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(Ash Grove High School/ Southwest Baptist Univer- sity); Honey Scott Pick- ren (Forsyth High School, Moberly Area Community College/Missouri South- ern State University); Katie Pritchard (Waynesville High School/Drury University); a n d Me g h a n Wa g go n e r VanSlyke (Carthage High School /Johnson County Community College/Univer- sity of Central Missouri). The men's Filbert Five are Rand Chappell (Glendale High School/Missouri State University); Dr. Kirt Hartz- ler (Willard High School/ Evangel University); Rick Pickren (Grandview High School/Valparaiso Univer- sity/Eastern New Mexico Un ive rs i ty/Co n t i n e n t a l Basketball Association); Korry Tillery (Parkview High School/Drury Univer- sity/Evangel University); and Sam Pugh (Branson High School/Pittsburg State University). Lopez-Apolinar had an interesting start to her high school career, Factor said. "As a freshman, she was a first-year wrestler and she managed to get better every year," he said. Last year, Lopez-Apolinar won a district match but wound up falling short of a state bid. "She's another one that would be great to sneak into the state tournament," Factor said of Lopez-Apo- linar. "She's provided a lot of leadership. We're excited to see what she does." Aragon had the best fresh- man year of the three return- ers but got off to a slow start as a sophomore and missed some competition, Factor said. This year Aragon appears to have the right mindset and has been a good leader and captain for the girls' team, he said. "(Aragon) definitely has a lot of experience she brings on the girls' side," Factor said. Fa c to r sa i d t h e L ady Mustangs got a move-in from Jay, Okla., in senior Lexie Pickle, who has five years of wrestling experi- ence in Oklahoma. "We're curious to see how she does in the state of Missouri," he said. The Lady Mustangs also have several newcomers, including five freshmen and a couple of sophomores Factor said the Missouri State High School Activi- ties Association instituted a second class for the state girls' championships, which will increase the opportu- nities for girls to qualify for state. "It's a great opportu- nity for us to get our first female state qualifier for this program, and we're trying to make that happen," Factor said. Factor isn't sure if McDon- ald County will be placed in Class 1 or Class 2. "We're going to be right there on the line," he said. 8B McDonald County Press Thursday, December 8, 2022 W i n t e r S p o r t S 1451 Bella Vista Way • Bella Vista, AR • 479-855-3053 www.throgers.com 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. mon - Fri • 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Sat • CloSed Sunday Good Luck to all area teams! C ra n e s a i d t h e L a dy Mustangs are going to have to be defensive-oriented. "That's a big thing for us," he said. "We have the abil- ity to get up and down the floor. We're athletic all the way through and we move well. For us, everything starts on the defensive end. We've got to become a good team defensively. If we do, good things will happen in the future." Crane said one challenge for a young team could be the pace of the game. "The pace of the game is going to give us some issues," he said. "And some- times, flat-out experience. For some of these freshman and sophomores, things that used to work in JV and junior high levels just don't work in high school. Every- thing is faster." C ra n e s a i d t h e L a dy Mustangs are trying to bring them along the right way and not take any shortcuts. "We're playing the long game," he said. "Obviously, we want to win now, but we want to develop the right culture. The future is very bright. We've just got to get there." T h e L a d y M u s t a n g s opened the season with a 46-30 win against Spring- field Hillcrest on Nov. 18, led by 13 points from Clarkson. M c D o n a l d C o u n t y suffered its first loss, 54-27, against Nevada in the open- ing round of the CJ Classic in Carl Junction on Nov. 28. Elwood had 10 points and Cooper nine in the loss to Nevada. T h e L a d y M u s t a n g s b o u n c e d b a c k t o b e a t Seneca, 51-38, the next night on Nov. 29. Clarkson had 16 