The Mules Booster Club has named Khelie Spence and Jaden Deaton of Poplar Bluff High School the October Athletes of the Month, presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors.

Jaden, a junior cross country runner, placed third at the 2019 All-Conference, was champion at the 2019 All-District, placed fifth at the 2019 All-Sectional, and was a state qualifier in both 2018 and 2019. He won the Jackson, Fox and Arcadia Valley invitationals, and was named the 2019 Semoball Cross Country Pre-season Athlete of the Year. This past weekend, he ran a 15:57 at the MSHSAA Class 4 State Cross Country Championship, finishing 22nd. Also ranked 22nd in his class, Jaden maintains an 11.071 grade point average.

“Jaden is an extremely dedicated athlete both on and off the course,” said Beth Lewis, his coach. “He has the highest level of integrity, always doing what is expected of him without being told. Jaden’s passion for the sport is truly a blessing. 

Khelie, a senior volleyball player, totaled 512 kills for her career with 201 kills this season, and 129 blocks for her career with 52 blocks this season. She has a 4.0 cumulative GPA in the classroom.

“Khelie has such a strong personality on and off the court,” said Aimie Simmers, her coach. “Whether it’s making the team laugh prior to the game or killing the ball on the 10-foot line during the games, she makes her presence known. You don’t see talent like Khelie’s very often and even more rare is [having] as coachable of a player with that much talent.”

Pictured: Presenting Khelie Spence and Jaden Deaton the AOM plaques on Thursday, Nov. 7, is Booster Club Vice President Brian Taylor.

Photo and article submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Director, Poplar Bluff R-I School District

Bell City, Missouri - The 2019 Stoddard County Athletic Association (SCAA) 8th grade Jr. High Boys Basketball Tournament seeds and bracket have been released.  Games will begin on Monday, November 18th at Bell City.  Games are slated for Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

The Bernie Mules received the No. 1 seed followed by #2 Woodland, #3 Dexter, #4 Puxico, #5 Richland, #6 Bell City, #7 Advance, #8 Bloomfield.

Monday, November 18th at 4 p.m. Bernie will play Bloomfield, at 5:30 p.m. Puxico will play Richland, at 7 p.m. Woodland will play Advance, and at 8:30 p.m. Dexter will play Bell City.

Thursday, November 21st will be semifinal games at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Friday, November 22nd will be consolation semifinal games at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 23rd will begin with consolation game at 11:30 a.m. followed by third place game at 2:30 p.m., with championship game at 5:30 p.m.

Bell City, Missouri - The 2019 Stoddard County Athletic Association (SCAA) 7th grade Jr. High Boys Basketball Tournament seeds and bracket have been released. 

Games will begin on Tuesday, November 19th at Bell City.  Games are slated for Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Dexter Bearcats received the No. 1 seed followed by #2 Richland, #3 Puxico, #4 Bloomfield, #5 Woodland, #6 Bell City, #7 Bernie, and #8 Advance.

On Tuesday, at 4:00 p.m. Dexter vs Advance, 5:30 p.m. Bloomfield vs Woodland, 7 p.m. Richland vs Bernie, and at 8:30 p.m. Puxico vs Bell City

Semifinal games will be on Thursday at 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. with consolation semifinal games at 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

Consolation game will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 23rd, third place game at 1 p.m. and championship game at 4 p.m.

Stoddard County, Missouri - Four Stoddard County cross country runners qualified for the MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Athletic Association) Boys and Girls State Championships slated for Saturday.

Margo Nea, a senior from Dexter, set her goal and reached the Class 3 State Championship for the 3rd straight year.  She placed 9th at the District 1 race held at Notre Dame with a time of 20 minutes, 43.71 seconds.

Josh Reynolds from Bloomfield finished 7th at Districts with a time of 18 minutes, 42.71 seconds to make his way to the Championships.

Nic Carter also of Bloomfield finished 15th with a time of 19 minutes, 4.50 seconds earning him a spot at State.

Kennett Rampley was the fourth Stoddard County high school student to qualify for the State.  He finished 6th in District 1 with a time of 18 minutes, 35.03 seconds.

The State Championship Cross Country Meet will be held on Saturday, November 9th at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri.

