Month: May 2018

The College of the Ozarks will have at least three new faces in Bobcat Uniforms when they take the court in November.  Coach Steve Shepherd has announced the signings of Willow Springs’ Bryce Duddridge,  Sam Chumley, from Bryant, Arkansas, and Hillsboro, Kansas native Elias Werth.

Duddridge scored over 1500 points in his career at Willow Springs.   He was honorable mention All-SCA this past season.

Chumley is a 6-4 guard and can pose matchup problems.  He averaged 8.6 points per game as a senior.  He is versatile and can play either guard position and can help out inside if need be.  He named All-Conference this past season.

Werth is a 6-0 Guard.  He was a first team All-Central Kansas selection this past year.  He led the Trojans in scoring (16.7), steals (3.7), free-throw accuracy (75.7 percent) and deflections (3.5). He was second on the team in assists (3.6), rebounds (5.1) and blocked shots (17).

The Bobcats were 23-13 last year and were NCCAA Regional Champions.

 

The school year is winding down and so is the high school baseball season.  District Tournaments start as early as next Saturday.   District seedings for area teams have been released.

Class 4 District 11 at Hollister

Aurora is undefeated, they are number one in the state, and are the defending state champs.  There is no surprise they are the number one seed.

Hollister has climbed into the state rankings at #10.   The Tigers beat Aurora last year the week before Districts.  That was the last loss Aurora would have on the season on their way to winning the top prize

Springfield Catholic is the third seed.  They are a very good ballclub.  Their two loses to Hollister pretty much earmarked them for this spot.

Rogersville  is a very solid four seed.  They lost to Hollister and Catholic and bear Reeds Spring 1-0.

Reeds Spring is about as tough as a five seed as you will find.  They played Rogersville to a 1-0 decision last week.  They also own a victory over Monett, who by the way is the top seed in the sister district to this one.

Mount Vernon rounds out the field as the six seed.  The Mountaineers have played a lot of the top teams to close games this year.. They could be a dangerous matchup.

Play Starts Saturday May 12th..   The full bracket can be accessed at the end of the story.

Class 5 District 11 at Kickapoo

Glendale, led by former Forsyth Coach Jim Julian is the number one seed.  They are 18-6 and own victories over the rest of the District.

Kickapoo  got the second seed.  They have lost ten times but most of them are to teams out of the area. Glendale is the only district loss for the Chiefs

Ozark is 15-8 on the season and is a very solid three seed.  They are 15-8 and their victory over Nixa kept them ahead of the Eagles

Speaking of Nixa, they are having a quality season.  Currently 15-8 on the year.  They are the four seed.

West Plains at 9-9 got the nod at #5.  The Zizzers do own a run-rule win over Nixa this year.  The two will meet in the first round.

Parkview is 9-15 on the year and own a victory over Branson, so they were pretty much assured of the six seed

Branson rounds out the field as the seven seed.  The Pirates picked up their sixth win of the year last night in Monett.  They have played a number of the teams in the district close but have fallen to all.

District will start on Saturday the 12th.  The bracket can be accessed on a link at the end of this story.

Class 3 District 11 at Forsyth

Strafford is the number one seed.  The Indians are state ranked and have only lost three times this year-All to bigger schools.

Fair Grove is the second seed.  12-7 is their record including a win over Clever.  That was probably the deciding factory in getting the #2

The aforementioned Clever is the #3 seed.  Another state ranked team.  The Bluejays have lost three of they last four but still sit at 15-5 on the season.

The host Panthers are the number four seed.  They are 8-10 on the year. But, they seem to have picked it up in the last couple of weeks.  In that time they have a win over Hartville and one run losses the Aurora and Hollister

Conway picked up an impressive win over Clever last week.  They are back above .500 at 11-10 and they come in seeded #5

Spokane rounds out the six team field.  Its been a long year for the Owls.  They are still looking for their first victory of the season.

This district starts play on Monday the 14th

Link for Bracket for Class 4 District at Hollister

http://www.mshsaa.org/Activities/DistrictTournaments.aspx?alg=3&class=4&district=11&year=2017

Link for Bracket for Class 5 District at Kickapoo

http://www.mshsaa.org/Activities/DistrictTournaments.aspx?alg=3&class=5&district=11&year=2017

Link for Bracket for Class 3 District at Forsyth

http://www.mshsaa.org/Activities/DistrictTournaments.aspx?alg=3&class=3&district=11&year=2017

Link for Class 2 District at New Covenant  (Galena, Crane, and Blue Eye)

http://www.mshsaa.org/Activities/DistrictTournaments.aspx?alg=3&class=2&district=11&year=2017

Sometimes a talent comes along that is so bright you wonder what path she will take.  That is the case when you have an athlete that not only competes in multiple sports but excels in them all.  There is no doubt that Branson’s Lauren Garrison fits that billing.  In a word, she is, without a doubt, special.

Garrison was proficient on the softball diamond, but she goes well beyond that on the basketball court and on the soccer pitch.   She is a multiple time All-Conference and All-District selection in both.

The Branson Soccer program has not seen another Goal Keeper like her in its young existance.  She owns every save and shutout record on the books and ranks 1-2-3 in just about everyone of them.  She has also set marks that are among the best the State of Missouri has ever seen.

On the basketball court she has been as steady as they come.   Her all-around play and unselfish attitude not only was noticed, here in Branson, but by coaches around the Central Ozarks Conference.  She was a vital part of the State Quarterfinal Run the Lady Pirates made in 2017.

On Friday, Garrison official made her choice, or choices.  She will play basketball and will do so at Rockhurst University in Kansas City.   The Hawks are an NCAA DII school and compete in the GLVC, the same conference as Drury.

LaurenGarrison   (click on link for our interview with Lauren)