Sports: Track & Field leaves State with plenty of hardware

Sports

Track & Field leaves State with plenty of hardware

GVHS Track and Field left the MSHSAA Class 5 State Championships at Licklider Stadium in Jefferson City on May 27th with plenty of hardware to show for their efforts. JayOnna Perry placed 6th in 100 meter hurdles with a personal record time of 15.22, becoming the first athlete in Grain Valley history to receive AllState honors in the largest class. Perry also placed 9th in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 47.12. The Lady Eagles 4x8 relay team of Earley, Holcomb, Casey, and Ogle finished 11th overall with a season best time of 9:54.06. Avery Huffman finished 12th in the 400 meter dash, and Jordyn Weems finished 16th place in the long jump at 4.86 meters. The pair then teamed up with teammates Perry and Emma Jane Ogle to run a school record time of 4:03.6 to place fourth in the 4x400 meter relay. Other notable wins for the girls team included a 13th place pole vault for Abby Castle (9’8.5”), and a third place finish for McKenah Sears in the javelin with a throw of 39.54 meters. Sears was the top freshman in the field, earning AllState honors. The boys team had a successful outing as well. Senior Cole Keller completed his high school track career with a 5th place finish and All-State honors in the 400 meter dash, with a time of 50.39. Keller was a part of the 4x200 meter team, including Jacob McAhan, Logan Pratt, and Carter Vrlenich to place 3rd with a time of 1:30.33, earning All-State honors. Pratt placed 4th and secured AllState honors in the 100 meter dash, with a time of 10.96. Pratt joined teammates McAhan, Tristin Pouncil, and Vrlenich, placing 9th in the 4x100 meter event with a time of 43.77.

GRAIN VALLEY NEWS

THEME: NIGHT AT THE THEATER

ACROSS 1. *Treble or bass ___ 5. Pharaoh's cobra 8. *Zeus' sister and wife, and character in Broadway musical "Xanadu" 12. Hair-dwelling parasites 13. Quinceañera or bat mitzvah, e.g. 14. Puts money in the bank 15. Pearl Harbor locale 16. Flair 17. Inuit boat 18. *Record-holding musical for most awards received by a single production, with The 20. *Broadway hit "Jagged Little ___" 21. *Comment to the audience 22. Web address 23. ____'er ____, at the pump 26. Private chapel 30. Keats' poem 31. Quit 34. Medley 35. ____ ____ or do nothing 37. Right-angle building extension 38. Razor nick 39. Like lemon 40. Make a choice 42. 1960s teen idol, Bobby ____ 43. Give authority 45. Bias crime perpetrators 47. *Theater, e.g. 48. Cordial disposition 50. Surrender 52. *Non-musical with record number of Tony nominations 56. Shredded cabbage dishes 57. *Melpomene, e.g. 58. Just a little 59. Gold unit 60. Lodge fellows 61. "Game of Thrones" bastard 62. Without purpose 63. Past tense of "is" 64. Short-term employee DOWN 1. Hoof sound 2. Yarn spinner 3. Canyon sound 4. Like medieval European society 5. Was sick 6. Fixed look 7. Montblanc and such 8. *Musical with record number of Tony nominations 9. Like most fairytale stepmothers 10. Madrid's Club de Fútbol 11. Pose a question 13. Chef's prescription 14. Toyota sports car model 19. Shylock's practice 22. Coffee pot 23. *Bob ____, choreographer with most Tony awards 24. *"Break a leg" or "have two left feet," e.g. 25. Reduce pressure (2 words) 26. Eye up and down 27. Mediterranean appetizer 28. Type of potato masher 29. Ox connectors 32. *Tiresias in "Oedipus Rex," e.g. 33. Feverish 36. *NYC district 38. Washington, e.g. 40. Sun's descent 41. Onion-like herb 44. Seize by force 46. Obsolete office position 48. Spurious wing 49. *Comedy and tragedy, on a Tony medallion 50. Attired 51. *James ____ Jones, multiple Tony winner 52. Old World duck 53. Like Silver's owner 54. H or O in H2O, e.g. 55. Make a raucous noise 56. Mogul equipment

