Hawks return three from last season's state-ranked squad

The Kelly Hawks came within one win of the Class 3 final four last season.

Coach Rod McQuerter, the reigning Class 3 girls all-district coach, has led the Hawks on an impressive run over the last six years, compiling a 133-39 record. They've won four district titles in the last five seasons.

"I'm a very blessed coach," he said. "I have a very good group of girls. As a coach, you cannot complain about their effort. They all come out and compete every night.

"Practice is very fun for me. It's been nine years of outstanding practices and I love being around these girls."

McQuerter plans to employ the same philosophy this year that's resulted in the mounting victories.

Kelly's Sarah Ruff, right, helped lead the Hawks to the quarterfinals last season. (Fred Lynch)

"This year our goal is simple, just to remain competitive each and every game," he said. "We've got a mixture of young girls with our older girls. We just want everyone to compete every night. We had 21 underclassmen and seven upperclassmen. Each one of those girls has a positive attitude this year."

McQuerter preaches the importance of a positive attitude. He said it's important that players carry their positive outlook into the gym as well as carry it with them away from athletics.

"We try to make it real world as possible to let them know their attitude means a lot in this world," he said. "And hopefully they have a positive attitude in practice, it will carry over to life."

The Hawks finished ranked No. 6 in the final Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association poll after falling to Metro 69-41 in a Class 3 state quarterfinal game. Metro went on to win the state championship.

Kelly will have to find a way to replace second-team all-stater Brittany Ponder. But the Hawks do return three starters, including Sarah Ruff and Debra Hall. Both players joined Ponder on the Scott-Miss all-conference team. McQuerter said he likes what he's seen from his team so far in practice.

"You keep practice fun by making it very competitive and making them understand that each one of those girls has an opportunity to do something special each and every year," he said. "Being part of a team is something you can't replace. We always tell our girls to enjoy the journey. The journey is what is important when you're a high school athlete."