winter sports 2014-2015

Winter sports preview

Lebanon Yellowjackets, Conway Bears & Stoutland Tigers

Winter Sports BuzzWinter Sports Buzz

TIGERS TO FEATURE ONE OF AREA’S PREMIER PLAYERS

Missouri State recruit Alexa Willard to lead Stoutland Tigers

LDR photo/Israel Potoczny

Stoutland senior Alicia Willard is a returning starting point guard for head coach Jacky Payne.

2 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014 LEBANON DAILY RECORD

STOUTLANDMEET THE TIGERS

HEAD COACH: JACKY PAYNEASSISTANT COACH: SARAH GLEIZE

GIRLS’ VARSITY:2 BECCA ASH 5-4 JR.3 AHREANNA SHULTZ 5-3 FR.4 KATARYNA SHULTZ 5-5 JR.11 ALICIA WILLARD 5-9 SR.12 TEKERA STRADT 5-10 SO.14 MEGAN PRIBBLE 5-5 SR.15 KYLA MUNDY 5-9 JR.21 ELLI GILBERT 5-5 JR.22 ALEXA WILLARD 6-2 JR.23 KAYLA BROWN 5-7 JR.24 KAYLA FRANCIS 5-6 FR.43 MORGAN TRIPP 5-8 FR.45 BAILEY MORROW 5-10 SO.

By Israel PotocznyThe Daily [email protected]

STOUTLAND — Ex-pectations are high this season in Stoutland after junior Alexa Willard com-mitted to play basketball for the Missouri State Lady Bears on Nov. 17.

Wil lard, a 6-foot-2 wing player, was a fi rst-team All-Frisco League selection as both a fresh-man and sophomore and averaged 26 points per game last season. She shot better than 90 per-cent at the free throw line.

She and her older sis-ter, senior point guard Alicia Willard, are two of several Stoutland players returning with varsity experience.

“I really think that we can be a whole lot better than we were last year,” Stoutland head coach Jacky Payne said.

Alicia Willard (5-9), Becca Ash (5-4, Jr.) and Kayla Brown (5-7, Jr.) all played key roles last sea-son, while Kyla Mundy

(5-9, Jr.) and Elli Gilbert (5-5, Jr.) also return.

“Becca Ash is always hustling, playing defense and knows what is go-ing on out there on the fl oor,” Payne said. “Kay-la Brown has improved from last year. They have done a nice job and are returning players from last year.”

Payne said 5-foot-6 freshman Kayla Francis has looked good in prac-tice this season.

“She gives us an add-ed deminsion with her quickness, but she is just a freshman,” Payne said. “She has a lot to learn, but is coming along. Te-kera Straft (5-10, Soph.) does a nice job in the post. She has nice hands and rebounds and will be a defensive presence.”

Stoutland opened the season on Nov. 24 with a big win over Russellville, and followed that contest with an overtime loss at Macks Creek, a team that won 20 games last season.

STOUTLAND GIRLSBASKETBALL SCHEDULEDate Time Opponet Location12/16 6:00 Licking Home

12/19 4:30 Richland Home

12/20-23 TBA Lebanon Tourney TBA

01/02 5:30 Climax Spring Away

1/05 6:00 Plato Home

1/08 6:00 Conway Away

1/10-17 TBA Skyline Tourney Away

1/12-17 TBA Richland Tourney Away

1/19 6:00 Hartville Home

1/22 6:00 Laquey Away

1/23 6:00 Houston Home

1/26 6:00 Iberia Away

1/27 6:00 Vienna Home

1/31 6:30 Crocker Away

2/09 6:00 Mansfield Home

2/16 6:00 Newburg Away

2/19 6:00 Dixon Home

2/22-2/28 TBA Districts TBA

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Submitted photoPictured is the 2014-2015 Stoutland High School girls’ basketball team. In the first row, from left, are Kataryan Shultz, Elli Gilbert, Megan Pribble, Becca Ash, Arehanna Shultz and Kayla Francis. Second row, are Alicia Willard, Bailey Morrow, Alexa Willard, Tereka Start and Kayla Brown.

3 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2015 LEBANON DAILY RECORD


Stoutland junior Jessie Hubbs averaged a double-double last season and is the only returning player in the Frisco League to have done so.

ALL-FRISCO LEAGUE PERFORMER TO LEAD TIGERS

Junior forward Jessie Hubbs coming off double-double season

STOUTLANDMEET THE TIGERS

HEAD COACH: WESLEY SHAW

BOYS’ VARSITY:2 LAYNE WOOD SR.3 HUNTER BARCLAY SO.4 KANE MATHEWS JR.5 DREW ASH SO.10 MICHAEL GRAY JR.11 JOEY DICKINSON FR.12 EVAN MATHEWS FR.14 AUSTIN BENAVIDEZ FR.21 JAKE PENDERGRASS FR.22 JAKE HODGES SR.23 COLTON SHEPARD SO.24 JETTE NICHOLS SR.32 BRAYDON ALLEE JR.44 LANE FREDERICK SO.51 JESSIE HUBBS JR.


S T O U T L A N D — Coming off an 8-18 sea-son and a one-year run in the Frisco League under first-year head coach Wesley Shaw, the Stout land Tigers are looking to replace three seniors with a large crop of juniors.

