Just as Major League Baseball splits focus to both continuation of spring training for the bulk of the players and the start of the World Baseball Classic, interest in men’s college basketball becomes laser-focused on this week’s remaining conference tournaments and this coming Sunday’s announcement of NCAA Tournament team selections, pairings, and regional assignments.
COLUMBIA — Joined as a 2022-23 state medalist by two teammates, Brookfield High School freshman Jayden Keller left no doubt during last week’s state tournament who the class of Missouri’s Class 1 girls’ wrestling 110-pounds weight division is. Entering state competition with a single loss in 52 bouts, she blazed through her four state-tournament opponents in the University of Missouri’s Mizzou Arena in a combined 233 seconds – less than four minutes – to claim the first of what project to be multiple state championships.
The annual catch-and-keep trout season at Missouri’s four trout parks opens today to run through Oct. 31.
Six of eight Bulldogs medal in powerful showing COLUMBIA — Big things were expected of the Brookfield High School wrestling Bulldogs in 2022-23 and the blue-andwhite delivered, individually and as a group. Although being out-distanced by fellow Clarence Cannon Conference member Centralia by a healthy margin for the team championship, the Bulldogs rode individual titles by Peyton and Devan Parn, runnerup placements by two others, and six total medal-earners to a runnerup team finish in the Class 1 Missouri State High School Activities Association Championships last week.
Six of 10 wrestling Tigers, Lady Tigers earn medals in Class 1 COLUMBIA — Marceline High School Tigers Ryder Gooch and Drew Griffin claimed second place in their respective weight divisions and four other MHS wrestlers battled their way to medals in the 2022-23 Missouri State High School Activities Association Championships for Class 1 teams last Wednesday and Thursday. Led by the pair of runnersup, more than half of the 10-members Marceline contingent to the state tournament earned top-6 finishes.
Opened state play last night; other county Class 1 teams finished MEADVILLE — To the surprise of absolutely no one – even the uninformed or disinterested, Meadville High School’s basketball Lady Eagles (27-0) strolled through the Class 1 District 12 Tournament they hosted last week without challenge, ushering them into state-tournament play which tipped off last night at Salisbury with a game against heavy-underdog North Shelby. Should they have won at that familiar site, where they began their still-perfect season with a mid-November victory over Glasgow, they’ll spend the next couple of days preparing for a Saturday state-quarterfinals contest against either Laddonia: Community R-6 or St.
BROOKFIELD — Brookfield High School hopes to reap a big payoff for rolling sevens across the boys’ and girls’ Class 1 state wrestling tournament mats today and tomorrow. With the Lady ’Dogs having won the team title while advancing seven squad members to the 2023 Class 1 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Mizzou Arena and then the Bulldogs following suit – except as team runnerup – from their District 3 tournament last weekend, BHS seems well-positioned in both quality and quantity to make a major splash, both individually and collectively, in the state competition the next two days.
Earn at least fourth win over state-ranked larger-class foe Every regular-season test now passed with another impressive win over a high-caliber opponent, Meadville High School’s basketball Lady Eagles took an unblemished 25-0 record into this week’s Class 1 District 12 tournament they are hosting, standing six wins away from a second state championship. At home last Monday, the MHS girls again pulled away from a state-ranked Class 2 squad to defeat Schuyler County, 68-58.
Five Tigers, five Lady Tigers in Columbia next two days MARCELINE — After having a bunch of boys and only one girl compete in the 2022 Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 1 Wrestling Championships, a fully- balanced contingent from Marceline is in Columbia today for the first of two days of competition in the 2023 state tournament. At Mizzou Arena for the Class 1 girls’ competition that commences this afternoon are five Lady Tigers.
Missouri’s regular goose season closed Feb. 6, but goose hunters didn’t have to stop hunting geese as the light goose Conservation Order season opened the very next day and will run through April 30.