Van Buren

The girls' cross country season is fast approaching. While much of the two-month season is done on the road, many local schools have at least one home meet. The past year proved that this is a sport where the small schools shine the brightest. Many of the area's brightest stars earned Semoball Awards nominations as underclassmen and are coming back for more...

The boys' cross country season is fast approaching. While much of the two-month season is done on the road, many local schools have at least one home meet. The past year proved that this is a sport where the small schools shine the brightest. Many of the area's brightest stars earned Semoball Awards nominations as juniors and are coming back for more as seniors...

The St. Vincent girls' track and field team won the Class 1 District 1 championship on Saturday at Scott City High School. The top four finishers advance to the sectional round. St. Vincent sent three relays to sectionals and won the district title in the 4x200m with a time of 2:00.98. ...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — The Charleston boys’ and Van Buren girls’ track teams came away victorious at the Eva G. Henshaw Memorial at East Prairie High School on Thursday, April 20. Charleston won the boy's division with an overall team score of 103. The Bluejays claimed gold in four individual events, which was tied with Kennett for the most...

KENNETT – Of four teams competing in the Kennett Quad Golf Tournament Wednesday, Cape Central came out on top with a total score of 243. Saxony Lutheran senior Michael Hasz was the tournament's medalist with a score of 43 on the 36-par course at the Kennett Country Club...

KENNETT – After 14 teams converged on Kennett High School Tuesday afternoon, Charleston boys and Sikeston girls came out on top at the Kennett Invitational track and field meet with team scores of 124 and 137, respectively. The hosts finished third in girls competition and second in boys. ...

Winter sports have come to an end in Southeast Missouri and for many of the schools in the area, successful seasons. New Madrid County Central won the Class 3 State Championship and the Notre Dame girls and Jackson boys each captured fourth in the state in Class 5 and 6, respectively...

VAN BUREN — It looks like the East Carter Lady Redbirds will get a chance to make things right in the world Saturday. The No. 2 seeded Lady Redbirds used a gritty final quarter performance to record a 55-47 win over No. 3 Alton in a Class 2 District 2 semifinal game at Van Buren High SchoolThursday evening...

VAN BUREN — For the second time this year, the East Carter Redbirds and Van Buren Bulldogs faced off with a trophy on the line. Back in January, it was the Yellow Sucker Trophy, the annual traveling trophy in the Carter County rivalry between the two schools. Wednesday night, it was a shot to play for the MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 championship...

VAN BUREN — The Van Buren Lady Dawgs put on an absolute clinic Tuesday night in their Class 2 District 2 opener. The Lady Dawgs scored the game’s first seven points and never looked back on the way to a 56-23 win over Summersville. “We still have a long way to go in this tournament,” Van Buren coach Torrie Ricker said. ...

VAN BUREN — The fourth-seeded Van Buren Bulldogs defeated fifth-seeded Cabool 44-32 in a thrilling matchup in the first round of the Class 2 District 2 Tournament Monday night. “We were excited to get on the court and grind it out.” said Van Buren’s Benjamin Hawkins. “The team was the reason we won. We kept each other up and we’re at a point in our season where we finally found our chemistry.”...

Tipping off Monday, the newest edition of the state high school basketball postseason will begin with the boys taking center stage.  A number of area teams will begin their quest in first-round contests while a small group has been awarded byes into the semifinals with only two wins needed to advance to their respective sweet 16s. ...

ELLSINORE — Kasen McCarty and Hunter Croy each scored 15 points and teammate Micah Thompson added 14 as the East Carter Redbirds defeated Eminence Redwings 62-58 here Tuesday night. The game was neck-and-neck throughout, but East Carter's strong offensive efforts gave them the edge they needed to come out on top...

ELLSINORE — The East Carter Lady Redbirds got 29 points from Brooklyn Kearbey and took a resounding 68-46 victory over the Class 4 Kennett Lady Indians Monday night “Kennett is a more physical team than we’re used to and that’s something we need to get better at playing through,” said East Carter coach Angela Rodgers. “It was not one of our smoothest games, but I’m proud that we didn’t roll over.”...