Stout land has just three seniors, guards Layne Wood and Jake Hodges and newcomer Jette Nichols, but have a host of juniors return-ing, including second-team All-Frisco League selection Jessie Hubbs.

“We’ l l have a fa i r amount of juniors, but our biggest number of kids will be freshmen and sophomores,” Shaw said.

Things up front start with 6-foot-1 forward

Jess ie Hubbs who is a standout rebounder and averaged a double-double last season at 15 points and 12 rebounds per game.

“He is going to be expected to play a key role,” Shaw said. “He d o e s a t r e m e n d o u s amount for us and a great job. I think he was one of the only kids to average a double-dou-ble in our conference last year.

“He is expected to be an even bigger load this year for teams down low. He does a good job on the defense end as well.”

Also back is 6-foot-2 sophomore forward Hunter Barclay, who is expected to take on some of the scoring responsi-bilities this season.

see ‘Stoutland’/page 7

2014 2015STOUTLAND BOYSBASKETBALL TEAM

PROUD SUPPORTEROF AREA SCHOOLS

Submitted photoPictured is the 2014-2015 Stoutland High School boys’ basketball team. In the first row, are Jake Pendergrass, Joey Dickinson, Michael Gray, Layne Wood, Jake Hodges, Drew Ash and Austin Benavidez. Second row, are Evan Matthews, Colton Shepard, Braydon Allee, Lane Frederick, Jessie Hubbs, Hunter Barclay, Jett Nichols and Kane Matthews.

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Date Time Opponet Location12/9 6:00 Crocker Away12/11 6:00 Hartville Away12/12 6:00 Newburg Away12/15 6:00 Tuscumbia Home12/16 6:00 Houston Away12/19 4:30 Richland Home1/02 5:30 Climax Springs Away1/06 6:00 Dixon Away1/09 6:00 Licking Away1/10-17 TBA Skyline Tourney Away1/12-17 TBA Richland Tourney Away1/20 6:00 Bourbon Home1/26-31 TBA Conway Tourney Away2/02 6:00 New Covenant Away2/06 6:00 Laquey Home2/10 6:00 Plato Home2/13 6:00 Iberia Home2/17 6:00 Conway Home2/22-28 TBA Districts TBA

4 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014 LEBANON DAILY RECORD 4FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014

Yellowjackets return host of players with varsity experience from a squad that advanced to district championship game

MIZZOU RECRUIT TO LEAD LEBANON GIRLS’ BASKETBALL


Armed with a pair of early college com-mits, the Lebanon girls’ basketball team hopes to build on a season that saw the Yellowjackets advance to the champion-ship game of the Missouri Class 5 District 10 tournament.

The Yellowjackets did not feature a single senior last season, and return their entire starting five from a team that went 12-14 overall, 2-7 Ozark Conference, in-cluding sophomore Kelsey Winfrey, who committed to play for the Missouri Tigers in early September.

Winfrey, a 5-foot-8 guard, led Lebanon in scoring, 15.8 points per game, rebound-

ing, 7.7 per game, and steals, 3.7 per game, as a freshman and was a first-team All-Ozark Conference selection.

Winfrey is one of two LHS players to commit to a college basketball program. Senior Maggie Vaughn, who was second of the ‘Jackets in scoring last season, has committed to play at Missouri Valley. Vaughn was second on the team in scor-ing last season as 12 per game, and led the ‘Jackets with 42 3-pointers.

“Having two kids on the team who al-ready know they are going on to play col-lege basketball, the expectations naturally go up with that kind of stuff,” Lebanon head coach Brandon Kelley said. “We just preach to our kids that you have to find

ways to live up to that. If you don’t do something about it, all the hype is great, but you have to put in the work to deserve the hype and the talk that is going to take place.”

Winfrey and Vaughn are just two of five returning starters. Also back are senior point guard Ashton Light, senior forward Mikayla Widhalm and junior Mikalyn Callahan.

Light averaged 7.8 points and 2.8 assists last season, Widlham averaged 4.6 points and 3.6 rebounds and Callahan averaged 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds.

“I think the expectations definitely go

LEBANONMEET THE YELLOWJACKETS

HEAD COACH: BRENDAN KELLEYASSISTANT COACH: TERESA MOORE, ROD SULLENS, TRENT COPLING

GIRLS’ VARSITY:1 KELSEY WINFREY 5-8 SO.3 CHEYENNE BLACK 5-6 JR.4 JAIDEN OFFUTT 5-8 SO.5 ASHTON LIGHT 5-5 SR.14 SKYLAR COBLEIGH 5-3 SR.20 MADDIE O’CONNOR 5-10 SO.21 FAITH ALWARDT 6-0 SO.23 MIKAYLA WIDHALM 5-8 SR.24 NATALIE HENDON 5-5 SR.25 MIKALYN CALLAHAN 5-9 JR.30 RACHEL WRIGHT 5-10 SR.34 MORGAN ANDERSEN 5-11 JR.35 MAGGIE VAUGHN 5-6 SR.

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Mebruer

Lebanon sophomore Kelsey Wifnrey (1) handles the ball against the Strafford Indians during a high school girls’ basketball game on Nov. 25 at Boswell Auditorium.

see ‘Lebanon’/page 4



L E B A N O N — T h e Lebanon boys’ basket-ball team continues to make strides under sec-ond-year head coach Adam Thornhill, raising its win total from two to 10 last season.

