Local athletes earn postseason awards
The 2024-2025 high school basketball season is in the books, and numerous local athletes have received postseason honors. For the Cassville boys, senior Eli Stokes was the lone All-Class 4, District 12 honoree. He also reeled in First Team All-Big 8 honors. The Lady Wildcats had two on the All-District squad, sophomore Audrey Kennedy and junior Aubrey Stoufer. Kennedy also earned Second Team All-Big 8 honors, and Stoufer was named to the Honorable Mention squad. At Southwest, Jaretsi Quintanilla earned First Team All-District and All-Conference, while Addy Payne and Olivia Hnem earned Honorable Mention All-Conference. Hunter Cain and Christian Shaffer earned First Team Academic All-Conference. Exeter resident Kylee Cole, who plays at Aurora, earned a trio of honors. Along with being named to the Class 4 Girls All-State squad, Cole was First Team All-Big 8 and Big 8 Player of the Year, as well as All-Class 4, District 12.
Cassville goes 2-1 last week
The Cassville baseball team (3-3-1) picked up a pair of wins in three tries last week. The Wildcats defeated Purdy, 4-0, at home, then fell to Logan-Rogersville, 6-2, on the road, before ending the week with a 9-4 away win over Marionville. Cassville faced Crane on the road Tuesday and hosts Mt. Vernon on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Lady Wildcats compete at Mac
Over spring break, the Cassville girls track team traveled to McDonald County for the Ebenee Munoz Memorial Stampede. The varsity squad finished 10th as a team, and junior varsity took third.
Varsity Results included:
1st place
Shot Put: Aaliyah Franklin, 11.38m
2nd place
Discus: Aaliyah Franklin, 33.35m
7th place
100m: Evelyn Elliott, 13.42
4x100m: Brynn Whittenburg, Makaiden Bolles, Claire Reuter, Evelyn Elliott, 55.01
Junior varsity results included:
2nd place
Javelin: Bri Still, 22.15m
4×100 relay: Abbi Yarnall, Kailyn Speer, Analeigh Winchell, Angela Byerly, 59.48
3rd Place
Javelin: Aubrie Atkinson, 20.7,
4×200 relay: Abbi Yarnall, Kailyn Speer, Analeigh Winchell, Angela Byerly, 2:05.79
4th place
400m: Angela Byerly, 1:11.78
6th place
Long Jump: Abi Yarnall, 3.99m
400m: Abi Yarnall, 1:15.10
8th place
Shot put: Analeigh Winchell, 7.8m
Wildcats medal at Mustang Relays
The Cassville boys track team competed at the McDonald County Ebenee Munoz Memorial Stampede recently, pacing in three individual events and one relay.
Varsity results include:
4th Place
Pole Vault: Corbin Rhoads, 3.5m
5th Place
3200m Run: Preston Driskill, 11:28.47
4×800 Relay: Preston Driskill, Jameson Barnes, Jacob Hudson, Peyton Anderson, 9:41.35
8th Place
1600m Run: Jameson Barnes, 5:09.85
Lady Bulldogs taking steps forward
The Wheaton softball team is off to its best start since 2019 at 5-2. The Lady Bulldogs went 2-1 in the Cheri Nash Memorial in Verona, besting Galena, 11-1, and Verona, 10-0, before falling in the final to Southwest, 16-2. Wheaton doubled up on Verona and Galena at home the next week with 18-3 and 16-1 wins, respectively, before falling to Hurley, 11-0 and besting Greenfield, 23-2. Wheaton played Spokane on Tuesday and will host Lighthouse on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Eagles baseball starts 5-3
The Purdy baseball team is off to a 5-3 start with a tournament win under its belt. The Eagles won their home tournament with three straight wins over Lockwood, 4-1, Sarcoxie, 6-0, and Hartville in 12 innings, 3-2. Since then, Purdy went 1-2 in the Carthage Bill O’Dell Varsity Festival, fallibg to Aurora, 9-0, defeating Sarcoxie again, 7-1, then falling to Lamar, 9-5. Last week, Purdy fell to Cassville, 4-0, then defeated Marionville, 7-0. The Eagles played at home against New Heights on Monday and away at Southwest Tuesday. They are back in action on the road Thursday at McAuley Catholic, then return home Friday for a contest against Galena.
Lady Trojans open season 6-2
The Southwest softball team (6-2) is off to a hot start, plating 105 runs in its first 8 games, an average of 13.13 per game. The Lady Trojans won the Cheri Nash Memorial in Verona in March, defeating Verona, 23-0, Galena, 10-0, and Wheaton, 16-2. Southwest then went 3-2 going into April, falling to Exeter, 17-16; defeating Billings and Blue Eye, 9-6 and 16-0, respectively; falling to Miller, 12-0; and besting Galena again, 15-0. Southwest played at Ash Grove on Monday and hosted Mt. Vernon on Tuesday. The squad returns to the diamond on Thursday at Hurley.
