by Michael Smith


​
The way Grain Valley head football coach David Allie explains his current situation, “It’s a good problem to have.”
He’s speaking of the turnout at his football mini camp at Grain Valley High School this week, which has seen more than 130 players participate. It’s the highest number of participants that he’s seen in his nine-year tenure with the Eagles.
“We had a large group a couple of years ago,” Allie said. “We had about 120. But this is the largest group we’ve ever had come through.
“Football is a game of attrition. We try to have at least 50 freshmen play. The number usually dwindles in half by the time they graduate because of kids moving or focusing on other sports.”
Because of the high numbers, the coaching staff has had to make some adjustments to the workouts and drills to accommodate the numbers.
“Our group is so big we had to change from eight to 12 captains,” senior Stylz Blackmon said.
During the mini camp, players participate in drills and run plays they would during the regular season without any contact. The players wear just helmets with no pads. The team is divided into groups and work on skills based on the position they play or what class each player is.
For the freshman and sophomores, Allie noted that he likes to have that group work on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
“That gives them the most opportunities to get on the field and play,” Allie said. “If you like offense better than defense or vice versa, you know what the other is trying to do to you when you play the position you love.
“We want all the young guys to play both ways.”
For lineman like Blackmon, the mini camp is beneficial for younger players and himself to go over blocking schemes and techniques.
“A lot of it is technique but it’s also about the lineup and assignments,” Blackmon said. “It’s not only for lineman but for running backs, wide receivers, and (defensive backs).”
For running backs, the focus has been on conditioning, ball security, and going over schemes on offense.
“We have to hang on to the rock at all times and work on speed and agility,” Grain Valley senior Ty Williams said. “We have to get that burst, too. Running backs have to be well-rounded so we have to work on all sorts of things.”
Part of the reason for the mini camp is to prepare for the Pittsburg State University camp that will begin Sunday and last three days. The Eagles will scrimmage against teams from Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and others. Players will wear just shoulder pads and helmets and there will be no tackling, just wrap ups and bumps.
Allie said it will be a challenge because the other teams at the camp play during the spring, whereas Missouri squads do not play at that time.
 “They have already had 14 or whatever their state allows for spring practices,” Allie said of teams from other states. “Before the camp, we will have had about four. In the spring, we brought some of the guys in one day a week to install chalk talk and go over what we will be doing in this camp.”
“When we get to Pittsburg State on Sunday, there will be teams that have a lot more experience than we do. One of the reasons we like this camp is we get a lot of reps and all the coaches do a good job of understanding this is summertime. We don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
Added Blackmon: “We have to catch up to the pace they are going. We got to get pads on as soon as we can.”
The mini camp is just the beginning of the preparation for the 2023 season that will begin with the season opener against Fort Osage on Aug. 25.
“I was counting down the days until summer started,” Williams said. “It’s a fun time out here. It gets tiring but you look to your left and your right and you have your friends doing it with you. It’s an exciting time.”
 

by Michael Smith



For nearly the entire season, Grain Valley sophomore Alyssa Carver was dominant in the pole vault.

She won nearly every event she was in and was third in the Class 5 Sectional 2 meet and came in as the No. 5 seed for the Missouri State High School Track and Field Championships.

In her first-ever appearance at the state meet, she proved she one of the best vaulters in the state as she placed fourth, earning all-state honors Friday at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City.

She was one of four Grain Valley competitors to earn all-state honors, which are given to competitors who finish in the top eight of their event. Junior Izabella West took sixth in the triple jump, sophomore Blayden Pruett was sixth in the Javelin and sophomore Jason Wilson was first in the discus and shot put and second in the 100-meter race in the para division.

Carver said she was pleased overall with how well she did at state as she got a height of 11 feet, 1 inch, which was 11 inches shorter than the state champion.

“I didn’t (set a personal record), but I am not mad about how I did,” she said. “I jumped what I have been jumping consistently. I am proud of the way I ended. It was the nice way to end the season.

She added that she has come a long way since the beginning of the season.

“From last year and the beginning the season, I have been doing a lot of training to improve my strength,” she said. “I have been working on having a strong plant and I have been getting on the bigger poles. That has helped add three inches to my height.”

