See ya later, seniors!

A fond farewell to a great group of seniors!
It was quite the exciting finish to the home portion of the wrestling season—at least for three grapplers! The Pleasant Hill Rooster wrestling team held its Senior Night and Matwarming on Thursday, Jan. 28. Sadly, a short-handed Odessa team (due to illness and other factors) couldn’t field many wrestlers so only three seniors were able to grapple. Pictured above are: (top photo row, left to right, seniors who competed, with parents in inserts): Tyler Brittingham, Cameron Dorman and Andrew Watson; (middle row, seniors without opponents) James Fields, Kolton Ross and Devin Snow; and (bottom row, senior injured reserve (IR)/cheerleader) Jessica Darby and Colin King, IR; and Katie Graham, cheerleader. The regular season ended on Tuesday at Excelsior Springs, with the District Tournament set for February 12-13 in Monett.

(Times photos by Kerry Warman)

PHHS wrestlers topple Wildcats,
      short-handed Bulldogs last week

By KERRY WARMAN Times Sports Editor

Let’s call this a completely different way to make history in wrestling that didn’t take place on the mats!
  A senior member of the Pleasant Hill High School Rooster wrestling team was crowned the 2010 Matwarming Queen prior to the regularseason home finale on Thursday, Jan. 28.
  Jessica Darby, a member of the wrestling team who was unable to compete due to an injury, received her crown before the Rooster-Odessa Bulldogmatch- up. Although she is not the first female to wrestle for Pleasant Hill, she is the first wrestler to be crowned the queen!
  This was also the night that the 2009-10 Rooster wrestlers and cheerleader, along with their families, were honored for the devotion and dedication to the school, team and sport.
  Honored were wrestlers Darby, Tyler Brittingham, Cameron Dorman, James Fields, Kolton Ross, Devin Snow, Andrew Watson, and cheerleader Katie Graham (another Matwarming Queen candidate).
  And what a night it was for the Purple Pride grapplers as they dominated theirMissouri RiverValley Conference-West Division rival Bulldogs, winning the meet 66-3.
  In other action last week: 45-21 win at Harrisonville against MRVC-West foe Wildcats on Tuesday, Jan. 26; and solid showing in the Odessa Invitational Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 30 (no teamscores were kept). There, Snow and Ross placed first in their respective weight classes
  Full story is in the paper.

Roosters win consolation at Grain Valley

By KERRY WARMAN Times Sports Editor

Last week our Purple Pride boy cagers once again proved that they can play with the best of the best and fight to the end for wins!
  The Pleasant Hill High School Rooster basketball team captured the Consolation Trophy at the annual Grain Valley Sonic Shootout on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 30. In the title contest, the 2nd-seeded Winnetonka Griffins upset the 4th-seeded Falcons Staley for the crown.
  In an event that saw several upsets, the 5th-seeded Roosters went 2-1 in the event: tough 63-52 opening-round loss to Staley on Tuesday, Jan. 26; nail-biting 57-55 overtime victory over 8thseeded Oak Grove Panthers; and hard-fought 44-41 win over 3rd-seeded Odessa Bulldogs for the trophy.
  The other results from the tournament were: Opening Round- top-seeded Lincoln Prep Tigers 65, Oak Grove 28; Winnetonka 70, 7thseeded Grain Valley Eagles 42; 6th-seeded Imagine Renaissance Academy (IRA) Warriors 67, Odessa 65; Second Round- Staley 88, Lincoln Prep 76;Winnetonka 68, IRA 59; Odessa 56, Grain Valley 55; and Final Round- Winnetonka 54, Staley 48 for the championship; and Lincoln Prep 85, IRA56, for 3rdplace.
  Note: This tournament does not play a 7th-place game.
  Rooster Brad Smith was named to the All-Tournament Team.
  In the Staley affair, this is the first time in history the schools would face one another.
  In the first frame, it would be PHHS that broke the ice and controlled the game early on. The Roosters won the opening stanza 14- 10 with solid defense. Then the wheels came off the bus in a hurry. The Falcons exploded on offense in the second frame, lighting up the scoreboard with 27 tallies, while holding the Roosters to nine, thereby taking a huge 37-23 lead at halftime.
  A wind of change blew into the gymnasium in the second half as the teams went back to play nearly-even ball. Each squad hit for 15 in the third quarter, then PHHS edged the fourth 14-11. But it wasn’t nearly enough in the 63-52 loss.
  Full story is in the paper.

Top-seeded Chick basketball squad
      upended in finals by 2-seed O’Hara

By KERRY WARMAN Times Sports Editor

  Once again, it came down to a Clash of the Titans in a tournament title contest— only this time it wasn’t our Titans who ruled the night.
  The Pleasant Hill High School Chick basketball team, top-seeded squad in the 2010 Grain Valley Sonic Shootout last week, won the 2nd-place trophy at the tournament.
  The Purple Pride ladies came up short to a much bigger 2nd-seeded O’Hara Celtic team, 52-36, on Friday night, Jan. 29.
  The results from the tournament were: Opening Round- PHHS 59, 8thseeded Warrensburg Tigers 23; O’Hara 65, 7th-seeded Kansas City Center Yellowjackets 25; 3rd-seeded Grain Valley Eagles 54, 6th-seeded Oak Grove Panthers 36; and 4th-seeded Lincoln Prep Tigers 45, 5th-seeded Odessa Bulldogs 33; Second Round- PHHS 54, Lincoln Prep 45; O’Hara 58, Grain Valley 28; Odessa 46, Warrensburg 18; Oak Grove 48, KC Center 37; and Final Round- O’Hara 52, PHHS 36 in the championship contest; Lincoln Prep 53, Grain Valley 46, for 3rd place; and Oak Grove 34, Odessa 24 in the consolation game.
  Note: This event does not play a 7th-place game. Named to the All-Tournament were Chicks Cara Wesemann and Kindred Wesemann.
  In the Chick affair with Warrensburg, this was another lop-sided contest where the Chicks took control early and never let it slip away.
  Every player was able to get some floor time again, thereby allowing the starters a little extra rest going into the final two rounds.
  PHHS took every quarter— 15-6 in the first, 12-3 in the second, 15-6 again in the third and 17-8 in the fourth— to win the game handily over the Tigers, 59-23.
  Full story is in the paper.