Stories by Tom Rackers

Helias falls to St. Pius X: Kansas City in girls soccer quarterfinals It took a while for the Helias Lady Crusaders to find their footing.By the time they did, time was just about up.The St. Pius X: Kansas City Warriors scored two goals in the opening 10 minutes Saturda... May 28, 2023

Helias’ Gore earns long jump medal in return to state meet Tauny Gore was glad to be back at the state championships.And very happy to finish back on the medals podium.Gore, a Helias senior, capped her high-school track career Friday with a third-place finish... May 27, 2023

Helias girls soccer to take on St. Pius X: Kansas City in Class 2 quarterfinals The St. Pius X: Kansas City Warriors have been atop the Missouri High School Soccer Coaches Association’s Class 2 girls power rankings all season.The Helias Lady Crusaders believe they are more ... May 27, 2023

Helias track and field looks for numbers to add up to trophies They are ready to throw some big numbers at trying to win state honors.A total of 29 athletes from Helias will take part in the Class 4 track and field state championships today and Saturday at Adkins... May 26, 2023

Springfield Catholic gets past Eldon 5-1 in Class 4 baseball sectional ELDON -- The Eldon Mustangs had their chances.But Ben Smith and the Springfield Fightin’ Irish made sure they didn’t capitalize.The Mustangs had 10 baserunners against Smith, a University ... May 24, 2023

Press Box: Jefferson City is the ideal spot for track and field championships There are certain days that get circled on the sports reporting calendar.State championship dates are the among them. With the success of our area teams, we always look for the dates for softball, vol... May 21, 2023

Helias figures to contend for Class 5 team golf title In golf, you drive for show and putt for dough.That saying will get a little tweak in the two-day Class 5 state tournament that starts today at Silo Ridge Golf and Country Club in Bolivar. The drive m... May 15, 2023

Helias baseball cruises past Smith-Cotton in regular-season finale They look ready.The Helias Crusaders closed the baseball regular season on a seven-game winning streak with Thursday’s 10-3 victory against the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Tigers in Central Missouri Ac... May 12, 2023

Jefferson City girls blank Fatima in soccer The Jefferson City Lady Jays accomplished a lot of good things in the soccer regular season.• They've quadrupled their win total from last season, winning 12 times after posting just three vi... May 11, 2023

Helias baseball gets past Rolla 3-1 The Helias Crusaders got enough done at the plate Monday.“Just enough,” Helias coach Chris Wyrick said after the Crusaders defeated the Rolla Bulldogs 3-1 at the American Legion Post 5 Spo... May 9, 2023

Capital City girls soccer allows three first-half goals in loss to Ozark The Capital City Lady Cavaliers weren’t happy with their overall performance Friday night.But they did find some positives in the way they finished.“I’m glad to have ended it by play... May 6, 2023

Helias girls soccer overcomes early deficit to defeat Jefferson City There was no panic.“I have enough confidence in my players that even if we fall behind, we would be able to come back,” Helias coach Jon DeSha said Wednesday night after the Lady Crusaders... May 4, 2023

Pardalos scores five goals as Capital City blanks Owensville 8-0 It figured to be a bit of a mismatch.It was.Gia Pardalos scored five goals Monday, the last coming with 25:26 remaining in the second half to end it, as the Capital City Lady Cavaliers defeated the Ow... May 2, 2023

Jefferson City blanks Republic to finish 2-0 in Shootout The first quality scoring chance caromed off the post. The second, the same.The third time was the charm for the Jefferson City Lady Jays.“It’s a game of inches, one inch here, one inch th... April 30, 2023

Capital City ends tough week with loss in Shootout When you look only at the results, it wasn’t the best of weeks for the Capital City Lady Cavaliers.But the Lady Cavaliers are playing the long game after finishing 0-4 in six days against qualit... April 30, 2023

Jefferson City baseball beats Helias for third win in two days The Jefferson City Jays brought some momentum back from Kansas to the Capital City.“We had two gritty wins (Thursday) and I think that carried over to being able to come through when we needed t... April 29, 2023

Press Box: Addition of swimming at Jefferson City, Capital City is a good thing We got the answer a few days ago.It’s been a topic of conversation through the years among the sports staff. What’s the next sports program the big high schools in the area will offer to i... April 23, 2023

