3 months ago
For the past few years, Southwest Missouri has been a hotbed for cross-country talent, with 2026 promising to live up to the high bar set by local teams, particularly in Class 2.
Leading the list are last year's second- and third-place boys teams in Class 2, the Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School Cavaliers, who finished 3 points shy of a state ******* le, and the McAuley Warriors, who finished third.
Both teams return the bulk of their top six finishers, so it appears to be another great season ahead for cross-country in the Joplin area.
TJ boys
Thomas Jefferson returns all of its top six finishers from last year's state runner-up squad. They are led by Will Twiss, who finished seventh overall as a sophomore last year.
#class #thomas
Leading the list are last year's second- and third-place boys teams in Class 2, the Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School Cavaliers, who finished 3 points shy of a state ******* le, and the McAuley Warriors, who finished third.
Both teams return the bulk of their top six finishers, so it appears to be another great season ahead for cross-country in the Joplin area.
TJ boys
Thomas Jefferson returns all of its top six finishers from last year's state runner-up squad. They are led by Will Twiss, who finished seventh overall as a sophomore last year.
#class #thomas
3 months ago
Having not logged a winning season since 2021, Joplin High School volleyball has turned to a proven winner to lead it for the 2026 season.
Head coach Delice Downing will look to turn the squad around in her first year at the helm of the program. The Eagles finished 5-26-1 last season.
Downing is a former collegiate coach who captured back-to-back NJCAA national ****** les for the Coffeyville Community College Ravens in 2017 and 2018. She also was an NJCAA National Coach of the Year and was named Conference and District Coach of the Year multiple times.
After Coffeyville, Downing surpassed the 500-win mark in her career while coaching at Hutchinson Community College. Last year, she coached at Hesston High School in Kansas, where in her first season she led the team to the Kansas 3A state tournament, where they finished fifth.
"I thought I was ready to let coaching go because my daughter (sophomore Aah'Lice Jackson) is at the age where I want to watch her more, but this opportunity came and I now have the opportunity to coach my daughter," Downing said.
#downing
Head coach Delice Downing will look to turn the squad around in her first year at the helm of the program. The Eagles finished 5-26-1 last season.
Downing is a former collegiate coach who captured back-to-back NJCAA national ****** les for the Coffeyville Community College Ravens in 2017 and 2018. She also was an NJCAA National Coach of the Year and was named Conference and District Coach of the Year multiple times.
After Coffeyville, Downing surpassed the 500-win mark in her career while coaching at Hutchinson Community College. Last year, she coached at Hesston High School in Kansas, where in her first season she led the team to the Kansas 3A state tournament, where they finished fifth.
"I thought I was ready to let coaching go because my daughter (sophomore Aah'Lice Jackson) is at the age where I want to watch her more, but this opportunity came and I now have the opportunity to coach my daughter," Downing said.
#downing
3 months ago
On a scorching summer day in late July, Joplin played host to the Carroll (Iowa) Merchants to finish a recently postponed game and then play a regularly scheduled game Tuesday at Joe Becker Stadium.
The postponed contest was being resumed from June 11, when lightning cut things short in the top of the third inning in Joplin. The Jailbirds held a 3-0 lead to start things Tuesday.
They led 5-3 entering the home half of the seventh, and that's when they pulled away. Joplin added three runs in both the seventh and the eighth to go on and claim an 11-3 victory.
In the nightcap, Joplin fell behind 1-0 in the fourth inning after a solo home run by Carroll's Braylen Nystrom.
In the home half, Blake Jones tied things up for the Jailbirds. Shadrach Salazar added a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and Jordan Tucker made it 3-1 with an RBI single.
#joplin #inning
The postponed contest was being resumed from June 11, when lightning cut things short in the top of the third inning in Joplin. The Jailbirds held a 3-0 lead to start things Tuesday.
They led 5-3 entering the home half of the seventh, and that's when they pulled away. Joplin added three runs in both the seventh and the eighth to go on and claim an 11-3 victory.
In the nightcap, Joplin fell behind 1-0 in the fourth inning after a solo home run by Carroll's Braylen Nystrom.
