Sports

CARROLLTON — After battling past their first-round opponent in the Class 3 District 16 Tournament this past Monday night, Brookfield High School’s Lady Bulldogs were left to carry on the BHS basketball banner for 2023-24 when the third-seeded Bulldogs were shaded by sixth seed Lathrop, 57-54, the next night.The Lady ’Dogs rallied with timely and clutch shooting Monday to knock out fourth-seeded Lexington, 44-39, in the opening round of the tournament.Advancing to the semifinals, where they met host and top-seeded Carrollton (17-8) Wednesday night, the Lady Bulldogs (8-17) spurred hope of a repeat of their near-“rags-to-riches” postseason performance of two years ago when, as the lowest seed, they posted two upsets to earn a crack at the crown and seemed on their way to it before a knee injury felled their top player, Ella Daugherity.Monday evening, after a back-and-forth contest for three quarters, the BHS girls found themselves trailing, 31-29, entering the final period.That turned out to be their last deficit.Jerzi Fields drained a ‘3” on a dish from Maddie Wilbeck on the Lady ‘Dogs’ first possession of the fourth frame.

By DENNIS HUGHESSpecial to the LCLMARCELINE — Both Marceline and Brookfield benefitted from a successful weekend in the MSHSAA Class 1 District 3 boys’ wrestling tournament MHS hosted last Friday and Saturday.Four wrestlers – all from Brookfield – captured individual titles, but 11 others – nine of them Tigers – also qualified for this past Wednesday’s and Thursday’s state tournament at Columbia.Both county squads also finished in the top five in the team district results.

By DENNIS HUGHESSpecial to the LCLMARCELINE — Brookfield and Marceline benefitted from a successful weekend in the MSHSAA Class 1 District 3 boys’ wrestling tournament MHS hosted last Friday and Saturday.Four BHS wrestlers – Xaiver Sada and Colton, Peyton and Devan Parn – captured individual titles, while 11 other county grapplers – two of them Bulldogs – also qualified for state, and both squads finished in the top four in the team results.Brookfield’s Sada (29-3), P.

As the 2023-24 high school basketball regular season draws to a close this week, some final touches were being put on season-long achievements by some teams and one squads achieved a simple, but relieving, goal.To no one’s surprise, the powerhouse Meadville Lady Eagles officially completed another Tri-County Conference crown when they bested Green City in a make-up game this past Monday.On the same evening and the same court, MHS was denied a share of the TCC boys’ title when Asher Buggs-Tipton and the Gophers wrapped up their own unbeaten run through the loop.Elsewhere, Linn County’s boys used a late-arranged game to avert a likely-winless season, topping Madison 52-31 on the road.On other fronts, the Carroll-Livingston Activity Association Tournament involving Mendon: Northwestern played itself out and Bucklin/Macon County R-4 .Recapping the recent play (not encompassing the CLAA Tournament, which is reviewed elsewhere in this edition), beginning this past Monday and working backwards…MONDAY(G) Meadville 81, Green City 45(B) Green City 75, Meadville 56MEADVILLE — Matching 31-points nights from All-Staters Korrie Holcer and Madison Carvajal accounted for over 75% of the Lady Eagles’ scoring before the Eagles (12-10, 6-2 conf.) were overwhelmed in the first half to douse their title aspirations.The MHS girls (24-0, 8-0 conf.) also had 11 rebounds from sophomore Kinlee Fletcher in their league finale.Green City’s Gophers pumped in 44 points in the opening half, although the Meadville boys gamely tried to keep pace with 30 of their own.

By PAUL STURMLCL Sports Editorpsturm@cherryroad.comPostseason high school basketball begins for the various Linn County teams this coming week with a long-term stay expected for one and the possibility of season-salvaging heroics for a few others.With a change in Missouri State High School Activities Association district- and state-tournament hosting approaches, fans of the team with the projected longest trip through the postseason presumably won’t have to even leave town until it’s nearly over.To accommodate alterations in classification assignments made a number of years ago, resulting in some schools having its teams in different districts or classes, MSHSAA this year has not only specified that, on the district-play level, will only girls’ games be played on certain nights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday this year) and the boys’ on the alternating nights or days (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturdays), but also has used that development to, in many – but not all – cases, have a district tournament’s girls’ games be hosted by one school and the boys’ by another.Looking beyond district play, MSHSAA also is initiating a new approach to game hosting for the first two rounds of the state tournaments.Rather than larger-school, usually-neutral sites able to accommodate fans from potentially four separate schools (when girls’ and boys’ sectional games were played on the same night and the same for the quarterfinals), girls’ sectional games this season will be played on Monday of the week after district play (Feb.

With four girls already assured of being there, about a dozen Marceline High School male wrestlers will be in action in their home surroundings tonight and tomorrow, hoping to join them in competing in next Wednesday’s and Thursday’s Class 1 state tournament at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.Already qualified for the distaff state competition from MHS are District 2 runnersup Peyton Weese and Madison Teeter and fourth-place district-tourney finishers Alyssa Hicks and Jada Taylor.Weese won three of her four 140-pounds bouts at St.

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During a busy spate of contests last week and early this week, the Brookfield High School varsity basketball teams’ long-shot bid to salvage at least a .500 final record from their 2023-24 seasons stalled, although they didn’t die – at least not yet.Playing four games each in a span of seven nights, both the Bulldogs and Lady ’Dogs won once apiece, sending them into the final four games of the regular season, including a recently-added replacement game this past Wednesday at Lawson, with 7-13 overall marks.For both Brookfield teams, their current predicaments effectively mean they must not only sweep the remainder of their regular-season slate, but unexpectedly win a district championship to conclude the season with at least a non-losing mark.After visiting Lawson, the BHS cagers go to Macon tonight, host Fayette Monday, and then welcome Monroe City in the regular-season finale this coming Tuesday prior to starting their Class 3 District 16 tournament play the following week.With a new site approach by the Missouri State High School Activities Association this season, the Brookfield girls’ district tournament will be played at Carrollton, while the boys’ will be at Trenton.Below is a recap of the recent BHS play, with the most-recent action first…(G) South Shelby 58, Brookfield 23(B) South Shelby 71, Brookfield 38At Shelbina this past Tuesday, the home team poured in 28 points in the very first quarter and rolled on from there.The Lady ’Dogs were led in scoring by Maddie Wilbeck’s 10 points.

Consecutive victories over Novinger and Westran spiced recent basketball action for the Marceline High School Lady Tigers, while their male counterparts saw one of their better chances of tasting victory this season slip past.A week ago Tuesday at Novinger, the Lady Tigers used 23 points from their Penningtons to prevail, 49-41.

By PAUL STURMLCL Sports Editorpsturm@cherryroad.comWith the end of the regular season only a couple of weeks away, the county’s Class 1 high school basketball teams scrambled to make up conference and other early/mid-January postponed contests and replacement games last week and early this week.As this week began, there continued to be two teams anchoring the success spectrum across the county: Meadville’s Lady Eagles moved past the 50-games milepost in their 2-seasons run with their 21-0 mark, while nearby Linn County R-1’s Mustangs remained saddled with an “oh-fer,” 0-16.However, there is a glimmer of hope for the Purdin-based LCHS squad.