Coming off a year when they scored just six points at the Class 3-4 State Championship Meet, the Lady Hound track and field team should be much more of a factor this weekend at Dwight T. Reed Stadium in Jefferson City.Maryville qualified four individuals for state and one relay in a total of six events.The Lady Hounds are ranked 10th or better in all six, including three in which they are inside the top...

A season that already ranks as the best in the history of Maryville girls soccer could enter a new stratosphere this weekend.With a trip to the Class 1 Final Four on the line, the No. 4-ranked Lady Hounds host No. 3 O'Hara in the quarterfinals Saturday at 2 p.m.It's the first quarterfinal match in Lady Hound soccer history and comes three days after the baseball team hosted its first quarterfinal game in 29...

One win away from a totally unexpected trip to the Final Four, the Spoofhound baseball team ran out of postseason magic.Facing a team with 14 more wins entering play, the Hounds fell behind in the first inning and never really recovered in a 7-2 season-ending loss to Fatima Wednesday in the Class 3 quarterfinals at Bearcat Field.The Comets touched up Maryville senior starter Jonathan Baker for seven runs in...

No salads, no appetizers, no desserts.Nothing beyond the main course.What the Maryville boys are bringing to this weekend's Class 3-4 State Track & Field Championships at Dwight T. Reed Stadium in Jefferson City is strictly meat and potatoes.The four senior boys that have annihilated the competition around this area all season long and scored the bulk of the team's...

After learning of their interest in track and field, Maryville assistant coach Michael Klaus wanted to know early on whether siblings Derek and Jessa Stiens would be willing to give pole vaulting a try.He approached both about the idea when they were still in eighth grade trying to decide which events to pursue in high school.Brother and sister agreed to give it a shot, and in the four years since, they've...

Back at the point where its 2012 season ended, the Lady Hound soccer team is once again on the verge of breaking new ground in the program's history.Denied a first-ever playoff win last year, Class 1 No. 4 Maryville has another chance to deliver it tonight when it faces Pembroke Hill in sectionals at 6 p.m. in Kansas City.Both teams are playing for a spot in Saturday's quarterfinals where they'd face either...

District champions for the first time in 27 years, the Spoofhound baseball team makes its long-awaited return to the playoffs tonight at 6 p.m. against Richmond in sectionals.The game was supposed to be played Monday night, but wet field conditions in Richmond caused it to be moved back a day. This means the winner will have to play again the following night against either Fatima or Holden at a site yet to be determined.

One of the more active teams at Saturday's Class 3 Sectional 4 Meet, Maryville performed at a level that brought frequent smiles to the face of head coach Lori Klaus.Keeping disappointments to a minimum, the Hounds qualified a combined 10 athletes for this weekend's Class 3 State Championship Meet in 13 of their 20 events.Senior boys Peyton Mizera, Treyton Burch, Caleb Mather and Derek Stiens made it through...

Three Nodaway County athletes added to their state medal collections and two others medaled for the first time Friday and Saturday at the Class 1-2 State Track & Field Championships at Dwight T. Reed Stadium in Jefferson City.Nodaway-Holt junior Megan Rosenbohm elevated her career total to seven state medals with a second place finish in the long jump and a fourth place finish in the triple jump. It was her second time medaling in the long...

Not once in 13 years as the head track and field coach at Nodaway-Holt has Jamie James ever been able to watch one of his girls athletes win a state championship.By the end of this weekend, that could change.The most dynamic girls athlete to come through Nodaway-Holt in a long time, junior Megan Rosenbohm enters the Class 1 State Track & Field Championships in Jefferson City as one of the top gold medal...

With as many athletes as the Spoofhound track and field teams are bringing to Saturday's Class 3 Sectional 4 Meet in Blue Springs, a 100 percent state qualifying success rate would be pretty remarkable.But ambitious first-year coach Lori Klaus can envision a dreamy scenario in which the Hounds advance all of their sectional qualifiers to state."There is no one going that couldn't make it to state," said Klaus.

In its third straight district title game appearance, the Lady Hound soccer team settled another post-season score.Matched against a St. Pius X team that ended its 2012 season in sectionals, top-seeded Maryville returned the favor a round sooner, beating the second-seeded Warriors 3-1 in Wednesday's Class 1 District 16 championship match at Dave Goodwin Field.The win gave rising Class 1 power Maryville its...

With a once commanding 13-run lead reduced to four in Tuesday's Class 3 District 16 championship game, Maryville turned to its most trusted pitcher Jonathan Baker.The converted starter and soon-to-be Northwest Missouri State quarterback stopped the bleeding entirely.Ever so reliable throughout his Spoofhound athletic career, Baker put the breaks on top-seeded LeBlond's improbable comeback bid with 2 1/3...

At the outset of his first coaching search three weeks ago, Northwest Missouri State athletic director Mel Tjeerdsma and four committee members compiled a list of criteria they wanted in the next women's basketball coach.Those included someone who had Division II coaching experience—preferably as a head coach—valued academics, had a track record of success, knowledge of the MIAA, familiarity with Bearcat Nation and a passion for...

