High School Sports

The Rib City Shootout 3-on-3 basketball tournament has been canceled. The tournament was scheduled for Saturday, June 22, at the Bearcat Event Center but was canceled because not enough teams entered.

Riley Burger recently took her talents internationally for track. The three-time Class 4 state champion in the triple jump traveled to Cuba for the 2019 Memorial Barrientos meet in Havana, Cuba. Burger, a rising senior at Notre Dame Regional High School, represented Team NSAF (National Scholastic Athletics Foundation-USA) in both jumps, finishing seventh in the triple and 10th place in the long jump...

The stage is set for the 2019 Kennett Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The latest selections to the Kennett Sports Hall of Fame will be recognized on Sept. 6 at Metz Cherry Stadium. The date coincides with Kennett’s first home varsity football game of the 2019 season against Gosnell, Arkansas...

Hannah Thurmon didn’t travel far to go to college, but Three Rivers College took her all the way to Texas. Thurmon, a 2018 Dexter High School graduate, helped the Lady Raiders, of Poplar Bluff, advance to the NJCAA national tournament for the third time in program history. They compiled a 27-4 record, won 20 straight games and were ranked No. 22 in the final NJCAA poll...

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Dexter baseball team struggled to a 3-18 finish in the spring, but one of the bright spots was an extra-inning SEMO Conference win over New Madrid County Central. This game is No. 9 on the Dexter Statesman's list of top high school games from the 2018-19 school year involving Stoddard County teams...

Gloria! Gloria! To some, it’s just a song. Don’t tell that to the fans of the St. Louis Blues, because it means much more. Following each Blues victory, that song is played throughout the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, but on Wednesday the celebration was much different.

Van Buren alumna Summer Shockley had just moved into the University of Missouri. The day after she met her California roommate Cassie Gasper, also a sophomore and a late summer addition to the Missouri softball roster, the pair went to Subway for sandwiches...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Through four innings offense was limited between the Southeast Tropics and Charleston Fighting Squirrels. It was a pitcher’s dual to begin the game, as Charleston’s Tanner King and the Tropics’ Wyatt Barnett dazzled early. However, in the fifth inning, the bats woke up for both teams, as nine runs crossed the plate — six of them by the Fighting Squirrels — in their 7-3 victory over the Tropics at Hillhouse Park...

Holcomb native Matt Casper had an immediate interest in becoming the new varsity volleyball coach at his high school when he learned the position would be available for the 2019-20 school year. “I expressed interest last year of potentially taking over the program, knowing Mrs. Jones was going to retire,” Casper said. “I was able to help out in some practices last year and enjoyed it.”...

CHARLESTON, Mo – After struggling to plate an insurance run to go with their one-run advantage the Charleston Fighting Squirrels broke through for nine runs in the final two innings against the visiting Mineral Area Orioles Monday night. The late outburst proved to be vital in fending off a seventh-inning rally by the Orioles with the Squirrels holding on for a 10-4 win in the first game of a doubleheader...

SIKESTON — An early crooked number proved to be the difference for the Charleston Fighting Squirrels 18u team on Monday. Charleston put a three-spot on the board in the top of the first against the Sikeston Silver Sox at VFW Memorial Stadium. Charleston wound up winning the game 8-5, making those runs that much more critical...

In order to truly appreciate the magnificence of Southeast Missouri State senior linebacker Zach Hall, you have to study his play very closely.

Returning to the sidelines, former Sikeston boys’ basketball head coach Fred Johnson will lead the Kelly boys’ program in 2018-2019. At the helm of the Bulldogs, Johnson finished with a 118-82 record. He won three district championships during that time, along with a pair of quarterfinal appearances and a fourth-place finish at the state tournament...

Two Dexter players received honorable mentions on the Class 4 District 1 all-district baseball team. Seniors Ethan Kincy and Luke Thurston represented the Bearcats. Here’s the complete team: Doniphan: Nolan Czerwonka, Jake Eddington and Alex Littrell...

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Bloomfield softball team began the season with a victory over Puxico but opened some eyes with a come-from-behind road win over Dexter in its second game. Bloomfield, who hadn’t posted a winning season in at least seven years, finished 11-7 and reached the championship game of the SCAA tournament and tied Advance for second in the final league standings. ...

“Here’s where it all starts,” Bernie senior Blake Harty said Friday at the Rib City Shootout at the Bearcat Event Center. “You learn the fundamentals, and how your team’s going to be,” Harty said of playing summer basketball in preparation for the upcoming season. “Players are starting to know their roles.”...

When you take into account that the Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball program has endured 12 losing seasons in the past 15 years, there is no way to sugarcoat that Redhawk followers have reason to be frustrated.