West just started going the triple jump midway through the season after experimenting with multiple other events during practice.

Turns out that she is one of the best at the event as she got a distance of 35 feet, 11 inches.

“We had some first-year coaches who helped her get through and learn the technique,” Grain Valley girls head coach Nick Small said. “It’s pretty impressive to see them learn together in the final half of the season. Things started clicking at the end.

“She was ranked 12th going in. She really stepped up. She got after it. She had been doing the long jump and we knew she had some pop in her. We had her try an event for (junior varsity) to start and she ended up doing pretty well.”

Like West, Pruett competed in an event, the javelin, for the first-time this season and ended up being one of the best.

She unleashed a throw of 167 feet, 9 inches, which set a school record for the event on the boys side. The previous record was held by Ethan Macoubrie in 2018 when he had a throw of 163 feet, 3 inches.

“I am very proud of my finish,” Pruett said. “Some of the people I thought were doing to do better, didn’t do as well, so I ended up pulling through.”

Improving his footwork was the major key, Pruett added.

“I was really focused on my steps today,” he said. “It worked and helped a lot.

“I am looking forward to doing this in the long run.”

Jason Wilson, who uses a wheel chair due to spina bofida, competed in three different para events and was all-state in all three. He was first in the shot put (14 feet, 8,75 inches), first in the discus (48 feet, 4 inches) and he was second in the 100-meter dash (30.40 seconds).

“He threw really well in both and (set a personal record) in both,” boys track coach Erik Stone said. “He had a really good day. He’s just a sophomore and had a lot of fun with it. It was a learning experience for him the coaches. I am looking forward to pretty good growth the next couple of years.”

​Others to compete for Grain Valley were junior Stylz Blackmon, who was 16th with a throw of 45 feet, 6.25 inches and the 4x800 relay team of Carson Hill, Nathan Allen, Landon Barnes and Rylan Smith. They finished in 15th with a time of 8:09.49.

