GUIDON staff

Despite a one-hour rain delay, the Tigers varsity football team welcomed Fort Leonard Wood Soldiers and Families to Slaughter Field during its annual Military Appreciation Night on Friday.

The Tigers fell to the visiting Kickapoo Chiefs, 21-6.

Up Next: The Tigers travel to Springfield this Friday to take on the Parkview Vikings. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Tigers return home at 7 p.m., Sept. 21, when they play host to the Rolla Bulldogs.

In other WHS sports:

Volleyball

The Waynesville High School varsity volleyball team is on a winning streak, earning three consecutive victories in its games against Conway, Springfield-Hillcrest and St. Clair before their home crowd.

The Tigers defeated Conway, 25-16, 25-15, on Monday, led by WHS players Alexis Olney and Breanna Copeland, who scored eight kills and seven kills, respectively. Alyssa Arnold and Chelsey Howser each had four aces. Arnold left the game with 19 assists, and Howser had 18 digs.

The Tigers defeated Hillcrest’s Hornets in straight sets, 25-11, 25-22, on Sept. 6, led by Copeland with eight kills. Arnold finished the game with 19 assists, and Kallie Bildner had three stuff blocks against the Hornets.

On Sept. 4, the Tigers beat the St. Clair Bulldogs, 25-12, 25-13, led by Olney with nine kills, and Howser, who scored five aces. Arnold had 15 assists against the Bulldogs.

Up next: The Tigers played host to Osage on Tuesday. Results were not available at press time. The Tigers split their squads to hit the road Saturday for a pair of tournaments, with the WHS varsity traveling to Springfield, Mo., for the Hillcrest Varsity Tournament and the Tiger JV heading to the Jefferson City Junior Varsity Tournament.

Waynesville’s next home game is at 5 p.m. Tuesday, when they play host to Springfield’s Central High School Bulldogs.



Softball

Waynesville picked up four runs in the second inning and then built on its lead to beat the visiting Lebanon Yellowjackets, 7-2, on
Sept. 5.

Tigers Marena Coonrod, Katelynn Miller and Alexa Ochoa each were two-for-three at the plate, with Ochoa earning three RBIs. It was a good day batting overall for the Tigers, with Jordan Kane, Lesley Larson, Sara Crum, Diamond Thomas and Taylar Mata all earning hits against Lebanon.

Coonrod went the distance on the mound for WHS, holding Lebanon to five hits, walking three and striking out six.

The win followed Waynesville’s 3-1 loss against Kickapoo on Sept. 4. Despite the loss, the Tigers had several bright spots, according to coach Kelly Jackson, including Kane’s going three-for-four at the plate with one RBI, and a strong relief-pitching performance by Thomas. 

“We just need to continue to find ways to put runs on the board, and we will be hard to beat,” Jackson said.

The Tiger junior varsity defeated Kickapoo’s JV, 12-6.

Up Next: Waynesville plays host to Salem at 4:30 p.m. Friday, and welcomes Camdenton to town on Monday, also with a 4:30 p.m. start. The Tigers then play the Springfield Varsity Tournament Sept. 21-22.



Cross Country

The WHS cross-country team competed at the Willow Springs Invitational on Sept. 6.

Among the top finishers in the varsity girls’ 5k:

— Jourdan Kilthau medaled in 11th place with a time of 22:02;

— Kellsie Herrman was 21st (24:06);

— Resha Swanson finished 24th (24:58);

— Kim Prayer was 25th (25:20).

Among the top finishers in the varsity boys’ 5k:

— Adrian Shanahan medaled in 16th place (18:33);

— Darren Swanson medaled in 20th place (19:29);

— Nick Ewing finished 25th (20:48).

Among Waynesville’s junior-varsity finishers in the girls’ 1.5-mile course:

— Kelsey Mitchell finished fifth (11:33);

— Michelle Watson was 11th (13:03).

Among the top WHS finishers in the JV boys’ 1.5-mile course:

— Andy Kifer was 14th (9:31);

— Zach Martinez took 15th with a time of 9:35.

Other finishers for WHS included Matt Burris (10:11), Patrick Lucitt (10:13), Makoa Brooks (10:14), Brandon Blystone (10:39), Danny Okorie (10:42) and Andrew Principato (10:49).

“This was our first meet, and I think things went pretty well overall,” WHS coach Travis Bohrer said. “We’ll certainly need to improve our performance, but this was a good start to the season. The kids ran hard and competed well, so we have some good things to build on.”

Up next: The WHS cross country team travels to Rolla Sept. 20.



Girls’ tennis

The WHS girls’ tennis team fell to Hillcrest, 6-3, on Monday.

Emily Salcedo was the lone winner in singles play for the Tigers, defeating her opponent, 8-1.

The Tigers fared better in doubles play, with the team of Salcedo and Sophia Cressler winning, 8-3, and the team of Randi Secules and Clarissa Vance winning, 9-7.

Waynesvillle tied School of the Osage, 4-4, on Sept. 4 at the Indians’ home court in Lake Ozark, Mo.

In singles play, Salcedo, Cressler and Secules won, and Maria Hartley played her opponent to a draw in a rain-shortened match.

In doubles, the WHS team of Secules and Hartley beat their School of the Osage opponents, 8-6.

Up next: The Tigers travel to Rolla on Saturday for the annual Rolla Varsity Tournament. Matches begin at 8 a.m.