Van Buren

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.

There were a ton of great postseason performances on the basketball courts of Southeast Missouri last week.

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. ...

VAN BUREN — Haden Barnes and the Van Buren Bulldogs started hot Thursday night to build a lead in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 championship game. But the shots didn’t keep falling for the Bulldogs, who managed just four second-quarter points. Alton surged ahead before halftime and scored nine straight in the third quarter to leave behind the host and win 52-37...

NEELYVILLE — Natalie Akers and her Neelyville teammates turned up the pressure in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 semifinal Tuesday night. Akers had six steals, fellow senior Makenzie Davis had four more while Payton Reinbott and Lexus Hagood each had a pair as the Tigers picked off Naylor 64-47 to reach the district final...

By BRIAN ROSENER Sports Editor VAN BUREN — A freshman who wasn’t even on the varsity roster until late January had two of the bigger plays Monday night for Van Buren. Holden Hills sank a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 75 seconds remaining and forced a jump ball to seal the Bulldogs’ 55-54 win over Ellington in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 semifinal...

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.

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...

Camden Conner poured in 13 of his game-high 27 points in the third quarter, leading Scott City to a 62-47 win over Saxony Lutheran Thursday. Conner added 10 more in the fourth quarter, and four points in the opening frame. He didn't score in the second period...

Cape Central advanced to the championship game of the Hillsboro Girls Invitational with a 45-40 win over Herculaneum Thursday. The Tigers led 11-8 after the opening quarter and carried that lead into halftime, outscoring the Blackcats, eight to six, in the second quarter...

ELLSINORE, Mo. — After spending the past two years in Van Buren, the Yellow Sucker trophy has returned to East Carter. The Redbirds led by a point heading into the fourth quarter and held on to win 63-51 Friday in Ellsinore. “We worked a long time to get our program back to where it is steady and competitive like it was in the early 2000s. These guys just put in a lot of work,” East Carter coach Jordan Penn said...

BLOOMFIELD - East Prairie coach Casey Knight has been preaching to his squad to crash the boards late in games in recent weeks. “One of the things we’ve been preaching to our guys is to help each other out,” Knight said. “There are times late in games when you are tired and your teammates shoot and nobody crashes the boards. We’ve been talking about getting more offensive putbacks."...

The postseason for winter sports in Missouri will look different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MSHSAA announced Friday. MSHSAA released district assignments for winter sports and also announced that it will modify some postseason activities due to concerns with the virus...

VAN BUREN — The Lady Dawg Classic was exactly that. Ellington and Twin Rivers needed every second of double overtime to settle the championship game. Eventually, it was Twin Rivers’ Brianna South at the foul line, no time left, nobody around her, tie game, all the pressure. She swished the bonus attempt to deliver a 62-61, championship upset Thursday night...

The host Van Buren Lady Dawgs earned the only upset of the first round as four local teams reached the semifinals of the 2020 Lady Dawg Classic. Fifth-seeded Van Buren topped fourth-seeded Koshkonong 55-48. The top three seeds, respectively, Ellington, Doniphan and Twin Rivers, advanced as well...

VAN BUREN — Preston Golden was money in the third quarter for East Carter while Senath-Hornersville overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter Saturday at the Current River Challenge. Golden scored 20 of his game-high 33 points in the third quarter, helping East Carter pull away for a win...

By BRIAN ROSENER Sports Editor VAN BUREN — The opening day of the Current River Challenge started and ended well for the host Bulldogs. Van Buren’s junior varsity team picked up a win over Marquand-Zion to start the five-game event and the Bulldogs made it 2 for 2 in the nightcap with a 66-47 win over Risco...

Van Buren returns two staters after winning 20 games for the first time since 2010. Seniors Haden Barnes and Hayden Hills are both 6-3 and represent a strong combo to anchor the starting lineup. Barnes earned All-District and All-Conference honors last season and led the team in scoring with 19 points per game to go with nine rebounds...

The Missouri State High School Activities Association is pushing back the announcement of class and district assignments for winter sports to Friday, December 11. District assignments and classifications were originally scheduled to be released Friday, November 13...