The annual Kennett High School Boys Basketball Shootout is slated for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Junior varsity squads square off Thursday with varsity teams battling it out Friday and Saturday. Games will last approximately 40 minutes. Each game will have two 16-minute halves with a running clock. The clock will stop the final two minutes of the game on dead balls unless a team is leading by 10 points or more in the final two minutes. Overtime is sudden death...

Sikeston’s Austin Crawford shot a 90 to finish in a tie for second place at the Gateway Junior PGA Southeast Missouri Section, on Wednesday, May 29, at Hidden Trails Country Club, in Dexter, Mo.

SIKESTON — Four Sikeston Bulldog baseball players earned a spot on the All-District team. Junior outfielder Payton Howard, sophomore catcher Nolan Self, and senior infielder/pitcher Nate Self along with senior outfielder/pitcher Jeffery Thornbrough all made the team...

ELLINGTON — After winning the school’s first-ever state championship on Friday in O’Fallon, Missouri, Ellington was greeted with a hero’s welcome once it got back into town. As soon as the Whippets’ bus entered Reynolds County at around 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, the team was given a police escort into town by three deputies...

Five players from the Missouri Bootheel have been selected to the Missouri High School Fastpitch Coaches Association all-state softball team. Bernie junior pitcher Alyson Marcum, Kennett freshman shortstop Kyra Jaco, Kennett freshman designated player Anelle Harris, and Malden sophomore outfielder Katie Shuffler were selected first-team all-state. Bernie junior catcher Taylor Anthony was selected second-team all-state...

Bernie seniors Wyatt Barnett and Josh Vaughn have been named to the Class 2 District 1 all-tournament team. Five players from district champion Portageville made the squad: Kile Adams, Connor Barham, Jared Crafton, Bub Lance and Sam Riggs. Ben Barnett, Jake Hankins and Kaden Siebert represented district runner-up Campbell...

Poplar Bluff alum Kameron Misner was drafted 35th overall in the first round by the Miami Marlins on Monday after going into the day ranked as the 27th overall prospect by MLB.com. Misner hit .286 as a 6-foot, 4-inch, 213-pound junior at Missouri this season with a .921 OPS and a .481 slugging percentage. He led the Tigers with 10 home runs, 20 stolen bases, 54 walks, 59 hits and 54 runs scored. He also had 10 doubles and 32 RBIs...

The 2019 Bootheel Conference baseball awards have been released. Malden’s Tye Miller and Portageville’s Bub Lance are the Bootheel Conference Co-Players of the Year. Miller batted .462 with 22 hits, 44 stolen bases, and 43 RBIs this spring. Miller went 7-2 with 2.32 ERA on the mound. He struck out 62 and walked 33 in 54.1 innings pitched...

School may already be out, but it hasn't stopped a local group of students from competing. Jackson High School is known for its athletic success on the gridiron, hardwood, diamond, and track, among other venues. Now, it can add bowling to that list...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tears were on the faces of the Notre Dame girls soccer seniors following the Class 2 state championship game. The Bulldogs had just won their second state title in three seasons, but it was a bittersweet triumph for the group of eight who grew up playing club soccer with one another...

O’FALLON, Mo. — “Sup, State Champ?” That was the phrase Ellington coach Jake Hime greeted each of his players with as they made their way off the field after Friday’s MSHSAA Class 2 championship. The players earned the title, playing a nearly perfect game and shutting out Seymour 9-0 to win their first-ever state championship...

SIKESTON — Running has been in Sikeston senior Emma Jones’ DNA for seemingly her entire life. Starting on the pitch, Jones was a standout for the Lady Bulldogs soccer team for the past three years. “I played everything from club soccer, indoor soccer, to summer tournaments,” Jones said. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The St. Vincent girls soccer team created chances in overtime. This time, though, a thrilling victory wasn’t in the cards.

O’FALLON, Mo. — While the Blues and their fans are singing Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” after each win during their run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Ellington has developed a similar tradition this season. During Ellington’s games, chances are you’ll hear Neil Diamond’s 1969 hit, “Sweet Caroline.”...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With four minutes left in the Class 2 Girl’s Soccer State Championship game, Notre Dame’s Megan Heisserer jogged off the field, wrapping her arm around teammate Hannah Miller as they headed toward the bench.

O’FALLON, Mo. – Cameron Brewer wasn’t a fan of the weather postponement that caused the MSHAA Class 2 State semifinals to get postponed until Thursday. He was ready to go. Once Ellington took the field to resume its game against Skyline, he showed exactly how ready he was...

Bernie juniors Alyson Marcum and Taylor Anthony were named to the spring softball all-state team by the Missouri High School Fastpitch Coaches Association Marcum was a first-team pitcher for the Mules, who went 23-4 and won the District 3 championship...

