Poplar Bluff, Missouri - The Mules Booster Club has named swimmer Morgan McAtee and wrestler Steven Haley the Poplar Bluff High School Athletes of the Month for February.
Steven, a senior, placed fifth in the MSHSAA Class 3 Championship in the 182 weight class with a season record of 35-7. In the classroom, Steven maintains over an 11.0 GPA, according to head wrestling coach David Sievers, and he has been awarded a football scholarship to Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar. Steven has “extremely high moral character,” he is a “team leader” and “well respected” by his classmates, Sievers said.
Morgan, a junior, was an All-Conference competitor in the 200 free relay and medley relay, along with the 100 breaststroke and freestyle. She was a state qualifier in the 200 medley relay and freestyle relay, 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay. Morgan holds the Jackson Pool record for the 100 breaststroke, the conference record for the 200 freestyle relay and 100 breaststroke, plus holds the school record for the 200 freestyle relay and 100 breaststroke. Ranked 13th out of 332 in her class, Morgan’s weighted GPA is 11.11, according to her swim coach, Beth Lewis-Muse.
Shown in the photo: Presenting the awards on Tuesday, March 1, is Brian Taylor of the Booster Club.
Article and photo submitted by Tim Krakowiak, Communications/Marketing Coordinator, Poplar Bluff R-I School District
Farmington, Missouri - It’s been 50 years in the making, but the Bloomfield Wildcats are once again headed to the Show-Me Showdown in Columbia, Missouri! For the first time since 1966 they earn a trip to the Final Four beating Clopton in the Class 2 quarterfinal on Saturday night by a score of 63-41!
“It is amazing! First time since 1965-1966, and the biggest game of my life,” stated Bloomfield player Tim Hector. “It has went through our mind, but coming into this game, we were thinking about nothing but this game and this game only. But now that we have accomplished winning this game, I think we can think about it a little more.”
“It is pretty special,” commented Bloomfield coach Jason Karnes. “I told the guys before the game, this is almost like a home game. We had that whole side, plus the student section which has been awesome all year.”
Clopton came out strong in the first period leading Bloomfield by just two points, but the Wildcats owned the second quarter scoring 23 points and holding the Hawks to just 6 points.
It seemed like the turning point of the game was when Kevin Hammett of Clopton was called for a technical foul halfway through the second quarter. There had been several lead changes, but the Wildcats were up by one.
Tim Hector went to the charity stripe and recorded 3 of 4 free throws. Bloomfield received the ball and added a bucket quickly giving them a 6-point lead, the largest up to this point in the game.
“Once e kind of found our rhythm and started getting stops and started moving the ball and doing the things that we can do, that’s when we get into a lot more of a rhythm,” Karnes said.
Clopton’s only field goal in the second quarter came from a 3-pointer by Meshawn Marshall. The other three points were from the charity stripe.
After giving up the first two points of the second half, Bloomfield recorded 12 straight points.
“I thought we did a good job in the second half when they started to really amp up the pressure. I thought we did a good job of getting it inside to our post players and them going and finishing,” Karnes said.
Bloomfield will play Iberia (27-4) in the semifinals on March 10th at noon at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Missouri
Final Score Bloomfield 63, Clopton 41
Bloomfield 9 23 14 17 - 63
Clopton 11 6 12 12 - 41
Bloomfield (63) – Tim Hector 18, Nathan Newell 7, Austin Bond 9, Tyler Battles 6, Noah Vandiver 15, Caleb Pulley 1, Peyton Bell 5, Joe Clary 1, Alex Gibbs 1. FG 21, Ft 16/25, F 19. (3-pointers: Tim Hector 4, Noah Vandiver 1. Fouled Out: None).
Clopton (41) – Hammett 1, Adams 9, Marshall 4, Goaham 4, Talbert 16, Eivins 5. FG 14, FT 7/16, F 41 (3-pointers: Adams 3, Talbert 1, Eivins 1. Fouled Out: Adams, Eivins).
Shown in the photo is Tim Hector shooting a free-throw in Saturday night's battle against Clopton. Photo credit to Dee Loflin, ShowMe Times manager/editor.
Sikeston, Missouri - It was a 6-PEAT for the Dexter Lady Bearcats, their sixth straight District Championship!