This year, the ‘Jackets return several key play-ers, including players from a strong junior and senior class, and add several key players from the junior varsity as well.

Thornhill said several

players in the program have spent a lot of time in the offseason work-ing on their game and expects the team to take a big step forward this season.

The ‘Jackets will be led this season by Caleb McGinnis, a 6-foot-3 for-ward who averaged 8.9 points per game last sea-son and led the team in rebounding last season at 4.9 per game. A stand-out defensive end on the football field this fall, McGinnis has had to overcome an assortment of injuries throughout

his high school career.“He’ll be our leader

on the floor and in the locker room,” Thornhill said. “He works harder than anybody else in the weight room and in practice and games. He is a guy that everybody respects and wants to go to battle with.”

McGinnis was among the team’s most eff i-cient players last sea-son, shooting 59 percent from the field.

Chad Howerton is a 6-foot-3 guard/forward who can shoot from the outside and is a long

presence on the perim-eter. He led Lebanon with 29 3-pointers last season and averaged 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

“He can run the floor and hit shots in transi-tion,” Thornhill said.

C a i u s G i l l e n i s a strong, physical 6-foot guard who averaged 5.2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game last season. A left hander, Gillen shot 51 percent from the field last season and made half of his 28 3-point attempts.

“He had a good sum-

mer, he is a strong for-ward who can shoot and passes it well,” Thorn-hill said.

Also in the mix are forwards Hunter Allen and Ben Wallace. Both players mostly played junior varsity last sea-son.

L e b a n o n r e t u r n s po in t guard Connor Hicks, who averaged 10.4 points and 4.7 as-sists last season and was an All-Ozark Con-ference and all-district selection. A three-sport athlete, Hicks is playing football this fall for the

‘Jackets.“I think he’ l l pick

right back up where he left off at, he did really good for us and I think he’ll jump right back into things,” Thornhill said.

T h e Ye l l o w j a c k e t s also add Trent Millsap and Keaton Larimore from the junior varsity, and transfer Brevin Hill from Marion C. Early.

M i l l s a p , a 6 - f o o t guard, averaged nearly 20 points per game last season for the junior

Team has a host of experienced performers as well as key newcomers

LHS BOYS TO FEATURE RETURNERS

LDR file photo/Israel Potoczny

Lebanon senior Caleb McGinnis and the LHS boys’ basketball team opened the 2014-2015 on Tuesday when the Yellowjackets lost at Waynesville, 66-27.

see ‘Lebanon boys’/page 6


Photos couresy of Nicholas Mebruer

Lebanon junior Mikalyn Callahan (25), top photo, tips off the 2014-2015 season against Strafford on Nov. 25 at Boswell Auditorium. Pictured above is senior Ashton Light.

up just because of the year that we had last year,” Kelley said. “Also, sometimes I think it is easy to forget where we came from to get to where we are at, and we keep reminding our kids that we don’t want to go backwards.

“This year, the expectations are all about moving forward and taking strides.”

Lebanon will compete in Missouri Class 5 District 10, which also features Camdenton, Jefferson City and Waynesville.

“We feel like we have a winnable district, but that is also a really long ways off,” Kel-ley said. “It is hard to say with injuries and stuff like that where we end up. Every game, we are looking at as a measuring stick as far as what we did last year and what we do against those teams this year.”

GIRLS from page 4

BOYS from page 5

Photos couresy of Marc Fisher

Pictured is the Lebanon fresh-man team. In the fi rst row, from left, are Cole Breeden, Korb in Smith, Conner Callahan, Cannon York and Cooper Hutson. Second row, are coach Josh Brown, Cole McBride, Hayden Brogdon, Kyle Sing, Ian Kirk-land, Keaton Win-frey and coach Kyle Gawlowski.

Photos couresy of Marc Fisher

Pictured is the Lebanon freshman team. In the fi rst row, from left, are Presley Groce, Vivian San-chez, Madalyn Franks, Shyla Simmons and Maddi Bordoff. Sec-ond row, are coaches Trent Copling, Teresa Moore, Brendan Kelley and Rod Sullens. Third row, are Britney Gil-len, Hannah Lowery, Kalissa Taylor, Savan-nah Staver and Abbey Schmidt.

varsity, and made 68 3-pointers, shooting nearly 50 percent.

“I think Trent is poised for a breakout year,” Thornhill said. “I think people in Lebanon know about Trent Millsap, but people in the Ozark Conference are going to find out about Trent this season.

“He has grown a bunch and has com-mitted himself to becoming a good basket-ball player. He has always been known as a good offensive threat, but he has really taken on a role as a defender.”

Keaton Larimore is a 6-foot-4 junior forward who played for the LHS junior varsity last season after seeing varsity time as a freshman. Larimore played this offseason for the Missouri Flight.

“He had a good offseason and has taken huge steps from where he was last year,” Thornhill said. “He is a big, strong kid who uses his body well and plays strong and gives us a presence defensively. He did a good job on the offensive boards this summer and gives us a big body that we need to be successful against good

teams.”Brevin Hill is an athletic 6-foot-3 wing

player that led Marion C. Early in scoring each of the past two seasons.

