High School Sports

Cooter senior Lane McLevain didn’t want to rule out the possibility of being a two-way player when he signed to play college baseball. Neither did College of the Ozarks. “College of the Ozarks mentioned using me as a two-way player,” McLevain said. “They said I might come in and pitch, play in the outfield, or possibly catch. They said I could end up playing anywhere.”...

MSHSAA has cancelled the spring sports postseason. In a press release issued Thursday, MSHSAA announced it was cancelling all postseason events for the 2019-20 school year. The news followed Governor Mike Parson's announcement, also on Thursday, of "in-person school closure for the remainder of the school year."...

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

Highly touted high school baseball squads projected to make deep postseason runs are often blessed with a strong senior core. Such is the case for the Cooter Wildcats baseball squad this spring. Cooter has five seniors projected to crack its starting lineup on a squad that placed third in Class 1 last season and is ranked No. 2 in the Class 1 preseason state baseball rankings...

Dexter senior Alexa Werneck sat out her junior basketball season. However, the 5-foot-8 guard returned for her senior year and was rewarded for her decision, making the SEMO Conference all-conference girls basketball team. Her teammates, junior Sydney Asberry and sophomore Dulcie Pullen, received honorable mentions...

Cooter senior Jacob Watkins had College of the Ozarks on his radar before he ever stepped onto a high school baseball diamond. “Before baseball was ever a factor College of the Ozarks was one of the schools I was highly interested in attending because of their work-education program,” Watkins said. ...

The Kennett girls track team remains hopeful it will have an opportunity to fine-tune its skills this season. “It’s kind of a rebuilding year,” Kennett track coach Andrew Webster said. “We lost a lot of girls. Overall we are very young.” Kennett has 35 girls out for high school track. ...

If Daniel Seabaugh can’t be IN the water, the very least the Cape Central swimming star will do in wake of the coronavirus problem that has engulfed the entire sports world is be NEAR the water.

Kennett track coach Andrew Webster was confident the pieces were in place for his high school boys track squad to put together a record-breaking campaign when practice got underway in early March. “We were ready to roll,” Webster said. “We have some accomplished track returners in our senior class that had the potential to do big things. We also have some talented underclassmen.”...

Two Bell City High School graduates were named Friday to the Association of Independent Institutions Baseball All-Conference team. Juniors Nate Finney and Bobby Wright played for Crowley’s Ridge College in Paragould, Arkansas, this season. The school compiled a 12-12 record before the remainder of the season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic...

SIKESTON — Below is a list compiled of the Standard-Democrat area’s 12 best boys’ basketball players — outside of the player of the year. Eight schools make up the Standard-Democrat coverage area: Sikeston, Scott County Central, Oran, Portageville, East Prairie, Charleston, New Madrid County Central, and Kelly...

SIKESTON — After a season which saw four all-conference players graduate, a lot of questions surrounded the Sikeston boys’ basketball program on how senior guard Payton Howard was going to perform after a nagging injury toward the end of his junior year that lingered into the offseason...

Host sites are set for most district tournaments if spring sports resume in Missouri. Missouri high schools remain out of session and all springs sports activities and practices are currently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indiana High School Athletics Association canceled spring sports in Indiana Thursday due to the VOVID-19 pandemic...

Kennett native Fred Garmon is a lifelong student of the game of basketball. “Basketball has always been my sport,” said Garmon, who is a 2011 graduate of Kennett High School. “I call people at random times just to hear me out on things like a new practice drill I’ve come up with. I continue to learn more about the game and want to share my knowledge with people who are interested in listening to me.”...

SIKESTON — Below is a list compiled of the Standard-Democrat area’s 12 best girls’ basketball players: Height: 5’10” Coach: Alisha Wills ABOUT HER: An all-around player for the Lady Bulldogs this season, Allen did nearly everything that Sikeston asked her to do. ...

SIKESTON — In three years playing varsity basketball, Sikeston senior Taydrianna Barnett racked up over 1,500 points. One thousand seven hundred sixty-seven to be exact. That mark earned Barnett Class 4, District 1 All-District, and SEMO Conference All-Conference honors. She is also the 2020 Girls’ Standard-Democrat Player of the Year...

The 2019-20 SEMO Conference all-conference girls basketball awards have been released. Poplar Bluff senior Kiley Bess is the SEMO Conference Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Bess, who has signed to play basketball at St. Louis University, led the conference in scoring with 166 points in regular-season conference action. She averaged a team-high 24 points per conference game...

