The DHS softball team was hard at work Friday afternoon preparing for the 2012 season. The Lady 'Cats were focusing on their offensive production on Friday, as Kendra Stevenson (above) eyes her pitch in a batting practice session. The Lady 'Cats are set to open the season on March 27, when they travel to Kennett to take on the Lady Indians.

The Dexter Parks & Recreation Women's Volleyball league is closing out the 2011-2012 season and the winners B-Division are the ladies of First Baptist Church in Dexter. The ladies brought home first place iin the division. Team members include: (front row, from left) Jamie Stevens, Tracy Hedrick, Roxanne McGhee, (back row, from left) Shelly Ward, Lisa Gurloch, LaDawne Northcutt, Grace Lee, Brandi Thompson, and Lisa Britton.  Congratulations ladies! (Photo submitted by the team!)

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Athletic ability runs strong in the Stevens family.

Nate played football at Illinois Valley Community College, and is the only two-time member of the 1,000 Yard Club. Josh played baseball at Mineral Area College, and led the Football Bearcats to a District Championship during his junior year from the quarterback position.

Cody Stevens, currently wrapping up his senior year at DHS, will be following in his dad and older brother's footsteps next year, as he prepares to continue both his football and golf careers with the Missouri Valley College Vikings in Marshall, Mo.

Stevens led the football Bearcats to two of their best seasons in recent memory during his junior and senior year; he was the first quarterback to run and throw for over 1,000 yards in a season. As a wrestler, Stevens was a three-time state qualifier and two-time medalist, and he holds the school record for takedowns in a season with 114. His golf game is great, as well; you'll commonly find him on the links as a member of the DHS Golf team, as well as over the summer, when he enjoys the game with his dad, mom, and little brother, Ethan.

Stevens had a big decision to make regarding where he would continue his athletic career and education, but ultimately Missouri Valley stood out because of its similarities to home.

"Lindenwood-Belleville, Lake Forest, Cornell, and Luther Norse all recruited me," he said. "Three wanted me for wrestling, all wanted me for football, and Missouri Valley wanted me for all three."

"Valley stood out, because the town is small like Dexter is," he continued. "I really liked it when we went to visit, and the golf coach offered me a full ride on the spot."

Stevens said his road to a golf scholarship was quite unexpected. During his official visit to the school earlier in the year, he had already been offered a football scholarship, but wanted to talk to coach Jim Anderson, Mo. Valley's head golf coach, before leaving the campus.

After a brief visit, Stevens and Anderson - a former member of the Philadelphia Eagles - agreed to a more valuable golf scholarship, but with the ability to still play football.

Stevens is now busy preparing for the upcoming golf season, but after graduation in May, he plans to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice.

Photo above:
Cody Stevens (center) signs his National Letter of Intent to play both football and golf at Missouri Valley College next year. With Stevens are (front row): Maria and Nate, his mother and father, and (back row, from left) DHS Golf coach Eric Sitze and DHS Football coach Aaron Pixley.

COLUMBIA - Appearing in its fourth AMC Postseason Tournament championship game in as many years, the William Woods women's basketball team guaranteed a fourth straight trip to the NAIA National Tournament with a dramatic 72-67 win over Columbia College. Sharron Andrews (Oakland/Hayward, Calif.) posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, capped by a game-sealing layup with less than 10 seconds on the clock.

Despite losing the opening tip, the Owls opened the scoring, with Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) blocking a 3-pt effort from Airielle Eldridge and converting a jumper on the other end. Blake French (St. Charles, Mo.) added to the Owls lead with a 3-pt make of her own, but Columbia tried to claw back with a trey from Kristi Wilkerson with 17:57 on the clock.

The Lady Cougars were able to pull back to a 7-7 tie with 15:23 on the clock before a 8-0 William Woods run put the Owls in front with just over 12 minutes left in the half.

Columbia would answer with a 19-8 run over the next six minutes, taking a 23-26 lead with 6:29 left in the half. But the Lady Cougars couldn't hold onto the lead, with the teams going into the intermission deadlocked at 31-31.

William Woods posted another five point snap out of the locker room, with a Katie Scherder (Bowling Green, Mo.) trey following the Aubuchon bucket, but the Owls couldn't push the margin further.

The hosts put together a small push, with a Tierney Seifert 3-pointer giving Columbia a 49-53 advantage with 10:40 left in the contest, but WWU put together a 10-3 run to take the lead back for the final time in the contest.

Down the stretch, William Woods pulled away as far as seven, but Columbia found itself within striking distance with 1:05 left in the game. The Lady Cougars forced a turnover, but couldn't connect on the ensuing possession, and they tried to play for the last possession. A 3-pt attempt from Ashley Fisher went astray with 17 seconds left, and WWU came up with the rebound.

With 15.1 seconds on the clock, WWU inbounded the ball but it was tipped out and the Owls were forced to call a timeout deep in the corner in front of the Columbia bench.

The Lady Cougars put a hard press on the Owls out of the time out, but Andrews slipped through and Aubuchon found her with a long bomb of a pass, with Andrews converting the easy layup, drawing a foul. The senior missed the free throw and the desperation heave by Fisher was off the mark as William Woods collected the win.

The Owls finished the game with a solid .430 shooting percentage, with Columbia mustering just a .318 mark for the contest. Andrews led all scorers with 20 as the Owls saw four players finish with double figures in the contest - Andrews, French (16), Aubuchon (14) and Olivia Storjohann (Eldridge, Iowa) (12).