Sports

Eagles are state bound after win over Warriors

by John Unrein

Grain Valley Eagle first baseman Kaden Jeffries sat in the dugout prior to the game looking down with his head on his bat. Minutes passed and Eagles head baseball coach Brian Driskell considered checking on whether his clean up hitter was okay. Turns out Jeffries was only gathering his thoughts and visualizing doing good things during the Class 5 Quarterfinal playoff round versus the Smithville Warriors. The Eagles would win the contest by a score of 7-3 on May 29th at Blue Springs South baseball stadium. The precedence placed on envisioning positive things paid off for Jeffries in the top of the fourth inning. Jeffries pulled a fastball down the right field line well over the 325 foot sign. The no doubt home run left the entire Grain Valley bench waiting for Jeffries at home plate. A raucous celebration ensued on the way back to the dugout as the Eagles moved ahead 4-0 at that point in the game. Jeffries would end up with three runs batted in total in providing offensive muscle for his team. Grain Valley’s confidence was at a high point due to scoring at least one run in each of the first four innings. The Eagles dugout was louder than it had been at any point during the season. To say that Eagles came to play would have been an understatement. A sentiment echoed by Jeffries who held true to being a young man of few words. “The more chances I get to see the baseball throughout at-bats during the game the better I feel about my swing. Today was no different. I knew the baseball was gone (on the home run) as soon as it left my bat,” Jeffries said. “Getting to go to Springfield next and getting to travel with the boys was the best thing about today.” Equally as impressive to Jeffries fireworks at the plate was the effort on the mound by starting pitcher Cole Keller. The senior hurler would strikeout five Warrior batters and only surrender one hit across four innings of work. Keller would work top to bottom and both sides of the plate with his fastball and secondary offerings. The fastball would be Keller’s go to pitch when in trouble or needing to put away hitters. “I leaned on my fastball today until the second time through the lineup when I turned to my curveball. My breaking stuff felt good out of my hand, and I relied on my defense behind me to help keep them scoreless when I was pitching,” Keller said. “KJ (Kaden Jeffries) is a special player. We have seen him hit balls over and off the wall all year. Bown showed up as well in relief. He is smart and is not necessarily going to overpower you with his stuff. I think he has like seven different pitches, and he locates all of them really well.” Keller continued, “I have never been to the semifinals before, and we will approach it like it is just another game. We will take this one step at a time with our focus being on preparation.” Bown has shown his mettle throughout the season for Grain Valley. The senior has gotten ready to pitch in relief on short notice, through a nagging injury, and with a fearless mentality when he steps on the hill. Bown was no different in the two and one-third innings he delivered for his team in the win against the Warriors. A Smithville team that refused to go away quietly, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to make things interesting as the game progressed. Bown fought back emotion to stay composed in sharing his postgame thoughts. “There are no words to describe this feeling right now. It is awesome. I walked that guy and gave up a run initially. To get to go to the semifinals is unreal. We all have each other’s back and that is special,” Bown said. Driskell approached his team during preparation the day prior to the game in their film room with what he told them may sound corny but asked that they participate with faith in what was being asked. The Eagles were asked to close their eyes and focus on the first three innings of the game going well before something going sideways in the middle of the contest. The last thing requested by Driskell was to focus on how they would finish the game through any adversity they faced before picturing a jubilant celebration. Driskell would turn on the lights and tell his team to go get it done. “This was an incredible game today. I am a little bit lost for words. We played outstanding team baseball today. We did have a couple of hiccups and glitches as well. We missed a couple of signs that could have scored some runs. I am excited that we get to move forward,” Driskell said. “Jeffries is coachable and has been a consummate professional at the plate. He is a kid that has not shrunk in the moment.” Driskell added, “Keller did a great job as well. He told me before the game that he had four solid innings for us and that is what he ended up delivering. I am proud of Cole’s effort and what this team has accomplished.” Grain Valley (26-8) will next travel to US Baseball Park in Ozark for their matchup against Rockwood Summit (1714) on June 4th at 11:00 am.