“He is going to be a great addition to the team,” Thornhill said. “He is going to impact the team in so many different areas. He is going to be one of our better defenders and rebounders. He is going to really help us in a variety of different areas.”

Other juniors in the mix are Tanner Angst (6-3), Harrison Carr (6-2), Cooper Lowe (6-1) and Anthony Taylor (6-0).

A 6-foot guard, Jack Ehrhardt is among the area’s top up-and-coming players and is coming off a season that saw him aver-aged better than 10 points per game after joining the varsity at the Blue and Gold. Ehrhardt can handle the ball and is ter-rific at getting to the basket and finishing tough chances.


HEAD COACH: ADAM THORNHILLASSISTANT COACH: RON CROWELL, BRIAN DECKER, RYAN TOOMBS, JOSH BROWN, KYLE GAWLOWSKI

BOYS’ VARSITY:3 JACK EHRHARDT 6-1 SO.4 BREVIN HILL 6-3 JR.5 CHAD HOWERTON 6-4 JR.10 TANNER ANGST 6-3 JR.12 TRENT MILLSAP 6-0 JR.15 HARRISON CARR 6-2 JR.20 COOPER LOWE 6-1 JR.21 CONNOR HICKS 5-9 JR.22 ANTHONY TAYLOR 6-0 JR.24 CAIUS GILLEN 6-0 SR.25 CALEB MCGINNIS 6-4 SR.30 HUNTER ALLEN 6-2 SR.31 WILL RICHARDSON 6-0 FR.35 KEATON LARIMORE 6-3 JR.41 BEN WALLACE 6-4 SR.

All-Ozark Conference performers Hicks and Ehrhardt return to lead ‘Jackets

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STOUTLAND BOYS from page 3

“He started a few games but came off the bench most of the year (as a freshman), but he is ready to step up and play a much bigger role this year,” Shaw said.

Senior point guard Jake Hodges (5-6) and senior guard Layne Wood (5-8) are both back this season. Hodges was the starting point guard last season and has been a varsity regular since his freshman season.

Juniors Kane Mathews (5-11), Braydon Allee (6-0) and Michael Gray (5-10) will be moving into bigger varsity roles this season.

Also in the varsity mix are freshmen Austin Benevides (6-0), Joey Dickinson (6-0), Evan Mathews (6-0) and Jake Pendergrass (6-0).

“We had a very good season their eighth-grade year,” Shaw said. “They are a great group of kids and they have a great work ethic. I’m hoping they can come in and bring some talent to our roster and help in practices a lot.

“They may throughout the year, depend-ing on how they develop, see some varsity time as well.

“They came to some summer stuff and they held their own, but they still have some adjusting to do, it’s a big difference.”

Last season, Stoutland was trying out several new players at the varsity level and leaned heavily on senior guard Tony Sein for production.

This year, the Tigers will have to replace

Sein’s offensive punch, but have a deeper and more experience rotation of players.

“I think we have a chance of having a bet-ter season than last year,” Shaw said. “Last year was my fi rst year and we were in a lot of games, but some of youth and lack of being in big games, we didn’t pull them out like we needed to.

“I bet we had 10 or 15 games that we probably lost by five to 10 points where there were critical moments that could go either way and we didn’t quite get it done ... we are ex-pecting to win those games this year. It was a goal to be in those games last year, and this year, we want to be able to win those games.”

Stoutland senior Jake Hodges (22) is the Tigers return-ing starting point guard from last season. He is pictured bat-tling with Macks Creek players Tommy Willis, left, and Takoda Eidson, right, during the sea-son opener on Nov. 25 at Macks Creek.


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LHS V/JV GIRLS BASKETBALLDATE TIME VERSUS LOCATION12/01 TBD TBD Fairgrove12/16 7:30 Bolivar LHS12/17 (JV) TBD TBD Ozark12/18 7:30 Marshfield LHS12/19-20 (JV) TBD TBD Ozark12/20 10:00AM TBD LHS12/22 10:00AM TBD LHS12/23 10:00AM TBD LHS1/07 (JV) TBD Waynesville Waynesville1/08 7:30 Kickapoo Kickapoo1/09-10 (JV) TBD Waynesville Waynesville1/12 7:30 Glendale LHS1/16 7:30 Willard Willard1/19 7:30 Ava LHS1/22 7:30 Waynesville LHS1/24 1:00 William Chrisman St. Fair College1/26 TBD TBD Eldon2/05 7:30 Joplin Joplin2/09 7:30 West Plains LHS2/12 7:30 Hillcrest Hillcrest2/16 7:30 Camdenton LHS2/19 7:30 Parkview Parkview2/23 7:30 Rolla Rolla2/26 7:30 Central Springfield Central

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Photo courtesy of Marc FisherPictured is the 2014-2015 Lebanon High School girls’ basketball team. In the first row, from left, are Jaiden Offutt, Cheyenne Black, Taylor Hough, Mel Myers, MaryAnn Huntley, Carsyn Bowman and Alyssa Wright. Second row, are Maddie O’Connor, Faith Alwardt, Maggie Vaughn, Mikayla Widhalm, Rachel Wright, Ashton Light, Natalie Hendon, Skylar Cobleigh and Mikalyn Callahan. Third row, are Breannah Staver, Trent Copling, Teresa Moore, Brendan Kelley, Rod Sullens and Emily Esea. Fourth row, are Kelsey Winfrey, Khloe Hilt, Allison Myers, Morgan Andersen and Gracie Calhoun.

