Month: December 2022

    For # 2 its back to Blue Eye and for the third time in the countdown a connection to Blue Eye Girls Basketball.

   For the third time in as many years the Lady Bulldogs made their way through their Distict and the state playoffs to reach the Show-Me Showdown.   Coach Ken Elfrink’s girls went 27-6 on the campaign.

  Among the big wins: they handed Miller two of their four losses including a blowout in the State Sectional Game, They beat Strafford in a thriller at Strafford, the Lady Indians would go on to finish third in Class 3.  They also beat a powerhouse Tipton team.

  After falling to Wellington-Nepoleon in the Semifinals they rebounded for a 57-19 trouncing of St Paul Lutheran to claim third for third straight season.  The game would mark the last for Coach Ken Elfrink and a talented group of seniors led by Riley and Avery Arnold.

  My number 3 story of 2022 takes us back to Reeds Spring and the most heavily  recruited football player the area has seen in a while.  

  Caden Wiest has drawn attention since Middle School.  The 6-4 250 lbs beast has been a dominate force on both sides of the ball for the past four years.  He held 17 Division One offers at both the FCS and FBS levels.  In the end he decided to stay close to home and help continue to build the program at Missouri State.

 Wiest has had a high school career that is one to remember.  3 time All-State (first in RS history), 4 time All-Conference, 4 time All-District, and 4 time All-Area.  His rare combination of size, speed, and power is something rarely seen.  He is a tremendous leader.  He and his fellow seniors helped lead the Wolves to their first ever Show Me Bowl and the schools first ever State Runner Up finish. 

Perhaps,  more important, Caden does the work in the classroom as well, He is a 3 time Academic All-State selection.

  And while football, will always be the sport he is know for, Caden is a starter on the RS basketball team and a State Qualifier in track.

 

 My #4 Story of 2022 is the retirement of Ken Elfrink.  Coach Elfrink built a powerhouse program at Blue Eye.  His Lady Bulldogs were among the best teams in the area, regardless of class, year in and year out.

  He leaves with a list of accomplishments that few will ever reach.  He won 457 games.  “To get to that amount of wins, first of all you’ve got to be somewhere for a while and you’ve got to do it for a while,” Elfrink said. “Secondly, you’ve got to be blessed with good kids. At Blue Eye, I’ve had good kids all the way through.”

 His last three season all ended at the State Final Four, and his girls won District Championships the last five season and six of the last seven.  In his tenure at Blue Eye he coached names such as: Tag Morris, Morgan Hickey, Kohnnar Patton, the Arnold Sisters and many more.

  As successful as Elfrink always was, it was never about him.  In his eyes, it was always about the kids.

   

  For my #5 story we go to Reeds Spring.  And for the second straight time in the countdown is a guy that excelled on the basketball court and on the golf course.

     There was never a high school golf state championship in which Ty Cooper was eligible that he didn’t qualify.  He made the field as a freshman.  The event was not held due to Covid his sophomore year.  He was a top 20 finisher his junior year.  And he saved the best for last.  He fired a championship best 70 on the second day of the 2022 event to recover from a slow start and make the All-State team by finishing 8th.

  On the basketball court he top the 1000 point mark and finished his career as 4th most prolific scorer in Reeds Spring Basketball History

  He is playing golf and attending school at Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida

 

  The number six story in my countdown is Garrett Snyder.  2022 was quite a year for the Hollister Senior.

  He finished of the 2021-2022 basketball season leading the Tigers to the District Championship game.  The undoubted best all-around player in the tri-lakes last year, was named first team All-Big 8 and picked up the Perry Phillips Broadcasting Player of the Year

  On the links, he was just as dominate, once again, qualifying for the State Golf Tournament and played well in some very tough conditions.

  This basketball season has seen him lead the Tigers to the tune of nearly 30 points per game.  Last Month he signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his basketball and academic careers at The College of the Ozarks.

