By Max Goodwin
As the high school athletics calendar begins to transition from fall to winter sports, some state championships have been decided and some are still wrapping up for the fall season. Here are some of the successes local teams had in the fall season.
Rockhurst Soccer
The Rockhurst High School soccer team has been dominant all season with a record of 21-2 and is now district champions in Class 4, District 7. Rockhurst has only lost one game all season to a local team, and that was all the way back at the beginning of September in the fourth game of the season, a 1-0 loss to Lee’s Summit.
The Hawklets move on to the Class 4 state playoffs, where they face Park Hill in the quarterfinal round on November 13.
Notre Dame de Sion Volleyball
The Sion volleyball team was resurgent this season, with the best record for the school since the mid-2000s. The Sion Storm finished 16-15, winning their district and advancing to the state playoffs for the first time in 16 years. At the Class 3 state tournament, Sion took down Cameron and Odessa before falling to Strafford in the semifinal round.
Senior Anna Sheedy brought leadership and athleticism to the team and was awarded the Hyvee High School Athlete of the week leading up to the state tournament.
The Sion program has been headed in the right direction in the two years since Brittany Boerigter became coach, and with just four seniors graduating off the team after this year the Storm hopes to build from these two seasons and continue the winning trend next season.
Ruskin and Grandview Volleyball
The Ruskin volleyball team met Grandview in the first round district play. In a hard fought match, Grandview prevailed 3-1, advancing to the semifinal of the district. Grandview lost that semifinal match to Pleasant Hill, 3-0.
Class 4 Girls Golf
Sophia McClure represented Sion at the Class 4 girls golf state championships. McClure finished in a tie for 22nd as she shot an 85 in round 1 and an 81 in round 2. For the weekend, she was 22 over par at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield.
Also in Springfield, Raymore Peculiar had four girls competing, and finished tenth overall in Class 4 team results. Sarah Marie Larkins was the top Raymore Peculiar golfer, finishing 40th, with a score of 177 for the weekend.
Raymore Peculiar and Belton football
The only teams from the south Kansas City area to advance past the first round of district play were Raymore Peculiar and Belton. Ray-Pec defeated Kickapoo 23-7 and lost to Lee’s Summit North in the district semifinals of Class 6. Belton beat Raytown South 47-28 and lost to Raytown in the district semifinal in Class 5.
Ended the season with 2075 passing yards, 20 TD’ s, 5 interception
Center football
At times this season, the Center High School football team looked like it had all the pieces for a run to the state playoffs, but by the time its first district game rolled around on November 5, the Yellowjackets found themselves without two key contributors on the field, junior running back Jacorey Love and junior quarterback Joseph Vick, both out with injury.
Without those two explosive players in the Center offense, the Yellowjackets failed to score in the first half and trailed 17-0. In the second half, Center found its footing, held strong on defense, and closed the gap to five points but lost 23-18.
Grandview Cross Country
The Grandview Bulldogs sent three runners to the state championship meet in Columbia, Mo. on November 5. Senior Savanna McClurg, junior Claira Martinez, and sophomore Ivonne Lucho represented Grandview at the class 4 MSHSAA meet. McClurg finished 92nd in a time of 20:58, Lucho finished 112th in 21:36 minutes, and Martinez finished 138th with a time of 22:35 minutes.
Barstow Tennis State Championship
As reported in the last issue of the Telegraph, Barstow High School girls tennis won the team state championship in Class 2 of girls tennis. Barstow senior Sarena Biria won the individual state championship. In a historic achievement, Barstow won all three state championships, also winning the doubles title, with junior Phoebe Martin and freshman Atra Biria as doubles champions.