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Sixteen Republic students will compete for the bowling team this year, in the season that begins on March 2nd. The team is not officially sanctioned by the school, but the activity is more popular than ever, growing from 11 students on the squad last year.
Coach Yvonne says her bowlers range from 8th grade through high school. The first event will be held at Battlefield Lanes on March second. The full schedule is below.
After a bye in the first round, the Republic Lady Tigers begin postseason play in the district semifinals tonight. The top-seeded Lady Tigers will meet Marshfield. The Lady Jays advanced to the semifinals with a 65-45 win over Rogersville.
Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. That game will be followed by the other semifinal between Bolivar and Hillcrest. Hillcrest advanced to play Bolivar by defeating Buffalo 60-47.
Senior Jake Laswell was the runner-up in the 182-pound weight class, and freshman Cody Sandridge earned 6th place in the 126-pound division, as the Republic Tigers finished their most successful state tournament in history.
Laswell’s first defeat of the tournament came in the finals against the same wrestler who had defeated him in districts last weekend. Jonathan Inman of Branson captured the state championship by defeating Laswell and improving his record to 47-1 for the season. Inman pinned Laswell at the 1:22 mark of the first round. Laswell ended his year with a 48-5 record.
Sandridge became the first freshman in Republic history to medal at state, advancing through wrestlebacks after an early loss to earn a spot in the medal rounds. He lost his fifth-place match to Jeff Miller (38-9) of Pacific, 6-1. Sandridge was 37-20 for the season.
Republic sent five wrestlers to state for the first time ever, with Lance Gregory, Dustin Eby and Kerik Crouse earning spots alongside Laswell and Sandridge. The Tigers ended with 33 points overall, tied for 15th out of 47 teams in Class 3. Kearney won the Class 3 title.
Republic has recognized graduate 2011 Payton Rayl for her all-state honors in golf. Rayl placed 11th in the state overall during her senior year. She won five of seven tournaments she entered that year, won the district, and placed 5th at sectionals. Her all-state plaque will be hung alongside the school’s other all-state athletes.
Rayl holds most of Republic’s career golf records. She was a four-time all-COC selection and two-time COC champion.
Rayl also excelled on the basketball floor as a point guard, helping lead the Lady Tigers to three district championships. The Lady Tigers went to the state quarterfinals doing her senior season.
Before high school, Rayl was an outstanding junior golfer, and also a Missouri state champion in gymnastics.
Rayl graduated with a GPA of 4.3, and was a member of National Honor Society. She is majoring in biology at Drury University, and competing for the Lady Panthers golf team.
Jake Laswell will wrestle for the state championship Saturday, leading a Republic Tigers squad that is having its best state tournament appearance in history. The Tigers have 33 points, putting them in 13th place out of 49 teams overall in Class 3.
Laswell moved into the finals by pinning Akintunde Odunleye of Hazelwood East in the semifinals of the 182-pound weight class. Laswell is undefeated at the tournament, and his win sets up a showdown with district rival Jonathon Inman of Branson. Inman is 46-1, and defeated Laswell to capture the district championship last weekend.
Freshman Cody Sandridge has guaranteed that he’ll become the first freshman wrestler in school history to medal at state. Sandridge is 3-1 for the tournament, and has fought his way through wrestlebacks to get into the medal rounds. He meets senior Brian Harman of Farmington Saturday, and the winner will advance to the 3rd place match in the 126-pound weight class. The loser will battle for 5th.
In the 160-pound division, Kerik Crouse’s tournament run ended with a loss to Ian McIntosh of Rockwood Summit in wrestlebacks, just short of the medal rounds. Crouse had defeated Ryan Johnson of St. Charles earlier in the day to stay alive in wrestlebacks. He was 2-2 for the tournament.
The Republic Tigers hit 12 straight free throws down the stretch to salt away Branson and secure a victory on Senior Night, 64-60. Senior Nick Yocum scored 24 points to lead the way, including 6-of-6 free throw shooting in the 4th quarter.
Yocum and Payton Looney were honored before the game, as the only two seniors on a Tiger team that is 21-5 heading into district play next week. Coach Gary Stanfield says his senior class has had a big impact, despite being small in numbers.
“All the teams that I’ve been associated with that have been successful have had an abundance of seniors,” says Stanfield. “These two guys have infected the others with their desire and their leadership.”
“They’ve been a driving force behind goals and the other things that are so important in having any chance for success. It’s really kind of inspiring to watch.”
Yocum says the two share leadership, despite different styles.
“He’s a great leader. We both do different things,” says Yocum. “He’s a little more vocal than I am. I think that gets to them a little more than me just coming up to them individually.”
For Looney, Yocum’s presence is what makes the team go.
“He’s a blast to play with. I grew up playing with him, so it’s a long time coming,” Looney says. “Playing with him makes my Senior Night the best. Without him, we don’t go like we go.”
On this night, Looney, Yocum and the rest of the Tigers had to overcome a hot shooting night by Branson. The Pirates were only 9-16 coming into the game, but hit 12 3-pointers, including eight in the first half. They were led by Thatch Unruh with 14 points.
For the Tigers, besides Yocum’s 24, Cody Geiger scored 13 and Jake Fletcher scored 10.
