Camdenton High School’s Kam Durnin and El Dorado Springs’ Macie Mays were named the Athletes of the Year, and the Ash Grove High School baseball team and Lebanon High School girls wrestling team were the Teams of the Year in the 11th Sports Commission Awards presented by Elliott Lodging.
The awards ceremony celebrated the top athletes and teams across southwest Missouri in the 2022-2023 school year, with nearly 200 student-athletes honored. A crowd of 900 turned out to the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds on Tuesday in Springfield for a event organized by the Springfield Sports Commission and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
Additionally, the ceremony honored seven individuals with Inspiration Awards: Glendale swimmer Margo Price, Camdenton Golfer Rylee Hodges, Lockwood fans Brant and Grant Beerly, Exeter baseball’s Anthony Cowan, Norwood basketball standout Kaytlynn Drake, McDonald County wrestler Samuel Murphy and Licking High School baseballs Kellar Davis.
There were a total of 34 categories. The winners of the final four categories were:
Kam Durnin, Camdenton High School: A three-sport athlete, Durnin was a Second Team All-State selection in Class 5 as a wide receiver. He also played basketball, where he earned All-Ozark Conference as a defensive specialist. In basketball, he was on the All-Ozarks Conference All-Defensive Team after being talked into playing his senior year, helping the team to 14 wins. In baseball, he was All-Ozark Conference in batting .417 with seven home runs, 13 doubles and four triples – his slugging percentage was .825 – and set the school record in several categories.
Macie Mays, El Dorado Springs High School: Mays was the Class 3 Player of the Year in girls basketball this past winter after averaging 25.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in leading El Dorado Springs to a state runner-up finish. She also was a standout in volleyball, earning All-State as a middle hitter, with the past season being her third year as a starter.
Ash Grove High School Baseball Team
The Ash Grove Pirates won the Class 2 state championship and finished 25-0. That marked the first time a Missouri state baseball champion had gone unbeaten since Santa Fe’s 2008 team was 20-0. The Pirates also became the eighth unbeaten baseball champion since 1976. In the postseason, Ash Grove scored wins of 13-0, 10-5, 11-0 and then 13-0 against Salisbury. They were coached by Berrah Brown, who led Ash Grove to its first state title in school history.
Lebanon High School Girls Wrestling Team
For the fourth time in five years, the Lebanon Yellowjackets girls wrestling team won a state championship, this time in Class 2. Jessa Joiner (110 pounds) and Mariyah Brumley (190 pounds) won individual weight classes, and seven others earned medals. Lilliam Cottongim (105) and Halea Bartel (125) placed third, while Taylor Johnson (135) was fourth. Adeline Cottongim (115) and Bailey Joiner (145) were sixth. The team was coached by Matt Neely and scored 134.5 points, or 31.5 more than the runner-up.
SCAs-FALL SPORTS
GIRLS TENNIS
McKylie Cox, Willow Springs High School
BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING
Dakota Windsor, Lebanon High School
GIRLS GOLF
Marlene Edgeman, Marshfield High School
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Abigail Street, Webb City High School
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Tyler Harris, Kickapoo High School
BOYS SOCCER
Corbin Clay, Kickapoo High School
SOFTBALL
Taylor Akers, Kickapoo High School
VOLLEYBALL
Grace O’Reilly, Springfield Catholic High School
FOOTBALL-OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Andrew Link, Kickapoo High School
FOOTBALL-LINEBACKERS & DEFENSIVE BACKS
Luke Gall, Carthage High School
FOOTBALL-OFFENSIVE SKILL POSITIONS
Ramone Green, Jr., Nixa High School
GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING
Chloe Miller, Carl Junction High School
GIRLS WRESTLING – LOWER WEIGHTS
Jessa Joiner, Lebanon High School
GIRLS WRESTLING – UPPER WEIGHTS
Isabella Renfro, Seneca High School
BOYS WRESTLING – LOWER WEIGHTS
Zan Fugitt, Nixa High School
BOYS WRESTLING – UPPER WEIGHTS
Eli Zar, Neosho High School
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Kaemyn Bekemeier, Republic High School
BOYS BASKETBALL
Kael Combs, Nixa High School
BOYS TENNIS
Caden Lingenfelser, Willard High School
BOYS GOLF
Jaxson Bailey, Monett High School
GIRLS SOCCER
Reilly Heman, Glendale High School
GIRLS FIELD EVENTS
Taylor Mayo, Kickapoo High School
GIRLS TRACK
Crystal Smith, Jasper High School
BOYS FIELD EVENTS
Jackson Cantwell, Nixa High School
BOYS TRACK
Angel Dickerson, Camdenton High School
BASEBALL
Ben Smith, Catholic High School
EMERGING SPORTS
Alyssa Willis, Sarcoxie High School (Archery & Target Shooting)
Curtis Fair, Republic High School (Boys Volleyball)
Logan Welch, Bolivar High School (Bass Fishing)
Wilson Mao, Kickapoo High School (E-Sports)
SPIRIT AWARDS
Kickapoo High School Golden Arrow Band
Ozark High School Cheerleading Team
GIRLS PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Kaemyn Bekemeier, Republic High School
BOYS PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Jackson Cantwell, Nixa High school
GIRLS TEAM OF THE YEAR
Lebanon High School Girls Wrestling Team
BOYS TEAM OF THE YEAR
Ash Grove High School Baseball Team
GIRLS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Macie Mays, El Dorado Springs High School
BOYS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Kam Durnin, Camdenton High School