ESSEX — The Puxico Indians took down the Richland Rebels in a dominant display of basketball on Friday, taking the big 77-45 road win. In other boys action Friday, Eminence rallied past Ellington 69-66. Duncan Crabb was a standout performer for Puxico, leading the team with 15 points. He was followed closely by Skylar Zimmerman with 14 points and Jayden Mitchell and Thomas Burtch with 13 each as the Indians’ balanced scoring attack was too much for the Rebels to handle...

ELLINGTON — Kaylee King scored 19 points and the Ellington Lady Whippets never let up as they rolled to a 58-24 win over Sikeston Monday night. “We played well,” Ellington coach David Burrows said. “We were able to force some turnovers and get out in transition and finish inside.”...

The Westwood Baptist Eagles boys basketball team took the court Friday with one goal in mind: to dominate its opponent, Thomas Jefferson of St. Louis. And dominate they did, as they dismantled TJS with a crushing 69-19 victory. The Westwood Baptist boys were on a mission from the start, with Ben Jones leading the charge with a game-high 21 points, followed closely by James Hawley with 20 points...

By SETH WEEKS Contributing Writer ELLSINORE — The East Carter Lady Redbirds had three players score in double figures as they rolled past Ozark Foothills Conference rival Twin Rivers 74-24 Monday night. Brooklyn Kearbey led East Carter with 19 points, while Breanna Dohleman followed behind with 16 and Parker Golden finished with 13...

Both the Stoddard County Athletic Association and the Big Springs Conference tournaments will tip off next week and hoops fans should be ready for what could offer some good storylines and drama. The SCAA boys tournament will take place at the Bearcat Event Center in Dexter, home of the top-seeded Bearcats, while the BSC girls and boys brackets will be played out at Couch High School...

ELLINGTON — Thursday was a good night for the top two boys seeds at the Black River League Tournament. The top-seeded South Iron Panthers turned back host Ellington 67-48 in the early semifinal Thursday, then No. 2 Bunker defeated East Carter 66-41 in the late game...

ELLSINORE — The East Carter Redbirds have won the Yellow Sucker Trophy three years in a row, but they had to earn it this year. The Redbirds defeated the Van Buren Bulldogs 68-62 Friday in the Yellow Sucker Game, the annual matchup of the two Carter County boys basketball teams...

NEELYVILLE — The Neelyville Tigers defeated the Clearwater Tigers 93-69 at home Tuesday night in an Ozark Foothills Conference contest. Preston Goodnight led Neelyville’s scoring with 21 points, with Casen Stephens putting in 17 points in the victory...

JOPLIN, Mo. — The Poplar Bluff Mules outlasted the Carl Junction Bulldogs 53-45 in the opening round of the Kaminsky Classic Tournament Thursday night in Joplin. Gavin Rivers led the Mules with 12 points, with Dallas Williams and Mar’Lon Hickman-Roberson scoring eight each...

With her infectious giggle, Van Buren’s own Katie Griffin took a second and described her thoughts on what is about to take place Saturday afternoon at her alma mater: “It is surreal,” she said. What is so surreal to Griffin is that less than a year removed from graduating from Van Buren, she will be one of the highlights of Saturday’s Legends of the Hardwood festivities set to take place beginning at 10 a.m. (see full schedule below)...

DONIPHAN — Max Owen and Emmitt Jones combined for 46 points and the Doniphan Dons opened the new year with an 80-61 win over Mountain View Liberty Tuesday. Owen (24 points) and Emmitt Jones (22) led the Dons to victory. Doniphan was down in the first quarter, but came back and took the lead from Liberty...

As the sports world put the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic behind it in 2022, several teams and individuals in this area rose to the top in their respective sports. From history-making achievements on the hardwood to first-in-school-history performances on the diamond, this year proved itself to be a memorable one for local sports fans...

BLOOMFIELD — The Dexter Bearcats showed East Prairie why they are the top seed in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament in their quarterfinal matchup Wednesday. The Bearcats scored 14 out of 15 points to close the first half on the way to a 59-23 win over the ninth-seeded Eagles in the the tournament's first quarterfinal of the day...

BLOOMFIELD — Big meals and NFL football took up plenty of the Christmas holiday for numerous people over the holiday weekend — and it’s likely the Doniphan Dons basketball team had many, if not all, enjoy themselves. So, a sluggish start as the No. 3 seed in this week’s 66th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament would be understandable and predictable...