​
 
by Michael Smith
 
Last season, the Grain Valley boys and girls track teams earned all-state honors in six out of seven events they qualified for.
Every Grain Valley competitor earned at least one medal at the 2022 Missouri High School Track and Field Championships.
This season, the Eagles will look to do the same as the boys team qualified for state in three events and the girls did in two during last weekend’s Class 5 Sectional 4 meet at Columbia Rock Bridge High School.
For the boys, junior Stylz Blackmon qualified in the shot put, sophomore Blayden Pruett made it in the javelin and the 4x800 team of Nathan Allan, Landon Barnes, Rylan Smith and Carson Hill punched their ticket to state.
For the girls, junior Izabella West qualified in the triple jump and sophomore Alyssa Carver made it in the pole vault.
All of the Eagles who qualified for state will be making their first appearance at the event.
Carver just missed out on going to state and sectionals last season at the district meet because she was tied for fourth place but lost a tiebreaker due to having one more attempt than the eventual fourth-place finisher.
At this year’s sectional event, she finished third with a height of 3.29 meters in the pole vault. Currently, she is seeded fifth in the event and it appears she will have a good chance to earn all-state honors.
All season, she finished first in nearly every meet she’s competed in. Sectionals was one of the rare times she did not.
“I just didn’t have my best day,” Carver said. “It was a challenge to have to push through on an off day against tougher competition.
“I was slow and my vault wasn’t moving. I didn’t do as good as I did at the other meets.”
Carver said she thinks she has a good chance to earn all-state honors.
“Probably not,” Carver said when asked if she thinks she has a chance to be a state champion. “There are girls ranked higher than me. So unless they had a really off day and I had a great day, I don’t think I can win it, but I can definitely place.”
While Carver is a seasoned competitor in the pole vault, West competed in the triple jump for the first time this season. At the beginning of the season, the junior was trying to figure out what event was the best fit for her. One day at practice, she turned some heads when practicing the triple jump.
That ended up being her permanent spot for the season.
“Izabella was with us as a freshman and last year she decided not to come out,” Grain Valley girls track coach Nick Small said. “She came back this year and has been committed.”
“She popped off in practice at the triple jump, and we’re like, ‘Hey! I think we can do this thing.’”
West had one of her best performances at as sectionals as she took third with a distance of 11.31 meters.
“I was a centimeter off from my personal record,” West said, “and that was my first jump, so I was pretty happy about that.”
“I was aiming to win it but there is a girl who jumps a meter further. I have exceeded my expectations, especially since I started the triple jump in the middle of the year.”
Pruett is one of those competitors that just took up throwing a javelin. His throw of 152 feet, 8 inches netted him a third-place finish at sectionals.
“I didn’t throw the best I could’ve,” Pruett said. “It was enough to get me through to state.”
His recent success it partly due to changing the focus of his technique., focusing more on his footwork than his arm movement.
“I have been working on my steps more and not so much my power,” Pruett said. “It helped a lot doing that instead of trying to muscle it.”
Blackmon is looking forward to his first state appearance, as he ranked 12th right now in the Class 5 shot put event. His throw of 49 feet, 2 inches was good enough for second place at sectionals.
“At the beginning of the year, it was my goal to get (a throw of 15 meters),” Blackmon said. “I have been progressing steadily throughout the meets. I would definitely say I threw really well at sectionals. Me and Coach (David) Allie have really been working on my technical issues.
“I just want to swing through and leave it all out there.”
He said putting more of a focus on track, while still playing basketball and football was a big reason for his breakthrough 2023 campaign.
“I came in as a sophomore and I really didn’t think much of track,” Blackmon said. “I thought it was something I could just do. I really didn’t think I could get anywhere with it.”
“But coming into my junior year, I was the best shot put thrower we had. I had a throw of 13 meters coming in. I have come back bigger and stronger and realized I could make it far in this.”
The 4x800 team, which took fourth at sectionals at 8:12.25, had a little luck on their side near the end of the race. A runner from Liberty Wentzville was on pace to get fourth but “got wobbly and tired” as he was closing in on the finish line.
Smith pushed hard at the final leg of the race to take fourth and qualify just ahead of Blue Springs (8:13.9) and Liberty Wentzville (8:16.63).
“We were 5 to 10 meters behind fourth place at the time,” Grain Valley boys track coach Erik Stone said.
“The kid in front of us was running out of his mind and was running a really good split, then his legs gave out on him. He fell completely to the ground.”
“I spoke to Coach Small after the race and said, ‘Rylan could have easily given up. Thinking, ‘OK. We’re fifth.’ Blue Springs was on our tail, too. But we were able to get fourth and that was awesome.”
Added Hill: “It was a very nerve-wracking finish.”
Allen said the best is yet to come for his relay team.
“We were not satisfied,” Allen said. “We were in the mindset to survive and advance. We are going to work on getting that time down and running our best at state.”
The Missouri State High School Track and field championships will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Friday and will end on Saturday at 4:40 p.m. Blackmon, Pruett, Carver and West will all compete on Friday and the 4x800 relay team will compete on the track at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
 

by Michael Smith
 
​
Sometimes soccer can be a game of inches.
 
That was definitely the case in Grain Valley’s Class 4 District 6 championship game against Blue Springs South at Columbia Hickman High School.
 
After getting off to a hot start to start the game and taking a 1-0 lead into halftime, South rallied to take a 2-1 lead. Grain Valley had multiple chances to tie it up, but it's shot attempts were either slightly off or stopped by goalkeeper Siman Loethen.
 
The Jaguars’ second-half outburst, which resulted in three goals, ended the Eagles season as they fell 3-1 Friday.
 
“Tonight, we lacked getting shots on target,” Grain Valley head coach Brett Lewis said. “Emma hit the post twice. Soccer is just a cruel game sometimes. Things just didn’t bounce our way. I have been in so many games in which we were an inch off here and an inch off there.”
 
After South went up 2-1 with 26 minutes, 42 seconds left in the contest, had a handful of opportunities to tie it. In the 64th minute, junior Emma Thiessen had a direct free kick from just outside the top right corner of the 18-yard box. She was able to fit her shot through a thicket of defenders but the shot hit off the right post and bounced away from the goal.
 
