Williams to play soccer at Richmond

Notre Dame senior Ty Williams, who helped lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back Class 2 state soccer titles, has signed to play next year at the University of Richmond, a Division I school in Virginia.

"I think it's a big opportunity," Williams said. "It's a Division I school. It's a great academic school. And they offered me a great scholarship, and I just felt like it was the best opportunity for me. And I'm just going to go out there and see what I've got, work hard this spring and summer and try to do my best out there."

Williams had a strong senior season for the Bulldogs. The forward scored 25 goals and recorded seven assists for 57 points while leading Notre Dame to the Class 2 state title for the second straight year. He was named the 2007 Class 2 player of the year.

The senior also received offers from Quincy, Lees-McRae and Union.

"I expect to go out there and do well," Williams said. "I'm going to work hard this spring and summer. Coach said he'll expect me to have an impact my first year."

Richmond posted a 4-14-1 record overall and a 1-8-0 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference last year.

Williams said he knows the team struggled last year, but hopes to add some offense.

"Two years ago they had a pretty good year," Williams said. "I think they got third in the conference and they brought back the whole entire starting lineup. And then they had an injury and then one thing led to another, and they just started losing. Then they just couldn't get over the hump, so they ended up finishing last in the conference last year. But I know they had trouble scoring goals and that's one thing the coach said that he's hoping that I'll be able to do is help them score goals."

Richmond is coached by Jeff Gettler, who has been at the school since 1995.

"Since coach has been there, they've had seven or eight winning seasons, so I mean I think it's a pretty strong soccer program, just last year was a bad year," Williams said. "So I just hope I can contribute."

Williams, also a starting guard on the Bulldogs basketball team that won the Class 4 state title in March, said he's undecided on which major he'll pursue, but he does have some ideas. He will report to Richmond's camp in August.

"Until then, I'm just going to do my own thing and try to get as ready as possible — a lot of lifting, working out, running, playing a lot of soccer," he said.

Dugger to leave Leopold

Shawn Dugger will step down as Leopold boys basketball coach after three years, saying the main reason for his decision was his lengthy commute each day to the school.

"I live in Farmington," Dugger said. "It's a pretty good drive for me."

Dugger posted his first season with double-digit wins this past winter after back-to-back eight-win seasons. His Wildcats advanced to a Class 1 District 2 semifinal against Bell City on Feb. 26, but lost to the Cubs 81-43.

Dugger has no plans yet for next year. He said he enjoyed his time at Leopold.

"We did OK," Dugger said, reflecting on his three-year stint. "I mean I had some pretty good teams and some good kids who I worked with. I will remember them all always."

Another local signing

Bell City senior Chris Wright planned to sign to play baseball at Hannibal LaGrange on Thursday.

Academic honors

The most recent edition of the MSHSAA Journal, dated for January and February, included academic honors for the high school sports teams at Leopold, Notre Dame and Perryville.

Notre Dame had 10 teams listed among those with grade-point averages of 3.25 or better during the fall semester.

Making the Outstanding Scholastic Achievement list from Notre Dame were: boys junior varsity cross country (3.51 GPA), boys varsity cross country (3.93), girls varsity cross country (3.55), girls JV cross country (3.55), freshman volleyball (3.74), varsity volleyball (3.67), JV volleyball (3.64), varsity softball (3.66), boys JV soccer (3.35) and the Class 2 state-champion boys varsity soccer team (3.43).

The Bulldogs boys cross country team and softball team each had third-place state finishes in Class 3, while the volleyball team also won a district title in Class 3.

Two teams from Notre Dame made the Distinguished Scholastic Achievement list for teams with GPAs of 3.00 to 3.24. The JV softball team had a 3.10 GPA, while boys varsity swimming was at 3.07.

Leopold had three varsity teams and two junior high teams on the Outstanding list: freshman volleyball (3.52), JV volleyball (3.86), varsity volleyball (3.86), boys basketball for seventh grade (3.58) and eighth grade (3.34). The Leopold volleyball team placed third in the Class 1 state tournament. Perryville had five teams on the Outstanding list — freshman volleyball (3.65), JV volleyball (3.45), varsity volleyball (3.70), JV softball (3.39) and varsity softball (3.55) — while the Pirates football team (3.23) made the Distinguished list.