Sikeston’s Tyra Bonner hit a 3-pointer to tie things up 40-40 with 37 seconds remaining in the game. The Lady Bulldogs got the steal at half court and tried to call a timeout, but they were out of timeouts, which earned them a technical foul.
Chaylea Mosby hit one of her two free throw attempts putting Dexter up by one, 41-40. Dakota Reynolds followed by making both free throws securing the victory for the Lady Cats 42-40.
“I was pretty nervous, but we have been practicing our free throws all year,” commented Dakota Reynolds. “So I was pretty confident in myself that I was going to make them.”
Sikeston led 11-5 and 13-7 in the opening quarters of district play. Dexter held the Lady Bulldogs to just 2 points in the second period helping the Bearcats move ahead 20-15 at the half.
“Sikeston has improved so much these last couple of year and Coach Schonhoff has done an unbelievable job with them,” commented Dexter coach Chad Allen. “To escape out of here with a win tonight is huge. We got down early, fought back, got the lead and kept the lead the whole game. A lot of that had to do with our girls getting out and guarding tonight. I thought we did a much better job defensively against Sikeston tonight than we did last week.”
“Sikeston came out hot,” continued Allen. “They hit a lot of 3’s and got a pretty good lead. Defensively, we did an outstanding job that second quarter. I think they only scored two points. To shut them down that second quarter was huge for us to get the momentum back, and after that we just kept the momentum.”
Krysten Garrison tallied a game-high 20 points on nine field goals and two free throws for Dexter.
“The wings really got the ball into me and looked for me,” Garrison said. “I was ready for the challenge and really wanted them to get the ball into me because I knew I could put some points up for us.”
Freshman Lady Cat Chaylea Mosby recorded double digits with 11 points.
“We just kept being aggressive and attacking and got to the rim,’ Mosby said.
Sikeston finished their season with a record of 22-5 and will graduate six of their thirteen players on the varsity roster.
Dexter avenges the 74-66 loss they suffered to Sikeston at the Bearcat Event Center.
“It’s definitely our toughest,” Reynolds said of the District Championship. “Sikeston is quick and a pretty good team. I’ll give them that. They have come a long way since last year and they are well-coached.”
The Lady Cats (22-5) will play Fredericktown (18-9) in the Class 4 Sectional on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at the Jackson High School. Game time 6:00 p.m.
“They used to be on our schedule and we played them in a district championship game, I think my first year at Dexter,” Allen said. “They have definitely gotten better these last couple years, and it’s going to be another tough game for us. We will have to spend some time getting prepared for them. We haven’t seen them a whole lot so hopefully we can bring down some game film and get ready for them.”
Final Score #1 Dexter 43, #2 Sikeston 40
Dexter 9 11 11 12 - 43
Sikeston 13 2 13 12 - 40
Dexter (43) - Dakota Reynolds 5, Melanie McKuin 2, Cheyenne Mosby 5, Krysten Garrison 20, Chaylea Mosby 11. FG 15, FT 9/16, F 8. (3-pointers: Dakota Reynolds 1, Cheyenne Mosby 1. Fouled Out: None)
Sikeston (40) - Kiera Steward 6, Tyra Bonner 9, Larysa McClellon 2, Erica Peet 2, Miranda Harrison 8, Tyeshia Mitchell 13. FG 14, FT 5/9, F 15. (3-pointers: Tyra Bonner 3, Kiera Steward 2, Miranda Harrison 2. Fouled out: None)
Also a special note: This was Coach Chad Allen's 200th career win tonight!
Sikeston, Missouri - The five-time defending District Champions had a bit of a scare Thursday evening falling behind to the Kennett Lady Indians in the first half of the Class 4, District 1 Tournament semifinal game.
Dexter jumped out to a 10 – 5 lead to start the game, but was held to only 9 points in the second quarter while giving up 17 points to the Lady Indians putting Kennett ahead at the end of the half 22-19.
Top-seeded Dexter rapidly turned that 3-point deficit into a 33-24 lead by the end of the third quarter to ensure a victory. Dakota Reynolds came out of the locker room after half time and scored all but two of Dexter’s 14 points in the third period.
