It's official. All of the animals in Greene County are gathering two by two. Enough said...Let's get to the celebrations!
The Lady Tigers soccer team is now 13-1 on the season after defeating Monett last night 10-0! The ladies are state ranked and having an unbelievable season. We were to host the Willard Invitational tonight and tomorrow but Mother Nature is not cooperating. No final decision has been made at this time. Next week, they will travel to Neosho on Tuesday and host Nixa on Thursday in two key COC matchups. Good luck ladies!
The baseball Tigers are just as hot as they have now won 7 games in a row after defeating Monett, Hillcrest, Republic, Branson, and Ozark this past week running their record to 15-5 on the season and 5-1 in the COC. This sets up a COC championship game vs. Carthage next Tuesday at home. They will also play Blair Oaks at SBU this Saturday at noon and will travel to Rogersville next Thursday.
Congratulations to Readers Theater as they are the State Champions. Willard Theater continues to have the most state championships in Theater! They are not only champions, they have integrity, commitment, and drive. This group is impressive on and off the stage! This year's performance was The Seven Ages of Man. Congratulations the cast, the ensemble and crew.
The cast: Hyrum Adams, Brock Andrus, Josh Badger, Jacob Brumfield, Michael Clay, Lukas Dean, Sam Edwards, Alec Inglett, Derek Halle, Alec Inglett, Colton Kastrup, and Jordan Turner.
Congratulations to Willard High School Jazz 1 for their outstanding performance at the Greater St.Louis Jazz Festival this past Saturday. These students had the trememdous opportunity to play on the stage of the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri St. Louis, they received a clinic from professional jazz trumpeter Allen Beeson and finally ended their day with an unforgettable performance by the living legend Doc Severinsen! Not only did our Willard students play exceptionally well, several students were also recognized individually for their outstanding musicianship. Those students receiving awards were: Kevin Bledsoe, Trumpet; William Dickens, Vibes; Carter Havens, Guitar; Alex Harrison, Tenor Saxophone; Allie Dense, Vocal; and finally the entire saxophone section comprised of Riley Flynn, Kaden Bledsoe, Allie Dense, Alex Harrison and Justin Randall. Please join us in congratulating these fine young musicians on a job well done!
On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, FBLA attended the 2013 State Leadership Conference. They did very well, with several students finishing in the top of their events, and 3 students qualifying to compete at our National Conference in June. Top finishers were:
Dusty Bacon & Bradley Wyman - State Champions & National Qualifiers in Website Design
Mercer Martin - National Qualifier in Parliamentary Procedure
Greg Hamilton & Robert Mitchals - 3rd Place in Business Ethics
Cameron McMurtrey - 7th Place in Introduction to Business
Timothy Olson - 8th Place in Public Speaking 2
Dusty, Bradley, and Mercer will travel to Anaheim, California this summer to compete at the National Leadership Contest. Please join us in congratulating all of our winners for their hard work.
Willard Speech and Debate accomplished another first at State this last weekend! Greg Hamilton is now the State Champion in Lincoln Douglas Debate! Greg also placed Second in Radio Speaking while Mercer Martin placed third in International Extemporaneous Speaking! Kayleigh Amstutz placed ninth in Story Telling! This has been an incredible season for our speech and debate team! Great Job!!
Junior Z. Barr and freshman Chloe Andrews each captured two gold medals at the third annual Jason Pyrah Invitational held on Thursday night. Bitter cold, and a howling wind, did little to slow both Barr and Andrews. Barr led the way in the sprints with victories in the 100m (11.40) and 200m (24.02), while Andrews showed the same domination in the distance events by taking first in the 800m (2:34.60) and the 1600m (5:36.8). Kolbe Kinghorn, a senior, added the only other gold for the Tigers with a first place finish in the 400m with a time of 53.27. Senior Brady Fitch was the only second place finisher for the Tigers. He earned the silver with a throw of 43' 11" in the shot put. Several Tigers earned third place finishes including sophomore Tristin Jackson in the pole vault (11' 00), Fitch in the discus (147' 04), senior bailey Hession in the 1600m (5:45.94) and junior Danielle Sanger in the 100m (13.49). Junior Samantha Kappler was third in the pole vault (9'00), as was the 4 x 200m relay for the boys (Barr, Kinghorn, junior Daniel Horne and sophomore Quinton Puckett). Fourth place finishers included Horne in the high jump (5' 10"), Hession in the 3200m (12:54), Sanger in the 200m (28.64) and senior Harrison Puckett in the discus (141' 00).
Other highlights of the evening included a presentation of plaques by Jason Pyrah to the winners of the 1600m run (boys and girls) and two races featuring members of the Willard Intermediate School Running Club. The boys' team finished the evening in third place out of nineteen teams. The girls' team finished seventh, also out of nineteen teams. Both squads will be back in action on Thursday at the Republic relays.
A special congratulations to Jared Holmes on making 1st Team All-COC in golf! The boys will be playing in the district tournament this Monday held at Greene Hills Country Club in Willard. Good luck!
It's Good To Be A Tiger!!!
Jeff Staley
Activities Director