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Date Time Opponet Location12/2 7:30 Waynesville Away12/9 7:30 Marshfield Away12/12 7:30 Branson LHS12/15 7:30 Joplin LHS12/18 7:30 Bolivar Away12/26 TBD TBD Away01/5 7:30 Republic LHS01/6 7:30 Webb City Away01/13 TBD Tourney TBD California01/20 7:30 Gendale LHS01/23 7:30 Smith-Cotton LHS

Date Time Opponet Location01/26 TBD Sparta Away (JV)01/27 TBD TBD Away02/3 7:30 Rolla LHS02/4 TBD TBD Tourney Away (JV)02/6 7:30 Kickapoo Away02/10 7:30 West Plains Away02/13 7:30 Hillcrest LHS02/16 TBD TBD Tourney Away (JV)02/17 7:30 Jefferson City Away02/20 7:30 Parkview LHS02/24 7:30 Camdenton Away

Member FDIC

Photo courtesy of Marc Fisher

Pictured is the 2014-2015 Lebanon High School boys’ basketball team. In the first row, from left, are Nick

Bradshaw, Caius Gillen, Chad Howerton, Keon Carter, Hunter Allen, Keaton Larimore, Caleb McGinnis,

Ben Wallace, Trevor Johnson, Trent Millsap and Terrell Sizemore. Second row, are Connor Hicks, Lakiah

Capps, Ryan Toombs, Brian Decker, Adam Thornhill, Ron Crowell, Moses Farr, Aaron Crowell and Hunter

McGuire. Third row, are Mark Dalangin, Cooper Lowe, Anthony Taylor, Tanner Angst, Jack Ehrhardt,

Harrison Carr, Brevin Hill, Will Richardson and Clayton Richardson.

10FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014LEBANON DAILY RECORD

HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR BEARSSeveral key players return for talented Conway team


Conway junior Andrew Huckaby is an All-Summit Conference caliber player after a standout sophomore season.


CONWAY — After posting a tough start against a brutal sched-ule , Expecat ions are high this season for the Conway Bears after fin-ishing the 2013-2014 season by winning eight of its last 11 games.

Conway opened last season by playing a bru-tal non-conference slate, dropping games to Class 2 runner-up Iberia, Class 5 teams Nixa and Cam-denton, and two games to Class 3 Final Four team Strafford.

But the Bears ra l -lied to finish the season strong under second-year head coach Jeff Cope, finishing the sea-son 12-11 overall.

Conway loses leading scorer Josh Cunning-

ham to graduation. Cun-ningham averaged 20.9 points and 4.8 rebounds last season.

This year, Cope and the Bears return four starters, including a trio of emerging guards and a strong front line.

“The kids really have high expectations for themselves and really put forth a lot of work t h i s s u m m e r, ” C o p e said. “They really had the right attitude. They have worked real hard and coming into the season, the kids have a lot of confidence in their ability and what we can do.”

Conway returns three seniors, Nathan Neal, Chris Berger and Tyler Simpson, all frontcourt players.

Neal, at 6-foot-1, is a tough matchup in-

side for opponents as he plays much bigger than his listed height. He av-eraged 15.3 points, led the Bears in rebound-ing at 9.4 per game and shot 61 percent from the field.

“He took a huge step forward last year, as-serting himself offen-sively and defensively,” Cope said. “Not just from a rebounding and points aspect, but from an energy aspect. He really showed up for us, playing hard the whole time.”

Cope said keeping Neal out of foul trouble and on the court will be a big key this season.

“He is an extremely gifted athlete who plays much bigger than his frame,” Cope said. “He

see ‘Conway’/page 12

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Submitted photo, Pictured is the 2014-2015 Conway boys’ basketball team. In the first row, from left, are Eli Thurman, Tyler Simpson, Caleb Little, Lane Doing, Bo Walker, Hunter Wissbaum, Tayler Simpson, Chris Terry and Cody Parsons. Second row, are Nathan Neal, Tyler Hawkins, Zach Welch, Corey Haney, Cody Delcour, Gunner Berger, Austing Chastain, Andrew Huckaby, Chris Berger and Tanner Pippins.

boys

NOW DOING FRONTEND ALIGNMENTS!

Date Opponent Home/Away Time12/08 Laquey Away 6:0012/09 Niangua Away 6:0012/15 Plato Away TBA12/18 Mountain Grove Home 6:0001/02 Strafford Home 6:0001/05 School of Ozarks Home 6:0001/06 Dallas Co. Home 6:0001/08 Stoutland Home 6:0001/15-17 Skyline Tourney Away TBA

Date Opponent Home/Away Time01/22 Ava Away 6:0001/26-31 Mansfield Tourney Away TBA02/02 Fordland Home 6:0002/05 Norwood Home 6:0002/09 Dixon Home 6:0002/12 Mansfield Away 6:0002/16 Hartville Away 6:0002/19 Gainsville Away 6:0002/21-28 Districts Away TBA

Date Opponent Home/Away Time12/09 Laquey Home 6:0012/12 Mt. Grove Home 6:0012/15 Strafford Home 6:0012/16 Fordland Away 6:0012/26-29 Blue & Gold Away TBA01/03 Dalllas Co. Away 2:0001/06 Fair Grove Away 6:0001/09 Marion C. Early Home 6:0001/12-17 Richland Tourney Away TBA