“That was huge. I think Dakota came out and hit three threes and that really got us started offensively,” commented Dexter coach Chad Allen. “That set the tone for the second half. I thought our defense keyed off of that and we were a lot more active because we knocked down some shots.”
The Lady Indians were held to just two from the charity stripe in the third period. They recorded only six points in the fourth quarter.
“We just didn’t play very well that first half and Kennett had a lot to do with that,” Allen said. “Coach Vaughan is a really good coach and he has done a great job with that program this year. We just struggled to score. The second half we just did a much better job of being more active and more aggressive.”
Dakota Reynolds recorded a game-high 19 points including five 3-pointers for Dexter. Krysten Garrison tallied 13 points. Harley Allen added a couple of treys and Chaylea Mosby hit one trey.
Dexter (21-5) will face the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs on Friday evening in the Class 4, District 1 District Championship at the Sikeston Fieldhouse. Game time is 6:00 p.m. The Lady Bearcats have won the last 5 District titles.
Final Score Dexter 45, Kennett 30
Dexter 10 9 14 12 - 45
Kennett 5 17 2 6 - 30
Dexter (45) – Dakota Reynolds 19, Krysten Garrison 13, Harley Allen 6, Chaylea Mosby 7. FG 18, FT 1/1, F 10. (3-pointers: Dakota Reynolds 5, Harley Allen 2, Chaylea Mosby 1. Fouled Out: None).
Kennett (45) – Dakayla Duckworth 7, Darcy Campbell 2, Hadley Hilburn 1, Marquesha Mister, 8, Heidi Shetley 12. FG 10, FT 10/17, F 4. (3-pointers: Dakayla Duckworth 1, Marquesha Mister 2. Fouled Out: None).
St. Charles, Missouri - Twenty youth wrestlers from Dexter, Missouri competed in the AAU Missouri State Wrestling Championship this past weekend at the St. Charles High School. Six athletes wrestled in the Experienced Division and ourteen wrestled in the Rookie Division. Of those athletes, 13 placed at the state level.
Among the medalists were two State Champions, Travis Waldner and Kasen Forkum.
Travis earned a 2016 Missouri AAU State Wrestling Championship medal and is in the 8th grade at T.S. Hill Middle School. He wrestled in the 95 lb weight division. Waldner competed in the experienced division and went undefeated in the AAU Season. That achievement is a feat not many have ever accomplished. He is the son of Bob and Kimberly Waldner.
"I had the pleasure of witnessing Bob and Kim smiling from ear to ear as Travis took his place at the top of the podium," stated Coach Joey Tinsley.
Kasen earned the 2016 Missouri AAU State Wrestling Champion medal and is a 4th grade student at Central Elementary in Dexter. He wrestled in the 60 lb weight rookie division. This was his first year of AAU and he had a great season. He is the son of Nicole Sielert.
"Kasen wrestled hard in about a half dozen tournaments this year with very few loses," stated Tinsley. "It was good to see hi mom with tears of joy in her eyes as her boy took his place on top of the podium."
Also placing at State in their respective experience/age and weight divisions include:
Alex Townsend 105 lb weight class - 4th place Experienced Division
Bryson Wick 175 lb weight class - 2nd place Rookie Division
Blake Tinsley 152 lb weight class - 2nd place Rookie Division
Jacob Huey 92 lb Midget Division - 3rd place Rookie Division
Ethan Glaus 100 lb Midget Division - 4th place Rookie Division
Atom Dowdy 75 lb Novice Weight - 4th place Rookie Division
Austin Stieferman 108 lb Novice Weight - 4th place Rookie Division
Corey Hawkins 130 lb School Boy Division - 4th place Rookie Division
Alexander Dyle 75 lb Midget - 5th place Rookie Division
Diego McCormick 70 lb Novice - 5th place Rookie Division
Tanner Massey Heavy Weight Phantom Division - 6th place Rookie Division
"The coaching staff and parents of the Dexter youth Wrestling Club and Team Venom are extremely proud of all the hard work these youths have put in this season and hope to have many more successful ones," Tinsley said of this year's season.
The Dexter Youth Wrestling AAU Club is hosting an entry level program starting March 8th with their first practice. If you would like to get your child active in the sport please contact Joey Tinsley at (573) 614-2683 for more information.
