Class 1 District 7 tournament.

The Panthers led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter, 28-23 at half and 43-33 by the end of the third period. 

The Warriors were unable to come from behind in the fourth quarter. 

Rocco Bazzano-Joseph led McAuley with 16 points. He hit four treys. Michael Parrigon added seven points and Bradley Wagner scored six.

The Warriors went 7-20 this season.

Sheldon’s William Chapman scored 16 points and Shon Bogart added 14.

Sheldon will meet No. 1 seed Thomas Jefferson at 6 on Wednesday in the district semifinals at Golden City High School.

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.

MERCY/WARRIOR CLASSIC: College Heights boys finish 2nd, Thomas Jefferson boys 3rd, McAuley boys 6th

Posted on by Jason Peake

College Heights junior Caleb Quade picked up two personal fouls within a matter of a few seconds in the third quarter on Saturday night in the championship game of the Mercy/Warrior Classic against top-seeded and Class 3 state-ranked Greenwood.

Quade went from two to four personals in short time and the Cougars led 41-38 at the moment Quade earned his fourth with 1 minute, 53 seconds remaining in the third.

By the time Quade returned early in the fourth, College Heights trailed 48-43 and the Blue Jays then continued a 10-0 scoring run for a 52-43 lead on their way to a 68-58 win and Mercy/Warrior Classic title.

“We played well,” College Heights coach Eric Johnson said. “We played hard. Playing a good team, I know I said it last night, but you can’t make turnovers against good teams, though. Some of them were unforced turnovers. We made bad passes and bad decisions. Against a good team, you can’t do that because they took advantage of it.

“It took away a lot of scoring for us (Quade’s departure with four fouls). Yeah, a couple silly fouls he made there … with two, you’ve got to be smarter than that. We need him on the floor all the time. That’s a second scorer right there.”

College Heights Christian’s Caleb Quade looks to score inside against Greenwood during the championship game of the Mercy/Warrior Classic. Photo by Sloan Uebinger.

Tournament MVP Nicholas Burri led Greenwood with 26 points and his 3-point basket at the third-quarter buzzer gave the Blue Jays a 45-43 lead. Burri scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, mostly on made free throws.

All-tournament selections Collin Clark and Garrett Winslow added 21 and 16 points, respectively, to a total of 63 points from the trio of Burri, Clark, and Winslow.

Chance Rose scored a late old-fashioned three-point play for his three points and Griffin Litherland fashioned a pair of splits at the foul line into his two points.

Greenwood — ranked eighth in Class 3 — improved to 17-6 overall.

“They’re a good team,” Johnson said. “It’s a positive for us, because we played well and played even with a good team. We have to take everything we can positive out of this and get ready for the next one.”

All-tournament selection Quade scored a team-high 22 points for the Cougars, including six points in the fourth after his return and before he fouled out within the final minute.

College Heights cut the deficit to four points on three different occasions in the fourth quarter, but Greenwood scored 12 of the game’s final 18 points in the last couple minutes of regulation.

All-tournament selection Curtis Davenport added 14 points for the Cougars, while Jayce Walker scored 10, Ethan Ukena had four, Ben Thomas and Bo Sitton each scored three and Colsen Dickens rounded out the Cougars’ scoring with two points.

College Heights dropped to 17-5 overall and the Cougars return to action on Tuesday at home against city and Ozark 7 Conference rival Thomas Jefferson.

The Cougars and the Cavaliers battled on Friday night in the Mercy/Warrior Classic, a game the Cougars won 55-47.

College Heights’ four remaining games before districts also include Ozark 7 clashes with McAuley Catholic and Golden City and then a regular season finale against Sarcoxie.

“We’ve got two next week and two the week after that,” Johnson said. “They’re all conference, except for Sarcoxie. We’ve got to not only prepare for districts, but we’ve got three conference games left. That’s important to us. We need to keep getting better. If we can eliminate turnovers, we can play with any Class 2 school.”

College Heights Christian’s Colsen Dickens looks to control a rebound against Greenwood on Saturday night. Photo by Sloan Uebinger.

Thomas Jefferson boys 63, Sarcoxie 52

Thomas Jefferson earned third place in the Mercy/Warrior Classic, rebounding from a 55-48 loss against College Heights and reversing the outcome from a 57-32 loss back on Jan. 9 against Sarcoxie.

The Cavaliers turned a tie score at halftime into a 11-point victory Saturday by outscoring the Bears 34-23 in the second half.

