Swimming

A fraction of a second. That is the amount of improvement Cape Central senior Phineas Theall was looking to make in his season-long quest for a second straight state championship in the 100-yard butterfly. He secured the state title with a time of 48.99 in the MSHSAA Class 1 state swim championships on Saturday, Nov. 16, in St. Peters. It was 0.09 seconds slower than the time of his first title last year...

Jackson senior Wade LaValle ended his swimming career at the Class 2 MSHSAA state championships on Friday, Nov. 15, in St. Peters. LaValle placed 8th in the 500-yard freestyle consolation finals with a time of 5:04.3 for an All-State honorable mention. LaValle reached the consolation finals on Thursday with a 16th-place finish and a time of 5:01.52...

The 2024 MSHSAA Swimming and Diving Championships began on Thursday, Nov. 14, in St. Peters, starting with the Class 2 preliminary heats. Jackson competed as a team in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay. Jackson senior Wade LaValle placed 19th in the 200-yard freestyle and finished 16th 500-yard freestyle to qualify for the finals on Friday...

It wasn’t exactly in the short-term career plans for Poplar Bluff graduate Madison (Moore) Brannon. But things are shaping up nicely. Brannon, a 2021 graduate of the Mules, has accepted the district’s offer to become the girls swimming assistant coach, as she formally accepted the offer on Oct. 9. She hopes to help the team build off last year’s 11-3 record...

The Notre Dame boys’ swimming team was crowned SEMO Conference champions on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at the Cape Aquatic Center. Notre Dame sophomore Kaiden Cracraft won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:48.82. He also took home the gold in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:02.27...

Saxony senior Tommy Haz already has his name on the school’s swimming record board. This year is an odd one for him because while he’s doing the best he can to return to the state championships and help his team win, the team he’s representing is the rival school. As the last Saxony Lutheran swimmer, Haz is part of a consolidation with Notre Dame...

NFHS and MSHSAA have announced the 2023-24 Coach of the Year winners, recognizing outstanding coaching achievements across 21 sports in Missouri. Discover the top coaches who made the list.

The newly renovated Cape Aquatic Center has been home to many meets, from Cape Rock to home meets hosted by Cape Central and Notre Dame this year. It is still the same pool Cape Central senior Phineas Theall has been swimming for his entire youth. For winning a state championship last year and the records he has broken, he will have his name and face on the walls well after his graduation...

KENNETT — Kaitlyn Booker continued her strong run as a girls tennis player for the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules by adding a SEMO Conference individual championship to her trophy case during Thursday’s SEMO Conference Tournament at Kennett High School. She wasn’t the only Lady Mule to play well Thursday, as Molly Maurer finished fourth in the conference...

It was a night of celebration and triumph for the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules volleyball team — and not just because the Lady Mules secured a hard-fought victory over Kennett. Thursday’s 25-17, 25-15, 29-27 win over the Kennett Lady Indians also saw senior setter Kyra Mizell reach the milestone of 1,000 career assists...

Saturday's Cape Rock swim event was one of new records, new ways to honor a legacy, and, most importantly, a new venue. Cape Central swimming coach Dayna Powell was pleasantly caught by surprise when MSHSAA presented her with the 2023-24 Girls Swim & Dive MSHSAA Coach of the Year Award. Powell led the Lady Tigers to their first-ever Class 1 state championship after three previous years in the top four...

Wade Lavalle enters the 2024 boys' swimming season with a handful of goals. Leave the home pool with new records, finish the season with a better performance at the state championships, and find a prime landing spot to continue his swimming career in college...

The Poplar Bluff Mules football team will face a stiff challenge when district play starts in November. The Missouri State High School Activities Association released district assignments for all fall sports except for cross country on Friday — and the Mules learned they will be joined in Class 5 District 1 by not only two-time defending district champion Cape Central, but also by defending Class 5 state champion Cardinal Ritter...

The Cape Central swimming domination continued in 2024 with the girls team winning their first-ever state title. The Tiger boys have won three state titles but this year it was the girls' turn and they accomplished the goal in a commanding way. Junior Sydney Ringwald was named the 2024 Semoball Girls Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year behind a huge season and even bigger performance at the state championships...

For the Cape Aquatic Center, it was the beginning of a new era in swimming. For one Poplar Bluff graduate, it was the end of his career., In his final swim meet before going off to college at Murray State, Carson Todd finished second place among the 15-18 age division at the SMSC Championships on Saturday, July 13, at the newly renovated Cape Aquatic Center in Cape Girardeau...

It might be a stretch that a young person learning the first lessons of aquatic safety could develop into a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist, but that journey must start somewhere, and no one comprehends that more so than Rowdy Gaines. With public and private aquatic facilities all over the country offering swim lessons, to people of all ages over the summer months, now is a good time to beat the drum on the message of aquatic safety.

SPRINGFIELD – The Kennett High School softball squad has been offensive with its play all spring. The Indians have averaged nearly 12 runs per game, which is the most by any Kennett team in nine years, and that was evident on Monday, as Kennett obliterated Lone Jack 11-4 in the semifinal of the MSHSAA Class 2 State Semifinal at the Killian Softball Complex in Springfield.