Junior Kylee Bragaw had a shot from the same spot off a rebound with about 13 minutes left. She drilled a shot that appeared to be headed inside the left post, but Loethen made a diving stop.
 
Thiessen had the last best chance when she rolled a shot from halfway inside the penalty box and with Loethen out of position, the ball looked like it would cross the goal line. However, Loethen recovered quickly and knocked the ball away just before the ball crossed to keep the lead.
 
South freshman Haley Kramer put the game away with 19 seconds left when she bent a shot inside the left post from about 30 yards out.
 
“South players stepped up and limited our offense,” Lewis said. “I thought we had more shots than they did and created more offense than they did. But credit to them. They were able to counter us a couple of times.”
 
“We had a lot of opportunities in the box, we just couldn’t find that last pass and last shot.”
 
Grain Valley (20-5) controlled possession throughout the first half and got its lone goal off a mistake by the Jaguars. With the Eagles putting pressure on the South defense, Jaguar senior Cora Watkins accidently kicked the ball backward toward her own goal. Thiessen capitalized by putting in a close-range shot in the 23rd minute for a 1-0 lead.
 
“I will be honest, Grain Valley looked to be the better team for a big part of that game,” South veteran head coach Todd Findley said.
 
That score held until halftime, but South benefitted from a pair of rebounds to take the lead. A shot from a Jaguar deflected off a Grain Valley defender and Kramer was right there to drill a shot into the left side of the net to tie the game at 1-all in the 50th minute.
 
A little over three minutes later, Alyssa Guadagnano made the game-winner when a deflection came right to her inside Grain Valley’s 18-yard box and she punched one in on the left side of the net to put South up 2-1.
 
From there, the Eagles were snakebitten as their stellar season came to an end.
 
Grain Valley will return the majority of its team for the 2024 season as it loses just two seniors to graduation, including starting defender Lexi Nicholson.
 
“We have a really strong group that’s going to be seniors and that’s going to be exciting,” Lewis said. “These girls know what it’s like to be in a district title game and they know the atmosphere and what it takes. They will be ready to hit the ground running next year.”

by Michael Smith
 

Grain Valley senior Pierce Bousselot didn’t have his best stuff.
 
Well, that’s what head coach Brian Driskell said after Wednesday’s Class 6 District 5 first-round matchup with Columbia Hickman.
 
The left-hander was tasked with helping the Eagles advance to the district semifinals, and he had a big hand in doing just that.
 
The senior tossed a complete game as he allowed just one earned run (two total) on six hits and he only walked one and struck out one to guide Grain Valley to a 6-2 victory at Blue Springs South High School.
 
“Pierce probably didn’t have his best stuff today but that is the great thing about guys who can just pitch,” Driskell said. “Even if they don’t have their best stuff, they can still find a way to win.”
 
“He wasn’t locating stuff the way he wanted to and he was a little frustrated with himself. But he did a great job.”
 
The No. 4-seeded Eagles (18-13) now advance to take on No. 1 seed Blue Springs South at 1 p.m. today at South. The win was 10th in their last 11 games.
 
The contest was locked into a pitcher dual until the top of the fourth inning when Hickman pitcher Braden Hemmer blasted a solo shot over the left center field fence to score the first run of the game.
 
In that same inning, the Kewpies added another run when Spencer Baehman singled, reached third on a wild pickoff throw and scored on an infield error following a ground ball off the bat of Carson Shuttlesworth.
 
That was all Bousselot gave up as he kept the Kewpies off balance for the rest of the game. He got plenty of help from his defense, especially in the sixth inning. Hemmer led off the frame with a double, but ended up getting caught in a rundown between second and third base, following a ground ball Zach Bates.
 
“After putting up a zero in the first inning, Brek (Sloan) came up to me and said ‘You don’t need to strike guys out. Make them put the ball in play and we’ll play defense.’
 
“My changeup was working well. It was my best pitch.”
 
On the play, Grain Valley shortstop Avery Garmon threw the ball to third baseman Sloan, who eventually tagged out Hemmer in the rundown. Two batters later, second baseman Michael Montgomery made a sliding stop on a sharp ground ball hit by Baehman. He was thrown out at first base to end the inning.
 
