I had the privilege of attending a workshop last weekend that was one of the best I've ever attended. The speaker was Greg Dale, Ph.D. and Professor of Sport Psychology and Sport Ethics at Duke University. The subject was "Keeping Sport in Perspective". He addressed this topic from three perspectives: the student; the coach; and the parent. I've listened to many speakers....some things stick with you....some go right through you. This one moved me. It made me gain a greater appreciation for what we have in Willard. Since that workshop, I have supervised a soccer game and a baseball game. In both cases, I watched with new eyes....and I liked what I saw. We are incredibly lucky to BE WILLARD!
Speaking of soccer, the Lady Tigers defeated Webb City on Tuesday to run their record to 7-0 on the season! They will be playing in the Kickapoo Invitational this weekend and start tonight at 7:00pm at Kickapoo. Play will resume on Saturday. Next week the girls will travel to Carthage on Tuesday and to Parkview on Friday. Also, a special "Congratulations" to Dylan Owens on being named "Athlete of the Week" by the O-Zone website.
Congratulations to the baseball Tigers on their impressive 10-2 victory over Nixa last night. This puts them at 8-5 on the season. They have a very busy week ahead of them as they will travel to Harrison, AR on Monday, to Neosho on Tuesday, to Republic on Thursday, and will host Nevada on Friday....whew! Good luck Tigers!
The track Tigers have been very busy and here is the long list of results:
The Willard Tiger boys competed at the Hillcrest Invitational on Friday night. Juniors Kolbe Kinghorn and Z. Barr paced the Tigers, bringing home three medals between the two at the prestigious event. Competitors from around the state gathered at John F. Kennedy Stadium, on the campus of Parkview High School, to compete for eight medals in each event. With thirty schools in attendance, earning a medal was quite an accomplishment. Kinghorn was able to earn two. His long jump of 20' 8" earned a fifth place finish and his 400 meter dash of 51.97 seconds earned sixth place and his second medal of the day. Z. Barr was the highest finisher for the Tigers, earning a silver medal for his 200 meter dash of 23.24 seconds. Junior Daniel Horne completed the medals for the Tigers with a sixth place finish in the high jump (6' 00"). The boys, and the girls, will travel to West Plains for a varsity meet on Thursday.
The Girls' Night Out Meet, hosted by Glendale High School on Thursday, featured thirty schools from around the state. When competing against traditional large-class track powers such as Blue Springs, Liberty and Jefferson City, not to mention the always-tough Ozark Conference and Central Ozark Conference schools, bringing home one of the eight medals for each event is certainly a challenge. Senior Ali Frazier was up to the challenge bringing home two medals for the Tigers with her second place finish in the discus (with a personal-best throw of 126' 7") and a third place finish in the shot put (37' 4"). Freshman Chloe Andrews also had a big day with her personal best time of 2:25.62 in the 800m run. Andrews earned the third place medal at the meet.
Our golfing Tigers have also been busy. Here are their results:
Team Score: 327 (2nd best team score in the past 4 years)
Team Place: 2nd out of 14 Teams
Willard Individuals
Marshall Faulkner - 77 (Tied for 5th overall)
Robert Mitchals - 80
Jared Holmes - 82
Lance Parrish - 88
Eric Rodocker - 98
Silo Ridge Invitational:
Team Score: 361
Team Place: 7th out of 17
Willard Individual Results
Marshall Faulkner - 77 (5th overall out of 83 players)
Robert Mitchals - 86 (21st)
Jared Holmes - 98 (50th)
Eric Rodocker - 100 (57th)
Lance Parrish - 103 (64th)
Congratulations to the Willard High School Winter Guard for earning the 1st Place Gold Medal this past Saturday at the Mid Continent Color Guard Association Championships. This is the first time the winter guard has won their division at Championships. The winning margin was by a mere 0.2 of a
point. WHS was the host site for the 55 schools who attended Championships this past weekend.
It's Good To Be A Tiger!
Jeff Staley
Activities Director