points and Martin 14 in the win over Seneca. On Thursday, Dec. 1, McDon- ald County lost, 45-35, to Neosho. Cooper led the Lady Mustangs with 11 points. McDonald County was back in action on Dec. 6 against Webb City. The Lady Mustangs will host Monett on Thursday, Dec. 8, before hosting the Lady Mustang Classic on Dec. 12-14. Teams participating along with McDonald County are Farmington, Webb City, Carl Junction and Arkansas teams Bentonville West, Springdale, Southside and Gentry. McDonald County will play Southside at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. McDonalD county Girls BasketBall DATE OPPONENT LEVEL TIME/ RESULT Nov. 18 Springfield Hillcrest 9/JV/V W, 46-30 Nov. 28 vs. Nevada+ V L, 54-27 Nov. 29 vs. Seneca+ V W, 51-38 Dec. 1 vs. Neosho+ V L, 46-35 Dec. 6 Webb City 9/JV/V 4:30 p.m. Dec. 8 Monett* JV/V 6 p.m. Dec. 10 at Cassville JV Tourn. JV TBA Dec. 12-14 Lady Mustang Classic V TBA Dec. 16 at Carl Junction 9/JV 5 p.m. Jan. 2 Carl Junction 9/JV/V 4:30 p.m. Jan. 6 at Adrian JV/V 5:30 p.m. Jan. 7 at Archie JV/V 5:30 p.m. Jan. 10 Reeds Spring JV/V 6 p.m. Jan. 12 at East Newton* JV/V 6 p.m. Jan. 13 Seneca* 9/JV/V 5 p.m. Jan. 17 at Carthage 9/JV/V 4:30 p.m. Jan. 19 Carl Junction 9/JV 5 p.m. Jan. 24 at Cassville* JV/V 6 p.m. Jan. 26 at Neosho 9/JV/V 4:30 p.m. Jan. 31-Feb. 4 Seneca Girls Inv. JV/V TBA Feb. 7 Lamar* JV/V 5 p.m. Feb. 10 at Nevada* JV/V 4:30 p.m. Feb. 13 Marshfield JV/V 6 p.m. Feb. 16 Mount Vernon JV/V 6 p.m. Feb. 21 Joplin 9/JV/V 5 p.m. Feb. 25-March 4 District Tourn. TBA * Big 8 West Conference + CJ Classic, Carl Junction McDonalD county Girls BasketBall roster NUMBER NAME GRADE HEIGHT POSITION 1 Lorena Ledezma 9 5-2 G 2 Anna Clarkson 11 5-7 G 3 Layla Wallian 9 5-9 G 4 Corina Holland 11 5-5 G 5 Tatym Trudeau 9 5-8 G 10 Anissa Ramirez 10 5-6 G 11 Katelynn Townsend 11 5-4 G 12 Megan Elwood 12 5-7 F 13 Carlee Cooper 11 5-5 G 15 Carlie Martin 9 5-9 G 22 Natalie Gillming 11 5-6 G 23 Jamie Washam 9 5-10 F 25 Lexie Abbott 12 5-9 F 30 Rylee Anderson 10 5-10 F 34 Carla Andrew 9 5-3 F 40 Gia Coffell 9 6-0 F 41 Analisa Ramirez 12 5-8 F 43 Jacie Frencken 11 5-7 F 45 Roslynn Huston 10 5-11 F CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2B GIRLS BASKETBALL: Team Opened Season With Win Against Springfield Hillcrest BENNETT HORNE/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Junior Anna Clarkson drives around a Springfield Hillcrest defender during a game in Anderson on Nov. 18. As is the case with just a b o ut eve r y s p o r t , t h e competition in the Big 8 Conference should once again be a dogf ight this basketball season. "Our conference is always tough and all the teams are always well coached," said Joines. "Nevada's always going to put together a competitive team. Lamar's going to be competitive because that will flow from their football success. East Newton's always a physical defensive team. Then you add in Monett and their scrappiness and Seneca continues to gain experi- ence with their kids … you just never know. Everybody's well coached and they all have their own strengths. You always have to be ready on a nightly basis." And while he said the conference "can be a chal- lenge," he also pointed out it can "help to prepare us for later." The Mustangs hosted Springf ield Hillcrest on Tuesday and will play at the Battle of the Ridge in Pea Ridge on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week. The Mustangs play at Willard on Dec. 13 before hosting the Mustang Classic on Dec. 15-17. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2B BOYS BASKETBALL: Tough Conference Schedule Expected For Mustangs Team SAVE A LIFE www.cbco.org NWA NEWSPAPERS LLC IS A PROUD SPONSOR OF COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER. BENNETT HORNE/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Kim Torres of McDonald County (top) gets the upper hand against a Rogers Heritage wrestler during a match on Nov. 29 in Anderson. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7B GIRLS WRESTLING: Several Newcomers Prepare To Hit The Mat For Lady Mustangs CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3B HALL OF FAME: Chappell, Hartzler, Pickren, Tillery, Pugh Comprise Men's Filbert Five