“The kids did a nice job of bouncing back less than 24 hours after the tough loss to College Heights last night,” Thomas Jefferson coach Chris Myers said. “We were able to make a couple of halftime adjustments and did a much better job of executing in the second half.”

All-tournament selections Jay Ball and Tyler Brouhard combined for 41 points (Ball 22, Brouhard 19) to lead the way for the Cavaliers and their supporting cast and fellow senior classmates made critical scoring contributions Saturday — Kip Atteberry nine points, Levi Triplett eight, and Tony Touma three more points.

Kohl Thurman rounded out the Cavaliers’ scoring with two points.

Thomas Jefferson persevered in the fourth quarter with both Brouhard and Triplett in serious foul trouble. Brouhard and Triplett each picked up their fourth personal within a short span of each other early in the fourth.

Ball recorded a double-double with his 15 rebounds to go along with his game-high 22 points and the 6-foot-6 post blocked three shots.

Brouhard rounded out his stat line with eight rebounds, five steals, and two blocks, while Thurman grabbed five rebounds and Brouhard, Atteberry, Triplett, and Touma combined for eight 3-point goals with Brouhard at three, Atteberry and Triplett two each, and Touma one.

Thomas Jefferson improved to 15-5 overall and the Cavaliers return to the court Tuesday against College Heights.

Matthew Swayne led Sarcoxie with 20 points, all-tournament selection Jaron Malotte added 16, all-tournament selection Garrett Smith had 11, and Tyler Hirtz added five points.

 

Providence Academy boys 53, McAuley Catholic 42

Tournament host McAuley Catholic finished sixth, taking a 11-point loss to the Patriots on Saturday after testing both College Heights and Thomas Jefferson in pool games.

On Saturday, 6-foot-4 freshman Alex Bohachick led the Warriors with 12 points, Bradley Wagner and all-tournament selection Noah Black each finished with eight, Rocco Bazzano-Joseph tallied seven, Michael Parrigon added five, and Joe Staton scored two points.

Providence Academy junior Stevens Hunter scored a game-high 23 points.

McAuley Catholic, 6-16 overall, returns home Tuesday for an Ozark 7 Conference game against Golden City.

 

East Newton girls 43, Thomas Jefferson 27

East Newton built a 16-4 lead after one quarter and never looked back in the consolation game Saturday.

Lannah Grigg led Thomas Jefferson with 10 points, Gabbi Hiebert added eight, Sarah Mueller scored five, and Tannah Cassatt and Nico Carlson each had two points for the Cavaliers.

Shaw Coburn scored 16 points for East Newton, while Brooklyn Blanchard added 11.

Thomas Jefferson dropped to 10-9 overall and the Cavaliers are back on the court Tuesday against their Newman Road rival College Heights.

Greenwood defeated College Heights in the championship game of the Mercy/Warrior Classic on Saturday night at McAuley Catholic High School. Photo by Sloan Uebinger.

40th annual Mercy/Warrior Classic

Saturday’s scores

Greenwood boys 68, College Heights 58 (Title game)

Thomas Jefferson boys 63, Sarcoxie 52 (3rd place)

Providence Academy girls 57, Lamar 52 (Title game)

Providence Academy boys 53, McAuley Catholic 42 (5th place)

East Newton girls 43, Thomas Jefferson 27 (5th place)

Greenwood’s Nicholas Burri was the MVP of the Mercy/Warrior Classic.

All-Tournament Selections

Boys

MVP: Nicholas Burri, Greenwood

Collin Clark, Greenwood

Tyler Brouhard, Thomas Jefferson

Curtis Davenport, College Heights

Caleb Quade, College Heights

Jay Ball, Thomas Jefferson

Garrett Smith, Sarcoxie

Noah Black, McAuley Catholic

Cooper Laney, Providence Academy

Jaron Malotte Sarcoxie

Garrett Winslow, Greenwood

Girls

MVP: Karolina Kiraga, Providence Academy

Libby Fanning, College Heights

Zavrie Wiss, Lamar

Lydia Shaddox, Providence Academy

Ava Maner, Providence Academy

Brooklyn Blanchard, East Newton

Kloee Williamson, McAuley Catholic

Payden Blevins, Aurora

Ashlyn Stettler, Lamar

Jaycee Doss, Lamar

Ellie Creasey, Aurora

 

College Heights Christians Curtis Davenport handles the ball against Greenwood. Photos by Sloan Uebinger.