The stakes were as high as they could be for area athletes throughout Southeast Missouri last week, as they competed in various MSHSAA postseason competitions.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Katie Griffin and Kinsley Murphy earned all-state medals to lead the Van Buren cross country team to a second straight fourth place finish at the MSHSAA Class 1 championship meet Saturday at Gans Creek Cross Country Course. Griffin finished ninth, Murphy was 13th and Addison Lewis placed 28th as Van Buren finished with 118 points, two behind Harrisburg and nine ahead of St. Vincent. College Heights Christian won the team title with 91 points followed by Valle Catholic at 109...

By BRIAN ROSENER Daily American Republic IRONTON, Mo. — Dylan Price wasn’t too sure where to turn during points on the 5,000-meter course at Arcadia Valley Sports Complex. Having not run there before Saturday’s MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 meet, the Ellington freshman came to a near stop with less than 400 meters left looking for the second-to-last turn...

IRONTON, Mo. — Kennett Rampley scared himself on Halloween. The Zalma sophomore surged into the lead at the two-mile mark of the 3.1-mile race Saturday in the MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 meet at Arcadia Valley Sports Complex. In passing Ellington’s Carson McNail, an all-state medalist the previous year, Rampley said, “scared the crap out of me.”...

VAN BUREN — It has been said that a good pitcher can carry a softball team a long way. The Naylor Lady Eagles and Neelyville Lady Tigers did their best to prove that Thursday, getting strong pitching performances in their respective MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 semifinal contests to punch their tickets to Friday’s championship...

The Missouri State High School Activities Association has partnered with HomeTown Ticketing to serve as the official digital ticketing partner for MSHSAA state championship events this fall. Digital tickets will also be an option for all other playoff contests, at the discretion of the host manager...

Ainsley Burnett drove in a game high five runs to lead Notre Dame past Incarnate Word Academy Monday 13-7, leading the Bulldogs to their 23rd victory of the season, closing out the regular season on a very high note. Burnett drove in runs on a groundout in the first inning, and double in the very next inning, and a home run in the third...

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.

Cape Central would make quick work of East Carter as the Tigers would win going away in just three innings. The Tigers would score five runs in the bottom of the first inning, then plate eight more in the bottom of the second. They would then shut down the Redbirds in the third inning to win by 10 run rule...

How more impressive is it to only allow your opponents 2 overall hits and allowing one lone run in two games in one day? How about outscoring your two foes 28-1!

A small benefit to socially distancing guidelines is Van Buren’s cross country runners could still put in miles during a summer where there wasn’t much else to do. “I believe Van Buren’s cross country team, right now, is probably ahead as they’ve ever been, as far as being ready for their first race,” boys’ coach Jacob Black said. ...

The Cape Girardeau Capahas are still seeking an elusive Mon Clair League championship. The Caps, the top seed in this weekend’s single-elimination league playoffs, fell Saturday to the no.-4 seed Belleville Rockies, 4-1, in a second-round contest at Capaha Field...

Notre Dame’s Austin Dill will be the starting pitcher if the Cape Girardeau Capahas reach the Mon Clair League championship game this Sunday. The Caps (17-3), the no.-1 seed in the aluminum bat playoff tourney, have won 15 in a row and Dill has the most impressive statistics of any league hurler...

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...

The Cape Girardeau Capahas (17-3) won their 15th in a row Saturday as the oldest amateur team in U.S. history swept a doubleheader from the Belleville Rockies, 7-2 and 7-6 at Capaha Field. Game one In the early game, Malden’s Dee Triplett’s first inning three-run homer put the Caps on the board early to pace the Mon Clair League leaders. ...

The controversial basketball coach who led Dora (32-2) over Delta in the Missouri Class 1 playoffs this spring en route to a state basketball title is moving to Viola High in northcentral Arkansas. Rick Luna’s contract at Dora was not renewed after the 2019-20 season despite the Falcons winning a MSHSAA championship. Dora’s school board failed to give a reason for voting 5-1 against extending Luna’s coaching job with the school...

Van Buren High School SPORTS: Softball, cheerleading. PARENTS: David and Heidi Truncone SIBLINGS: Hannah Truncone PETS: none PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: Attending and cheering at Evangel University in the fall of 2020 studying Elementary Education and Children’s ministry...

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.

Connor Jackson is staying close to home to play college basketball. The Van Buren senior and Big Springs Conference Player of the Year recently committed to play for Williams Baptist University. “It seemed like the best fit for me, coming in as a freshman, getting to have experience on a JV team, so I don’t sit,” Jackson said. ...