Sports

Boys netters get back into tennis

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Aiden O’Dell and Dantin McBee are back playing tennis again. Following the end of the Excelsior Springs high school boys tennis season, O’Dell and McBee each took a break from the sport, they said.
DANTIN McBEE looks to hit a forehand shot as he and other Excelsior Springs student athletes particiapte in a high school tennis camp. SHAWN RONEY | Staff

ES grads hope to remain teammates

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Metropolitan Community College (MCC)-Maple Woods might have three members of Excelsior Springs’ 2026 Class 4 state championship baseball team on its roster next season. Henry Crowley, Cruz Lloyd and Brody Querry each discussed their plans to play for the Kansas City-based school following the Tigers’ championship rally June 4 in the Excelsior Springs High School gym.
BRODY QUERRY (from left), Henry Crowley and Cruz Lloyd receive their awards from Excelsior Springs’ end-of-season baseball banquet. They’ve discussed playing together in junior college. Look for additional banquet coverage July 3. SHAWN RONEY | Staff

Girls netters prep for fall season at camp

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Ananya Carrel and Olivia Deere got in some more offseason prep work last week for Excelsior Springs’ varsity girls tennis season. Carrel and Deere, who’ll each start their senior year this fall, participated in a high school team camp June 8-12.
OLIVIA DEERE keeps her eyes on the ball while attempting a forehand shot during an Excelsior Springs tennis camp sessions for high schoolers. SHAWN RONEY | Staff

Bedford looks to join juco champs

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Kaelan Bedford finished his high school baseball career at Excelsior Springs as a Class 4 state champion. He’s about to begin his college baseball career with a national champion.

Boys hoopsters get more offseason reps at Lawson, UCM

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New Excelsior Springs varsity boys basketball coach Doug Burnett and his Tigers got out of town for a few days this week. The Tigers were slated to conclude a two-day shootout Thursday at Warrensburg, hosted by the University of Central Missouri (UCM).

The game’s on? Who cares?

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My apathy as a sports fan is growing. A few years ago, after decades of a sometimes passionate, sometimes apathetic, sometimes contemptuous relationship with Major League Baseball, I finally decided I no longer cared about that level of hardball. My apathy is such that I can’t remember the last time I looked for a game to follow.
THANK YOU, Excelsior Springs High School, for making “the beautiful game” feel accessible on the outskirts of the metro area by offering lots of entertaining boys and girls soccer contests at Tiger Stadium. SHAWN RONEY | Staff

B-ball squad begins work with new coach

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Upperclassman Owen O’Dell and his Excelsior Springs varsity boys basketball teammates are spending their offseason getting to know Doug Burnett, their new coach. A graduate of Park Hill South High School, Burnett has held various head and assistant coaching jobs.

TIGERS ARE STATE CHAMPS

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Excelsior Springs has a string of third- and fourthplace finishes at state competition in baseball. Now, the high school has a first-place finish.
EXCELSIOR SPRINGS BASEBALL TEAMMATES Brody Querry (left) and Cooper Collins sport their Class 4 state championship medals after exiting the Tigers’ charter bus. SHAWN RONEY | Staff
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