Sports

Although it turned out she didn’t absolutely have to, Brookfield High School sophomore star runner Samantha “Sam” Sharp overtook runaway team champion Lawson’s Jocelyn Calvert on the final lap after drafting along behind her for the first seven to not only win the 3,200-meters run, but also earn the Bob Carter Memorial Gold Shoe Award of last Thursday’s 2023 Chillicothe Joe Shy Relays as the 12-schools trackand- field meet’s leading individual female points producer. In adding the 3,200 win to her earlier victory – also over Calvert – in the 1,600 and a runnerup showing in the 800, Sharp provided 28 of the Lady Bulldogs’ 61 total points in the meet.

Extremely windy weather on the first day of the April 1-2 youth season made for tough hunting and resulted in only 2,550 turkeys checked in for the season, the lowest youth season harvest since 2018. The top three youth-season turkey harvest counties statewide were Osage-71, Miller-65, and Texas-64.

As much as it could have been, last week was a successful one for the Marceline and Brookfield high school baseball teams. It was just a little more so for MHS’ Tigers.

With sophomore Samantha “Sam” Sharp leading the way with a sweep of the individual middleand long-distance races and two relay squads also winning, Brookfield High School’s track-and-field Lady Bulldogs handily topped an 8-teams field in the Trenton Early Bird Meet, Brookfield’s first scoring meet of 2023, at C.F. Russell Stadium last Thursday.

The Missouri Department of Conservation has announced it will host a free Conservation Family Night in Chillicothe tomorrow night (Thursday, April 6) from 5-7 o’clock at the Grand River Area Family YMCA. The event will feature fun activities, nature exhibits, and an opportunity for visitors to talk with MDC biologists and conservation agents.

While Major League Baseball was getting its new season underway late last week with improved ingame pace of play, the pace of high school baseball action also picked up in the county, even if results were not that favorable for the Brookfield and Marceline teams. Brookfield did outlast Carrollton 14-13 at home last Thursday, three days after its delayed season opener saw it drop a 12-3 decision to visiting Ewing: Highland.

Marceline High School’s golf Tigers had mixed results from their first dual-match action of 2023 last week, while Brookfield’s Bulldogs came up empty in two outings. After being without its top two players as it fell decisively to both host Macon and Kirksville March 27, with its normal quintet, Marceline recovered to tie Moberly and defeat New Bloomfield in action at Moberly’s Heritage Hills course last Thursday.

Heavily-damaged by graduation after having five state medal-winners and a top-10 team finish at the state meet last May, Marceline High School’s girls’ track-and-field squad managed only a sixth-place team finish in its opening 2023 scoring meet – the Fayette Relays – last Thursday. The Lady Tigers, minus multiple- times state champion high jumper Ramzee Bruner and other standouts, did produce two event wins – both the 400- and 3,200-meters relays – on the Central Methodist University track.