MERCY/WARRIOR CLASSIC: Thomas Jefferson boys narrowly escape McAuley Catholic

Posted on by Jason Peake

The Thomas Jefferson Cavaliers eked out a 50-48 win over their city, conference and district rival McAuley Catholic on Wednesday night in the Mercy/Warrior Classic.

Neither team led by more than five points (McAuley Catholic 26-21 late in the first half and Thomas Jefferson 50-45 late in regulation) and the lead exchanged hands many times until early in the fourth when the Cavaliers took a 39-38 lead after consecutive baskets from seniors Jay Ball and Tyler Brouhard.

McAuley Catholic knocked the lead down to 46-45 within the final minute, but the Warriors had three turnovers, including two in the final 10 seconds, and Brouhard and Ball hit four straight free throws to extend the lead to five.

Michael Parrigon’s 3-point shot at the buzzer closed out the scoring.

“McAuley in the McAuley tournament on their court, we knew they were going to come out fired up and ready to go,” Thomas Jefferson coach Chris Myers said. “I thought our kids did a really nice job down the stretch of executing those last 2 ½ minutes of the game and getting it done. I felt like our defensive energy the last two minutes of the game was fantastic and our offensive execution matched it. That’s what you want in a tight game down the stretch, that defensive intensity with the offensive execution to get it done.”

“Again, we’re right there, but we just had a four-minute stretch in that one that cost us,” McAuley Catholic coach Tony Witt said. “In the second quarter, we had three bad possessions to end the half. With a five-point lead, you have all the momentum sucked out of you going into the locker room. Then again, in the second half, we find ourselves in a situation where we’re leading, and we do the same exact thing again. That’s not what good teams do, and essentially puts tally marks in the loss column for you. That bug bit us again tonight.”

Brouhard led all scorers with 24 points and two of his highlights Wednesday were buzzer-beating 3-point shots in the first and second quarters. He scored 17 points in the first half.

Ball finished with 18 points, 14 of which he produced in the second half as the Cavaliers found ways to enter the ball to Ball in the midst of a Warrior defense surrounding him.

Kip Atteberry tallied six points, highlighted by an old-fashioned three-point play that put Thomas Jefferson ahead 42-38 with 4:54 remaining in regulation.

Kohl Thurman rounded out the Cavaliers’ scoring with a basket in the first quarter.

Thomas Jefferson improved to 14-4 overall and the Cavaliers play their in-town and conference rival College Heights (16-4) at 7 p.m. on Friday night at the College Heights Athletic Complex with the winner earning a spot in the Mercy/Warrior Classic title game on Saturday.

Also of note, Coach Myers reached a milestone by recording his 200th coaching victory. 

The trio of Rocco Bazzano-Joseph, Noah Black, and Bradley Wagner each produced 12 points for the Warriors and Parrigon and Jack Jones combined for the other 12 points with Parrigon at seven and Jones at five.

McAuley Catholic dropped to 6-15 overall and nine of the Warriors’ 15 losses have come by a combined total of 29 points.

“I’m proud of our kids’ defensive effort all night,” Witt said. “It was an outstanding defensive effort. I mean, really for us, a four-minute stretch offensively is the difference for us in the game. I’m sure as a spectator it was a fun game to watch, but ultimately it stings for us at the end of this one.”

The Warriors play at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in the consolation game.

Meanwhile, Thomas Jefferson and McAuley Catholic are certain to play each other soon … and possibly another time down the road this season in district competition.

“It was a great high school basketball game between two in-town rivals,” Myers said. “Obviously happy to be on the right side of this one. We’re going to end up playing them here again next week, so we know they’ll be ready for us.

“We’re in two or three of the same tournaments. Of course, we get them in conference play and then we’re in districts together. It’s starting to look more like we’re going to have a chance to matchup in districts. We might play them four times on four separate courts.”

“Could be a situation where we play each other on four different floors this year,” Witt said. “We’ll try and learn from this one and get better for the next one.”

The first two meetings this season ended in Thomas Jefferson’s favor.

 

East Newton girls 54, McAuley Catholic 23

Class 1 McAuley Catholic took a second tough loss in as many nights on their home court in their home tournament with a 31-point defeat against Class 3 East Newton on Wednesday.

