High School Sports

Each of the five players on Nevada High School's girls golf team finished in the top-20 — two of whom placed in the top-five, including one who shot a new personal record and another who won the individual championship — Tuesday at the eCarthage.com Invitational...

The Northeast Vernon County High School volleyball team earned a pair of victories Monday evening at a triangular hosted by Hume. The Lady Knights took care of Bronaugh first with a 25-20, 25-17, 25-15 sweep before needing four sets to best the hosting Lady Hornets 25-13, 25-21, 18-25, 25-18...

The Nevada High School volleyball team got back on the winning track at a tournament hosted by William Chrisman on Saturday — beating Center 25-1, 25-7 and Junction City 25-19, 25-17. The Lady Tigers (3-8-1) also split with Belton 25-19, 22-25 and lost to Odessa 22-25, 17-25 and the host Bears 19-25, 19-25...

The Nevada High School cross country team went green at the Southern Stampede Saturday on the Missouri Southern course in Joplin. At the event, which featured college races in addition to those for high schoolers, the Tigers and Lady Tigers ran in the most competitive of two 5K races (green over gold) — with Allie Rains logging the best finish for the teams, 73rd overall in the girls' competition (21 minutes, 18.45 seconds)...

The Nevada High School junior varsity football team suffered its first loss of the season Monday afternoon at Lamar. The crimson and gray Tigers responded well after getting shut out in the first half, but ultimately fell 32-12. Running back Blake Cox ran in a 55-yard touchdown in the third quarter, before teammate and fellow junior Tayvin Moore punched in a two-yard TD in the fourth...

The explosive plays on offense that defined the Nevada High School football team in its first three games of the season were still there in week four against Lamar Friday night at Logan Field. It’s just that they did not come until the second half. The crimson and gray Tigers by that point trailed by three touchdowns, and for the rest of the game struggled to keep the visiting red and black Tigers from finding the end zone — ultimately resulting in a 48-22 Silver Tiger Game defeat...

Both Nevada Middle School football teams improved to 2-0 following impressive home debuts against McDonald County Thursday at Logan Field — with the seventh-grade squad dominating 34-6 and the eighth-graders winning 26-14. In the first game, Will Jackson, Elijah Edmunds, John Michael Collins, and Kyndrek Atkins all scored rushing touchdowns for the seventh-grade Tigers, while the defense held the Mustangs out of the end zone until late in the game...

The Bronaugh High School volleyball team picked up its first win of the season Thursday night at Sheldon, earning a hard-fought 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 sweep. "We finally played as a team from start to finish tonight and all the pieces fell into place," BHS head coach Whitney Hinkle stated. "They were talking it up and trusting each other, which has been a goal of mine since day one. It felt so good to finally see them playing hard and with confidence."...

The Nevada High School volleyball team dropped to 1-5 following a five-set loss in its home opener Thursday against Pleasant Hill — but that record can be deceiving. The Lady Tigers have played some stiff competition to start the season and learned something new with every loss...

Diehard Nevada High School football fans might be upset when they first hear it, but the 2021 Tigers are preparing for Friday night’s clash with Lamar like it’s any other game. When those same fans find out why, though, they should feel even better about their favorite team’s chances...

The Nevada High School girls tennis team’s busy week continued Thursday with a home match against Mt. Vernon. Fittingly, the Lady Tigers earned four wins in their fourth event in four days. Hallie Elkinton won her no. 2 singles match 8-6, Abbi Baldwin won no. 4 singles 8-1, and Kourtnee Vestal won no. 5 singles 8-4...

Every stroke counts. The Nevada High School girls golf team learned that all-important lesson at the Lady Eagle Invitational Wednesday at the Schifferdecker Golf Course — where the Lady Tigers' combined score of 395 (+111) came up one stroke short of tying Carthage for the team best...

The Nevada High School softball team played its third state-ranked team of the week Thursday at Sherwood, and left with a 2-0 victory. Kirstin Buck shut out the Lady Marskmen (who were 9-0 and ranked no. 1 in Class 2 entering the contest) in 6 1/3 innings in the circle...

