By my estimation, there’s only one time a year parents allow their kids to just run all willy-nilly
through the street — and you’re looking at it! The Wheaton parade is a big draw for kiddos, especially
because of the International Attractions guy in the Slingshot flinging bouncy balls and stuffed
animals up and down Main Street.
Few high school basketball teams this season will be as fresh as Wheaton’s. With new Head Coach Josh Wiseman at the reins, the Bulldogs — who went 19-9 and were district runner-up last season — have just one full-time starter and one bench player coming back to the squad that graduated six.
Southwest’s Laura Henry (No. 10) sets teammate Marissa Freeman for a kill attempt in a matchup with Pierce City Saturday at Southwest’s Volleyfest, the 41st year of the tournament.
Few teams are as young as the Wheaton volleyball squad. With no seniors and only three juniors, the team of 20 is focused on long-term goals and development coming off a trying 3-21 season last year.
Hayden Royer, a 2024 graduate of Wheaton High School, has received the Olin J. Brattin and Jim and Shirley Cook scholarships, administered by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.