Soccer teams kick into high gear with weekend tourney

Local girls soccer teams will kick their seasons into high gear this weekend with the Noon Optimist Spring Classic on Friday and Saturday at Notre Dame Regional High School.

Notre Dame, Central, Jackson, Perryville and St. Vincent will be in the tournament. Rounding out the eight-team field are Farmington, Poplar Bluff and Marion (Ill.). Jackson will be the only local squad opening its season at the tournament.

First-round matchups include Jackson versus Farmington, Central and Perryville, Notre Dame and Marion, and St. Vincent against Poplar Bluff. Notre Dame will have two fields in play with the Central-Perryville and St. Vincent-Poplar Bluff games kicking off the tournament at 4 p.m. Friday.

After semifinal action at noon Saturday, the championship game is set for 4 p.m.

Local basketball players part of Elite Eight

Deanna McCormick made back-to-back state championship appearances with Notre Dame Regional High School's girls basketball team her junior and senior seasons.

Now a sophomore reserve for Quincy University, McCormick, along with Central graduate Alex Wieser, fell short of taking the Hawks to the NCAA Division II championship game. Quincy lost 61-60 to Henderson State on Wednesday in the Elite Eight hosted at Western Missouri in St. Joseph, Mo.

McCormick averages 14.8 minutes a game, scoring 4.3 points per game. McCormick also was fourth on the team with 99 rebounds. Wieser, a freshman, averages 11.8 minutes and 3.5 points.

Quincy finished 29-5.

B.A. Sports All Star game around the corner

Several local basketball and volleyball players will take part in the B.A. Sports All-Star Extravaganza, scheduled for April 2 and 3 at the Bess Community Center at Three Rivers Commnuity College in Poplar Bluff.

Boys basketball games will take place 11:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on April 3. Local players include Jake Knepp (Central), Ryan Delph (Central), Travis Benfield (Woodland), Jeremy Schlosser (Scott City), Randy Conn (Bell City), Tyler Ward (Scott City), Dominitrix Johnson (Bell City), Brad Adams (Meadow Heights), Chris Pullen (Scott County Central), Tyler McNeely (Jackson) and Chris Romas (Kelly). Mike Kiehne (Jackson), Jim Hall (Advance) and David Heeb (Bell City) are local coaches involved.

The girls basketball game will be 10 a.m. April 3. Local players include Megan McDonald (Central), Ashley Bartels (Jackson), Jennifer Hoots (Scott County Central), Sommer McCauley (Notre Dame), Sierra Ellis (Notre Dame) and April Lorenz (Perryville). Jerry Grim of Notre Dame and Sam Sides of Jackson will be coaches.

The first B.A. all-star volleyball game will be at 7 p.m. on April 2. Sarah Scheer (Bell City), Whitney Abner (Bell City), Nicole Tropf (Advance), Dana Williams (Advance), Tasha Thele (Leopold), Linden Hahs (Jackson), Emily Buehrle (Notre Dame), Wendy Vandeven (Leopold) and McCauley will participate. Kim Aggert of Advance, Tara Stroup of Notre Dame and Erin Hoffman of Bell City will coach.

College notes

The Three Rivers Community College women's basketball team completed its season with a fifth-place finish at the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament. Rebecca Cook, a freshman from Delta High School, averaged 4.3 points a game for Three Rivers. Cook ranked fourth nationally in 3-point percentage at 52 percent (39-of-75).

Central graduate Lainie Bohnsack, a sophomore at Truman State, won the high jump event in the Bulldogs' outdoor track and field opener on Friday. Bohnsack's jump of 5 feet 4 1/4 inches topped the Augustana Open field.