Republic heads into district play next week with the top seed. They’ll meet the winner of the Rogersville/Bolivar game on February 23.
Republic has five wrestlers competing in Columbia this week. I’ll update results throughout the tournament.
Saturday
Freshman Cody Sandridge loses his first match in the medal rounds. He was defeated by senior Brian Harmon of Farmington (36-7), who had advanced to the semifinals before losing his first match. Sandridge wrestles for 5th place later today.
Friday
10:15 a.m.
Still no results from Republic’s remaining wrestlers today. But a correction from earlier — Lance Gregory did not wrestle either of his matches yesterday, because of a medical forfeit.
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Two Tigers will wrestle in the state quarterfinals today: Jake Laswell and Kerik Crouse. Cody Sandridge is still alive in wrestlebacks.
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9:30 p.m.
Dustin Eby was defeated in his match in wrestlebacks.
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8:50 p.m.
Cody Sandridge wins his first-round wrestle back over Anthony Franicevich of Camdenton.
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8:25 p.m.
Freshman Cody Sandridge lost his first match in the 126-pound weight class, to Brian Harman of Farmington. Harman is a senior with a 34-6 record. Sandridge is now 34-18.
Sophomore Dustin Eby fell in the first round to 145-pound senior powerhouse Tanner Minder of Kearney. Minder came into the state tournament with a 52-3 record. Eby falls to 39-14.
Junior Kerik Crouse defeated senior Narvell Smith of Union his first match to advance in the 160-pound weight class. Crouse improves to 33-13. He’ll wrestle Trevor Engle of Staley (45-6) in the second round.
Senior Jake Laswell also advanced by a victory by pin in the first round over junior Nick Nichols of Sikeston. Laswell is now 46-4 overall, and advances to meet Nick Brown (42-10) of Staley in the second round.
Lance Gregory was eliminated by medical forfeit.
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When the state wrestling tournament starts in Columbia Thursday, a record five wrestlers from Republic will be competing. The five Tigers made history by qualifying at the district tournament last weekend at Carthage.
“As a program, it shows we’re improving,” says second-year coach Jerry Morton. “It’s also a good thing that they’re not all five seniors. We’ve got underclassmen who are doing it, so we’re building a program from the ground up.”
In fact, all four high school classes are represented among the state qualifiers. That starts with the freshman class and Cody Sandridge. Sandridge is the first freshman in Republic history to qualify for state. He took 4th at districts, and enters the state tournament with a 34-17 record. Sandridge will compete at 126 pounds.
Sophomore Dustin Eby will make his first-ever visit to the state tournament. Eby is 39-13, and took 4th place at districts to qualify. He’ll compete in the 145-pound weight class.
Three Tigers will be making return trips to Columbia. Junior Kerik Crouse makes his second trip to Columbia. He’s 32-13 this season, and will compete in the 160-pound division. Crouse is ranked 10th in the state.
Senior Jake Laswell takes a 45-4 record into his third state tournament. He’ll try to build on his school-record 153-career victories in the 182-pound division. Laswell is ranked 2nd in the state heading into the tournament.
Senior Lance Gregory is attending his second state tournament. He qualified with a third-place finish in Carthage, where he defeated the 10th-ranked wrestler in the state in his 285-pound weight class.
The Republic Lady Tigers outscored Willard 17-2 in the 2nd quarter on the way to a 47-24 win on the road Tuesday.
Willard actually led 10-9 after one period, but Republic scored the first 13 points of the 2nd quarter to take a 22-10 lead, and never looked back. It was 26-12 at halftime, and 38-17 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
The Lady Tigers used a balanced attack, with no one scoring in double figures. Sarah Kreul led the way with 9. Alexis Edwards scored 8, and Kayla Bartelsmeyer scored 7. Alice Heinzler added 6 for Republic, while Brooke Dutton, Taylor Wells and Micah Mansker each scored a 3-pointer for the Lady Tigers. Tori Taylor added 2.
The JV also picked up another win, 67-12.
Republic’s Nick Yocum scored 21 points, and went over 1,000 for his career, in a 59-55 win over Willard.
Yocum’s hot start fueled Republic early. He scored 11 points in the first quarter and 14 before halftime. The Tigers drained eight three pointers in the first half, building a 33-24 lead at the break.
But Willard stormed back, scoring the first 13 points of the second half to take a 37-33 lead. Republic didn’t score until Grant Hancock scored back-to-back baskets inside to tie the game at 37.
The score was tied 41-41 going into the 4th quarter, and stayed close the rest of the way. There were eight lead changes in the final period, but Republic nabbed the lead for good when Yocum hit his sixth 3-pointer of the game to put the Tigers ahead 53-51. The bucket gave Yocum 1,001 career points. He ended the game with 1,002 for his career.
The key score came with 12 seconds remaining and the Tigers up by a single point. Yocum took the in-bounds pass and drove the length of the floor, avoiding a foul by Willard. He dished to Cody Geiger for a layup, and the Tigers led 58-55.
Payton Looney intercepted a pass on the ensuing Willard possession, and hit a free throw to seal the victory.
Geiger and Canyon Smith scored 8 points apiece for the Tigers. Jake Fletcher and Looney scored six apiece.
Republic improves to 20-5 with the victory. Willard falls to 10-11.
