Area talent named to Ozark 7 all-conference teams
Mar. 17—Thanks to a tie in the voting on the girls side, there were three players of the year in the Ozark 7 Conference for the 2022-23 basketball season.
Josh Reeves of Golden City earned the top honor for the boys.
College Heights' Libby Fanning and Golden City's Kyndall Scott picked up co-player of the year awards for the girls.
Reeves led the Eagles to an 18-11 record and a runner-up finish in Class 1 District 7 with 26.4 points per game in his senior season. The do-it-all guard also pulled down 8.7 rebounds a contest and collected four assists — both leading the team.
Scott led Golden City to a state-tournament berth and a 24-6 record with 19.6 ppg while adding 4.8 apg and 4.5 steals a contest — all of which led the team. The senior was tied for second in rebounding with 149 boards, for an average of 5.1.
Fanning and the Cougars (17-12) won the Class 2 District 12 championship and reached the state tournament behind her 15.9 ppg and 12.3 rpg, which led the team. The sophomore did most of her work on the interior and tallied 22 double-doubles this year while also shooting 45%.
College Heights Christian School boys head coach Eric Johnson was named coach of the year.
Golden City's Jeremy Scott earned the award on the girls side.
1ST-TEAM BOYS
First-team all-conference selections inside the Ozark 7 for the boys were unanimous all the way around.
Those selections were from three different schools.
College Heights: senior Curtis Davenport; junior Caleb Quade.
Thomas Jefferson: seniors Jay Ball and Tyler Brouhard.
Verona: junior Jacob Stellwagen.
Davenport, Quade and the Cougars finished 23-6 and were second in Class 2 District 12 after falling in the championship game to Marionville.
Ball, Brouhard and the Cavaliers took the Class 1 District 7 championship and finished with a 21-7 record after losing to St. Elizabeth in the state quarterfinals.
1ST-TEAM GIRLS
One player each from five different squads picked up first-team selections for the girls Ozark 7 all-conference unit.
College Heights: senior Jayli Johnson.
Golden City: sophomore Teagan Warner.
McAuley Catholic: junior Kloee Williamson.
Thomas Jefferson: junior Gabbi Hiebert.
Wheaton: senior Allison Whitman.
2ND-TEAM BOYS
Thomas Jefferson: senior Levi Triplett.
Golden City: senior Ty Force.
McAuley Catholic: senior Noah Black.
Others nominated were Nathan Tackett (junior from Exeter) and Michael Hang (junior from Wheaton).
2ND-TEAM GIRLS
Golden City: junior Kylee Scott.
McAuley Catholic: senior Lily Black.
Thomas Jefferson: sophomore Lannah Grigg.
Verona: freshman Jaicee Carrasquillo.
Wheaton: freshman Raelynn Buckhannan.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
The following players earned honorable mention nominations for their performances this season.
College Heights girls: junior Maddy Colin and sophomore Ava Lett.
Golden City girls: senior Maggie Reed and sophomore Elizabeth Renfro; boys: freshman Spencer Parrill.
McAuley Catholic girls: junior Kendall Ramsey; boys: junior Rocco Bazzano-Joseph.
Verona girls: junior America Castillo; boys: sophomore Jessy Gamel and junior Andrew Martinez.
Wheaton girls: freshman Jayci Park; boys: junior Blake Morgan.
Exeter boys: junior Zachary Lee.