While Bousselot did his job, Grain Valley’s offense came alive late. Sloan drove in the Eagles first run in the bottom of the fourth when Garmon scored from second base on his RBI-double to the left-center field gap. Designated hitter Max Snyder then followed that up by sneaking a ground ball through the left side of the infield for a run-scoring single to tie the game at 2-all after four innings.
 
Garmon then gave Grain Valley the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth when the left-handed batter ripped an opposite field single to left field, scoring Shane Barnett from second base with two outs.
 
“Avery has been really locked in the past five to six weeks,” Driskell said.
 
Added Garmon: “In our pregame scouting, we knew they didn’t double up on their off-speed pitches so I was sitting fastball. I knew that going in. It was huge.”
 
Hemmer intentionally walked catcher Brody Baker to put Garmon into scoring position. Left fielder Ian Kamstra made him pay for that decision as he flipped an RBI double to left center field to help the Eagles carry a 4-2 lead into the sixth.
 
“That put a little smile on my face,” Kamstra said of Hickman intentionally walking Baker to face him. “I was excited to hit and help out my team.
 
“That is probably one of the best feelings right there.”
 
Grain Valley added two more insurance runs in the sixth. With runners at second and first base, right fielder Trent Melton reached on a bunt single and a throwing error on the play allowed Snyder to score from second base. Montgomery later had an RBI groundout to complete the scoring and help the Eagles advance to the district semifinals.

by Michael Smith
 
​
Grain Valley senior Owen Herbert did it again.
 
After finishing as an all-state golfer last season, taking 11th with a two-day score of 154.
 
This season, he finished his career with a second all-state placement as he shot a 74 on Monday and a 76 on Tuesday to end with a five-way tie for 12th place with a score of 150 at the Class 4 Missouri State High School Boys Golf Championships at the Sedalia Country Club.
 
The top 15 scores earn all-state medals.
 
“The goal for my freshman year was to make it to state all four years,” Herbert said. “COVID canceled my freshman season, but I was able to make it the other years, so I was three for three.
 
“I knew coming in that Grain Valley didn’t have the best history of all-time golfers. There had definitely been some good years in the past. My goal was to have my name on the (Grain Valley all-state list) within my four years here. Now, I will be there somewhere. It is cool to know that all the hard work paid off a little bit.”
 
The Eagles finished sixth as a team with a two-day score of 636 after shooting a 312 on Monday and finishing with a 324 on Tuesday. They were seven strokes off from earning a team plaque as Springfield Glendale took fourth with a score of 629.
 
Pembroke Hill won with a 611, shooting a 303 on Monday and a 308 on Tuesday.
 
While his team didn’t come away with a plaque, head coach Andy Herbert was pleased with his team’s season, as Grain Valley qualified as a squad for just the second time in program history. The first time was last season.
 
“Our goal was to bring home a trophy, and we didn’t, so that was a little disappointing,” Andy Herbert said. “They played well and competed well. It’s tough to replicate what you did on the first day on the second.”
 
“They put our golf program on the map the past couple of years. It was a great run.”
 
It was a great run for Owen Herbert, too, as he accomplished the uncommon feat of earning an all-state medal in two consecutive years.
 
“As a coach and a dad, it’s a pretty unique experience,” Andy Hertber said of witnessing his son, Owen earning another medal. He knew where he stood on those last three holes and to stay even par, says a lot about his mental toughness.
 
“He was able to focus and perform under pressure.”
 
Herbert said he thought he didn’t have a good enough score to earn a medal after the final hole, but he ended up being pleasantly surprised.
 
“They had a big scoreboard at the 18th green,” Owen Herbert said. “I knew I was going to have to play well on the back side to get into the top 15. I thought I was going to have to get a birdie on the last hole to make it into the top 15.
 
“I hit a ball out of the bunker and thought I had to make that. But I tapped in a short put to get par. I looked at the leaderboard and saw I was in the top 15, so that was pretty cool.”
 
He said he came up clutch on the final three holes of the par-70 course as he earned par on each of them.
 