Date Opponent Home/Away Time01/13 Ava Away 6:0001/16 Seymour Home 6:0001/20 Gainsville Home 6:0001/24 California Away TBA01/26-31 Conway Tourney Home TBA02/06 Masnfield Away 6:0002/10 Hartville Away 6:0002/17 Stoutland Away 6:0002/20 Norwood Away 6:0002/21-28 Districts Away TBA

Submitted photo, Pictured is the 2014-2015 Conway girls’ basketball team. In the first row, from left, are Miya Shilts, Alizabeth Donaldson, Greyson Patten, Taylor Caffey, Kasey Hendrix and Emmi Bailey. Second row, are Kelsey Clark, Tessa Vaughn, Tiffany Yelvington, Riley Luallin, Promise Arnold, Olivia Dill, Janessa Jensen and Maddie Archer.


CONWAY BOYS from page 10

scores for us inside and is set up to have a real good senior year.”

B e r g e r, 6 - f o o t - 2 , h a s w o r k e d h a rd i n the weight room and is coming off a strong summer.

“He is a nice facilita-tor in our offense and has some under- the-radar passing ability,” Cope said. “He is stron-ger than he was last year and has lost some weight, which makes him more athletic for us.”

T h e B e a r s ’ j u n i o r class starts with 6-foot-3 junior guard Andrew Huckaby, who is among the area’s rising stars in small school hoops. Huckaby was a first-team All-Summit Con-ference selection last season. He is strong at creating off the drib-ble and is a standout shooter from the 3-point line.

“He has put on some size over the last year and has gotten a lot s t r o n g e r a n d m o r e athlet ic ,” Cope said. “Combine that with his basketball ability, and we have a kid that is po-tentially going to be an all-state player by the time he graduates.

“He shot it real well last year from the 3-

point line, and has a nice inside-outside game as far as being able to get in the lane and create a shot for himself or his teammates.”

Also back are guards Chris Terry and Tayler Simpson.

Terry is a 5-foot-10 junior who had a big varsity season last year as a sophomore.

“Terry had an un-believable summer for us and is one of the main reasons we are switching our offense from a motion offense to a pick-and-rol l so we can have the ball in his hands,” Cope said. “He really did a nice job of creat ing shots for his teammates and getting in the lane and creat ing t rouble . He is our quickest player, and probably one of our best defenders.”

After missing parts of the past two seasons, the Bears are looking forward to a full season from Austin Chastain is a 6-foot-4 junior for-ward. Chastain aver-aged 8.2 points, 5.6 re-bounds, 2.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game.

“He really does a lot of things really well,” Cope said. “He gives us a nice size aspect, and defensively, he can

rebound and is a nice facilitator of our offense at the high post position with our size.

“ G e t t i n g h i m i n -volved in our pick-and-roll offense this sum-mer was big. He has nice ability to finish at the basket.”

Also in the mix is junior R.C. Shockley, a 6-foot guard who is strong and athletic.

“He has a nice shot from the 3-point line, and is probably our best defender,” Cope said.

Z a c k We l c h i s a n athletic 6-foot-3 junior post player who is a strong rebounder. He played JV last season and didn’t play as a freshman.

Sophomore Tay ler Simpson has emerged as the Bears’ third guard after a strong summer.

“He has a really good skill set for our pick-and-roll offense,” Cope said. “He has the ability of getting in the lane

and does a nice job of scoring in the lane.

“He has an emerg-ing outside game and is pretty tough to de-

fend.”Also in the mix is 6-

foot-2 sophomore Tyler Hawkins.


Conway senior Nathan Neal is coming off a junior season that saw him average 15.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

CONWAYMEET THE BEARS

HEAD COACH: JEFF COPE

BOYS’ VARSITY:3 TAYLER SIMPSON 5-10 SO.10 AUSTIN CHASTAIN 6-4 JR.21 CHRIS TERRY 5-9 JR.22 TYLER HAWKINS 6-1 SO.23 CODY DELCOUR 6-1 FR.24 ANDREW HUCKABY 6-2 JR.32 CHRIS BERGER 6-2 SR.33 NATHAN NEAL 6-1 SR.34 ZACH WELCH 6-3 JR.44 TYLER SIMPSON 6-0 SR.

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CONWAYMEET THE BEARS

HEAD COACH: MICHAEL LEWIS

GIRLS’ VARSITY:1 TIFFANY YELVINGTON 5-6 SR.2 TAYLOR CAFFEY 5-3 SR.4 TESSA VAUGHN 5-6 FR.5 MADDIE ARCHER 5-6 FR.10 MIYA SHILTS 5-0 SO.11 PROMISE ARNOLD 5-3 FR.12 EMMI BAILEY 5-4 FR.21 OLIVIA DILL 5-8 FR.23 ALIZABETH DONALDSON 5-3 FR.24 JANESSA JENSEN 5-5 FR.32 KASEY HENDRIX 5-2 SR.55 RILEY LUALLIN 5-11 JR.

CONWAY TO FEATURE YOUNG TEAMSecond-year head coach to have 7 freshmen on 12-player varsity roster


C O N WAY — F e w teams in area hoops will be younger than Michael Lewis’ Conway girls’ bas-ketball team.