The 2019-2020 SEMO Conference all-conference boys basketball awards have been released. Sikeston senior Payton Howard is the SEMO Conference Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Howard, who has signed to play baseball at St. Louis University, led the conference in scoring with 175 points in regular-season conference action. He averaged 22 points per conference game...

Longtime baseball coach Chris McLain never had the luxury of working with his baseball players during the fall before arriving at Senath-Hornersville for the 2019-20 school year. “I never had a fall season before I came to Senath-Hornersville,” McClain said. “Having a fall season is something that is invaluable for a coach that is coming into a program. It gives you an opportunity to learn more about not only their athletic ability but also their character.”...

By BRIAN ROSENER Staff Writer Kiley Bess knocked down a shot in the closing seconds of the state quarterfinal two weeks ago. It ended up being one of the very last baskets of a shortened postseason. Poplar Bluff’s season ended with a 44-33 loss to Kirkwood in the MSHSAA Class 5 playoffs, that were later canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — New Madrid County Central standout Lily Johnson is taking her softball career to the next level. Johnson recently signed a letter of intent to play softball for Union University in Jackson, Tenn. Last spring, as a junior, Johnson pitched in 19 games for the Lady Eagles. She logged 240 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.16 in 2019...

For the Dexter Bearcats to win their third straight district championship in boys tennis, they will have to do so without their two best players from last season and hope the COVID-19 pandemic ends soon. Former No. 1 Eric Hahn and No. 2 Nate Gargas graduated, as did No. 5 Travis Propst...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — After serving as an assistant coach for the past six years at East Prairie, Ian Penrod is taking over the reins for Portageville next season. Penrod will be the third coach in the last three seasons for the Bulldogs, and it will also be his first head coaching opportunity...

BENTON, Mo. — Finishing his third season as head coach at Kelly, Darrin Pruitt earned Coach of the Year honors from the Scott-Mississippi County Conference. After an 8-15 season in his first year, Pruitt has led the Lady Hawks to back-to-back winning seasons, culminating in a 16-11 mark in 2019-20...

The Southland Rebels baseball squad is blessed with experience entering its spring campaign. Southland has four seniors, four juniors, and five sophomores out for baseball this spring. “We’ve got eight upperclassmen on our 13-man roster,” Southland coach Matt Bailey said. “Most of the upperclassmen have been in our program since I’ve been here for the last two years so they should know what to expect.”...

The Missouri State High School Activities Association issued an update regarding the status of spring sports amidst the COVID-19 pandemic Tuesday. “While schools across the state are determining the best course of action during this unprecedented time, the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) office staff continues to prepare for Spring Championships,” MSHSAA said in a press release. ...

Good Sports is a column appearing weekly in the Southeast Missourian and Semoball.com. The purpose is to get to know the people who impact the sporting life of our region in a more complete way. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

Starla Pulley and her Dexter softball team are keeping their fingers crossed for an injury-free season. The Bearcats will try to improve on last season’s 5-15 record but will have to wait awhile to begin the process. All practices and games for Dexter sports have been canceled through April 3 because of concerns about COVID-19. If school reopens on April 6, the district would determine when school activities will resume...

Area players were honored Wednesday with the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association's All-State team. In Class 1, David Layton of Oak Ridge and Delta's Eric Berry were honored. In Class 2, Oran's Tyson Goodale, Jack Below of Advance, Campbell's Blake Fowler and Neelyville's Curtis Fowler were honored along with Oran's Kaylee Payne and Katie Webb, and Neelyville's Lexi Liau...

The Senath-Hornersville Lions softball squad hopes to have the opportunity to display its skills on the diamond under new head coach Melani Rooney this spring. Rooney, who has served as an assistant coach under previous head coach Leigha Woody for the past four seasons, is a 2008 graduate of nearby Kennett High School...

SIKESTON — Danny Farmer’s announcement to retire after the state championship game of the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown was one that he told his team at the beginning of the season. For nearly five months, his decision was a secret. On the sidelines with one team for over 20 years, Farmer now heads into a different direction — one without game plans and practices — while the Bluejays do the same...

In a world that is utterly on hold due to a global pandemic, with a future that is anybody’s guess, we mine the settled past for stories reminding us when people used to play sports. Few, in his era or any era, did it much better than Joe Aden. Aden is the four-decade mayor of East Cape Girardeau, the village of approximately 300 people encountered as soon as motorists cross over the Bill Emerson bridge...

