Submitted by

Dee Loflin/ SMT Manager/Writer

Jefferson City, Missouri -  Deadline approaching!  The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites women to get hands-on training in various outdoor skills at its “Discover Nature--Women Summer Workshop” May 31-June 2 at the Windermere Conference Center along Lake of the Ozarks in Roach, Mo.

The workshop provides a safe and friendly environment where women receive hands-on outdoor-skills training at the beginner level by selecting a group of four courses from the following offerings: archery, hunting, canoeing, outdoor cooking, firearms, camping, fishing, fly tying, map and compass reading, and shotgun shooting. Women attending for the first time are encouraged to attend the program a second year to complete four additional courses.

The special weekend is targeted to women 18 years and older, along with young women age 14-17 when accompanied by a woman 18 years or older. The workshop is free, but a $20 deposit is required at the time of registration and will be refunded at check in. There is no deposit fee for young women aged 14–17 when registered with an adult. Registration deadline is April 26.

Participants are responsible for their own accommodations and meals. MDC will provide dinner on Saturday. Various lodging options are available at the Windermere Conference Center including lodge, motel, cabin, and camping.  For more information or to make reservations directly with Windermere, call 800-346-2215, or visit windermereusa.org.

To register, go online to mdc.mo.gov/node/3958 and download the brochure for full course descriptions and the registration form. You can also see photos from the 2012 event. For more information, call 573-522-4115, ext. 3808. 

Dexter, Missouri - Dexter Lady Bearcat's all-time leading scorer, Brittany Harris was honored yesterday in a ceremony as she and her family gathered at the Bearcat Event Center to commemorate signing her National Letter of Intent to play basketball in 2013-14 for the Southeast Missouri Redhawks. 

After ending a stellar career for the Bearcat program, Brittany is more than prepared to step to the next level.  Her numbers during high school placed her among the very top athletes in the state of Missouri.

 

In the final 2012-13 season, Brittany shot an amazing 64% on field goals to lead the Bearcats in scoring with 504 total points on the season.  Harris also played a big role on both the offensive and defensive boards for the 'Cats, snagging 91 offensive rebounds and 151 defensive rebounds. 

 

"Brittany has improved tremendously since she started playing for us in 7th grade," commented Bearcat's Head Coach Chad Allen.  "She is a 3 time MBCA all-state player and the all-time Lady Bearcat Basketball leading scorer at 1,782."

 

Brittany will be filling some roles in the front court for the Redhawks that Coach Ty Margenhaler would like to see improved for the 2013-14 season.  The Southeast Missouri women’s team lost a lot of their depth at the post position to graduation and feel confident they will be able to fill those positions with this recruitment class.

“I'm excited for her,” added Coach Allen.  “She's really wanted to go to SEMO because it's close to home, family & friends can watch her play, and they have a really good nursing program." 

Brittany was always a team player during her years at DHS.  She, along with the other 'Cats, had a very successful season this past year making it all the way to the big dance in Columbia for the MSHSAA Girls High School playoffs.  The Bearcats finished fourth in the State.

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The 2012-13 season has faded into a memory for many and a focus has already begun for the next season with open gyms and camps planned for the summer months.  But few will forget the great times of watching these high school athletes as they filled area gymnasiums with the excitement of competition.

The Stoddard County Athletic Association continues to provide some of the best basketball in the area.  Countless hours spent shooting and conditioning all wraps up in only a few shorts months of games.  But all the effort extended by these young athletes will remain a great memory for a lifetime.

The SCAA has met to honor a few of the many athletes from the area with the naming of the All-Conference teams from their association.  The are three teams honored of 1st, 2nd and Honorable Mention teams, as well as a Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. 

Coach of the Year for the 2012-13 season is the head coach of the Bernie Mules, Brad Botsch.  Even more of an honor to a coach is when your own players are offered the highest award for the season.  Thus is the case for Coach Botsch with David Baker receiving the Player of the Year award and Landon Baker awarded the Defensive Player of the Year.

The Advance Hornets gathered in two positions of the SCAA First Team honors with Ethan Barr and Lane Below.  David Baker of Bernie was also named to the First Team along with Brett Ruch of the Bloomfield Wildcats.  Rounding out the honors was the dominant center for the Richland Rebels, Richard Forshe.

D.J. Dowdy of the Dexter Bearcats was named to the SCAA Second Team, along with B J Jennings of Bernie, Caleb Baker of Bloomfield and Jacob Plunkett of Puxico.  The final position on the 2nd Team was a tie between the Bernie Mules' Landon Wood and Puxico's Zach Tucker.

Dexter's Chase Young and Brad Potts received honorable mention for their performances during the 2012-13 season.