The Nevada High School boys swimming team has begun increasing the intensity of its practices in order to be prepared for an end-of-season run — but that did not stop the Tigers from putting on a solid performance at an indoor meet at Monett on Tuesday...

Nevada High School junior cross country runner Allie Rains won the Bolivar Invitational Tuesday with a time of 22 minutes, 26 seconds — and helped lead the Lady Tigers to second place as a team. Teammates Avery Morris finished fourth (23:11), Maddy Majors took 12th (25:09), Averi Dawn was 21st (27:10), Ashley Mather came in 25th (28:48), and Mary-Kate Russell scored 28th (29:30)...

Before Bailey Ast stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of a tie game against Holden Monday afternoon at Bushwhacker Field, Nevada High School head softball coach Danny Penn had one piece of advice for the senior...

Nevada High School served up its first victory of the volleyball season Monday at Neosho, with the varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen squads combining to pull off the road sweep. The Lady Tigers on varsity topped Neosho in four sets — 25-20, 25-10, 30-32, 25-11 — to improve to 1-4 on the season...

The Nevada High School girls tennis team saw some early leads evaporate in a 6-3 home-opening loss to Lamar Monday afternoon on the NHS courts. The match came a few days after Nevada travelled to Warrensburg for a double-elimination doubles tournament, where Alissa Stutesman and Kourtnee Vestal had the best finish for the Lady Tigers (fourth place). Laura Kimmell and Kallie Erwin also finished fifth...

The Nevada High School boys swimming team shaved precious seconds off its times in a few events at the Ozark Invitational Saturday in Springfield. Junior Karter Evans left with a pair of seventh-place finishes, clocking in at 25.12 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle (a -0.31 difference from his seed time) and 56.67 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle (-1.40 better than his seed time)...

The Sheldon High School volleyball team opened Golden Valley Vernon County Conference play in winning fashion on Monday, beating Ballard three sets to one on the Lady Panthers' home court. Deborah Lamb led the way with 11 kills, three aces, and two blocks...

Like its fellow varsity squad, the Nevada High School junior varsity football team remained unbeaten with a win over Cassville in week three. The Tigers hosted the Wildcats at Logan Field on Monday, where a resilient rushing attack propelled Nevada (3-0) to a 28-24 victory...

The Nevada Middle School volleyball team returned home from road matches at Fort Scott on Monday without a victory. The seventh-grade B squad lost 25-14, 25-13, while the seventh-grade A team fell 25-21, 25-22. The eighth-grade B team had no better luck, losing 25-12, 25-13 — but the eighth-grade A team did pull through in its second set before ultimately losing 15-25, 25-16, 12-15...

This year’s Silver Tiger Game just got a whole lot more interesting. The Nevada High School football team took advantage of three fumble recoveries and an interception to defeat Cassville 46-20 on the road Friday night, while the defending Class 2 state champion Lamar Tigers buried McDonald County 31-7 — setting up a showdown between the heated Big 8 West rivals next week at Logan Field in which both teams will enter the game 3-0...

The Nevada Middle School fall sports season got off to a winning start on Wednesday, with the football and volleyball teams both earning victories in their first contests. The Tigers travelled to Cassville and pulled off a sweep on the gridiron — first via a 36-22 win by the seventh-graders, then a 14-6 victory in the eighth-grade game...

The Sheldon High School volleyball team dropped to 0-5-1 following a road sweep at the hands of Lakeland on Tuesday (25-12, 25-19, 25-5) — though the junior varsity did pick up a 25-18 win. “Overall, we took this match as a learning experience and have some things to work on before facing Exeter on Friday,” SHS head coach Emily Godsey stated...

All season long, Nevada High School head softball coach Danny Penn has been preaching to his players — half of whom are freshmen — the importance of quality at-bats, especially once the postseason rolls around. In a possible Class 4 District 7 preview against Harrisonville Wednesday afternoon at Bushwhacker Field, some of the more experienced Lady Tigers put into practice exactly what Penn has preached...