Capital City girls soccer posts 2-1 victory against Rock Bridge It was a step toward achieving one of the big goals entering the soccer season for the Capital City Lady Cavaliers.“This was a mountain you have to climb every year if you’re going to be r... April 21, 2023

Helias falls to Rock Bridge in state-ranked baseball contest The Helias Crusaders had five baserunners in the first inning.They had four in the next six.“That’s just not having competitive at-bats,” Helias coach Chris Wyrick said Wednesday nig... April 20, 2023

Jefferson City falls to Hickman 3-1 in girls soccer action It was an early blow that was going to be difficult for the Jefferson City Lady Jays to recover from.The Hickman Kewpies scored less than three minutes into Tuesday night’s game on their way to a 3-1 ... April 19, 2023

Three-run fifth inning propels Helias past Eldon It wasn’t the prettiest game for the Helias Crusaders, except maybe on the scoreboard.“It’s an ugly win, but a win is a win,” Helias coach Chris Wyrick said Monday after the Cr... April 18, 2023

Winegar scores in OT to give Helias 3-2 girls soccer win It could be understood if the Helias Lady Crusaders were getting a little frustrated.The Lady Crusaders were having the better of the play in the second half Wednesday night against the Father Tolton ... April 13, 2023

Helias posts 11-1 victory against Owensville The approach remains the same, no matter the opponent.“Have good at-bats, pump the strike zone, make the routine plays,” Helias coach Chris Wyrick said Tuesday after the Crusaders defeated... April 12, 2023

Bunts propel Troy-Buchanan in win against Fatima in Classic Fatima’s long week of baseball came to an end with some small ball.The Troy-Buchanan Trojans had three bunt singles in the first four batters in the top of the eighth inning Saturday afternoon t... April 9, 2023

Jefferson City girls blank Blair Oaks in soccer WARDSVILLE -- They both got something out of it.The Jefferson City Lady Jays and the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons met for the first time in soccer Friday night at the Falcon Athletic Complex. The Lady Jays... April 8, 2023

Russellville rallies for win against Fatima in Classic This one just means a little more.The Russellville Indians and the Fatima Comets are Show-Me Conference rivals. So not only was Thursday’s game the opener in pool play for the Jays Baseball Classic, t... April 7, 2023

Helias girls soccer shuts out Rolla It was a big step forward for the Helias Lady Crusaders“It was something the girls can build off of,” Helias coach Jon DeSha said after Wednesday night’s 5-0 victory against the Roll... April 6, 2023

Capital City girls soccer beats Jefferson City to remain unbeaten Four goals in the first half, four goals in the second half.Wind at their backs, wind in their faces, it didn’t matter for the Capital City Lady Cavaliers.“We’ve been harping in prac... April 5, 2023

Helias beats Blair Oaks 2-1 on walk-off hit in ninth inning For the longest time, it looked like one run would be enough.Just two batters into Monday’s game, the Blair Oaks Falcons led 1-0 against the Helias Crusaders. That remained the score until Helia... April 4, 2023

Capital City girls soccer blanks Branson It turned out to be worth the wait.After a weather delay of just less than two hours, the Capital City Lady Cavaliers scored three goals in each half Friday in a 6-0 victory against the Branson Lady P... April 1, 2023

Helias scores twice in sixth to get past Fatima WESTPHALIA -- The Helias Crusaders didn’t play their best game.But when they needed it, they put enough together to find a way to win.“The last couple of innings, we shored things up and g... March 31, 2023

Capital City girls soccer defeats Helias after 14 rounds of PKs The 80 minutes of regulation play were not enough to decide a winner.Add in the two 10-minute overtime periods, not enough.The first round of five penalty kicks? Not enough. The next five penalty kick... March 30, 2023

Helias struggles at the plate in loss to Ozark The Helias Crusaders did a little too much watching.“We didn’t have many competitive at-bats for the majority of the game,” Helias coach Chris Wyrick said Tuesday after the Crusaders... March 29, 2023

Four goals in first 10 minutes lead Capital City past Warrenton The start was anything but slow.“One of our biggest problems last year was we weren’t really clicking, high-intensity, focused during warmup,” Capital City coach Travis Cairer said M... March 28, 2023