The Warriors played the Patriots tough in the first quarter, trailing only 8-7 entering the second, but East Newton produced advantages of 17-4 in the second, 18-9 in the third, and 11-3 in the fourth.

Kloee Williamson led McAuley Catholic with 12 points, Lily Black and Vanessa Diaz each scored four, Kendall Ramsey added two, and Avery Gardner scored one point.

Brooklyn Blanchard scored a game-high 16 points to lead East Newton, while Josie Guinn added 12, Shaw Coburn 11, Cameran Clement eight, and Kadie Sesay seven points.

McAuley Catholic dropped to 7-14 overall and the Warriors play for seventh place on Friday.

 

Mercy/Warrior Classic

Wednesday’s scores

East Newton girls 54, McAuley Catholic 23

Lamar girls 50, Aurora 48

Greenwood boys 77, Sarcoxie 63

Thomas Jefferson boys 50, McAuley Catholic 48

BOYS HOOPS ROUNDUP: Neosho, McAuley both victorious; Carthage drops road game

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

NEOSHO 48, MONETT 31

MONETT, Mo. — Neosho’s boys basketball team used a strong fourth quarter to earn a 48-31 victory over Monett on Tuesday night.

Clinging to a four-point lead at the end of the third quarter, Neosho outscored Monett 17-4 in the final frame to earn the non-conference win.

“Great team defense by our guys,” Neosho coach Zane Culp said. “Monett had 11 points in the first four minutes then only scored 20 the rest of the game. It was ugly, but a good win for us.” 

Monett led 11-6 at the end of the first period, but Neosho won the second quarter 19-7 to take a 25-18 halftime advantage.

Neosho’s lead was down to 31-27 entering the fourth quarter. 

Isaiah Green scored 13 points to lead Neosho, while Michael Day added nine and Kael Smith had eight. 

“Michael Day had another great shooting night, hitting three huge 3-pointers,” Culp said. “Isaiah Green did an awesome job guarding their point guard and creating lots of offense for us.” 

Carter Baslee contributed six points and Carter Fenske chipped in five. Collier Hendricks scored four points and Brock Franklin added three for the Wildcats, who improved to 4-1 on the season.

Blaine Salsman and Jason Garner scored nine points apiece for the Cubs (3-2). 

Neosho hosts Seneca on Friday night.

 

SPRINGFIELD CENTRAL 63, CARTHAGE 55

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Carthage fell to 3-2 on the season after a non-conference setback to district opponent Springfield Central.

Central led 12-9 at the end of the first quarter and 30-22 at halftime. 

The Tigers trailed 47-36 at the end of the third quarter. Carthage outscored Central 19-16 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough. 

Four Tigers scored in double figures. Justin Ray led Carthage with 15 points, while Max Templeman had 12, Clay Kinder added 11 and Britt Coy contributed 10. 

Bryce Walker scored 20 and Sterling Vinson added 18 for the Bulldogs. 

Carthage takes on Parkview at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the 4-States Challenge at Webb City.

 

MCAULEY 46, EXETER 32

McAuley built a nine-point lead after the first quarter and expanded it out until the final horn in a win over Exeter on Tuesday.

“It was a good bounce back win for our guys,” McAuley coach Tony Witt said to SoMo Sports. “Now we have to focus on the next one.”

McAuley outscored Exeter 16-8 in the second period to lead 29-12 going into the intermission and held off the Tigers in the second half.

The Warriors improved to 3-5 on the season with the win.

Rocco Bazzano-Joseph and Bradley Wagner tied for the team lead in points with 12 each. Noah Black finished with nine points while Kable Reichardt added five and Michael Parrigon four.

McAuley is at Northeast Vernon County on Friday.

 

McAuley’s Michael Parrigon puts up a shot from in close during Tuesday’s contest against Exeter. McAuley won the game 46-32. Courtesy photo.

PREP HOOPS: McAuley Catholic boys, girls swept by Jasper

Posted on by Jason Peake

The McAuley Catholic Warriors endured a major scoring drought Monday night and still nearly came out with a win against the Jasper Eagles despite a stretch not scoring that lasted almost half the game.

Rocco Bazzano-Joseph’s corner 3-point shot rimmed out, the ball went out of bounds to Jasper with 0.3 seconds remaining in regulation, and Jasper held on tight for a 35-33 win.

Bazzano-Joseph made two free throws late in the first quarter for a 13-10 McAuley lead.