The sport of competitive swimming is an arduous one. The participants endure early mornings, long hours, and physically and mentally draining training sessions.

The Semoball Awards finalists for fall sports were announced Wednesday morning on a selection show broadcast live on SEMO ESPN Radio and streamed on the Semoball.com Facebook page. The finalists were selected by a sports panel made up of representatives from the Southeast Missourian, Standard Democrat, Dexter Statesman, Daily American Republic and Delta Dunklin Democrat...

It’s difficult enough to simply win a state championship – in any sport. However, Cape Central High School senior diver Tommy-Anne Marriot pursued that goal earlier this month having the burden of overwhelming expectations heaped upon her strong shoulders.

You know that positive feeling that came over you today, as the temperature climbed over 70 degrees and the sun beamed down on Southeast Missouri? Yeah? Now imagine feeling that all winter long.

The Cape Central High School girl’s swimming and diving team recently won the MSHSAA Class 1 State Championship on the backs of having the Swimmer of the Year, as well as the Diver of the Year, neither of which were Tiger senior Emilie Dickson. However, any lack of individual plaque hardly would diminish the impact that Dickson had on the Cape Central program over the past four seasons. “Emilie is kind,” veteran Tiger swim coach Dayna Powell said. “She is smart. She includes everybody and is just an amazing person.”

There is nothing that the Cape Central High School girl’s swim and dive team has done over the past four seasons that has followed a paved path. And those challenges have continued to follow the Tiger girls even after achieving the ultimate success on Friday by winning the MSHSAA Class 1 Swimming and Diving State Championship at the St. Peters Rec-Plex...

The Perryville Lady Pirates to Hillsboro 51-29 in a game that crowned the winner a conference championship on Thursday, Feb. 15, in Perryville, Mo. Senior Brooklyn Moll scored her 1,000 career point. Moll became the 13th player in Perryville history to reach the 1,000-point career benchmark. A week ago, Perryville's only senior scored a career-high 38 points on Senior Night during the Pirates' 58-56 win over DeSoto...

There is no lowering the expectations for Cape Central High School junior swimmer Sydney Ringwald entering today’s MSHSAA Class 1 Swimming and Diving State Finals at the St. Peter’s Rec-Plex.

The Cape Central High School girl’s swim team is in its second year without an ideal training regiment, but that wasn’t evident on Tuesday, as the Tigers rolled through the SEMO Conference Swimming and Diving Meet at the Southeast Missouri State Student Recreation Center en route to a team title. “We’re pretty loaded with speed and talent,” Cape Central swim coach Dayna Powell said following the win.

The Poplar Bluff High School Lady Mules swim team kicked it into high gear at this year’s SEMO Conference Swim The Lady Mules took on some stiff competition inside the pool on Wednesday as they battled against Cape Central, Farmingiotn, Notre Dame, Saxony Lutheran and Jackson for a chance to bring home some hardware...

The Poplar Bluff Mules girls swimming and diving team continues to find its flow in the pool this season. After falling to West Plains on senior day, the Lady Mules bounced back by placing third Thursday in the 2024 Girls Rec Center Relays swim meet at the SEMO Aquatic Center...

It was a joyous occasion for the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules on Tuesday at the Black River Coliseum as the swimming and diving team honored their seniors before their swim meet. Before going head-to-head against West Plains, the Lady Mules took some time to put the spotlight on their senior swimmers. Though the Lady Mules fell to West Plains with a combined team score of 116-54, there were still smiles with family and friends in attendance...

For the senior class of 2024, moving on to the next chapter of each of those students’ lives is still a few months away, though with the passing of New Year’s Day, that next step is growing ever so closer.

There’s no greater feeling for a student-athlete than being recognized for their outstanding work ethic and achievements. The Mules Booster Club recently named Kennedy Zgaynor and Carson Todd of Poplar Bluff High School the November Athletes of the Month, presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors...

Diving is more than just a hobby for Cape Central’s Tommy-Anne Marriott, it’s a lifestyle. Marriott’s hard work and dedication to her craft was rewarded on Thursday when she signed her letter of intent to dive collegiately at Ball State University. “Ever since I was about 11 years old I knew that I never wanted to quit diving,” Marriott said. “I just knew I wanted to keep going.”...

The Poplar Bluff Lady Mules swim team hit the road Thursday for a matchup with Jackson but fell 91-79. “Despite the loss, we saw lots of improvement from our new swimmers,” PBHS head coach Beth Lewis said. “We have been working hard on cleaning their starts and turns. One great thing about having such a long break before our next swim is we can get more endurance under us and take care of clean-up on technique. Every technique and detail is important to get down and understand in swim.”...

The Poplar Bluff Lady Mules edged Notre Dame and Saxony Lutheran in their home opener on Tuesday at Black River Coliseum even with many swimmers competing for the first time. Poplar Bluff earned 129 points to Notre Dame’s 115 to grab the victory in the tri-meet...