Choir Hits High Notes with Invitation to State

Kearney High School's vocal jazz ensemble, Frequency, has garnered a coveted invitation to perform at the 87th Annual Missouri Music Educators Association (MMEA) Conference.

Selection for the MMEA's annual conference is the vocal music equivalent of winning a state title, according to choir Director Dustin McKinney. The conference will be held Jan. 28-Feb. 1 at the Tan-Tar-A Conference Center.

"It's the highest honor a music ensemble can receive in the state of Missouri," Mr. McKinney said. "It's such a huge honor and it's a testament to the hard work of students and quality K-12 music education in Kearney School District."

The audition process includes submitting recordings of the ensemble to be blindly adjudicated by an out-of-state panel of music professionals. This is the first time since 2019 and the fifth time ever that an ensemble from the KHS choir program has been invited to perform at the conference. The KHS band has been invited three times.

The following Frequency choir members will be performing at the conference:

Soprano 1

• Libby Carpenter

• Irene Dixon

• Emi Eberhardt

Soprano 2/Alto 1

• Delayne Boyd

• Jaelyn Deen

• Adi Ford

Alto

• Lilly Chandler

• Ella Conway

• Jules Ford

• Kaycie Springer

Tenor

• Tyler Edie

• Ronin Roddy

• Nate West

Baritone/Bass

• Aedan Creedan

• Connor Green

• Logan West

Pit

• Colton Walker

• Jackson Watts

• Evan Sandoval

In addition, several Class of 2024 KHS seniors sang on the recordings used for the school's submissions:

• Tyler Armstrong

• Ryan Bowles

• Preston Murphy

• Noah Plummer

• Arriana Sypniewski

• Ivy Taylor

• Camilla Womack

• Alix Wooten

Ray Weikal contributed to this story.

Track & Field Girls Medal at State

The Kearney High School Girls Track & Field team medaled in two events at the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s 2024 Class 4 championship meet on May 24-25.

The girls’ portion of the Class 4 state meet was exceptionally competitive this year with the addition of a few schools that dropped down from Class 5, according to Head Coach Geoff Hutton. The Bulldogs stepped up and had personal and season bests during the event.

“I was exceptionally proud of the ladies that competed in this tough meet and came away with some great performances,” Coach Hutton said. “The meet is always a great learning environment and hopefully the younger ladies will return looking to improve their standings.”

All-State Results:

Anna Williams – Pole Vault (8th Place)

Liela Murphy, Olivia Brock, Jordin Vaughn and Caitlyn Wood – 4x800m Relay (8th Place)

Other Results:

Lily McAuliffe – 200m (12th Place)

Maya Sosoatu – Discus (13th Place)

Josie Masters, Murphy, Wood, Vaughn – 4x400m Relay (11th Place) 

Heidi Adams – 3200m (14th Place)

C. Wood – 800m (13th Place)

J Vaughn – 800m (16th Place)

Ray Weikal contributed to this story.

Bulldog Baseball Finishes Third in State

The Bulldog baseball team traveled to Ozark, MO, last weekend to compete for the Class 5 Title. The team brought home the third place trophy when they shutout Ft. Zumwalt South on Saturday by a score of 1-0.

Bryce Page - Photo by David Haggart

Senior pitcher Bryce Page pitched 6-2/3 innings for the Bulldogs and shut out Ft. Zumwalt South, a team that has averaged eight hits per game this season. Page managed the zone the way that he wanted to. He was moving the ball in and out and he commanded the inside of the zone throughout the game. Page gave up five hits, no runs, no errors, four walks, and five strikeouts.

Carter Cox for Zumwalt went 4-2/3 and gave up five hits, the one hit by Carson Sheer to drive in Kearney's only run, five walks and five strikeouts.

The top of the Bulldogs’ batting order did the damage against Zumwalt. Chase Porter was 2 for 3 with some nice hits and Manny Linthacum continued to be hot as he was 3 for 4 with some nicely executed late count hits. Carson Sheer hit a ball over the shortstops head and got our lone RBI of the game, ultimately clinching the win for Kearney.

Manny Linthacum came in to pitch on relief for Page in the last inning and had a single hit off of him. Zumwalt’s Nathan Mehrhoff ran from second base around third but became trapped in a pickle between third and home. Mehrhoff was finally tagged by catcher Jack Helberg and that ended the game for a Bulldog win.

Helberg tags Mehrhoff at third - Photo by David Haggart

The Bulldogs claimed the third place trophy and broke the Kearney record of number of wins in a season with 30 victories.

Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Track & Field Boys Earn Silver at State

The Kearney High School Boys Track & Field team garnered second-place honors at the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s Class 4 2024 championships, which were held on May 24-25 in Jefferson City.

This was the boys’ team’s sixth-straight state Track & Field trophy in eight years. The Bulldogs have finished in the top three for four years in a row.

“I could not be more proud of our efforts from this weekend,” Head Coach Scott Crall said. “We broke school records, had personal bests, tied state records, and competed at the highest levels.”

Coach Crall credited his student-athletes and veteran coaching staff for pulling together another outstanding season.

“I could not be more pleased with our senior leadership and I personally thank them for their commitment to our tradition and program,” Crall said. “I want to send out a personal thank you to our assistant coaches; without them, this is not possible! We have been able to stay together for years now and, in my opinion, they are the best in the business!”

State Champions and All-State Athletes:

- Theo Grace – Javelin (Tied the Class 4 javelin record and won the State Championship)

- Ty Smith – Discus (State Champion)

- Ty Smith – Shot Put (2nd Place and set the KHS record)

- Brock Colhour – 400m (Placed 5th and was a 4-year All-State athlete)

- Grant Noland – 300m Hurdles (Placed 5th)

- Harvey Sayon – High Jump (Placed 6th)

- 4x200m Relay – Cole Burnam, Brock Colhour, Deegan Knowles, and Grant Noland (Placed 4th and broke the KHS record)

- 4×400 Relay – Brock Colhour, Sam Way, Jacob Burkemper, and Grant Noland (Placed 3rd and broke the KHS record)

Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Kearney Musicians Hit Right Notes at State

The Kearney High School band and choir sent several musicians to state contests this spring. Many students came back with Gold ratings.

Choir

The Kearney High School Choir excelled during the MSHSAA State Solo and Small Ensemble Contest held on April 25. The vocal music students performed admirably on the day with seven competing events. Of those events, five of them received Gold Ratings while the other two received Silver Ratings.

Gold

Kate Martens, Lia Wilson, Archer Schmidt, Arianna Sypniewski, Ryan Bowles, Connor Green, Logan West, Delayne Boyd – Mixed Double Quartet

Ryan Bowles – Vocal Solo

Emi Eberhardt – Vocal Solo

Logan West – Vocal Solo

Connor Green – Vocal Solo

Silver

Aiden Vasquez (JH) – Vocal Solo

Arianna Sypniewski – Vocal Solo

Band

Kearney High School Band students gave some equally great performances at the MSHSAA State Solo/Ensemble Festival. The band took 13 qualifying students to this event. Seven earned Gold, five Silver, and one Bronze.

Gold Performances included:

Avery Morgan

Kieran Cooper

Hailey Robertson

Phoebe Taylor

Emma Daniel

Alex Kinstler

Andie George

Brian Watts contributed to this story.