  The #7 Story of 2022 is the completion of the HS careers for Avery and Riley Arnold.  The Blue Eye duo will go down as two of the best all-around athletes to ever play in the Tri-Lakes

 The dominance started their freshman year when Riley won the State Cross-Country Championship.  The runner-up was Avery. The two of them finished one-two in 2019 as well.   Injuries forced Avery to forgo her Jr and Sr years in the sport.  Riley was unstoppable as she added two more championships to her resume.  As I pointed out last year, Riley graduated know that there was never a time, in here career, that she was not the individual State Champ.  She is only the fourth runner in Missouri Cross-Country history that can say that.   They led the team to a State Title as well as a running up finish. Oh, and for good measure, they doubled up and helped the Blue Eye Volleyball team to the State Tournament as well.

  In the winter, was where they drew the most attention.  They helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to three consecutive State Final Four appearances.   Each of them scoring over 1000 points along the way and garnering Multiple All-State Honors.

And it was track in the spring.  Multiple times All-State in multiple events.  Another team State Championship

  To say they left their mark, is a huge understatement.  Their four years at Blue Eye, may never be topped.  But above all, the greatest thing about them, has nothing to do with their athletic accomplishments.  As incredible as they both are in the sporting arena, they are even better off of it.  You can not find two better young women.

  Riley is continuing her running career at SBU in Bolivar and Avery is playing basketball at College of the Ozarks.

 

 

  Our #8 story takes us to Branson.  The Lady Pirates Soccer team enjoyed its best season yet in 2022.  Brandon Scott’s team set a school record with 18 wins and was a tough 1-0 loss to Carl Junction in the District Championship game away from their first ever trip to the State Playoffs.

Lady Pirates got the season off to a great start winning their first seven matches and not allowing a single goal during that streak.  The defense was something they could count on all season, giving up only 1.14 goals per game on the year.  At the same time, they found the back of the net nearly 3.5 times every time they stepped on the pitch

  On the year they set team records for most wins, most goals, and fewest goals given up, and number of shutouts.

 While they did graduate a good deal of talent, they have a very solid nucleus back and will be tough to beat in 2023

   

 

  The Anthony Hays era, as head football coach at Branson came to an end after a 3-7 record in the 2021 season.  Playing in one of the toughest conferences in the state, Hays’ Pirates found exceptional tough sledding.  

   Aaron Hefner took over the Pirates program and posted a 1-9 record during his freshman campaign.

  Hays moved on and became the coach at Savannah High School.  The Savages were 10-2 under Hays, falling to Maryville in the District Championship game.  For his efforts, Anthony was named Coaching New Hire of the Year by Missouri Scoop.  

  

I kick off my countdown of top ten area sports stories with a story that is related to sports more than Sports itself. Reeds Spring was one of the first schools to stream selected sporting events via student produced broadcasts. At the forefront of that has been teacher-sponsor Matt Locke. And, while he will tell you he is far from an expert in this industry, his hard work and leadership has helped a number of kids enjoy this profession that I love. Because of him they have been able to get experience that is usually not available until college or beyond.

  It has been a great experience to work with him, both personally and professionally.

   Locke’s retirement is effective the end of the 2022-2023 school year

   He made the commitment a few months ago, and until today, there were other schools hoping that he could change his mind.  But, Caden Wiest will stick to his word.  The most decorated football player to ever wear a Reeds Spring football uniform will be a Missouri State Bear.

   In front of an audience of friends, coaches, and family, Wiest signed his name on a National Letter of Intent this morning at Reeds Spring High School. 

  Wiest is the first three time All-State Football player in the history of the Wolves Program.  He helped lead the Wolves to a Class 3 State Runner up finish this season.   His dominance on both sides of the ball was a nightmare for opposing coaches.  As a tight end, linebackers had the near impossible task of trying to deal with the combination of his size, power, and speed.  And, defensively the defensive end showed his versatility, lining up in multiple spots in Travis Cagle’s system.  Just as impressive is the work the Wiest does in the class room, earning multiple time All-State honors for that as well.

Although several Division One programs made offers, the ability to be near home and be part of what they are building at Missouri State was enough to get Wiest to be a part of what is going on in Springfield.

WiestSigning (click on link to hear interview with Caden)