Dexter, Missouri - The Dexter boys tennis team hosted the Poplar Bluff Mules in their first game of the season on Thursday night.

"We had some first match jitters against Poplar Bluff," stated Dexter tennis coach Kurt Lovelady. "Overall I was pleased with how they played."

Poplar Bluff and Dexter were tied 4-4 after eight matches and it came down to Peyton Bradley of Poplar Bluff and Addison Moore of Dexter.  Bradley won 8-7 in a tiebreaker to give the Mules a 5-4 team win.

"Moore was got behind early. When I saw that this was going to be the match that decides it, I told him this at one of the cross overs. He proceeded to get back in it and force a tie-breaker," stated Lovelady.  "The tie breaker was close, but PB had just a little more left in him. I am proud of Addison not giving up though."

Varsity Singles

#1  Humza Ameer Siddiqui (PB) defeated Ethan Flowers (D) 8-4

#2  Zach Potts (D) defeated Isaac Harrison Laseter (PB) 8-6

#3  Josh Kohlbaker (D) defeated Trenton Augustus Nepean (PB) 8-3

#4  Peyton Edgar Bradley (PB) defeated Addison Moore (D) 8-7 (7-5)

#5  Eduardo Martinez Granda (PB) defeated Will Brehmer (D) 8-3

#6  Benjamin David Stewart (PB) defeated Tyler Stevenson 8-2.

Varsity Doubles

#1 Ethan Flowers/Addison Moore (D) defeated Sidiqui/Laseter (PB) 8-6

#2  Zach Potts/Josh Kohlbaker (D) defeated Bradley/Stewart (PB) 8-1

#3  Diego Francisco Rivetti/Gregory Paul Roberson (PB) defeated Josh Brehmer/Tyler Stevenson (D) 8-4

"The teams that picked up the two doubles wins looked great," continued Lovelady.  "They played well together. Flowers/Moore played a very good doubles team in Poplar Bluff's #1 and Potts/Kohlbaker set the tone early and dominated their match."

Dexter will be back in action on Tuesday, March 29th when they host Notre Dame.  Match time 4:00 p.m.

Shown in the photo is Dexter Bearcat Will Brehmer!

Dexter, Missouri - Three Lady Cats earn a place on the 2016 All-SEMO Conference Team.  Freshman Chaylea Mosby, sophomore Krysten Garrison, and senior Dakota Reynolds were chosen.  Senior Melanie McKuin earned Honorable Mention on the All-SEMO Conference Team.

The Dexter Lady Cats ended their season with a record of 23-6 overall and 5-1 in conference standings.

Athletes were recently honored at the 58th Annual Poplar Bluff Letter Club Basketball Banquet at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff.  Rick Ray, Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball coach was the keynote speaker for the event.

Congratulations Lady Cats!

Missouri - The Missouri Basketball Coaches Association (MBCA) is very proud to select and present the Academic All-State basketball teams each school year. 

The MBCA honors these top scholar athletes at the banquet on April 17, at 1 PM at the University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center in Springfield, Missouri.

Tyler Heil and Ethan Flowers of Dexter and Nathan Dare of Puxico were named to the 2016 MBCA Boys Academic All-State.

Darian Doser of Twin Rivers was also named to the 2016 MBCA Girls Academic All-State.

Athletes must be a senior in high school, started 90% of his or her team’s games or played in 75% of the total team quarters played.  They must possess outstanding moral character and have a GPA of 3.25 out of 4.0 or equivalent on alternate grade scale.  They must also have one or more of the following verified minimum scores: ACT score of 27 composite or above, SAT score of 1920 composite or above or a PSAT score of 185 selection index or more.

Congratulations!

Dexter, Missouri - The Dexter Bearcats boys tennis team begin their season at home on Thursday, March 24th against the Poplar Bluff Mules.

They return all but two starters off of their 2015 historic season, finishing 11-1 and advanced to the Class 1 State Quarterfinals.

"Our only graduates off of last year's squad were Brooks Propst and Noah Kronk," said Coach Kurt Lovelady.  "So we have six lettermen returning from last year that saw some varsity action.  We have got a good, strong team coming back that has been playing a lot over the winter.  Some have even been going over to Paducah, playing this winter so they don't have much rust to shake off."

Returning varsity starters are high school seniors Ethan Flowers, Josh Kohlbaker, and Addison Moore along with junior Zach Potts.

"We just finished our varsity boxes last week," continued Lovelady.  "We have four seniors a couple of juniors in starting slots right now, but things could change.

Lovelady expects to fill the other varsity slots with seniors Tyler Stevenson and Jacob Crumley, junior Will Brehmer, or sophomore Matthew Chesser.

"I see the bottom part of our varsity being very competitive," stated Lovelady.  "All eight of those guys had very good records last year and it should be very competitive to see who earns those bottom varsity spots."