Dexter boys golf coach Eric Sitze knew he had a talented bunch of players when the season began. But he was a little surprised by how well the district-champion Bearcats did. The Bearcats began the season with then two-time state tournament qualifier Spencer Warren and sophomore Ryan Collier, who missed qualifying for state by one stroke...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — Over her first three years throwing for the East Prairie track and field team, junior Makenzie Williams has proven to be one of the best athletes to come from the program. Placing in the state meet in four of her six events she’s qualified for, Williams has put together a decorated career, and she is still not finished...

Lloyd Hyten will be back on the sideline next winter as the head coach of the T.S. Hill Middle School boys basketball team. He was the varsity boys head coach last season and the assistant varsity boys coach in 2017-18. He coached the middle school team in 2016-17...

O’Fallon, Mo. - It wasn't the perfect ending the Cooter Wildcats baseball program had hoped for when it departed for the Class 1 state tournament earlier this week. But Cooter found a way to end its season on a high note about 24 hours after suffering a 6-1 loss to St. Elizabeth in its state semifinal Tuesday evening...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Like most coaches, Caitlin Pistorio strives to create a family-like bond between her players. Luckily for Pistorio, the fifth-year St. Vincent girls soccer coach, the groundwork had been laid in that regard long before this season started. Family bonds permeate the Indians, from the two pairs of sisters, all starters, to a group of six cousins...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the shot flew into the back of the net, St. Vincent girls soccer coach Caitlin Pistorio saw a weight lifted off her players' shoulders. The pressure to score evaporated just like that. After 51 minutes and 7 seconds of domination, the Indians had finally got the breakthrough thanks to Reese Barber's strike from 18 yards out...

O’FALLON, Mo. — The MSHSAA Class 2 tournament saw a setback on Wednesday in O’fallon. With Ellington and Skyline set to meet in the first semifinal at CarShield Field, thunder and lightning rolled in to put a halt on those plans. After 1 1/2 innings, lightning was spotted in the area for the second time. The officials announced that the conditions were deemed unplayable due to impending weather, and called the games for the rest of the day...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With minutes left in a semifinal game deadlocked at two, Livia Wunderlich didn't deviate from her usual routine. As the Notre Dame senior midfielder stood over the free kick on the left side of the field, she took a moment to calm down and remind herself to find someone's head in the penalty box...

O'FALLON, Mo. -- Coming into the final game of the season, Saxony Lutheran did something it hadn't had to do in over a month -- regroup after a loss. After being slowed in the Class 3 state semifinal game Monday, the Crusaders bounced back in a game they never trailed, claiming third place with a 9-1 victory over Montgomery County on Tuesday at Car Shield Field...

After being teammates for years, Poplar Bluff’s Sam Pierce and Johnathon Thurman will be opponents next season. Pierce and Thurmon both signed recently to play baseball at Region XVI colleges, with Pierce committing to Three Rivers and Thurman with Mineral Area...

Six Stoddard County baseball players made the Class 2 District 3 all-district team. Four players from district runner-up Advance received honors, as did one player from Bloomfield and one from Puxico. District champion Chaffee received a team-best five selections...

The all-region softball team has been released. Kennett freshman Kyra Jaco, Oran junior Kaylee Payne, Campbell senior Elizabeth Steward, Puxico senior Bailey Burns, Holcomb sophomore Bailey Cupples, and Malden sophomore Hailey Rojas were selected first-team all-region infielders...

The Notre Dame girls soccer team has been in this position each of the last two seasons. So getting to a final four, while thrilling, is not the goal the Bulldog seniors set for themselves before this season. They wanted more, a Class 2 state championship specifically, two years after many of the same players helped capture the program's first state crown...

O’Fallon, Mo. - The Cooter Wildcats remained within striking distance most of the way but was unable to string together the hits its needed to recover from the big top of the first inning the St. Elizabeth Indians enjoyed Tuesday afternoon. St. Elizabeth jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning and added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh frame as it knocked off Cooter 6-1 in a Class 1 state baseball semifinal at CarShield Field in O’Fallon, Missouri...

SIKESTON — Walking out of the throwing circle for the last time in his Sikeston career, senior David Rowland did not walk out empty-handed at this past weekend’s Class 4 state championships at Washington High School. Rowland placed sixth in the discus, after a throw of 152-10 feet, and earned All-State honors in doing so...

WASHINGTON, Mo. — Sikeston’s David Rowland placed sixth in the discus at the Class 4 state championships on Saturday, at Washington High School. Rowland finished with a throw of 152-10. He also placed eighth in the shot put, after a toss of 48-06. Keon Graham finished sixth in the 300-meter hurdles after a time of 40.58 seconds...