St. Vincent places nine on all-state

St. Vincent's football success was rewarded by the state's football coaches. Nine players from the school's state championship team received all-state recognition on three Class 1 teams chosen by the Missouri Football Coaches Association.

Five St. Vincent players had been chosen on two all-state units selected by Missouri sports writers and distributed by The Associated Press.

Danny Rellergert, Mark Prost, Brian Buchheit, Waylon Richardet, Patrick Siegmund and Kyle Kline all made the coach's first team. Buchheit and Prost anchored the offensive line, while Richardet and Siegmund were key components on the Indians' defensive line. Rellergert made the team at tight end, and Kline was the first-team kicker.

Joey Guilliams made the second team as a defensive back. Guilliams had 86 tackles from the secondary. Ben Buchheit and Alex Armbruster were third-team members. Buchheit was another member of the offensive line, while Armbruster made the team for his prowess in the defenisve backfield.

Indians coach Keith Winkler was the coach of the year in Class 1.

Scott City running back Matt Schaefer made the third team in Class 2 after rushing for 1,577 yards. Perryville running back Matt Unterreiner made the third team in Class 3 after rushing for more than 1,494 yards.

Jackson tight end Brad Crader made the second team in Class 5. Crader averaged close to 15 yards a catch. He was the only local player honored in Class 4 or above on either team.

The coaches' selections for classes 3 through 6 appear in today's edition. The classes 1 and 2 teams will be published Friday.

Delta players nab honors

Senior Sarah Cook and sophomores Kaci Menz and Shea Smith received all-district honors for the Delta softball team.

Cook finished with a 1.37 ERA along with 106 strikeouts. In 145 innings, Cook allowed 22 earned runs. Menz scored 26 runs for the Bobcats to go with 24 stolen bases. Smith added 14 stolen bases.

Essner signs

Notre Dame volleyball standout Amanda Essner has signed to play next season at Jefferson College, a two-year school in Hillsboro, Mo.

Essner, also a basketball player for the Bulldogs, helped Notre Dame advance to the volleyball quarterfinals this season. Notre Dame placed fourth in Class 3 last year in volleyball.

Basketball finals moving

After playing the state basketball final four at the Hearnes Center on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia in recent years, the Missouri State High School Activities Association has reached a two-year agreement to move the games a few blocks over to the new Mizzou Arena.

The deal will begin this spring.