The Warriors then went the rest of the first, the entire second quarter, and the first 4:43 of the third without a point, as Jasper built a 24-13 lead before Bradley Wagner’s old-fashioned three-point play snapped the Warriors from their woes.

McAuley coach Tony Witt would not hear of the fact the Warriors just about came away with the win Monday night.

“I don’t know, I don’t have a whole lot of positives to say about my team right now,” Witt said. “We have got to have more consistent play. We can’t go out and shoot and play the way we did one night (58-31 win on Friday against Sarcoxie), then just not show up the next night. That’s not what good teams do. It can’t happen. I don’t have much to say.”

Jasper entered the night without a win and the Eagles’ five losses were all double digits with their closest loss 11 points their previous time out against Lockwood.

Wyatt Cawyer scored 12 of his game-high 14 points in the first half, Wyatt Durman added eight in the first half on the way to 11 points, and Treyton Richart and Mitchel Avalos rounded out Jasper’s scoring with six and four points, respectively, all scored in the second half.

Bazzano-Joseph and Wagner each led with McAuley with nine points, while Michael Parrigon added six. Noah Black added five points, while Jack Jones and Kable Reichardt scored two points apiece.

McAuley dropped to 2-5 overall and the Warriors return home Tuesday for a contest against an Exeter team that has also struggled early this season.

 

Jasper girls 50, McAuley Catholic 22

The Warriors remained without a win, as the visiting Eagles never trailed and opened up a 14-point lead in the first quarter with a 14-0 run after McAuley earned a 2-all score.

Jasper led 16-4 after one quarter, 32-11 at halftime, and 40-13 after three quarters on the way to improving to 7-2 overall this season.

The Eagles relied heavily on a trio for their points, while the Warriors received most of their production from a duo.

Senior center Mercadez Scott led Jasper with 15 points, sophomore Crystal Smith added 14 despite foul trouble after halftime, and fellow sophomore Emersyn Bass put in five points each half for her 10 total.

Freshman guard Brooke Righter led McAuley with nine and junior Kloee Williamson finished with eight.

McAuley, now 0-7 on the season, returns home Tuesday against Exeter.

 

PREP HOOPS: McAuley squads fall in Gem City Classic finales

Posted on by Jason Peake

DIAMOND, Mo. — The McAuley Catholic Warriors finished 1-2 overall and in sixth place in the Gem City Classic after their 58-28 loss to the Carthage JV on Friday night.

Class 1 school McAuley lost to a Class 6 JV team and defeated Class 3 school Diamond after opening against conference and district rival Thomas Jefferson, a team ranked seventh overall in Class 1.

“This one was loaded from top to bottom,” McAuley coach Tony Witt said of the tourney field. “I was disappointed when we got the seventh seed. I thought we were better than what they gave us credit for … it’s tough when you have a JV team that talented playing for fifth, but I thought our guys played hard. They didn’t give up, that’s a character trait they have.

“This is going to help us in January and February. Coming out of here with only one win, obviously that stinks, but the experience is going to help us down the road.”

McAuley senior Jack Jones scored a team-high 13 points, while Michael Parrigon had five. Noah Black and Joe Staton scored three points apiece, while Kable Reichardt and Rocco Bazzano-Joseph each scored two.

Colt Pugh led the all-sophomore Carthage JV squad with a game-high 14 points and Taylor Stevens-Diggs scored all nine of his points in the first half.

McAuley, 1-3 overall, returns to action Tuesday on the road against Pierce City.

“I liked the way that we battled,” Witt said. “I felt like we got a little tougher as the tournament went on. Obviously getting a tough draw with TJ in the first round, a conference and district opponent ranked in the state. We were obviously jacked up for that and had a good showing (45-40 loss). We kind of faltered late. They’re an experienced team and have been in the (state) quarterfinals the last two years. That’s good for us to have that late-game situation this early in the season and trying to learn from them.

“On Wednesday, we beat a Class 3 school. I thought we played our hearts out all game. In this one, we were right there. We had runs in the first half and even early in the third quarter. We just turned the ball over a little too much and a team like that is going to capitalize on you. Those kids are going to be pretty successful when they get into varsity. That’s a good experience for us looking forward because we’re not going to see Carthage’s JV in our district and our conference.”

 

Lockwood girls 37, McAuley Catholic 28

The McAuley girls had only six players available Friday in the Gem City Classic seventh-place game at Diamond Middle School, with junior guard Kloee Williamson out of the lineup.