Junior Charlie Aldred finished in a three-way tie for 29th with a score of 155, just five strokes shy of earning an all-state medal himself. He shot a 77 on Monday and a 78 on Tuesday.
 
Freshman Eli Herbert was in a four-way tie for 49th place as he finished at 162. Senior Jaiden Wilson tied three others in 64th with a score of 169.

by Michael Smith


It’s the most important time of the season for high school track and field teams in Missouri.

Saturday was the start of the postseason for all teams in the state and the Grain Valley boys team stepped up big time.

Of the events that the boys that were seeded fourth or higher in their event, all of them finished where they were projected or high as the Eagles qualified for sectionals in eight different events in the Class 5 District 4 meet at Blue Springs South High School.

The Eagle boys took fourth place out of nine teams with 77 points. Columbia Rock Bridge High School won with 194.5 points.

“We hardly had any events where we underperformed,” Grain Valley head boys track coach Erik Stone said. “That was good see. We had some guys that were borderline on track to qualify and they placed higher than their seed.”

The strength of the team with the relay teams as all four punched their ticket to sectionals, which will take place next Saturday at Columbia Rock Bridge High School. The four finishers in each event moved on to continue their season.

Senior Nathan Allen assisted the Eagles in pushing through two relays. He was on the 4x800 team that took second place with a time of 8:10.56 and he teamed with Noah Olah, Rylan Smith and Keagan Hart in the 4x400. That foursome also took second with a time of 3:27.91.

“It was mostly my teammates, I just had a part in it,” Allen said of his team’s success in the relays. “Without my teammates, we would have not made it through. I think 110 percent chemistry, especially at the end of the season.”

The Grain Valley 4x100 team also made it through as it was fourth with a time of 44.18 seconds. The 4x200 team also took fourth at 1:30.21.

Smith, who was a part of two qualifying relay teams, also punched his ticket to sectionals in the 800-meter run as he was third at 2:02.44.

“The heat took a toll,” Smith said. “It was draining. (The 800) wasn’t as fast as I wanted to be. I went out kind of slow. I was kind of a bad position as the race went on. On the last 800, I just kicked it into gear and barely finished in front of the fourth-place guy.”

Other Eagles boys to push through to sectionals were junior Stylz Blackmon in the shot put (third, 14.91 meters), sophomore Blayden Pruett in the javelin (second, 48.53 meters) and sophomore Tyler Melton in the high jump (third, 1.81 meters).

“He’s just a kid who has improved and improved and improved,” Stone said of Pruett. “He kind of snuck up on the scene. Coach (Flip) Courter said if he can get to 46 (meters), he’s got a chance.

“Today, he was sitting in fourth before his last throw and he got a huge (personal record).”

Girls
Last season, sophomore Alyssa Carver just missed out on making it to state as she lost a tiebreaker to qualify in the pole vault event.

At district, she left no doubt that she was going to at least make it to sectionals as she took first place with a height of 3.47 meters, which was a personal record.

“I have improved a lot since last year just because of where I am mentally,” Carver said. “I just wasn’t very confident last year. I am really just going to the meets now and not stress about it. I just go out there and do what I know I can.”

Carver winning the pole vault was one of six events that qualified for sectionals. As a team, it finished sixth with 59 points. Blue Springs won with 187.

Senior Madison Rogers also had a banner day as she helped the 4x400 relay team qualify. It finished fourth with a time of 415:.85. She also made it in the 100-meter dash as she took fourth at 12.86 seconds.

“The 100 was pretty close,” Rogers said. “I really had to push myself on that one. We finished above where we were ranked, so that’s good (in the relay).”

Other events the Grain Valley girls qualified for were the 4x800 (fourth, 10:24.63), Izabella West in the triple jump (third, 11.32 meters) and Isabelle Salsman in the high jump (fourth, 1.54 meters).