Roaming back and forth from the track to the jumping stations all afternoon long, Nodaway-Holt junior Megan Rosenbohm was among the busier athletes at Saturday's Class 1 Sectional 4 Meet.That will be the case this coming weekend, too.In her best sectional showing yet, Rosenbohm qualified for the Class 1 State Track & Field Meet in all four of her events and advanced in two of them as the first place...

As was the case throughout the regular season, the Spoofhound track and field teams were a dominant force at Saturday's Class 3 District 8 Meet in Excelsior Springs.Maryville's girls beat season-long rival Chillicothe by 13 points (113.42-100.42) to win their seventh straight district title and qualified for sectionals in 11 of the 18 events. Three fifth place finishes prevented it from being 14 of 18. The Lady Hounds won three events and...

Truman State may be leaving the MIAA, but women's coach Michael Smith is staying put.Northwest Missouri State hired Smith away from exiting MIAA member Truman to be its new women's basketball coach and the seventh in school history. The move was announced Friday.Smith, a one-time graduate assistant at Northwest, replaces Mark Kellogg who left after one season to take over the women's program at West Texas...

A brief but forceful early evening rainstorm caused Maryville's Senior Night match with Chillicothe Thursday to start 20 minutes late.Within the first five minutes of the second half, the Lady Hounds dictated an early ending, scoring four quick goals to finish off a 10-0 win over the Hornets on what turned into a nice night at MHS.The Lady Hounds were at their best during this stretch, making all the right...

As long as the seedings hold up at Saturday's Class 1 Sectional 4 Meet in Holden, Nodaway-Holt junior Megan Rosenbohm will be competing in a career-high four events at state this year.A top four finish at sectionals is required to advance to the Class 1 State Track & Field Meet in Jefferson City May 17-18, and Rosenbohm is seeded fourth or better in all of hers.She's the top seed in both the triple jump...

In the final analysis of the 2013 season, Northwest Missouri State's baseball team just needed to start playing up to its potential a little bit sooner.After starting 9-22 amid a wave of weather-related postponements, Northwest caught fire around the beginning of April and won 13 of its last 18 games.Despite the strong finish, the Bearcats never moved above 12th place in the MIAA and missed out on the...

The best athlete on a non-contending team, Nodaway-Holt junior Megan Rosenbohm put together another dazzling performance at Saturday's Class 1 District 8 Meet in Albany.Signed up in four events, Rosenbohm won three of them and qualified for Saturday's Class 1 Sectional 4 Meet in Holden in all four.Her three district titles comprised 75 percent of the county's total at the meet.

Maryville's nightmare scenario unfolded on an otherwise pleasant afternoon at Monday's Class 2 Sectional 4 Tournament at Blue Springs Country Club.With three of its top four players shooting well below the norm, Maryville finished fifth out of six teams and had no one make it through individually to the Class 2 State Tournament in Nixa.The Hounds' team score of 375 (+87) was 20 strokes higher than what they...

On the final day of the 2013 MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Northwest Missouri State added a second champion Sunday as Anne Herbert raced to the title in the 3000-meter steeplechase.Herbert joined Will Haer as the only champions for the Bearcats over the weekend, as the sophomore raced to a time of 11:19.53. She held nearly a half second lead over Erica Testa of Pittsburg State for the win and set a personal best time in the...

Eighth-seeded Northwest Missouri State lasted a minimal amount of time in the MIAA Softball Tournament at the Blue Valley Recreation Complex.The Bearcats lost their first round game to top-seeded Central Oklahoma 5-0 Friday and were eliminated with a season-ending 9-2 loss to fourth-seeded Northeastern State Saturday.The five and seven-run margins of defeat were the two largest for Northwest all season.

For the fourth time this spring Will Haer claimed the pole vault title, but Saturday was a first in his career as the senior won his first ever MIAA Championship at the 2013 Outdoor Track and Field Championships.Haer won his first title with a career best mark, 16-03.50 to edge Michael Juergens of Missouri Southern. He was also the only winner for the Northwest Missouri State track and field teams on day two of the MIAA Outdoor Championships.

Major changes were made to three existing sports and four others were added by the Missouri High School Activities Association in a series of ballot initiatives approved by a majority of the state's high schools.The three established sports affected were track and field, softball and football.Starting next spring, track and field will go from four classes to five. This stands to benefit Maryville High School...

A starter all four years at Northwest Missouri State, senior second baseman Hailee Hendricks was selected first team All-MIAA for the first time in her career Thursday.She was the only first or second team selection for the Bearcats who finished eighth in the conference. Four others made honorable mention.An honorable mention selection twice before, Hendricks hit .333 during the regular season with five home...

Northwest Missouri State is one of 12 schools that begins competition today at the MIAA Outdoor Championships in Hays, Kan.The three-day meet, which includes more teams than ever, runs through Sunday afternoon.Northwest's men finished eighth out of nine teams last year, while the women were sixth out of nine but graduated top point scorer Kate Walter.Pittsburg State is the...

Northwest Missouri State graduate and former North Nodaway assistant Erle Bennett was recently selected for induction into the Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.Bennett has been the head coach at small-class powerhouse Centralia High School for the last 19 seasons.The Cameron native graduated from Northwest Missouri State in 1985 and spent a portion of his early coaching career on the staff at...