Sports

Medal winners from the Ava Relays held on April 23.  Athletes had to finish in the top three to medal.  Front row left to right: Hannah Evans, Arianna Cox, Hailey Searcy, Eden Little.  Back row left to right: Karli Pedersen, Baylan Alexander, Clara Sicilia, Madison Shearer, Hailey Nelson.  Also receiving medals but not available for…

By Jason Hoekema FORSYTH – At the beginning of the season, Ava High School head baseball coach Rex Sawyer told us that he is a small ball kind of coach. It is starting to pay off for the Bears who put some of that strategy to use Monday against the Panthers.  Tom Emerich (.353 AVG,…

By Jason Hoekema SPRINGFIELD – New Covenant is a tough school to go toe-to-toe with and despite the 4-0 loss to Springfield’s New Covenant Academy on Wednesday, April 24, the Bears fared better off in games in Thayer and the following week in Forsyth.  The Bears made six hits in 26 at-bats against the private…

Dodson throws no hits in 70 pitches By Jason Hoekema Defense leads to wins in nearly any team sport out there. The Bears were able to overcome the Cabool, which fielded at 94.7-percent with only one error. The Bulldogs made good on 18 putouts with 19 chances to make the play and committed only one error.  On the other side of…

Ava Middle School hosted their annual Track and Field Relays on Tuesday, April 16th. Ten area schools participated in the boys’ divisions. Ava’s squad won the seventh grade division and the eighth grade Bears finished second in their division. Results for Ava athletes who placed in the top eight places to score points for their…

Bears top Mountain View-Liberty on road By Jason Hoekema LIBERTY – After a tough goose egg on the board last week against Mansfield, Ava High School has rebounded with a win against the Eagles of Mountain View High School.  Adding-on another South Central Association Conference win improving their perfect record to 4-0 in the SCA. Meanwhile, the Bears are 9-3…

Five Ava High School Lady Bears medaled at the West Plains Zizzer Relays last week on 4-11-19.  Athletes had to finish in the top six to medal at this track meet.  Ladies from left to right are: Madison Shearer, Karli Pedersen, Eden Little, Hailey Searcy, and Hannah Evans.  Arianna Cox also medaled but was not…

Last week the middle school Lady Bears hosted the Ava Middle School Medal Relays.  Eleven schools were in attendance and both 7th and 8th grade Lady Bears took first.  7th Grade Results:  1st Ava – 102 pts.,  2nd – Liberty 97 pts.,  3rd Cabool 84 pts.,  4th Mtn. Grove 72 pts.,  5th Willow Springs 46…

 The Ava Middle School track squads competed in the annual West Plains Middle School Ribbon Meet on Tuesday, April 9th. Ava’s 7th grade boys won their division, and the 8th grade squad finished 4th overall among a total of 16 area schools participating in the meet. Results for Ava athletes who placed in the top…

By Jason Hoekema For the casual fan a 9-5 win is good news and signs of a stout offense and good defense. However, Coach Rex Sawyer has to disagree on the team’s performance last Thursday after the Houston Tigers snapped back to close up a 9-2 lead late in the game.  “We were not sharp,”…