Dexter native Ashlee Taylor had a cold shooting night (2-15 from the floor), but was able to come up with five points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

Julie Teeple finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Lady Cougars, with Fisher adding 16 and Wilkerson chipping in 10.

William Woods moves to 23-9 on the year, and will learn its first round foe for the NAIA National Tournament on Wednesday. Columbia falls to 24-9 on the year and will await the announcement of the tournament field and hope for an at large bid.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

It's been another great season for the Dexter Bearcats - the Lady Bearcats made another run into the playoffs, the wrestlers sent five to State, the cheerleaders won their second straight County Tournament cheer award, and the boys basketball team finished undefeated in SCAA play for the first time in over a decade, winning both the regular-season and tournament titles.

Parents, athletes, and coaches gathered to celebrate the successes of Bearcat Athletics in the winter season in the DHS Cafeteria on Monday night.

Cheer coach Laura Stone kicked things off by presenting first-time letter winners Alyssa Spear, Tayler Allen, and Madison McGowan with their awards.

"I want to thank the girls for their hard work, and their parents for all the support they've given us," Stone said. "These girls put in so many hours outside of the school day."

The Lady Bearcats were up next; assistant coach Eric Sitze, who handles JV coaching duties, expressed pride in the JV squad's 10-4 effort this season.

"It's been the first time in a few years with JV," Sitze said with a laugh. "We had a good tim; wicked up Taylor in mid season because we had one quit on us, and she helped out tremendously with handling the ball. I'm proud of this freshman group for getting out there and working hard."

Head coach Chad Allen spoke next, shifting the focus to the Varsity Lady 'Cats. Their 24-5 record tied for the second best record in school history, just behind LBB's 28-2 effort in Allen's inaugural season. LBB's 24 point victory over Notre Dame in the District Championship game is also the largest margin of victory in a title game in school history.

"It was a great season," Allen said. "It didn't end the way we wanted, but we were one step closer to the Final Four this year. If we go one more step next season, we're in Columbia. Hopefully they will work hard over the summer. We're going to focus most on strength and conditioning; Coach Pixley and I are talking about a strength program for girls, with a different workout and gym times from the guys."

Hannah Noe took home the Free Throw (79%) and Defensive awards, while Brittany Harris edged the Rebound Award from Paige Patterson - Harris averaged 9.4 boards per game, while Patterson averaged 8.6 - and took home the Team MVP award outright. Harris also crossed the 1,000 Point mark this season; her 1,211 career points leave her in third place all-time, behind Katelyn Heil and Rachel Blunt.

The Freshman and JV Boys basketball teams were up next; freshman coach Mike Vipperman and JV coach Shawn Guethle were both impressed with the team's improvement over the season.

"The freshmen played a lot on JV," Guethle said, "and they came a long, long way."

"[In our] third game, Poplar Bluff beat us by 30 points," he recalled. "They came up here for our next to last game, and we beat them by 20. This group did everything we asked and more. They didn't win a lot, but biggest improvement I've had in my 5 years as a coach."

Rob Nichols, head coach of the Varsity Bearcats, gave his thoughts on the season before presenting the team's individual awards.

"We played a few more sophomores than normal, and they did a great job," he said. "We started out slow, with a tough schedule early. This is a tough bunch of kids. Played through broken thumbs and bad knees knees early in the season."

"We had a 10 game win streak at one points," he continued, "and won the Stoddard County Conference and Tournament. This was the first time we were undefeated in the conference in over 10 years."

Tyler Miller took home both the Free Throw Award (83%) and Defensive Award; Jake Lee earned the Rebound Award (9 boards per game) and beat Miller by one vote for the Team MVP Award. Lee averaged 14.9 points per game and nine rebounds per game in his senior season.

Assistant Wrestling coach James Sneed announced the individual awards for the Bearcat Wrestling team to conclude the evening's festivities. The Varsity squad ended the season with a 15-3 record, including a second place finish in the Park Hills Duels, a first place finish in the Priory Invitational Tournament, and seven medalists at the prestigious Tiger Classic tournament. The 'Cats also had five state qualifiers, with Cody Stevens as the lone medalist.

"Thanks to the administration for their support and parents for getting the kids to the bus on time. When you're wrestling an all-day tournament in St. Louis, you'll wind up leaving the school at 5:00 a.m.," Sneed said. "We had a big team; we started with over 40, and ended the season with 36 wrestlers. The JV were in 4 tournaments this season, and did well. This sport is hard as a freshman or sophomore, as it takes time to learn, but we look forward to seeing these young guys on the mats in coming years."

Stevens took home the Most Aggressive Wrestler (wrestler that finishes the season with the most takedowns) Award and the team MVP. He also set the single-season takedown record with 114, shattering old record by over 30 takedowns. Junior Brad Wick, who battled injuries for a good part of the season, was deemed the Most Improved Wrestler by the team.

As one season ends, another begins - now the Bearcats, after a great Winter season, must move their focus on to baseball, softball, track, and boys tennis. With hard work and dedication, the Bearcats will continue to find great successes in their respective sports.

Photos Above:
Top: Individual award winners (front row, from left) Tyler Miller, Jake Lee, Cody Stevens, (back from, from left) Hannah Noe, Brittany Harris, and Brad Wick.
Bottom: Head basketball coach Rob Nichols addresses the crowd during Monday night's Winter Sports Banquet.