Thick. That would be a good word to describe just how vast the talents go in this year’s boys Bloomfield Christmas basketball tournament that tips off Tuesday morning. When a team enters the field as a No. 12 seed with a 6-2 record, that is arguably the best word to illustrate what this year’s field promises...

VAN BUREN — The Van Buren Bulldogs and their Highway 60 rivals Winona engaged in a hard-fought battle Monday, but in the end, the host Bulldogs came out on top with a 61-53 win. Winona led 16-14 after the opening period, but the Bulldogs rallied to lead 28-25 by halfime. Van Buren took a 43-42 lead to the fourth quarter...

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. — The Poplar Bluff Mules had three players in double figures and steadily pulled away after halftime as they defeated the St. Louis Blue Knights 63-49 Friday at the opening day of the Route 66 Shootout. The Mules led just 23-18 at halftime, but outscored St. Louis 20-14 in the third quarter to take an 11-point lead (43-32) by the start of the fourth quarter...

CAPE GIRARDEAU — A 17-point second quarter paced the Notre Dame Bulldogs in a 46-30 win over the Poplar Bluff Mules on Thursday night at Notre Dame Regional High School. Both teams struggled offensively to begin the game with Notre Dame leading 8-3 after one quarter of play...

ELLSINORE — Led by the dual 28-point performances by Emmitt Jones and Max Owen, the Doniphan Dons bounced back big from a loss earlier in the week to Greenville with an 84-65 win at East Carter Friday. The Dons (3-1) also got 17 points from J.D. Burton as the team made only seven 3s, but were able to score in huge bunches after being stymied at home by Greenville Tuesday...

VAN BUREN — The Current River Challenge is synonymous with the holidays and for some teams Friday, their was little wobble from too much turkey and instead, plenty of hooping. The Van Buren girls basketball team made it a successful jumpstart to the school’s Current River Classic Friday night as the Lady Dawgs made the most of their opportunity in the spotlight...

VAN BUREN — The Van Buren Lady Dawgs pulled away in the final period to take a 64-49 victory over Dora Monday night. “Dora is a solid team,” Van Buren coach Torrie Ricker said. “We just handled their post players well. We had three girls in double digit scoring and played pretty well defensively.”...

Districts for winter sports were released on Friday morning, with New Madrid County Central dropping to Class 3 for the 2022-23 season. NMCC finished third in Class 4 last season and return juniors Jadis Jones and AJ Ruff while junior BJ Williamson also returns after missing last season...

A town with a population below 800 citizens sure has no problem finding enough young runners to create a cross country juggernaut. The Van Buren Bulldogs and Lady Dawgs teams recently wrapped the 2022 season with another stellar campaign as the boys and girls both brought back second-place Class 1 state championship finals trophies from Columbia...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Dexter boys cross country team headed to Columbia this past weekend with a dream of bringing home a state top-four trophy. While that didn’t happen, the Bearcats did end up with a fifth-place Class 3 state finish that can be proudly known throughout Stoddard County for years to come...

COLUMBIA — For the fourth time in the past five years, the Oak Ridge boys cross country team made an appearance at the Greg Hall Champions Plaza for a top-four showing at the MSHSAA Class 1 Cross Country Championships. The Blue Jays finished third overall on what was a cold, windy and muddy tract on Saturday at Gans Creek Cross Country Course...

The Dexter Bearcats boys cross country team finished second at the Class 3 District 1 championships Saturday at Arcadia Valley High School and is heading to state. Dexter finished just three points out of the top spot, losing to prohibitive favorite and defending state champions Herculaneum...

IRONTON — Arcadia Valley High School will be the place to be Saturday when cross country hopefuls race the final event that will determine which teams and what individuals could qualify for the 2022 state finals. Three districts — Class 1 District 1, Class 2 District 1 and Class 3 District 1 — will all race at Arcadia Valley High School, with races taking place at 9 a.m. ...

A softball juggernaut stands in the way of the potential hopes and dreams of two other regional programs as the Class 1 District 1 tournament is set to begin at 1 p.m. today at Van Buren High School. No. 4 Naylor (2-22) takes on No. 5 South County Central (0-17) and the winner will be rewarded with a 3 p.m. semifinal against No. 1 Neelyville (27-4). No. 2 Norwood will lock horns with the No. 3, host, Van Buren Lady Bulldogs (9-17) at 5 p.m. in the other final four contest...