Sports

The wrestling accolades continue to grow for Excelsior Springs alum Damon Ashworth. The University of Central Missouri redshirt sophomore recently completed an All-American season with a fifthplace finish in the 184-pound division at NCAA Division II national competition.

Excelsior Springs fell slightly short of a varsity boys golf tournament title last week, in part, because of its short game, Tigers coach David Stalder suggested. Led by senior Jacob Schmidt, who shot a 74 (+4) for his 18-hole, par-70 round, Excelsior Springs placed second March 20 at Hodge Park Golf Course in the Winnetonka Tournament with a combined score of 242 – three strokes behind tournament champion Kearney.

Excelsior Springs broke even for its first week of varsity girls soccer. The Tigers hit the road twice to open the season, falling 2-1 March 19 at Faucett to Mid-Buchanan, then cruising past Raytown 6-0 March 21.

Excelsior Springs tested itself against several larger schools last week in varsity track and field. On March 22, the Excelsior Springs boys and girls teams competed at the Ron Ives Invitational.

Jaylenn Hudlemeyer is mapping out her post-graduation plans. The Excelsior Springs senior has committed to wrestling for Missouri Valley College.

This week’s home tournament might be the spark that powers veteran Excelsior Springs varsity baseball coach Aaron Holst and his Tigers to match or top last season’s third-place finish in the Class 4 state tournament.

Excelsior Springs track coach Jonah Albertson has found reasons to be optimistic about the varsity boys and girls seasons, based on what he has seen during the preseason. One reason is the turnout.

The Tigers are back on the links. Excelsior Springs opened its varsity boys golf season March 15 with the Oak Grove Tournament at Adams Pointe Golf Club in Blue Springs.

A new coaching era is underway with the Excelsior Springs varsity girls soccer program. Led by Brett McKenzie, who also serves as assistant coach for the boys program, the girls opened Monday with a road loss to Mid-Buchanan.

For the past three seasons, the Excelsior Springs varsity tennis team has relied on a familiar roster. That changes this spring.