Nea finished 27th at the Class 3 State Cross Country meet last November at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City in 20:59.52, less than 10 seconds out of 25th, which would have won her an all-state medal.

Here are the complete results of Stoddard County teams:

VARSITY GIRLS

Class 3

DEXTER: 9, Margo Nea, 20:43.71; 34, Gabby Brown, 22:45.11; 48, Alanie Lacy, 24:31.41; 57, Maria Ureta, 26:11.42; 60, Sophia Chasteen, 27:08.68; 66, Kalyn Traw, 29:16.76; 67, Maddie Slaton, 29:36.46.

Class 2

BLOOMFIELD: 32, Johnna Costigan, 26:30.90.

PUXICO: 42, Gracie Wilkinson, 28:26.58; 50, Bushra Iqbal, 31:31.03.

Class 1

BELL CITY: 36, Claire Nichols, 30:01.36.

RICHLAND: 17, Alexia Kemp, 24:52.27; 40, Katelyn Black, 31:40.28; 42, Belle Jones, 32:27.81; 44, Allison Jones, 40:29.67.

VARSITY BOYS

Class 3

DEXTER: 28, Carter Dorton, 18:27.99; 30, Gavin Cartwright, 18:30.40; 43, Andrew Ellinghouse, 19:03.58; 60, Clayton Bell 20:41.09; 66, Alex Cornelison, 21:09.80; 67, Gage Coleman, 21:39.66; 76, Jackson Christian, 23:29.67.

Class 2

BLOOMFIELD: 7, Josh Reynolds, 18:42.71; 15, Nic Carter, 19:04.50; 25, Conner Scott, 19:46.49; 37, Dawson Hill, 20:32.76; 38, Jeffery Jarrell, 20:37.02; 42, Stevan McMillan, 20:58.65; 47, Blake Wagster, 21:38.40.

PUXICO: 31, Bailey Zych, 20:06.16; 39, Ethan Helm, 20:41.42; 53, Caleb Robison, 22:00.52; 58, Duncan Crabb, 22:53.69; 59, Brayton Bridges, 23:17.65.

Class 1

BELL CITY: 6, Kennett Rampley, 18:35.03; 35, Luke Nichols, 21:38.08; 53, Wyatt Lacey, 25:00.67.

RICHLAND: 37, Lennon Cook 21:42.29; 39, Hunter Deason, 22:09.46; 50, Andrew Partenberry, 24:10.39; 52, Cody Knox, 24:44.09; 54, Damon Ivy, 25:32.74.

Bloomfield, Missouri - Athletic Director Brandon Crook has released the 2019-2020 Bloomfield High School boys basketball schedule.  It all starts on November 23rd when they host a Jamboree beginning at 2:00 p.m.

BLOOMFIELD R-14 SCHOOLS  2019-2020 H.S. BOYS BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME

11/23/19         JAMBOREE HOME 2:00

11/25-27/19 BELL CITY JV TOURN. BELL CITY TBD

12/2-4/19         BERNIE TOURN. BERNIE         TBD

12/12/19         GIDEON         AWAY 6:00

12/13/19         TWIN RIVERS HOME 6:00

12/16-19/19 ADVANCE JV TOURN. ADVANCE TBD

12/20/19         ADVANCE* AWAY 6:00

12/26-30/19 Christmas Tourn         HOME TBD

1/7/20 CHAFFEE AWAY 6:00

1/10/20         EAST PRAIRIE HOME 6:00

1/13/20         MEADOW HEIGHTS AWAY 6:00

1/14/20         DEXTER* HOME 6:00

1/17/20         MALDEN         AWAY 6:00

1/21/20         BERNIE*         HOME 6:00

1/24/20         WOODLAND* HOME 6:00

1/27-31st     SCAA TOURN. DEXTER         TBD

2/4/20 BELL CITY* AWAY 6:00

2/6/20 HOLCOMB HOME 6:00

2/7/20 PUXICO*         AWAY 6:00

2/11/20         ORAN AWAY 6:00

2/13/20         RICHLAND* AWAY 6:00

2/18/20         PORTAGEVILLE HOME 6:00

2/22-28/20 DISTRICT TOURN. TBD         TBD

*SCAA GAME