Charleston

BENTON, Mo. — It was a great day to be a Dexter Bearcat and Lady Bearcat. Both the Dexter boys and girls track teams earned first-place honors at the Johnny Merrick Invitational at Thomas W. Kelly High School, Thursday, in Benton. On the boys' side, Dexter edged Scott City by two points, 105-103. Kennett finished in third with 86 points...

Following a year of missing out on gathering with friends and family due to the COVID pandemic, everyone, including sports fans, is anxious to spend time with those closest to us once again.

KENNETT - The Charleston Bluejays provided the Kennett Indians baseball squad with a final tune-up opportunity Wednesday afternoon before the start of the Easter Slam in Jackson, Tennessee, this weekend. Kennett returned to the mound for the first time in a week to edge visiting Charleston 4-2 at Indian Park...

POPLAR BLUFF — Caleb LeGrand and his fellow honorees on the All-SEMO Conference basketball team never got their lettermen jacket patches after last season. The Notre Dame senior took home the patch and a very large trophy Wednesday night from the Poplar Bluff Letter Club Basketball Banquet...

Charleston couldn’t start the baseball season any better than its 15-0 win over Herculaneum in five innings on Monday at Capaha Park. The game was called after the fifth inning due to a mercy rule. Both senior pitchers Dawson Crawford and Luke Nichols combined to throw five no-hit innings...

The Oran girls softball team won their home opener Monday, defeating Scott City, 12-2, as senior Alyssa Spane went 1 for 4 with a game-high four RBIs in the contest. Spane hit a bases-clearing double in the bottom half of the fourth inning, scoring three Eagles, putting the Eagles up 8-1...

Zalma, a town of 93, brought a handful of high school runners to compete among 16 teams in the Notre Dame Frozen Invitational on Saturday at Notre Dame High School. Despite being outnumbered by every single school in the competition, the Bulldogs didn’t let that dwarf their confidence.

Coach: Joe Bickings What are your expectations for this season? “We hope to compete for a district championship and advance in the playoffs.” After a year-long layoff, how eager are you and the team to get back on the field and compete? “The team and I are very eager to get back out there and compete. We had a very successful fall season, and we hope that will better prepare us for this upcoming spring.”...

Coach: Jake Baehr What are your expectations for this season? “The expectations I have for my girls this year are just a couple of things — to grow fundamentally in the sport of softball and build a culture together as a team. Our numbers are great, and I have girls who want to learn and play this sport to the best of their ability.”...

ORAN, Mo. — Oran senior Katie Webb and head coach Amy Pobst earned Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honors for the Scott-Mississippi County Conference last week. Webb was one of three Eagles to earn a spot on the all-conference team — juniors Hope Woodfin and Traci Hency joined her — while sophomore Haley Webb was an honorable mention...

SIKESTON — Two Sikeston Lady Bulldogs’ earned a spot on the Class 5, District 1 All-District team. Juniors Karris Allen and Amyari Blissett both received the honor. Allen finished her junior year averaging a double-double, with 20 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with four assists, four steals, and two blocks per contest. She shot 44 percent from the field, 29 percent from three, and 56 percent at the free-throw line...

THAYER, Mo. — Clicking on all cylinders from the opening tip is what Charleston wanted in its Class 3 sectional matchup against Thayer on Tuesday night. "We wanted to come in here and jump on them," Charleston head coach Jamarcus Williams said. "We knew that with them having home-court advantage was going to be a big factor. So, we wanted to create some space and keep some space, but when you're playing a team like this, obviously, they will go on runs and keep the game close.”...

Local teams place in MCCA state cheer competition East Carter won its division at the Missouri Cheerleading Coaches Association's state championships, it was announced Sunday, while the East Prairie and South Pemiscot squads were honored for their work during timeouts. ...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo – To put Charleston’s decade-plus of district dominance into perspective, the last time the Bluejays didn’t come home with a championship, several players on their current squad weren’t old enough to enroll in kindergarten. Even in this year of uncertainty, Charleston showed in no uncertain terms Thursday night that they’re still the team to beat...

The Woodland girls basketball team has really put together a nice winning streak of winning since mid-January, going 7-0 in that stretch. They continued that streak Wednesday with a semifinal win against Charleston, ending the Blue Jays season with a 70-37 shellacking...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — They’re back again. For the 13th-consecutive year, the Charleston boys’ basketball team has a chance to win a district championship after defeating East Prairie in the Class 3 District 2 semifinals 83-49 Tuesday night at Charleston High School...

Jackson junior forward Nick Wasilewski didn't allow a 13 day layoff to let "floor rust" get the better of him, as he played sensational basketball Friday, leading his Indians past Charleston, 62-45. Wasilewski scored a game-high and personal season-high 26 points, including eight points scored in the second quarter, and with help from fellow big-man Clayton Ernst, dominated a thinner and smaller Charleston team...

SCOTT CITY — Six years ago, Scott City High School boy’s basketball coach Mark Dannenmueller reacted to a postseason loss to Charleston by strengthening the Rams’ schedule the following season to an insane degree.

High School boys and girls basketball district tournaments are finally upon us. Fans, players, and coaches have had to endure a strange, but sometimes fun, basketball season, which was filled with many postponements and/or cancellations due to Covid-19, as well as the weather. However, we can say that the 2020-2021 season has been one of the more entertaining ones in recent years.

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Staying busy isn’t a problem for Charleston girls’ basketball coach Michael Minner. He wears many hats, serving as the school’s athletic director, baseball coach, art teacher, and summer baseball coach, along with coaching on the hardwood...

The seedings have been released for the Class 1-3 boys and girls district basketball tournaments. Postseason play begins Feb. 20 for schools in Class 1-3. Higher seeds are slated to host quarterfinals and semifinals. Some districts will also have the highest remaining seed host their district championship. Other districts have elected to designate a neutral host site for their district final...

As the postseason nears, the individual exploits of the best basketball players throughout Southeast Missouri begin to grow in their ability to impress.

CHARLESTON, Mo – For the Charleston Bluejays, Friday was a return to normalcy. It’s been over two weeks since the Bluejays were allowed to hit the hardwood as they grappled with the realities of the pandemic. While there appeared to be some rust after such a long layoff, Charleston picked up where they left off in handing the Kennett Indians a 63-45 win, starting a stretch of eight games in 14 days...

The highly acclaimed and 100 percent accurate (see the sarcasm) boys' basketball rankings are out for the second edition. Did your team move, drop, or enter the coveted top-10? New Madrid County Central (12-0) The skinny: Since the last rankings on Jan. ...

Alandry Below scored a game-high 24 points and two other Advance Hornets scored in double figures as Advance pulled away from Charleston in the last three quarters, winning at home in dominating fashion Monday 63-38 to win their fifth in a row. Kaylee Cline helped the cause for the Hornets scoring 15 points and Danielle Markham added 12 points in the victory...

Drum roll, please. After seeing a lot of chatter on who the top-10 boys and girls basketball teams are in the region, I have put together a list of who I think deserves to be mentioned. Here is the absolutely accurate (see the sarcasm) boys’ list: New Madrid County Central (9-0)...

CHARLESTON, Mo – In a game that resembled more of a free throw shooting contest, the Charleston Bluejays struggles at the line against visiting New Madrid County Central stood out. A combined 72 shots were taken at the foul line, with the Bluejays only hitting on 39 percent of their 31 attempts, allowing the Eagles to stay unbeaten on the season with a 67-55 win...