Dexter will open at home on Thursday, March 24th at 4:00 p.m. against Poplar Bluff.

"Poplar Bluff is a lot like us," Lovelady said.  "They have a lot of returning players and boys that go to camps in the summer.  They also put in a lot of time."

Dexter will have five home matches against Poplar Bluff, Notre Dame, Cape Central, Sikeston, and end with Poplar Bluff again in May.  They also have five away matches against Cape Central, Notre Dame, Poplar Bluff, and Sikeston twice.  They even host the Poplar Bluff Invitational on April 2nd.

"It's about the same schedule as last season," stated Lovelady.  " Poplar Bluff is undergoing new school construction so we will be lucky enough to host the Poplar Bluff Invitational in Dexter."

Dexter will compete in the Class 1, District 1 with Notre Dame, Cape Central, Potosi, Arcadia Valley, DeSoto, and North County at the end of the season.  Dexter beat Notre Dame 5-0 in Districts last year, but lost to John Burroughs in the State Quarterfinal.

Ethan Flowers,a senior, finished 8th in the state in individual doubles with teammate Noah Kronk last season.  He ended with a 17-6 record.

"He's worked a lot," Lovelady said.  "He has gone to Springfield and worked with some pros.  He's well on his way and has some rust to shake off after basketball season, but he will progress quickly and be tough to beat this year."

2016 Dexter High School Boys Tennis Schedule

3/24  Poplar Bluff  Home

3/29  Notre Dame  Home

3/30  Cape Central  Away

4/2  Poplar Bluff Tournament  Dexter

4/5  Notre Dame  Away

4/7  Poplar Bluff  Away

4/13  Sikeston  Away

4/16  Cape Central Tournament  Cape Girardeau

4/25  Cape Central  Home

4/27  Sikeston  Home

4/30  Farmington Tournament  Farmington

5/3  Sikeston  Away

5/5 Poplar Bluff  Home

Dexter, Missouri - The Dexter High School held their Annual Winter Sports Recognition program on Thursday, March 10th.  Winters sports consists of girls and boys basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, and dance.

BOYS BASKETBALL:

"The Free Throw Award goes to a guy that shot 57-75 from the line this year," commented coach Josh Dowdy. "What is even more impressive is he was 37-41 (90.2%) in the fourth quarter when we always seemed to need them the most."

Ethan Flowers received the Free Throw Award and the MVP Award.  Flowers averaged 14 points per game and broke the Dexter High School 3-point Record with 175 treys.  He is a senior and the son of Tim and Kim Flowers.

"The Rebounding Award goes to a guy that led our District in rebounding," stated Dowdy.  "He snagged 300 rebounds on the year.  That's 11.1 RPG.  The Rebounding Award goes to our Gentle Giant, Gabe Jackson.  While he is standing up here before you, let me say on behalf of his teammates that we were very proud to hear this week that Gabe is a member of the Class 4 District 1 All-District Team.  Gabe also received Honorable mention in the SEMO Conference."

Gabe Jackson, sophomore, earned the Rebounding Award.  He led the SEMO Conference with 300 rebounds.  He is the son of Dale and Kim Jackson.

"The recipient of the Defense Award goes to a guy who has been labeled as 'Annoying', 'Boney', ' maybe a little off-center', 'but always relentless," stated Dowdy.

Senior Tyler Heil received the Defensive Award.  He is the son of Dan and Connie Heil.

GIRLS BASKETBALL:

At the time of the banquet, the Lady Cats were still in action with games to play in Jackson and Farmington.  A later article will feature their awards.

WRESTLING:

"The Most Aggressive Wrestling Award goes to the wrestler which has the most Takedowns," stated coach Sneed.  "And this year leading the team with 88 is Ethan Stevens.  Ethan is a 2 time winner of this award."

Senior Ethan Stevens earned the Most Aggressive Wrestler Award and the Most Valuable Player Award.  Stevens placed third at the MSHSAA State Championships in Columbia, Missouri this season.  He won a fourth straight District Title finishing with 88 take-downs and a career record of 142-29.  He is also a 4-time District Champion.

"This wrestler was JV all last year and this year stepped into the varsity spot and had an overall record of 27-22," commented Coach James Sneed.  "He improved throughout the season and we look for great things from him next year both on the football field and in the wrestling room."  2016 Most Improved Wrestling Award went to Christian Yarber.

Christian Yarber, a sophomore, received the Most Improved Wrestler Award.  Yarber finished the season with a record of 27-22.

CHEERLEADING AND DANCE:

There are no specific awards for Cheer and Dance.  Those that Lettered for the first time are in a separate article on the ShowMe Times.

Photos credit to Delaney Pullen /  Dexter High School Yearbook Staff