Sports

Lady ‘Cats earn holiday hardware
It has been four years since the Cassville girls basketball team lifted the Southwest Girls Holiday Tournament trophy, and for the fourth time in the competition’s 11-year history, the Lady Wildcats are title-holders again.

Coaches reflect on tourney performances
A total of 15 teams participated in the Southwest hoops tournaments from Dec. 27-30, 2024, with one local team winning a title and another taking third.

Two grand
Southwest senior Kasen Holder reached a milestone with this off-balance layup, tallying his 1,000th and 1,001st career points with the 2-point play in the opening minutes against Gentry at the Southwest Holiday Tournament on Dec. 30, 2024.

Top 10 sports stories of 2024
The top 10 sports stories of 2024 includes Faith James' wrestling state title and Southwest repeating its boys hoops district championship.
Lady ‘Cats compete in Christmas Clash
Winchell pins way to gold medal The Cassville girls wrestling team competed Dec. 20-21 at the Lady Mustangs Christmas Clash, with one Lady Wildcat rising to the top of the podium.
Wildcats win medals in Harrisonville
The Cassville boys wrestling team competed Dec. 20-21 at the Harrisonville Christmas Tournament, with 165-pounder Tristan Thompson earning the best overall placement.

Wrestling squads compete in Christmas tournaments
Publisher’s Note: The Cassville boys and girls wrestling teams each competed in separate tournaments over the weekend. The Wildcats wrestled in the Harrisonville Christmas Tournament, and the Lady Wildcats in the 2024 Lady Mustangs Christmas Clash. Due to the Cassville Democrat's holiday print deadline, results were not available at presstime. Coverage of both events will be in the Jan. 1 issue.
Hooping for the holidays
The field at the 42nd Annual Southwest Boys Holiday Tournament is as competitive as ever, with last year’s champion retaining the No. 1 seed and two Barry County schools looking to dethrone the title-holder.

Exeter boys hoops wants to peak at season’s end
The Exeter boys basketball team has had a challenging start to its season, but Coach Tremanye Williams is less concerned about the beginning as he is the end. Finishing at 10-16 last season, the Tigers return three seniors — Kason Nelson, Jesse Eaton and Kendal Gorman — to this year’s squad.

Reflecting on a record
For the second season in a row, the Cassville softball team made history. In 2023, the 16-15 Lady Wildcats won the program’s first-ever district title under former coach Lori Videmschek, and this year, Cassville set a program record for wins, going 19-14 and taking second place in Class 3, District 6.