Sports

With three wrestlers advancing to the championship round and state titles within reach, the Monett wrestling team sent all its positive energy to support Joey Semerad, Gunnar Bradley and Wesley Merriman in the hopes of claiming individual titles. Semerad was first up on Saturday night. A year after dropping a title chance, he made the most of the situation by winning his third championship...

Prior to the MSHSAA State Wrestling Championships, Monett Coach Daryl Bradley said that he was taking eight point-scorers to Columbia. It took every one of them for the Cubs to overcome a 16.5-point deficit on the final day to move from being down 125-108.5 to ultimately claim the 2020 Class 2 state championship with a 149.5-142 over Odessa...

A hot start with timely response propelled the Pierce City basketball team to a 59-50 upset of East Newton in the district quarterfinal at Aurora on Monday. “I thought we came out ready to play tonight,” said Matt Street, Pierce City coach. “It may have been one of our best rebounding games of the year, and that was huge because East Newton was a tall team.”...

Prior to the MSHSAA State Wrestling Championships, Monett Coach Daryl Bradley said that he was taking eight point-scorers to Columbia. It took every one of them for the Cubs to overcome a 16.5-point deficit on the final day to move from being down 125-108.5 to ultimately claim the 2020 Class 2 state championship with a 149.5-142 over Odessa...

Friday night's semifinal round at the MSHSAA State Wrestling Championships proved eventful for the Monett wrestling team.
The Cubs’ Joey Semerad, Gunnar Bradley and Harrison Merriman all earned berths into the state championship round.
In total, seven Cubs will earn medals at this year's event, with final placings being determined on Saturday...

COLUMBIA — It was a mixed bag of results for the Monett wrestling team as the Cubs opened the quarterfinal round at the MSHSAA State Championships on Friday. Expectations, which are routinely high for the Cubs was to advance all eight Cubs to the semifinals, but the team had to settle for just getting six on the front side of the bracket...

The basketball season for Pierce City has now been boiled down to a series of one-game playoff appearances — win and advance or lose and head to the offseason. The Class 3, District 12 tournament, held in Aurora, opens Saturday with quarterfinal action...

It is that time of the year where the scheduled games have ended and the next foe a team faces can determine if the season ends or continues for at least one more round. The Class 2, District 12 boys and girls teams head to Webb City for opening round action beginning Saturday, with the boys tournament field tipping off...

COLUMBIA — The Monett wrestling team wasted no time at the MSHSAA State Wrestling Championships on Thursday. As a matter of fact, it took them longer to board the bus to eat lunch at Fazzoli's than it took for some of the Cubs to win their opening round matches...

In the realm of coaching, it is important for the leader to keep his team grounded and focused on the task at hand. In the movie “Hoosiers,” Coach Norman Dale used a tape measure at the state finals to show his team that the basket rim was 10-feet high and located exactly 15 feet from the free throw line...

For the fifth time in the last eight seasons, the Monett High School wrestling team hoisted the district championship trophy. In fact, in the last eight seasons, the Cubs have not finished worst than second in the district tournament. While Monett started the tournament slow, trailing first place by as many as 50 points at one juncture, a strong finish, including four individual district champions, propelled them to a team title...

She may only be 110 pounds, but there is a ton of fury packed into the frame of Monett’s Abby Jastal. The junior grappler earned her way to the girls state championships and will be the lone representative for the Lady Cubs. “Abby is technically very sound,” said Justin Semerad, Monett coach. ...

Kinsley Mattingly and Annabelle Bowman, both volleyball players at Purdy High School, have been named to the 2019 Academic All-State Team.

After squandering a 17-point third quarter lead, Wheaton needed a last-second flurry of 4 points by Brody Prewitt to salt Verona away on Tuesday, 46-40. “That is a monumental win for us,” said Jody Cavness, Wheaton coach. “It has been a while since we have beaten those guys. It sets us up for shot at a conference title and give us our first 10-win season in eight-plus years.”...

The Monett boys wrestling team is headed to Bolivar on Friday with the No. 1 ranking in the state and is hoping to defend its district title. The Cubs feel confident they can take at least seven wrestlers to state, with the hopes that maybe one or two others could qualify...

A pair of big runs, including a 11-0 run over the final 5:26 in regulation, gave the Verona girls a 50-43 win over Wheaton on Tuesday. It had been an uphill battle for the Lady Wildcats, as they trailed 26-23 at halftime. A strong start to the third quarter that bloomed into a 10-0 run helped right the ship for Verona...

Monett swimmers will get the chance to learn from one of the best swimmers in the world on April 4-5 when Azad Al-Barazi will hold a two-day clinic at the Monett Area YMCA. On April 4, the curriculum will focus on explosive starts and powerful underwater dolphin kicking. Then on Sunday, participants will work on accelerating through every flip turn and open turn into a well-timed finish...

There was much joy in Pierce City on Friday as the basketball teams swept a rare girl-boys doubleheader on Homecoming. The Lady Eagles and Eagles rolled to easy wins, as the girls prevailed, 37-19, and the boys rolled to a 71-22 decision. In the girls game, the Lady Eagles led 9-5 after one quarter and 15-9 at halftime. A 13-6 run in the third quarter sent Pierce City to a 28-15 lead as it entered the final frame...

Taking control early, the Monett girls basketball team roared to a 51-32 victory over Cassville on Monday and improved to 10-10 overall and 4-1 in Big 8 West Division play. The Lady Cubs were fresh off a Seneca tournament championship that witnessed them roll to a 45-35 win over Joplin, then defeating Aurora, 39-31, before topping Seneca in the championship game, 56-41...

Missouri Southern sophomore and Purdy High School alumna Layne Skiles scored a career-high 20 points Saturday.

The doors officially opened Friday for Monett’s newest business, 24 Elite Gym. For the last few weeks, owners Mat Ball and Matt Baumann worked numerous long nights and made a substantial investment in the old Monett skating rink and NAPA store, located at 801 Jerome Lane, next to Coast to Coast...

It was a high school reunion of sorts on Wednesday as Landon Terry, left, Cody Hall, center, and Cameron Terry ran into each other at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Championship parade.

It has been said many times that a sports team is a family, and nowhere is this any more typified than with the Monett wrestling team. On Thursday, the Cubs paid tribute to seniors Gunnar Bradley, Karter Brink, Wesley Merriman, Joey Semerad, Janeth Quinones and Junior Villa before their final home dual, which resulted in a 54-27 win over Cassville...

In a game that nearly mirrored the Super Bowl, the Monett basketball team looked in control for three-and-a-half quarters until the game quickly turned. The Cubs led Seneca 43-41 on a Cole McCollough 3-pointer with 3:37 left in the game but were shut out the rest of the way. Seneca outscored the Cubs 17-5 in the final eight minutes and 8-0 over the final 3:37 to take the Rose Homecoming game, 49-43...

It was a joyous day in Purdy when standout Andrew Martinez signed his national letter of intent to play baseball at College of the Ozark in Point Lookout next season. During his baseball career with Purdy, Martinez accrued 217 hits in 444 at-bats with a .489 average. ...

The best talent money could buy descended upon Monett Friday to broadcast the annual Rose Homecoming game between the Cubs and Seneca.

A 61-44 victory greeted the Monett girls basketball team (6-10) on Thursday in a game where Monett never trailed. “The kids came out with a lot of energy and played well,” said Zack Kleine, Monett coach. “We’ve had some games where we came out and didn’t start the way I wanted and that we needed, but we responded tonight.”...