Cross Country

CAPE GIRDARDEAU, Mo. — The East Carter girls cross country team won the Heartland Conference meet after placing all five runners in the top 30. While the Redbirds did not have an individual in the top 10, East Carter was one of three teams to field a full team. In team scoring, all five runners finished in the top 10 to give East Carter 30 total points. Woodland finished second with 44 points and Oak Ridge was third with 46 points Tuesday in Cape Girardeau...

There were no shortage of intense moments on the athletic fields and courts throughout Southeast Missouri last week, as area athletes prepare for the looming postseason competition.

One point and 0.7 of a second decided the girls team title at the SEMO North Conference Cross Country Championships. Haley Smith and Lauren Eftink led Notre Dame across the finish line Thursday at Cape Central High School while Kathryn Taylor also earned an all-conference medal for the Bulldogs...

It was a cold afternoon at the SEMO North Conference meet on Thursday, held at Cape Central High School. The boys varsity 5K was the last race of the event so Poplar Bluff senior Jaden Deaton, he wasn’t just racing to beat 33 other runners but also the sunset...

The Kennett cross country team is set to return to action Saturday after competing in its third meet of the season last week at the Van Buren Invitational. Kennett will compete in the Notre Dame Invitational Saturday at 10 a.m. in Cape Girardeau. “We will have a tough week of practice this week before we head up to the Notre Dame Invitational,” Kennett coach Fred Garmon said. “That course and competition is always tough."...

The Jackson boy's and girl's cross country squads each raced to 10th-place finishes in the recent Gans Creek Classic meet in Columbia.

It was a good week for Notre Dame athletes both on AND off the field, as a pair of Bulldogs earned success in their athletic quests, as well as proved to be popular with Southeast Missouri fans.

VAN BUREN — The Van Buren girls won their home cross country meet with 21 total points Wednesday, easily beating Dexter’s 53 points and East Carter’s 61 points. Three schools fielded a team in the varsity girls race at the Graham Invitational in Van Buren...

There is a reason why Kennett football coach Joel Wyatt is an extraordinarily successful coach and not a member of the media or even a fan, per se. His task is to focus on the here and now, not some possible, but not definitive opponent off into the future. However, the Indian Nation – and the rest of the prep football fans (and media) throughout Southeast Missouri had to have had their interest piqued a tad when MSHSAA released its District assignments Monday.

In the Cape Central Cross-Country invitational held Saturday it was Jackson taking all team finals. Individual Finals included: Varsity Boys 5k finals: Jackson- 2. Evan Stephens – 16:26.37. 1 point 3. Cade McCadams – 16:26.81, 2 points 5. Jake Eastin – 17:39.64, 4 points...

Even with a few wrong turns, Poplar Bluff’s Jaden Deaton ran away from the field Saturday at the Arcadia Valley Invitational in Ironton, Missouri. The senior finished the 5,000-meter course in 16 minutes 1.26 seconds, winning by 23 seconds. Poplar Bluff coach Beth Lewis-Muse said Deaton took a pair of wrong turns on the course because workers were not expecting him to have caught the group that started in front of the Mules...

Jackson won all four team titles at the recent Arcadia Valley Cross Country Invitational. In the boys varsity 5k race, Jackson scored 23 points, while Notre Dame finished third with 100 points, and St.Vincent was eighth with 243 points. In the girls varsity 5k race, Jackson had 39 points, while Notre Dame finished third with 78 points...

The Jackson girls and boys Cross Country teams performed very well at the Ft. Zumwalt Twilight Invitational tuesday. .The varsity girls placed fourth overall with Layla Fliege finishing eighth with a time of 20:36.90 in the 5000 meter run. Teammate Addie Heisserer would round out the top 10 with a time of 20:41.60...

The Kennett boys cross country program enters its 2020 campaign with four runners after having a senior-heavy squad last season. “We are a little thin after graduating five seniors,” Kennett cross country coach Fred Garmon said. “But we are returning one senior who has had a great summer - Brett Bradley. He’s been doing more than enough to get ready for the season and he really wants to have a big senior year.”...

Jackson’s sophomore cross country sensation Cade McCadams finished first in the 10th-grade boys’ division at the Jackson Invitational meet Saturday at Jackson City Park.

SULLIVAN, Mo. — Poplar Bluff ran out of time in the third-place game Saturday afternoon against the host at the Back to School Softball Classic. The Mules rallied from a two-run deficit without driving in a run, but Sullivan earned a 3-2 walk-off win in five innings...

Poplar Bluff runner Jaden Deaton tore off over the 2.35-mile course through Jackson City Park Saturday to win the 12th-grade boy’s class at the annual Jackson Cross Country Invitational.

The last time Jaden Deaton wore a Poplar Bluff Mules uniform, he was running at the MSHSAA Cross Country Championships last November, earning an all-state medal. After missing out on a spring track season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the senior looks to get back to Columbia...