Lewis, in his second year at the school, will have seven freshman among his 12 varsity players, and several will see action right away.

The Bears lost three key seniors (Abby Shockley, Riley Mackey and Chyenne Gregory) and had a fourth player (Skyler Collison) move out of the district from last year’s team that fi nished 8-16.

“We are replacing four players who played quite a bit of minutes for us,” Lewis said. “We are pretty young. I saw one of the kids

say the other day that only four of them can drive, so that gives you an idea of where you are.”

Returning to help lead the way are Tiffany Yelv-ington, Riley Luallin, Kas-ey Hendrix and Taylor Caffey.

Hendrix, Luallin and Yelvington were all named team captains.

“The leadership that we have, those kids are really good about bonding with the younger girls and they are ready getting along and enjoying each other,” Lewis said. “That has made the transition easier. We are young and we are going to have some growing pains and we just have to see how it goes.”

A 5-foot-6 senior, Yelv-ington was the Bears’ sec-ond-leading scorer last

season. She averaged 10.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.0 steals per game last season.

“She is super-quick and probably the fastest girl I’ve ever coached,” Lewis said. “She has worked a lot on her jump shot.”

Luallin, a 5-foot-11 junior, led the team in scoring as a sophomore last season and was second in rebounding at 6.2 per game.

“She is probably one of our best shooters,” Lewis said. “At the end of last year, she got to play against enough good post players that she really saw how much you can assert your-self on the inside and how that will open up your outside game.

“She has really started to take some of that to heart, and I think that is going

to push her from having games where she scored 10-12 points to games where she is scoring 15-20. Last year she led us in points and I suspect she’ll do the same again this year.”

Lewis said the vocal leader is 5-foot-2 senior guard Kasey Hendrix.

“She outspoken and strong and a leader all the way around, not only in basketball, but all the girls look up to her as a role model,” Lewis said. “It is great to have her around. She has worked on her jump shot too.”

Lewis said Caffey is a versatile player who even at 5-foot-2 can play inside or outside.

“She can play any spot even though she’s so small because she’s so smart,” Lewis said. “I only have

to show Taylor something once and she gets it.”

Lewis said the fresh-men class has come a long way since they won just one game two years ago as seventh-graders. Playing essentially the same sched-ule, the group won five games as eighth-graders, then put together a strong offseason.

“There is about four of them that have really taken off and became a lot better,” Lewis said.

Lewis said Olivia Dill, Alizabeth Donaldson, Emmi Bailey, Tessa Vaughn and Maddie Archer could all see varsity time.

“One of them is going to start early on, and I expect four of them and (Kelsey Clark who is out with in-jury) to battle for that fi fth starter’s spot,” Lewis said.

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LEBANON WRESTLING TEAM DECIDES STARTING LINE-UPS IN WRESTLE-OFFS

Photo courtesy of Malinda Beushausen

Lebanon junior Adrian Palmer competes during the Missouri Class 3 wrestling state championships last season. Palmer is one of several key returning varisty wrestlers this season for the Yellowjackets.

Several key wrestlers out to start the season with illness or injury; others stepping up

VARSITY LINE-UP (STARTERS IN BOLD)113 — KYLE JOHNSON SO.113 — STANLEY PULLEY SO.113 — KAELI NEELY SO.120 — DAMION GAMMONS SO.120 — KALEB HOOPER FR.126 — LOGAN BEUSHAUSEN JR.126 — SETH FULLERTON SO.126 — DEVIN LEWIS SO.132 — ANDREW YOUNG FR.138 — DYLAN BURNS SR.138 — CHRISTIAN WATSON SO.138 — ROBERT BEVILLE JR.145 — MATT HICKS JR.145 — ISIAH HOWE SO.152 — BRAXTON LEWIS SO.152 — JACOB WHITE SO.152 — JAYLAN WHITE SO.160 — DAKOTA SHOCKLEY SO.160 — BROCK REEVES SO.160 — CODY SMITH FR.160 — BRYCE ANGST FR.160 — MICHAEL HEINRICHS SR.160 — KAMERON HEINRICHS FR.170 — JOHN HENSON JR.182 — BRANDON HORSLEY JR.182 — VICTORY DICKERSON SR.195 — SCOTT MAHAN SR.195 — KASIN THOMAS JR.220 — JORDAN ALLEN SR.220 — JARED SCHMITT SR.220 — ELLIOT BYRD SO.285 — DUSTY LUCAS SR.285 — ZACK ROGERSD SR.285 — DAVID SIMMONS JR.285 — TYLER FOELL SO.


The 2014-2015 Leba-non wrestling team has high expectations with nearly 70 wrestlers out for the team, includ-ing four returning state qualifiers.

Leading the way are Adrian Palmer, Dylan Burns, Logan Beushau-sen and Dusty Lucas, all of whom competed at the Missouri Class 3 state championships last year.

“The expectation has to be state medal, and for some of them, state champ,” Lebanon head coach Randy Roark said. “Burns was a state med-alist the past two years. He has to be thinking a state title. Lucas was one match from earning a state medal last year, and Beushausen won a match at state last year and is a returning state qualifier.

“We have some good young kids coming up, too, and we are probably looking at starting some freshmen this year. It is a good, solid bunch.”