All three McAuley freshmen — Brooke Righter, Vanessa Diaz, and Keira Mays — reached the scoring column Friday against Lockwood.

McAuley led 4-0 early on, but Lockwood managed to outscore McAuley a combined 23-10 in the second and fourth quarters.

“It’s very challenging,” McAuley coach Mike Howard said. “We learned this morning that one of our better guards was not going to be with us because she was sick. So, losing her really hurt in a game like this. We could have used the extra body and the extra guard.

“I’m going to give credit to my younger kids. They’re doing things that are beyond their years. They’re getting some good minutes out there. We’re a work in progress, obviously, but they’re giving it their all every single time they’re out there on the floor. That’s all you can ask for.”

Righter led McAuley with nine points on Friday.

“I thought our freshman Brooke Righter really grew tonight,” Howard said. “She handled the ball for the most part all night long and she had some good drives to the basket. She played some good defense, drew some fouls and made some free throws down the stretch. She led us in points tonight. That’s her career high. Super proud of her for stepping up tonight and meeting that challenge as a freshman point guard.”

Lily Black added seven points, while Diaz and Avery Gardner scored five each and Mays had two.

“I thought Avery Gardner played well tonight,” Howard said. “She’s another person who had to handle the ball more than she had in the past.”

Gatlyn Clawson scored a game-high 12 points for Lockwood.

McAuley, 0-4 overall, returns to the court Tuesday on the road against Pierce City.

“We’re young and we’re thin, but we’re giving it everything that we have,” Howard said. “We’re continuing to grow every single time we’re out there on the court. That’s all I can ask for.”

GIRLS HOOPS: College Heights rolls vs. rival McAuley

Posted on by Jason Peake

DIAMOND, Mo. — College Heights Christian’s girls basketball team rolled to a 52-10 victory over McAuley Catholic on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Gem City Classic at Diamond High School.

“Our defensive pressure was key in the first quarter,” CHC coach John Blankenship said. “I was very pleased with our rotations out of our traps and reading into the passing lanes. When we create turnovers, it allows us to get into our transition game.” 

Jayli Johnson finished with 12 points and five steals for the Cougars, while Maddy Colin also had 12 points to go along with six rebounds.

Also for CHC, Libby Fanning contributed 11 points, nine rebounds and three steals, while Ava Lett had eight points, three rebounds and three assists.

Third-seeded College Heights (1-1) will play second-seeded Miller at 7:30 on Thursday night at the event.

 Miller beat Sarcoxie 47-11.

Sixth-seeded McAuley meets seventh-seeded Sarcoxie at 7:30 on Thursday at Diamond’s middle school.

In other action, East Newton edged Greenfield 46-44. 

BOYS HOOPS: Cavaliers edge Warriors at Gem City Classic

Posted on by Jason Peake

DIAMOND, Mo. — In a thriller between close rivals, second-seeded Thomas Jefferson upended seventh-seeded McAuley Catholic 45-40 on Monday night in the opening round of the Gem City Classic boys basketball tournament.

The game was deadlocked at 40 when Thomas Jefferson senior guard Kip Atteberry hit a corner trey after an inbounds play with 1:30 to play to give the Cavaliers the lead for good.

After a defensive stop, Thomas Jefferson’s Tony Touma hit two clutch free throws with 25 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Tyler Brouhard scored 17 points with three treys to go along with four assists and three blocked shots to lead Thomas Jefferson, while Jay Ball added 15 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks.

Atteberry added six points on a pair of 3-pointers for the Cavaliers, who improved to 3-0.

Michael Parrigon and Kable Reichardt scored nine points apiece for McAuley (0-2), while Bradley Wagner contributed eight points.

The Cavaliers led 10-9 at the end of the first quarter, but the game was tied at 20 at intermission. Thomas Jefferson led by two, 34-32, entering the fourth period.

Thomas Jefferson will meet sixth-seeded Galena in the tourney semifinals at 7:30 on Wednesday night.

McAuley plays third-seeded Diamond in the consolation semifinals at 7:30 on Wednesday night at the middle school. Galena topped Diamond 59-56.

In other first round games, top-seeded El Dorado Springs nipped Carthage’s junior varsity squad 44-43 and fourth-seeded Mount Vernon topped fifth-seeded Sarcoxie 40-30.

The girls tournament begins on Tuesday night, with third-seeded College Heights taking on sixth-seeded McAuley at 8:30 p.m.

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