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Dexter, Missouri - The action around Charles "Seed" Bland Stadium was at a premium today as DHS hosted their one and only home track event, the Dexter High School Open.  Threatening rain throughout the afternoon, the weather cooperated with organizers and the full event was completed without delay.

With ten area teams filling the stadium, the meet was a chance for the athletes to compare their strength, quickness, speed and jumping ability in 17 individual and team events.  The teams included Dexter, Chaffee, Delta, Charleston, Zalma, Saxony Lutheran, Oran, Poplar Bluff, Sikeston and Bell City. 

A track and field event is a very big undertaking for coaches and school officials.  The event requires a large number of  volunteers willing to run each event and tally the scores 

"We really need a large number of people to make the meet a success," noted girls track coach, Jill Becker.  "We are so fortunate that so many stepped out to from the school and the community to help us.  We certainly want to thank them."

Dexter High School Girls Track

The Lady 'Cats team had a tremendous day winning first place overall in the meet.  With a total of 116 points in all events, the Lady 'Cats collected points in 13 of the 17 events. 

Leading the day for the Lady Bearcats was Makayla Waldner.  She finished first in three of her individual events of 400 meter run, 110 hurdles and long jump.

Samantha Midget finished second in the 200 meter run for the Bearcats with a time of 29.14, and in the 100 meter race, Melanie McKuin received a sixth place finish clocking a time of 13:85. 

The Bearcats turned in a great performance overall in the distance runs with Katie Justice finishing fifth in the 1600M and Alexis Smith finished in second place in the two-mile run or 3200 Meter.

Other notable finishes for the Bearcats were Shana Bess finished third in the discuss throw with a throw of 76' 8.5".  Chandler Crowley and Karoline Keirsey finished first and second respectively in the high jump event with jumps of 4' 8" and 4' 4".  

Kelsey Wood finished second place in the 800 meter run only slightly off the winning time of 2:38:48.  Julia Hahn had a strong third place finish in the 400 meter. 

The girls relay teams were equally dominant on the day winning the 4x800 meter, 4x200 meter and 4x100 meter events.   The 4x8 team was comprised of Alexis Smith, Julia Hahn, Kelsey Wood and Katie Justice.  Brooke Baker, Samantha Midget, Julia Hahn and Melanie McKuin make up the 4x200 relay team.  The 4x100 relay team is Makayla Waldner, Samantha Midget, Brooke baker and Melanie McKuin. 

"I was pleased with some events, our kids competed well," said Coach Jill King.  "They are working hard this season and that is what we want."

Overall this was a competitive event that the DHS girls performed up to their normal standards.  It always feels good to get the home win. 

Dexter High School Boys Track

The Dexter Boys Track team was equally competitive on the day finishing in seventh place overall for the meet with a total of 34 team points on the day. 

Alex Rybolt was a strong performer on the day in the 800 and 1600 meter runs.  Alex finished 4th and 5th respectively. 

An outstanding performance was turned in by Cole Renken as he was able to capture a second place finish in the long jump competition with an 18' 0" jump for the day.  Renken missed first place by a mere 1 inch.  He also finished sixth in the 400 meter run.

Other notable performances by Bearcat Jonathan Foels with 39' 0" Triple Jump to earn a 2nd place while Dalton Rickel finished fifth.  Hunter Hays finished in a tie for 4th place in the boys shot put with a throw of 34' 8.5".  Josh Ladd finished sixth in the 3200 meter (2 mile) run with a time of 12:46:05.  Houston Burnett turned in a fifth place finish in the 400 meter event.

The Bearcats relay teams were able to gain some points in both the 4x100 and 4x200 events finishing sixth and fourth respectively.

"We are extremely happy with how both our male and female teams went out and competed,"  said coach Greg Lummakka.  "There has been a great deal of improvement this year, as well as several athletes who achieved personal bests."

"We are looking forward to seeing more improvement as we prepare for our conference meet on April, 29th," added Coach Lummakka.

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Stoddard County, Missouri – The 2013 SCAA Baseball Tournament is under way with #1 seed Bernie Mules taking on #4 Bell City at 4 pm in Bernie.

Bell City was able to defeat Advance in the first round of play with a final score of 13 – 6. 

#2 ranked Woodland Cardinals will play #3 Bloomfield at 4 pm in Marble Hill.

Woodland defeated Richland 15 – 0 as Ben Lincoln threw a no-hitter. Bloomfield defeated Puxico 5 – 1 in the first round of action.

Thursday evening will be the Championship Game at the higher seed's location and the Third Place Game at the higher seed’s location, both games at 4 pm.