Press Box: Pressure on Pingeton to win big next year This time last year, a new coaching staff was beginning to settle in at the University of Missouri.Dennis Gates was in the process of hiring his staff and filling out his men’s basketball roster... March 26, 2023

McMillian scores deciding goal, leads Lady Jays soccer to 2-1 win The Jefferson City Lady Jays saw something.Jefferson City was getting ready for a restart near the top of the box midway through the second half of Friday night’s game against the Camdenton Lady Laker... March 25, 2023

Helias soccer drops overtime decision to Quincy Notre Dame The Helias Lady Crusaders got almost everything they wanted out of their soccer season opener.What was missing was a victory.“I couldn’t ask for anything more, except maybe a win,” H... March 23, 2023

Lady Jays soccer finishes strong in 4-0 loss to Tolton It’s another step in the developing process.“There has to be a takeaway from a game like this,” Jefferson City coach Scott Blake said after the Lady Jays fell 4-0 to the Father Tolto... March 22, 2023

Helias girls soccer hosts opener tonight vs. Quincy Notre Dame It’s a new look for the Helias Lady Crusaders soccer team.And it’s going to take some time to adjust.“In fairness to all coaches, everybody has varying ideas and varying styles,&rdqu... March 22, 2023

Helias track and field teams start season with nearly 100 athletes The Helias Crusaders and Lady Crusaders are sprinting forward in track and field.“We have a lot of excitement around the track program,” Helias track coach Phil Pitts said as the Crusaders... March 20, 2023

Helias set to begin baseball season with trip to Florida As always, it’s pitching and defense for the Helias Crusaders.Maybe even more so this year.“It has to be more of both,” Helias baseball coach Chris Wyrick said as the Crusaders prepa... March 19, 2023

Lady Jays soccer breaks in new field with win vs. Mexico The Jefferson City Lady Jays broke in their new soccer facility in style Friday night.Jefferson City scored twice in the opening 20 minutes on its way to a 6-0 victory against the Mexico Lady Bulldogs... March 18, 2023

Capital City girls bring veteran group into soccer season The Capital City Lady Cavaliers don’t return all 11 of their soccer starters this season.But with nine, it’s darned close.“We’re bringing back a lot of talent and we’ve g... March 17, 2023

Jefferson City girls soccer set to host at new on-campus facility A new era in Jefferson City High School soccer will begin tonight.The Jefferson City Lady Jays will play the first match on their new on-campus facility, hosting the Mexico Lady Bulldogs. The varsity ... March 17, 2023

Helias tallies seven runs in baseball Jamboree Seven runs in nine innings was a good start.“That’s decent offense for the first day,” Helias coach Chris Wyrick said after the Crusaders went 2-0-1 in Jamboree action Tuesday at Viv... March 15, 2023

Fatima girls hold off Eldon to win district championship WARDSVILE -- Back on Jan. 17, the Fatima Lady Comets dropped a 51-34 decision to the Owensville Dutchgirls in Westphalia.It was time for the Lady Comets to decide what kind of season it was going to b... March 5, 2023

Father Tolton rallies to beat Fatima in district championship WESTPHALIA -- The ball just stopped going through the basket.“There are things you can control, you can’t control shooting,” Fatima coach Ryan Robertson said Friday night after the C... March 4, 2023

Fatima boys down Fulton to advance to district final WESTPHALIA -- The Fatima Comets set the tone early.Very early.Cooper Kleffner drilled a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game -- one of 11 from deep the Comets would hit Wednesday night -- as ... March 2, 2023

Helias’ Montoya overcomes injury, wins 175-pound state title COLUMBIA -- Logan Montoya heard a pop.During his quarterfinal match Friday morning in the Class 3 state wrestling championships, the Helias junior thought something went wrong in his knee.“I was... February 26, 2023

Kuster places fourth in state at 150 pounds for Jays COLUMBIA -- It was a familiar finish for Joe Kuster.Familiarity isn’t always welcome.The Jefferson City senior finished fourth at 150 pounds in the Class 3 state tournament Saturday afternoon to... February 26, 2023