First, she shot the lowest round in program history. Now, she’s set a new state mark. At this rate, the Guinness Book of World Records might want to start paying attention to Emree Cameron. The Nevada High School freshman phenom is just two golf tournaments into her prep career, and already she has written her name into the history books — the latest record-breaking effort coming at the Seneca Invitational Thursday at Eagle Creek Golf Course...

WALKER — Three is better than five. That was the takeaway Thursday night after the Northeast Vernon County High School volleyball team defeated Thomas Jefferson Independent in straight sets (25-21, 25-11, 25-19) — the Lady Knights’ first match this season that did not go the distance to five...

The Nevada High School volleyball team travelled to Fort Scott on Tuesday for a triangular with Anderson County and the hosting Lady Tigers. After losing to Anderson County in straight sets 26-24, 25-21, the crimson and gray took Fort Scott to three sets but ultimately fell 20-25, 25-21, 19-25...

The Nevada High School girls tennis team had no luck on the road against Class 3 foe Springfield Catholic Wednesday afternoon, losing 9-0. The No. 1 doubles team of Hallie Elkinton and Susannah Kimmell put up the best fight, but ultimately fell 8-4...

Sheldon High School senior Madison Garren, a returning state medalist in Class 1 and the only runner representing her school this season, earned a top-10 finish in her 2021 cross country debut at the Missouri Western State University Griffon Invitational in St. Joseph on Saturday...

Nevada High School's cross country teams got their first taste of action at the SWCCCA Richard Clark Invitational Saturday in Bolivar — highlighted by four runners emerging out of the loaded field with medals. Allie Rains had the best finish for NHS, taking ninth in Class 4 girls with a time of 21 minutes, 59 seconds. ...

The Nevada High School junior varsity football team went to work on Labor Day, shutting out Hollister 33-0 at Logan Field. Junior Tayvin Moore punched in the earliest, logging a 40-yard touchdown run in the first quarter (freshman Elijah Bootle booted the extra point)...

Nevada High School senior Evan Rea has been preparing for the spring tennis season — and another trip to the state tournament — by playing in the UTSA Western Arkansas Baller Junior Championships this past weekend in Fort Smith. In the boys’ 18-and-under singles division, Rea lost to hometown kid Keven Praphan 6-0, 602 in the opening round. Praphan proceeded to win the whole thing without dropping more than two games to any opponent...

The Northeast Vernon County High School volleyball team nearly blew another two-set lead Tuesday at McAuley Catholic — but the Lady Knights survived a fifth set to improve to 2-1 on the season. NEVC started off strong with 25-20, 25-15 wins in the opening sets, before losing 14-25, 24-26 in the next two. The Lady Knights eked out a 15-12 win in the fifth and final set to claim the match...

Carthage High School's reputation for having a slower indoor pool proved true once again for the Nevada High School boys swimming team on Tuesday, but head coach Clayton Wheeler felt his squad had a good showing. "The boys all swam good races and have shown improvement technique-wise since the first meet," stated Wheeler, whose team earned top-10 finishes in two relays and two individual events for seventh overall out of eight teams...

The Nevada High School softball team closed out the Paige Neal/Christina Freeman Invitational Saturday in Joplin with a pair of shutout victories. After losing all three games on Friday, the Lady Tigers responded the next day with an 8-0 win over Carl Junction in six innings and a 10-0 stomping of Seneca in five innings...

The Sheldon High School volleyball team won a set during pool play at the Jasper Invitational on Saturday, but were bounced out of the bracket by the top seed. The Lady Panthers — who were without senior setter Madison Garren, who was competing at a cross country meet — battled with Jasper's JV to open pool play but ultimately lost both sets, 25-22 and 25-18...

Fifty sure is nifty for the Nevada High School football team. A week after scoring 52 points in their season-opening win against Logan-Rogersville, the Tigers put up 54 more on the scoreboard at Hollister on Friday. Like in week one, the scoring for Nevada in its 54-28 victory over the Tigers was spread throughout the offense — with junior running backs Case Sanderson and Jordan Johnson cashing in their more than 100-yard performances on the ground with two touchdowns apiece, senior tight end Kartman Highley hauling in his third TD pass of the season from junior quarterback Cade Beshore, and wingbacks Avious Steadman and Brice Budd each running in scores. ...