​“West in the triple jump popped off a really good distance,” Grain Valley girls track coach Nick Small said. “She had a really good jump in the prelims and carried that over to the finals. High jump, Salsman keeps doing her thing. She’s mentally tough and she’s fun to watch.”

by Michael Smith
​
Before the season started the parents of sisters Lexi and Taylor Nicholson made their daughters a promise.
If both Lexi and Taylor Nicholson could score a goal in the same game, their mother and father said they would buy them a dog.
There were some games in which Taylor had a goal but Lexi had yet to put one in the back of the net in Grain Valley’s regular-season finale against Raytown at Moody Murray Memorial Field.
Lexi finally got one in the 25th minute when she scored on a sliding kick. Taylor scored earlier in the game and they will now get the Golden Retriever they always wanted following a 9-0 mercy-rule victory against the Blue Jays.
“We don’t know yet,” both said while laughing, when asked where they would go dog shopping.
Lexi added: “I don’t remember (the goal). I just remember sliding and it went in.”
That was the team’s plan going into the game, to try to get both of them to score. Mission accomplished.
After Lexi’s score, the Eagles bench erupted with cheers.
“Everyone wants to see them get their dog,” sophomore Isabel Lopez said. “Every time there were near the goal we were shouting ‘Do it for Cheddar!’ That’s what they want to name their dog.”
In addition to the Nicholson sisters scoring, Emma Thiessen, Annabelle Totta, Radleigh Childers, Meghan Knust and Lopez scored one goal each. Junior Kylee Bragaw led the Eagles with two scores.
The goal for the 18-4 Eagles was to work on some formations and plays that will help them in the Class 4 District 6 Tournament next week. They have the No. 1 seed and will take on Columbia Battle at 5 p.m. next Monday at Columbia Hickman High School.
“We worked on chasing a goal if we need to get one,” Grain Valley head coach Brett Lewis said. “The game plan involves more offense and we tried to get more girls on the scoreboard, so that was fun to see.”
The Eagles finished the season undefeated in Suburban White Conference action with an 8-0 league record.
“That was our goal before the beginning of the season, to win conference and make sure we go undefeated,” Lewis said. “Now it’s all about being nice and polished going into the postseason. We’re finishing well and we are defending well.”
So what does he think about the Eagles chances to win that district?
“This district is tough,” Lewis said. “There are a lot of good teams that can all compete against each other. The teams are defensively disciplined. It’s going to be a tough test for us.”

by Michael Smith


Grain Valley junior Charles Aldred had one focus going into the 2022-23 season.

He wanted to perform better in bigger tournaments. It’s something that he said that he struggled with last season.

He had a big test Monday as he competed with his team in the Class 4 District 4 Tournament at Paradise Point Course in Smithville.

He appeared to make a big leap on the big stage as he led the Eagles to a second-place finish by shooting a team-low 76 as Grain Valley had 315 points as at team, qualifying for the Missouri State High School Boys Golf Championships for the second consecutive year.
Pembroke Hill took first with a 311.

Freshman Eli Herbert matched Aldred by shooting a 76 himself as he and his teammate tied for fifth overall. Senior Owen Herbert also earned all-district honors, tying two other golfers for 11th overall with an 80. Jaiden Wilson completed the scoring for the Eagles as he was 17th with an 83.

Mason Morris also competed and finished tied for 26th with one other competitor, shooting a 91.

“We set a goal as a team at the beginning of the year to make it back to state,” Grain Valley head golf coach Andy Herbert said. “Getting to state is the hardest part. Playing at districts is when the pressure is on the most.”

And Aldred handled that pressure to perfection. It’s something he has been working on all season.

“If I have a bad shot, I try to have a short memory and focus on the next one,” said Aldred, who tied the school record for the lost score with a 74 at the Oak Grove Invitational before Owen Herbert broke it later in the season. “I am not putting as much pressure on myself as I have before.”

Aldred said that his drives are what put him in a good position to make the top five.

“I hit the ball really well,” he said. “I struggled on this course in the past so it feels good to come up big and get a good score. I was aggressive on putting and sometimes that left me longer puts.”

Eli Herbert had a similar approach to Aldred.

‘I thought this tournament was the same as the others I’ve had this season,” he said. “I tried to have the same mindset. There is no reason to get upset over one bad shot.”

“I thought I played pretty well. My ball striking was strong, so that helped a lot.”