PERRYVILLE — All eyes are going to be on Perryville High School senior runner Courtney Wright on Saturdays this fall.

There are now options for schools in Missouri to play sports at different points during the 2020-21 academic year. On Thursday morning, the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Board of Directors announced, during a virtual meeting, the approval of a possible alternative schedule for its member schools...

Each year the Semoball Awards recognizes outstanding high school athletes from around the region. That tradition continues Saturday albeit in a different format due to the lingering COVID-19 concerns and social distancing requirements.

The coronavirus pandemic has altered the 2020 Semoball Awards into a production like never before, as the event will be conducted as a “virtual” event on Facebook Live on July 11 at 7 p.m. instead of a live show that the sports fans throughout Southeast Missouri have grown accustomed to through the years.

With the 2020 spring sports season getting canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is difficult for any high school athlete to remain positive these days. However, Perryville cross country coach Shadrick Shafer explained that task isn’t as hard for junior runner Courtney Wright as it once was.

Each year the Semoball Awards recognizes outstanding high school athletes from around the region. That tradition continues this summer albeit in a different format because of lingering COVID-19 concerns and social distancing requirements.

There was no shortage of magnificent accomplishments performed by the athletic teams at Notre Dame throughout this school year. And there was not a dearth of individual achievements by the Bulldog student-athletes either.

Editor's note: Selection to the 2019 All-Southeast Missourian Team does not necessarily constitute selection to the Semoball Award finalists for boys cross country (XC). The Semoball Awards will be announced July 11 at the River Campus of Southeast Missouri State University, presented by SoutheastHealth...

There is rarely a shortage of excellent athletic performances throughout Southeast Missouri by high school athletes each year and the fall season in 2019 was no exception.

The man responsible for overseeing football for the Missouri State High School Activities Association has no doubt – the game is OK for young people to play. “I truly believe that high school football is safer than ever before,” said Greg Stahl, MSHSAA assistant executive director...

Blake Morris ran his first 5K race with his mother when he was 9 years old.

POPLAR BLUFF — The Poplar Bluff girls basketball team opened the season with a defensive gem Friday night. The Mules kept Roosevelt off the scoreboard for the opening 13 minutes, 5 seconds and didn’t give up a field goal until the very last second of the opening half in a 68-11 win at the Senior High Gym...

Oak Ridge cross country runner Tanner Schamburg and Dexter cross country runner Margo Nea were voted the male and female Semoball Athletes of the Week, respectively, in balloting that concluded Wednesday night. Schamburg collected 393 votes after capturing all-state honors at the Class 1 Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Columbia, Missouri. Schamburg finished 14th in a time of 17 minutes, 29.7 seconds in helping Oak Ridge to its first ever team title...

After recently winning a fourth consecutive MSHSAA Class 1 District title, Oak Ridge boy's cross country coach Kristi Seyer was "hopeful" heading into Saturday's state finals at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo. However, every coach is cautious before big competitions.

Notre Dame senior Blake Morris did not achieve his goal of first place but did finish in the Top 10 at Saturday’s MSHSAA Class 3 Boys Cross Country State Finals at the Gans Creek Recreational Area in Columbia, Mo.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Van Buren girls cross country team placed in the top four for the first time in program history at the MSHSAA Cross Country championships on Saturday at the new 5,000-meter Gans Creek course. Poplar Bluff junior Jaden Deaton earned all-state honors with a late comeback for 22nd place to become the fifth Mules runner to place in the top 25 at state and first since 2005...

Notre Dame Regional High School never has had a boys cross country state champion. That could change Saturday. That's when Blake Morris, the Class 3 District 1 champion, will be in Columbia, Missouri, chasing history at the Missouri Boys and Girls Cross Country State Championships...

A new era of cross country in Missouri starts Saturday when the MSHSAA state championships is held for the first time at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia. It’s the first time since 1975 the race will not be held in Jefferson City’s Oak Hills Golf Course in Hough Park where Poplar Bluff’s John Meyers won the 4A title in 1986...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Kennett boys cross country team closed out its season at the Class 3, District 1 Tournament Saturday in Cape Girardeau. Kobe Patterson was the fastest Kennett runner at the district. Patterson finished 23rd with a time of 18:18.28...

In his last race on his home course, Notre Dame senior Blake Morris took top honors Saturday in the Class 3 District 1 cross country championships.

The St. Vincent cross country team had all of its members finish in the Top 30 in both gender divisions with the boys winning the title and the girls taking third place to highlight the Class 2 District 1 meet on Saturday at Notre Dame Regional High School.

JACKSON, Mo. — Jaden Deaton kept his feet under him running a muddy 3.1-mile course at Jackson City Park on Saturday as the Poplar Bluff senior won the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 race. Rain before and during the meet made conditions slippery for runners trying to advance to the sectional round...