PREP ROUNDUP: Trio of Lady Mules are state bound

The Poplar Bluff Lady Mules will be sending not one or two, but three athletes to state after a trio of girls turned in strong performances in district competition over the weekend.

Zoë Freeman will be returning to the state wrestling tournament after taking second at 190 pounds at the Class 2 District 1 Tournament on Saturday in St. Louis, while Allison Williamson and Keira Willis will represent Poplar Bluff at the state tournament for swimming and diving after strong performances at Saturday's Class 1 district meet.

Freeman won her first three matches at districts, pinning two of her opponents, including recording a first-round fall against Lilly Julius of Seckman in the semifinals. Freeman wrestled Lafayette's Aaliyah Grammer for the district title, with Grammer recording the pin just 44 seconds before match's end.

Despite suffering her first loss of the season, Freeman will get the chance to wrestle for a state title starting Feb. 28 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

Meanwhile, Williamson took second in diving at the Class 1 District 1 meet with 322.57 points. She will be joined at state by Willis, who qualified in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events.

The Class 1 state meet is slated to take place this Friday and Saturday in St. Peters.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

WBA teams both take second at state

The Westwood Baptist Academy Eagles and Lady Eagles basketball teams both finished in second place at the Missouri Christian Schools Athletic Association state tournament on Saturday in Joplin.

On the boys side, the Eagles lost to Christian Fellowship School 53-49 in the championship game.

WBA reached the state finals by downing Lighthouse Prep 61-30 in the first round on Thursday, then beat Heritage Classical Christian Academy 41-30 on Friday to make it to the state finals.

Robbie Dodd earned first-team all-state honors for his accomplishments on the hardwood, while teammates Gage Barker and Anden Moore were second-team all-state.

Meanwhile, the Lady Eagles took second after also falling to Christian Fellowship School 42-31 in the state finals.

WBA opened state tournament play on Thursday with a 38-33 win over Center Place Restoration School in the quarterfinals, then beat Heritage Classical Christian Academy 47-24 in Friday's semifinal round to make it to the championship game.

Katie Gross was a first-team all-state selection, while Sydney Hawley was second-team for the Lady Eagles.

Mules fall to Notre Dame

The Poplar Bluff Mules boys basketball team fell to the Notre Dame Bulldogs 65-44 on Friday night at Mules Gymnasium in a SEMO Conference contest.

Poplar Bluff (9-13, 1-5 SEMO Conference) trailed the Bulldogs (12-11, 3-4) by 13 points (34-21) at the intermission. It was the fourth loss in the last five games for the Mules.

Dallas Williams and Brendan Durden each had nine points for Poplar Bluff, while J.R. Lathon added eight.

The Mules are slated to take on Dexter on Tuesday, weather permitting.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Raiders take pair to open season

At Cape Girardeau on Friday, the Three Rivers College baseball team took a pair of games from North Iowa Area Community College, winning the opener 10-0 and taking the nightcap 7-6.

The Raiders broke open Friday's opener with a big fourth inning. Leading 2-0, Three Rivers scored six times in the bottom of the fourth to lead 8-0, then added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to enforce the 10-run rule and end the game early.

Colton Sims dominated on the hill, facing the minimum while striking out five and allowing two hits, with both baserunners being out on the basepaths.

J.C. Poole had two hits and drove in three runs for TRC, while Caleb Smith and Manny Alberto each drove in a pair of runs. Three Rivers had just six hits in the game, but capitalized on 10 walks.

In the nightcap, the Raiders scored six times in the bottom of the third inning to take a 6-0 lead, then turned back a late rally to hold on at the end.

Smith hit a three-run homer in the third inning, while Grant Fitch added a two-run double in the win.

Carr shines in Kansas debut

Former Poplar Bluff standout Kannon Carr had a strong debut with the Kansas Jayhawks, tossing four scoreless innings in an 8-0 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Carr also allowed no hits while striking out two and walking two, earning the win for the Jayhawks. He came on in the third inning in relief of starter Patrick Steitz.

Kansas improves to 3-0 with the win.

Carr played baseball, football and basketball at Poplar Bluff High School before graduating in 2022. He pitched two years at Jefferson College in Hillsboro before continuing his college career with the Jayhawks.