Owen Herbert, who was an all-state golfer last season, said he had a good performance on the Front 9, but had a couple of holes he struggled with on the Back 9, but overall, he was pleased with his performance.

“I struggled with this course in the past, so to be able to overcome some past demons,” Owen Herbert said. “I had a couple of hiccups on the Back 9, but this is the best I have done on this course.

“The course is really fair. If you drive the ball well, you will have a good day at this course, but if you are hitting the ball all over the place, the course is unforgiving.”

Andy Herbert and his golfers said they hope to earn the program’s first state team trophy ever and everyone is aiming to finish in the top 15 at state to be named to the all-state team.

“I proved that I can play well on one day, but at the state tournament, I will have to put together two good rounds of golf,” Aldred said. “It would be great if we can get into the top four as a team.

​Owen Herbert added: “We want to get one of those big trophies. That would be cool.”

by Michael Smith

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In recent games, the defense for the Grain Valley girls soccer team has been on point.

Coming into Thursday’s non-conference matchup with Blue Springs South, the Eagles had three shutouts in a row and have one seven consecutive games.

In that span, they have surrendered just .57 goals per game.

That trend continued against the Jaguars as Grain Valley notched its fourth straight shutout and seventh of the season in a 3-0 win at South.

South outshot the Eagles overall but many of its shots were either hit right at Grain Valley goalkeeper Alayna Maybell or were wide of the goal.

Maybell and the back line did their part to keep the Jaguars from scoring as the freshman goalie had six key second-half saves.

Grain Valley also got a great performance from its back line. Junior Sevreign Aumua was physical with South’s attackers and made a key clearance on a header on a shot attempt from South’s Haley Kramer and made a key sliding tackle on a breakaway attempt for the Jaguars early in the second half.

There were also a handful of times South played the ball to a wide-open Alyssa Guadagnano on the left side of the field in the final third. Even with senior Lexi Nicholson several feet behind, she made some great recovery runs to contest potential crosses or shot attempts from Guadagnano.
 
“We know South is really good,” Lewis said. “They have athleticism and speed up top and the girls responded to that test really well.
 
 “I thought (the back line) did great. Their recovery runs were fantastic. We just made it hard for South to have easy opportunities. The back line has played really gritty and tough these last couple of games.”

Sophomore Ally Gilbert agreed.

“Our back line is a wall out there,” she said. “Sevi wasn’t letting anything get past her. Izzy (Lopez), Taylor (Nicholson) and (Sophia Guiliano), our whole back line did incredible today.”

South coach Todd Findley was certainly impressed by the Grain Valley defense.

“Their back line played phenomenal and their strength is very good,” Findley said. “They tackle really well and they play with great energy all over the field.”

While the defense held up against a strong Jaguar attack, the Eagles offense came alive in the second half.
 
Freshman Radleigh Childers made a run along the right sideline, sent a cross to sophomore Gilbert at the top of the 18-yard box and she sent a through ball to junior Emma Thiessen, who slipped a short-range shot past goalkeeper Siman Loethen for a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute.
 
“Radleigh had a great look at me and got it to me near the box,” Gilbert said. “Emma was open and I got it to her and she was able to finish.”
 
Junior Annabelle Totta put the game away in the 71st minute with a 30-footer that she perfectly lofted into the upper 90 after receiving a short cross from Lopez. The shot went off the fingertips of a leaping Loethen and into the net.
 
“I was able to get by a girl and just launch it,” Totta said. “I kind of got lucky with the ball going over the goalie’s head.”
 
In the 75th minute, Gilbert put the exclamation point on the win as she knocked in a shot at the goal line following a corner kick from Childers.
 
“When she can score, it’s so huge,” Lewis said. “It takes the pressure off Emma, Totta and Radleigh a little bit when she scores. It adds so much more to our attack. Then the opponent has to worry about more than those three.”

The Eagles improved to 14-4 on the season and are in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed for the No. 1 seed in the Class 4 District 6 Tournament after the win.
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“It was a big game going in,” junior Annabelle Totta said. “We really wanted this win, especially a 3-0 win. Alayna played really well and we had definitely been thinking about this game for a long time.”