Three up, three down. That's how plenty of innings go in softball — but unfortunately for Nevada High School, that's how the team's entire Friday went at the Paige Neal/Christina Freeman Invitational in Joplin. "No doubt today was a tough day at the park," stated NHS head coach Danny Penn, whose squad lost 7-2 to Broken Arrow (Oklahoma), 13-6 to Park Hill South, and 11-2 to Carthage. ...

The Nevada High School boys swim team dipped its toes into the pool for the first meet of the season at the Labor Day Preview Thursday at the Foster Natatorium in Springfield. Though the Tigers' 25 points placed them 11th out of 14 teams (Glendale and its 386 points swam away with first place, followed by Webb City's 191.5 and Carthage's 146), NHS head coach Clayton Wheeler indicated he was pleased with the times his swimmers clocked — especially in the 200-yard freestyle relay...

WALKER — In its season-opener Tuesday night at Lakeland, the Northeast Vernon County High School volleyball team learned it can come back from a two-set deficit. In the team’s home-opener Thursday against Liberal, the Lady Knights found out how it feels to surrender a 2-0 lead...

Here's how good Springfield Catholic High School is at golf: Nevada freshman Emree Cameron shot a program-record 1-over-par 72 in the team's season-opening tournament at the Bill & Payne Stewart Golf Course on Wednesday — and it was still only good enough for fourth place behind three Lady Irish...

Though they lost 6-3, the Nevada High School Lady Tigers impressed first-year head coach Katie Alexander with their effort on the tennis court at Thomas Jefferson Independent on Thursday. The question is: can they play the Lady Cavaliers just as tough — if not tougher — come early October at the Class 1 District 12 tournament?...

The Nevada High School softball team took advantage of Reeds Spring's pitching woes with a 28-0 thrashing in three innings on the road Thursday. The Lady Tigers (4-3) scored half their runs in the first inning alone, finishing the game with more walks and hit batsmen than hits...

The Nevada High School volleyball team went down in straight sets (25-17, 25-18, 26-24) to open its season Thursday night at Mt. Vernon. Setter Jade Feller contributed 30 assists, while fellow senior and libero Grace Barnes racked up 17 digs. Sophomore Delaney Hope led the way at the net with 12 kills and seven blocks...

The Bronaugh High School volleyball team opened its season with a pair of home losses this week. The Lady Cats managed to win their second set in the season-opener against Pleasanton on Tuesday, but eventually fell 4-2 (12-25, 25-22, 10-25, 13-25). "I'm very proud of the effort put forth by our team against Pleasanton," BHS head coach Whitney Hinkle stated. ...

The results of an impromptu singing competition Tuesday afternoon between the Nevada and Cassville high school softball teams are still up in the air — but there was no doubt who won the game that took place afterward. The Lady Tigers, who along with the Lady Wildcats and a few courageous fans in attendance took it upon themselves to sing the National Anthem before first pitch when the P.A. ...

The Nevada High School girls tennis team won its season opener 7-2 at Monett on Tuesday — led by wins by Hallie Elkinton in no. 2 singles (8-5), Susannah Kimmell in no. 3 singles (8-1), Alissa Stutesman in no. 4 singles (8-1), Abbi Baldwin in no. 5 singles (8-3), Kourtney Vestal in no. 6 singles (8-1), Baldwin and Laura Kimmell in no. 2 doubles (8-0), and Stutesman and Vestal in no. 3 doubles (8-2)...

The Nevada High School junior varsity football team on Monday picked up where the varsity squad left off last week, beating Logan-Rogersville by two touchdowns for a season-opening 34-20 victory on the road. “We are very proud of the attitude and effort that our kids played with tonight,” stated NHS JV head coach Jerrod Alexander, whose team was able to hold on for the win after scoring on the opening drive and exchanging touchdowns with the Wildcats throughout the contest. ...