The end of a conference has come

Thursday afternoon was surely a different moment at Roy B. Shaver Stadium and it had nothing to do with Neosho and Carthage actually playing the game.

For those who recall, the Wildcats rallied for a 13-9 victory backed by a three-home run attack by Kyle Dickens.

It also marked the final baseball game at home for Neosho as a member of the Southwest Conference and, perhaps even more special, it marked the last Southwest Conference game ever held at Neosho.

There was no wrecking ball to take down the Southwest Conference wheel located on the press box with the four other teams that made up the league. There wasn’t even much mention made of it or any special ceremonies.

After 25 years as a member of the SWC, the Neosho athletic scene now gets ready for the move to the Central Ozark Conference starting next year.

The only conference game remaining is a baseball game at McDonald County Monday. After that, the SWC is over for Neosho.

Over the course of the year, you could see some slight changes for Neosho. For one, the banners that hung high in the gymnasium with the names of Webb City, Nevada, Carthage and McDonald County were missing this year.

The Neosho girls’ track team wrapped up the Southwest Conference championship and will be the last sport at Neosho to put up a sign that read ‘2008 Conference Champs’  in the gymnasium.

The tennis team and golf team each finished second, while the soccer team didn’t have a conference title to chase.

Next year it will be interesting to see how the COC shakes out in the various sports.

Crowder Congrats

Things have been going well for the two spring sports at Crowder College.

The Lady Roughriders softball team was ranked No. 7 in the most recent poll and wrapped up its 49th victory of the season Friday. That is quite an accomplishment. Currently, the team is the No. 1 seed in the Region XVI Tournament. The  Lady Roughriders play for a second straight regional title today at noon.

The Crowder baseball team enters the upcoming Region XVI Tournament at Mineral Area Junior College as the No. 1 seed in the eight-team field.

The Roughriders finished 19-9 in regional play to lock up the No. 1 seed.

It is the first time since 2005 that the team is the No. 1 seed.

“We battled a lot of injury, little knick-knack injuries,” said Crowder coach Travis Lallemand. “And with guys having been out, someone has stepped up and fill the voids. We are playing some better baseball down the stretch and that is what you look for.”

This and That

n The 2008 Missouri Basketball All-Star Game in Springfield released its roster of over 60 players from across the state and some names will be familiar to local fans. The game is broken down with a Class 1-2-3 combined all-star game and a Class 4-5 combined all-star game. The Class 4-5 Girls roster features Ozark’s Courtney Gimlin and Marshfield’s Lacey Bosche, both who played against Neosho this year. The Class 4-5 Boys roster features Milton Garner from Kansas City Ruskin, a repeated selection on the Neosho Holiday Tournament team. There is also Drew Hanlen of Webster Groves, Dusty Allen of Kickapoo, Zach Redel of Webster Groves, Kyle Vaughan of Kickapoo and Landon Zerkel of Webb City on the roster.

n Republic boys’ basketball coach Denny McHenry has resigned and will teach at Logan-Rogersville next year and assist on the boys’ team.

n Former Mount Vernon basketball star Tomas Brock has committed to play for Southwest Baptist University.

n Former LSU and Missouri Southern running back Alley Broussard told KZYM’s Dave Barr is leaning toward signing with the New Orleans Saints. His name, however, has shown up in the transaction wire.

n Congrats to Marionville’s baseball team, which is the No. 3 seed in the upcoming tournament in Forsyth. Why Marionville? Well, they are coached by my friend Bill Mulholland, a former Neosho High School and Crowder College baseball player. After his playing career at Evangel wrapped up, Bill was hired by the Comets.

n Finally, I’d like to bid congratulations to an old friend, Phil Lewis. Lewis, currently the baseball coach and athletic director at Sarcoxie, was hired as the school’s principal. However, he will have to give up his coaching duties to handle the new job.

If you would like to contact Cody, E-mail him at sports@neoshodailynews.com