No Summer Olympics. No NBA, no NHL. No March Madness. It’s surprising to discover how wearying it is to key the word “no” over and over into a Word document. Good heavens, even the national pastime, major league baseball, is indefinitely delayed. With apologies to Shakespeare, his words slightly altered here due to the exigencies of the moment: “Now is the spring of our discontent.”...

The Dexter boys golf team enjoyed a record-breaking season in 2019. The Bearcats hope for even more success in 2020 when the season begins. All practices and games for Dexter sports have been canceled through at least April 3 because of concerns about COVID-19. If school reopens on April 6, the district would determine when school activities will resume...

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...

The Malden Green Wave softball program enters the spring hoping for an opportunity to continue its recent string of success. The Green Wave return six players off of last season’s squad that finished 20-6 and won its sixth straight district title. The returners are senior Krista Hilfiker, junior Katie Shuffler, junior Hailey Rojas, junior Madison Saulsbery, junior Hope Hartman, and sophomore Olivia Slaughter...

SIKESTON — It was a dream come true. Those were the words that former Charleston Bluejay Demarcus Sharp said after earning an offer from Dana Ford and the Missouri State University Bears. Sharp announced his commitment to the program on Wednesday via his Twitter account...

For the first time in my life, I’m going to quote someone associated with the New York Yankees. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. When words resonate, you pass them along. “The universe is in a holding pattern,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, in speaking to the media Monday from the team’s spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Florida...

Advance senior Jack Below has been named basketball player of the year in the SCAA. Below averaged a conference-high 33 points per game, leading the Hornets to a 23-5 record and a second-place finish in the SCAA standings.

SIKESTON — Multiple Standard-Democrat area basketball players earned spots on their respective All-District teams recently. Sikeston seniors Payton Howard and Clark Steward both made the team for Class 4, District 1. Senior Taydrianna Barnett and sophomore Karris Allen both made it on the girls’ side as well...

With practices for spring sports are on hold, Stoddard County coaches are encouraging their athletes to work out on their own. “I have told my players that social distancing does not require they do not go outside and exercise,” Dexter tennis coach Eric Boles said. “I told them to go out and be active, play some tennis with their family, and work on the little things so that when we get back at it they are ready to hit the ground running.”...

Many Stoddard County coaches are using the spring sports shutdown as a teaching moment. With all county schools out until at least April 6 because of COVID-19, practices and games have been canceled. School officials will determine when or if the spring seasons will begin once school is back in session...

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

Editor's note: Selection to the All-Southeast Missourian Team does not necessarily constitute selection to the Semoball Award finalists for tennis. The 2019 girls tennis season was a memorable one in Southeast Missouri, with Cape Girardeau Central (19-3) capturing the Class 2 District 1 championship and Notre Dame (16-3-1) winning the Class 1 District 2 title and advancing to the Final Four, the state championships in Springfield, Mo...

The pieces appear to be in place for another big year for the Kennett Indians baseball squad if it has an opportunity to compete on a diamond this spring. Kennett has seven returning upperclassmen who started on last season’s squad that put together the Indians’ seventh winning season in the last decade with a record of 17-7...

The preseason Missouri high school baseball state rankings were released Wednesday by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association. Six baseball teams from the semoball.com coverage area are state-ranked. Cooter, which placed third in Class 1 last spring and finished 22-1 in its fall campaign, is ranked No. ...

SIKESTON — Just as spring sports begin to start through the state of Missouri, a worldwide pandemic shuts all of it down. Still, with a hope that their respective seasons will begin, three Standard-Democrat coaches are looking to hopefully start their seasons and give their seniors a chance to play with their friends one final time...

A slew of basketball players from the Missouri Bootheel have been named to all-district teams. Listed below are the boys and girls all-district basketball teams for Class 1, District 1; Class 2, District 1; and Class 3, District 1. Class 1, District 1 All-District Team...

Editor's note: Selection to the All-Southeast Missourian Team does not necessarily constitute selection to the Semoball Award finalists for softball. The 2019 girls softball season was a memorable one in Southeast Missouri, with Notre Dame advancing to the Class 3 quarterfinal game in late October...

POPLAR BLUFF — A day after MSHSAA essentially put the spring sports season on hold, Poplar Bluff athletes were practicing in hopes that the season is not lost amid concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. “I don’t even know what’s going to happen,” Poplar Bluff senior Emily Spencer said Tuesday during soccer practice at Mules Stadium...