However, due to injury

or illness, both Palmer and Beushausen will open the season on the sidelines.

“We have to push them, they have to want to be state medalists,” Lebanon head coach Randy Roark said. “With the competition that we wrestle against, they are all tough ones, so hopefully that will prepare us for districts and state, and hopefully, we’ll come home with a couple of state medals.”

L u c a s i s a l i g h t heavy weight at 195-2 0 0 p o u n d s , w h i l e Burns will wrestle at 132 pounds and Beush-ausen will wrestle at 120 pounds.

Roark said Palmer has bulked up during the offseason and will likely move up from 170 pounds to 182 this sea-son. Palmer is healthy after suffering an ankle injury during the foot-ball season.

“He has to be thinking state title,” Roark said. “We have two years left with him and he should be in the hunt for win-ning it. He has worked really hard in the weight room and has put on some bulk.”

R o a r k s a i d a f e w wrestlers arrived dinged up from football, but for the most part, the team is healthy entering the season.

“I think they’re ready, there’s some dings but n o m a j o r i n j u r i e s , ” Roark said.

Things could get a lit-tle tougher in the post-season for the ‘Jackets this season as LHS has moved up from Class 3 to rejoin Class 4.

“ H o p e f u l l y s o m e of the boys can medal (in Class 4) and earn a scholarship,” Roark said.

Roark said moving up to the largest class brings a bigger spot-light at the state tourna-ment.

“Those college coach-es, they want the best and it gets tougher the h i g h e r y o u g o u p , ” Roark said.

At 113-pounds, Ma-son Bragg will be the vars i ty regular once healthy but is also cur-rently sidelined with an illness. In his place will be sophomores Kyle

see ‘Wrestling’/page 14

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WRESTLING

Photo courtesy of Malinda Beushausen

Lebanon senior Dylan Burns, right, competes during the Missouri Class 3 wrestling state championships last season. Burns is one of several key returning varisty wrestlers this season for the Yellowjackets.

Johnson, Stanley Pul-ley or Kaeli Neely.

A t 1 2 0 - p o u n d s i s s o p h o m o r e D a m i o n Gammons, replac ing junior Logan Beushau-sen who is moving up to 126-pounds.

Roark sa id sopho-more Seth Fullerton is also a tough wrestler who will see varsity ac-tion this season.

Freshman Andrew Young will wrestle at 132-pounds, swapping w i t h s t a t e q u a l i f i e r Dylan Burns, who moves up to 138-pounds. Soph-omore Christian Watson will challenge for a spot at 138, as well as 145.

Junior Matt Hicks will wrestle at 145 pounds, and at 152 pounds is s o p h o m o r e B r a x t o n Lewis.

Sophomore Dakota Shockley won a crowd-ed field at 160-pounds, beating out sophomore Brock Reeves , f resh-men Cody Smith, Bryce Angs t and Kameron Heinrichs, as well as se-nior Michael Heinrich.

At 170-pounds junior John Henson won out and Michael Heinrich will likely see time there as well.

Junior s tate qual i -fier Adrian Palmer is a potential state cham-

pionship contender at 182-pounds, but is out to start the season with a kidney infection. In his place is junior Brandon Horsley, and senior Vic-tory Dickerson.

At 195-pounds, senior Scott Mahan returns and will be backed up by ju-nior Kasin Thomas.

Senior Jordan Allen won the starting spot at 220-pounds and beat out last year ’s starter, senior Jared Schmit t and sophomore Elliott Byrd.

At heavy weight, se-nior Dusty Lucas re-turns after being a state qualif ier last season. He will be backed up by senior Zack Rogers, junior David Simmons and sophomore Tyler Foell.

from page 13

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Varsity/JVDate Event Time Opponent Location12/02 Dual (V/JV) 6:00PM Jefferson City LHS - Carr Gymnasium12/06 Tournamen (JV) 9:00AM Neosho Neosho12/09 Dual (V/JV) 6:00PM Ozark Ozark12/12 Missouri Duals (V) TBD TBD Helias12/13 Missouri Duals (V) TBD TBD Helias12/16 Dual (V/JV) 6:00PM Camdenton Camdenton12/20 Tournament (JV) 9:00AM TBD LHS - Carr Gymnasium01/06 Dual (JV) 5:30PM Glendale Glendale High School01/08 Dual (V) 6:00PM Glendale Glendale01/10 Tournament (V) 8:00AM Christian Brothers College Christian Brothers College-St. Louis01/10 Tournament (JV) 9:00AM Smith Cotton Smith Cotton High School01/15 Double Dual 5:00PM Logan-Rogersville,Willard LHS - Carr Gymnasium01/16 Tournament (V/JV) TBD TBD Jefferson City 01/17 Tournament (V/JV) TBD TBD Jefferson City01/20 Dual (V/JV) 6:00PM Rolla LHS - Carr Gymnasium01/23 Tournament (V) 3:00PM TBD Parsons01/24 Tournament (JV) 9:00AM TBD LHS01/25 Tournament (JV) 9:00AM TBD LHS01/26 Dual (V) 6:00PM Waynesville LHS02/03 Dual (JV) 6:00PM Branson LHS02/07 Ozark Conf. Tourney (V/JV) 10:30AM TBD Camdenton

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