The Mules Booster Club has named Emily Spencer and Gage Rowland of Poplar Bluff High School the April Athletes of the Month, presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors.

Gage, a senior track and field runner, jumped 13 feet, 11.25 inches in the pole vault, ranking him ninth in the state in 2020; jumped 23 feet, 7.75 inches in the indoors long jump, ranking him second in the state and seventh in the country that same year; and jumped 14 feet, 3 inches in the pole vault, and was named All-State in 2019. In the classroom, he has maintained a 10.306 grade point average.

He is a “great kid” and a “very hard worker,” said his coach Mark Barousse, noting that Gage signed a National Letter of Intent to run track for Lindenwood University.

Emily, a senior soccer player, has averaged 15 tackles per season with 60 career tackles; and has lettered all four years of her high school career, being named All-Defense during her freshman and junior years, and most improved during her sophomore year. In the classroom, she has maintained an 11.3 GPA. 

“She is a team player and a leader on/off the field; she wants what’s best for her team and teammates,” said Rusty Crafton, her coach. “She is [a] very coachable player and always eager to find ways to improve her game. [I] look forward to seeing good things out of Emily in the future after she graduates high school.”

Pictured: Presenting the AOM awards to Gage Rowland and Emily Spencer on Wednesday, May 13, is Booster Club member David Rowland.

Photo and article by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Direct