Woodland

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- For Michael Brown, it was all a whirlwind. One day, his 4-year-old son, Nolan, was taking a bath when his wife Elizabeth noticed a hard spot on his stomach. A couple of days later, they learned Nolan had kidney cancer and they were driving to St. Louis, Missouri, for surgery...

Anna Besand blasted a triple and drove in three runs to lead the Perryville softball team to a 15-5 victory over Saxony Lutheran on Friday that lasted five innings in Perryville, Missouri.

The Notre Dame volleyball team overcame a 20-17 deficit in both games to eke out a 25-23, 25-23 conference victory over Poplar Bluff on Tuesday in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Alexa Clark's serve clipped the net and fell in to break a 23-all tie in the first game, while her serve helped the Bulldogs rally in the second game...

Pool A New Haven split Hillsboro 25-13, 21-25 Notre Dame def. NMCC 25-07, 25-08 New Haven def. NMCC 25-04, 25-12 Notre Dame def. Hillsboro 25-21, 25-18 Pool B Farmington def. St. Vincent 25-23, 25-22 Calvary Lutheran def. Gideon/Risco 25-15, 25-11 Farmington def. Gideon/Risco 25-15, 25-18...

Down five points midway through the decisive third set, Woodland volleyball coach Kacie Patton had a message for her team during a timeout: play to win. She wanted the Cardinals to be free and loose on the court, not afraid to make mistakes. It took a few points, but the Woodland players responded, resulting in a 25-21, 20-25, 25-22 win Tuesday over host Saxony Lutheran...

Kristen Barwick doubled twice and scored two runs as Notre Dame softball beat Van Buren 8-3 to deal their visiting Bulldogs their first loss of the season in the opening round of pool play at the Notre Dame Softball Fest. Ali Lynch went the distance in the circle to take the win for Notre Dame (7-1). She allowed three earned runs, struck out four and walked two...

Thanks to two second-place finishes, St. Vincent cross country won both the boys and girls team titles in the largest-ever St. Vincent Invitational at Perry Park Center in Perryville, Missouri, on Wednesday. On the boys side, Joseph Baer came in second with a time of 18 minutes, 5 seconds, as the Indians finished 13 points ahead of second-place Steeleville (Ill.). Corin Carroll was second in the girls race, and St. Vincent edged Valle Catholic and Poplar Bluff by five points...

Lexie Barnes posted a double-double with 10 assists and 10 digs to go along with seven kills, as the Saxony Lutheran volleyball team defeated St. Vincent 25-18, 20-25, 25-18 on Tuesday in Perryville, Missouri. Allie Sprink recorded 13 assists and seven kills for Saxony Lutheran (6-1). Macy Morehead finished with 16 digs and five kills, and Laurel Mueller added five kills and nine digs. Ashley Fritsche notched 12 digs to pace the Crusaders defensively...

It was a wild final night at the Woodland Invitational volleyball tournament, as the final four matches all went three sets, capped off by the third-seeded host Cardinals pulling off their second upset of the night with a 25-21, 26-28, 25-20 victory over top-seeded Saxony Lutheran for the championship...

Bridgette Swinford blasted a grand slam to lead the Chaffee softball team to its first win of the season, a 17-6 decision against Jefferson on Thursday in Festus, Missouri. Kylie Wilhite was the winning pitcher and also doubled for Chaffee (1-2). She allowed four earned runs and recorded seven strikeouts and one walk...

Allison Bray carded a 3-over-par 75 to earn co-medalist honors, as the Notre Dame girls golf team started its season on a high note and clinched the championship of the 13-team Midwest Shootout Classic on Tuesday at Far Oaks Golf Course in Caseyville, Illinois...

The Semoball Cup ended up being a battle of the Bulldogs that needed overtime to decide. Megan Heisserer's golden goal to lift Notre Dame to the Class 2 soccer title also happened to clinch the Cup. In the closest finish in the early history of the award, Notre Dame edged Van Buren by 4.79 points in the standings that determine which area school had the most athletically successful school year...

From across Southeast Missouri, people descended upon Cape Girardeau on Saturday night for the region's premier sports awards show. More than 150 student-athletes from 57 area high schools were on hand for the Fourth Annual Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH at the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall on Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus, as awards were handed out in 25 sports categories...

State events and finishes: Triple jump (15th) Favorite warmup song: "DNA" by Kendrick Lamar Favorite shoes to wear while competing: Nike TJ Elite Favorite rival to face off against: Phayzun Fobbs (Sikeston) Favorite place to compete: Kirkwood Favorite track and field athlete: Christian Taylor...

Former Woodland girls cross country runner Cheyenne Wells is one of nine athletes the Southeast Missouri State men's and women's cross country teams added ahead of the 2017 campaign, the program announced Monday. Wells, who just graduated this spring, was a 2015 All-Southeast Missourian selection in cross country and a 2016 pick in track and field. She finished 29th at this past season's Class 2 Cross Country State Championships. She qualified for the state meet all four years of high school...

About six weeks before winning the state championship, Bruester Young threw a javelin for the first time. Except it was just a turbo javelin -- a plastic, safer version of the spear used at meets. Ahead of the district meet, Young and his Woodland teammates practiced with a real javelin three times. That was enough to get second in his first-ever javelin event...