In the home half, Blake Jones tied things up for the Jailbirds. Shadrach Salazar added a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and Jordan Tucker made it 3-1 with an RBI single.
#joplin #inning
4 months ago
The Joplin Junior All-Stars softball team's bid for a state championship came to an abrupt end with a pair of losses during opening night of the state junior softball Little League tournament on Thursday at Blinzler Fields.
In Game 1, Joplin fell 15-0 in four innings to the Twin City All-Stars from Crystal City. Twin City pitcher Carlie Heiligenmann threw a near-perfect game, striking out seven and giving up just one walk in a complete game no-hitter. Heiligenmann also helped herself out with an inside-the-park homer in the bottom of the fourth.
Joplin had a hard time finding its defensive footing, logging nine errors in the game. Twin City's 15 runs came off of 10 hits.
Twin City took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the opening inning, added four more runs in both the second and third innings and plated five in the fourth frame.
Heiligenmann finished 2 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs for Twin City. K Prock was 2 for 3 with three RBIs and a run.
In Game 1, Joplin fell 15-0 in four innings to the Twin City All-Stars from Crystal City. Twin City pitcher Carlie Heiligenmann threw a near-perfect game, striking out seven and giving up just one walk in a complete game no-hitter. Heiligenmann also helped herself out with an inside-the-park homer in the bottom of the fourth.
Joplin had a hard time finding its defensive footing, logging nine errors in the game. Twin City's 15 runs came off of 10 hits.
Twin City took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the opening inning, added four more runs in both the second and third innings and plated five in the fourth frame.
Heiligenmann finished 2 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs for Twin City. K Prock was 2 for 3 with three RBIs and a run.
4 months ago
The man who performed autopsies on celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, Robert Kennedy, Janis Joplin and John Belushi, is the subject of a new documentary, Coroner to the Stars.
Ahead of the film's debut in theaters on June 25, Dr. Thomas Noguchi, who was chief medical examiner and coroner for Los Angeles County from 1967 to 1982, told People that he "never expected a film to be made about me."
"At first I felt reluctant, but I realized this film could help people see how medicine, politics and society connect in ways we may not always see," the 99-year-old told the outlet in an interview published on Monday, June 15.
"After many decades, memory becomes selective," added Noguchi. The film brought back many moments — my near resignation, the political hearings and my wife, Hisako, who encouraged me to fight."
Per UPI, the official was subjected to hearings in 1969 and 1982, in which he was accused of mismanagement and criticized for publicly discussing the high-profile deaths of Natalie Wood and William Holden.
Ahead of the film's debut in theaters on June 25, Dr. Thomas Noguchi, who was chief medical examiner and coroner for Los Angeles County from 1967 to 1982, told People that he "never expected a film to be made about me."
"At first I felt reluctant, but I realized this film could help people see how medicine, politics and society connect in ways we may not always see," the 99-year-old told the outlet in an interview published on Monday, June 15.
"After many decades, memory becomes selective," added Noguchi. The film brought back many moments — my near resignation, the political hearings and my wife, Hisako, who encouraged me to fight."
Per UPI, the official was subjected to hearings in 1969 and 1982, in which he was accused of mismanagement and criticized for publicly discussing the high-profile deaths of Natalie Wood and William Holden.
10 months ago
(KODE & KSN) — For the first time in 4 years, the American Automobile ******* ociation reports the national average of gas prices has dropped below $3.00 gallon this month.
AAA reports there was record number of car travelers—an increase of 2% compared to last year. With an increase in traffic, they’re seeing a decrease in gas prices.
According to Gas Buddy, gas prices Saturday in and around the Joplin area range from $1.99 to $2.06. That’s a decrease from last year’s prices in Joplin that averaged between $2.51 to $3.07.
We stopped at the Welcome Center off of I-44, to see what travelers a
AAA reports there was record number of car travelers—an increase of 2% compared to last year. With an increase in traffic, they’re seeing a decrease in gas prices.
According to Gas Buddy, gas prices Saturday in and around the Joplin area range from $1.99 to $2.06. That’s a decrease from last year’s prices in Joplin that averaged between $2.51 to $3.07.
We stopped at the Welcome Center off of I-44, to see what travelers a
