My number two story of the year is the retirement of Scott Wenger.
Perhaps no single person can be linked to the Hollister school district more than Scott Wenger. He pretty much handled every job there is to do at the school. When I think of Hollister, I think of Wenger.
For 27 years he Coached, He Taught, He Drove, He Listened, He Advised, He Administrated, And most important, he touched lives.
Though he can still be found… I already miss seeing him on the sidelines…. They just dont make them like Scott Wenger any longer… I am proud to call him friend…
For my number three story of 2019 I return to Reeds Spring. The Lady Wolves Softball program has seen some very good talent step between the lines. No doubt some very special ladies have worn the red and white.
Not sure that the best of them all did not complete her senior season, this fall. Izzy Erickson is a rare talent. Her all-around game is something that is very seldom seen. She has as much speed as just about any player in the game and she has as much power as anyone that has ever worn a Lady Wolf uniform. She has the single season and career home run records.
I could go on about her accomplishments in the batters box, but its in the circle that she thrives even more. For the second consecutive season she averaged more that two strike outs per inning. She helped lead the Wolves to the district Championship game this season. She was named All-State and will attend Butler Community College next fall.
The number four story of the year takes us to College of the Ozarks and two of the all-time best Lady Cats. Kelsie Cleeton and Cassidy Johnson will forever be fan favorites to the folks that pack the Howell Keeter Athletic Complex.
The accomplishments of these two ladies are endless: Johnson, the sharpshooter from West Plains, and Cleeton, the girl from Springfield that can seemingly do it all.
Johnson leaves Point Lookout as one of the most accomplished shooters and scorers in Lady Cat History holds the three point mark. And, Cleeton was a double-double machine. She holds the all-time school records for both assists and rebounds, an accomplishment that would be rare if ever able to find anywhere else. She also ranks in the top ten in scoring..
The Lady Cats were 116-16 during the four years these ladies were part of the program.
I have said it before and I will say it again. Coach Becky Mullis has an incredible knack for recruiting talented girls from across the Ozarks, and helping mold them, year in and year out, into one of the best teams in the nation. But, more important than their success on the court is the quality young women that continue to come out of her program.
Whether you are talking about, on the court or off the court, it gets no better than Kelsie and Cass.
The number five local sports story of 2019 is the run of the Reeds Spring Volleyball team.
You could sense something special about this team in the first month of the season. Even when they would come up short the way they competed led you to believe that better days were, no doubt. coming.
The Lady Wolves really shined at Districts. They quickly dispatched Cassville in the opening round and took care of a much improved Seneca team in the semis setting up the anticipated Championship tilt with Mt Vernon.
In a great atmosphere, much of the Aurora student section join with fans of the Wolves and cheered on the Red and White. The match would go three sets but in the end it was the Lady Wolves that were still standing and punched their ticket to the state tournament.
The road to STATE started with long trip to California, MO. In the Sectional round the Lady Wolves overpowered Kirksville, sending them to what amounts to be the ELITE EIGHT. They found themselves up against a familiar foe…. Logan-Rogersville.
While, the Lady Wolves would fall short they put up a fight and left us all with a great season to remember.
The number six story of the year is the Branson Pirate Soccer Team.
Back in early August, I made some predictions about the fall sports seasons. One of those was that Branson Soccer would play for a District Championship. At the time, we didnt know who the district opponents would be or even what Class Branson would fall in.
Well, they remained Class 5 and were placed in a very tough district. They would draw Nixa in the first round of the four team tournament. So, the Pirates, who had never won a district game, draw an opponent they had never beaten. NO PROBLEM… True to my prediction and showing just how far the program has come, they defeated the Eagles and advanced to the District Title game against Ozark.
It wasnt just the District runners-up finish that made this such a magical season for the Pirates. They set a program record for number of wins in a season. Kyle Sutton set the record for Goals and became the Pirates first 1st team All-State player.
For the #7 story of the year, we go to Forsyth……The Forsyth Lady Panthers had a softball season to remember. Playing in the spring, there is only one class and the Lady Panthers were happy to take on all comers.
They found themselves in a 2-1 game in the bottom of the 6th inning against Hollister in the District Championship. The Lady Panthers would push four across the plate and go on to win the title and advance to the state playoffs.
The Sectional round saw them play host to Purdy. But, thats where the season would come to an end as the third ranked Lady Panthers fell 3-0. A great season came to an end with a record of 21-4.
The number eight story of 2019 returns us to College of the Ozarks.
The school started hosting the National Christian Collage Athletic Association National Championships last year. That first tournament saw the Lady Cats make a run all the way to the Championship game, before coming up just short.
This year the Lady Cats won a tie breaker to finish second in their pool. They, then, beat #1 seed Southwestern Assemblies of God to advance to the title game. And in the Championship match against Judson University. The Lady Cats took the Championship with a 3-1 win. It was the first National Title for the Program.
CofO’s Rielly Wallace was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Lady Cat Coach, Stacy Muckenthaler, was named Coach of the Year
Number Nine on this years countdown of area sports stories is Priscilla Williams making her college choice.
Since people in the Ozarks first started seeing her play basketball, they wondered where would she go…. The 6-3 Branson guard can seemingly do everything with the basketball. Rating services have had her ranked as one of the best ballers in America.
If you have seen her play, you know its like flipping a switch. She can hit the three, she can drive by you and get to the basket. Her length and height make her a matchup nightmare for other coaches. No doubt she can score but she can run the floor and hit teammates on the run with passes that would make a pro happy. And, she can handle the rock.
During the Summer she narrowed her choices down to five and last month she made it official…. She will be attending and playing for Syracuse University.
Its time for my top ten local stories of 2019. As in the past this is just a list that comes from the top of my head. I know there is a more scientific way to do it, and each year I acknowledge that there are stories that belong that get left out…. with all of that being said… Lets get started….
The number ten story on this years countdown is the 2018-2019 College of the Ozarks Women’s Basketball Team.
As is pretty much the case every year, Coach Becky Mullis’ ball team takes on all comers and plays about as tough a schedule as you can imagine. And as has become custom their eyes were on Sioux City, Iowa and the NAIA Division II National Championships.
The Lady Cats spent most of the year near the top of the rankings and it was no surprise that come tournament time, they were ready to make a run. It just so happen that they found themselves taking on one of the host institutions, Nortwestern (IA) with at trip to the Final Four on the line.
C of O led throughout the game and found themselves with a double digit lead in the fourth quarter. Things would not go their way, including a couple of close calls that went to replay. In the end the Lady Cats saw their season end with a 71-70 loss. They were later issued an apology from the NAIA, recognizing that Northwestern had been awarded an extra point during the contest.
31-4 proved to be the final record for a group that included two NAIA All-Americans. More on them later in my countdown.
