SportsSportsB Submit sports news: Contact sports writer Andy Meyer

at andymeyer@npgco.com.W e d n e s d ayJan. 25, 2012

Lamb excels at all-star gameSenior receiver

scores opening TD in NFL stadium

By Andy Meyer

The fact that Tyler Lamb found his way into the end zone was nothing new. After all, he’s been doing that frequently the past couple years.

But this time, it was dur-ing a national all-star game.

Lamb, a Smithville senior,

took to the gridiron one last time as a high school Jan. 14 during the Blue-Grey All-Star Classic in Tampa, Fla., and he certainly made the most of his unique expe-rience. The all-state standout scored the first touchdown of the game, showed his skill in the kicking game and capped off his days on the gridiron in memorable fashion.

“It was really exciting and fun just to be down there with kids all around the nation,” Lamb said. “It was really exciting.”

The journey was especial-ly rewarding considering the way things ended for him this past season.

Lamb had to sit out Smith-ville’s final game of the reg-ular season with a broken finger, only able to watch during the Warriors’ Week 10 loss. The all-star game gave him another shot to finish strong, however.

He was selected for the game after competing well at a series of combines around the Midwest and was among several area standouts select-ed for the contest. After a

couple days of practice, we found himself competing for the South squad as a wide receiver and kicker in Ray-mond James Stadium — the home of the Tampa Bay Buc-caneers.

“Not being able to play my last game in high school was bad, but that game kind of helped me out a little bit,” Lamb said. “It was defi-nitely good to be back on the field and get back into the rhythm of things.”

It didn’t take him long to

Football: blue-Grey ClassiC

Contributed Photo

smithville senior receiver tyler lamb leaps for a catch during the blue-Grey all-star Classic in tampa, Fla., on Jan. 14.u See Lamb Page B8

Backups step up to challenge during tough tourney

Gold standardWrestlinG: MeC ChaMpionships

Matt reid/St. Joseph News-Press

smithville junior Matt ray takes down Cameron’s Mitch Colson during the MeC Championships.

Freshmen guards rise to the task with

starters missing

By Andy Meyer

Missing two starters for the entirety of the toughest tour-nament of the year wasn’t ideal for Smithville’s girls.

But the Warriors still found some positives last week during the Truman Tourna-ment, where the squad fin-ished 1-2 and competed hard

in all three games despite the absence of Paige Imhoff and Kristen Stewart.

Several bench players, including freshmen Kyli Nelson and Kelsey Mothers-head, came on strong dur-ing the three-game stretch and started showed plenty of potential to be solid contrib-utors during the final weeks of the regular season.

Smithville junior Maddie Nelson said she was glad to see the rest of her teammates respond so well and play tough in the face of some of those challenges.

“I think that whenever with had Paige and them missing and we have these players doing well, when they come back, that makes us even bet-ter,” Maddie Nelson said.

Both Imhoff and Stewart suffered knee injuries in the days leading up to the Tru-man Tournament and are expected to return to the floor soon. But their absenc-es left some significant holes in the lineup, considering the duo was averaging 14 points and 12 rebounds a game between them.

That meant junior Abby

Waters had to play a more prominent role in the post and that Kyli Nelson and Mothershead had to play event more minutes than they previous had been.

The tourney started out on some sour notes for the Warriors (14-4), as the team dropped its two opening games against Truman, the eventual runner-up, and St. Teresa’s. Against the Stars, Smithville had a late, five-point lead that slipped away in a 40-39 loss.

For a team fresh off of an 11-game win streak,

Smithville coach Trevor Mosby was frustrated to drop back-to-back games for the first time all season.

“I pointed out several things that we didn’t do very well, but you couldn’t put it on any one thing,” Mosby said after the St. Teresa’s game. “It was a lot of mis-takes that cost us.”

But he was more than pleased with the response he saw Saturday, Jan. 21, against Southwest in the seventh-place matchup.

Girls basketball: truMan tournaMent reCap

ANDY MEYERE-MAIL: andymeyer@npgco.com

PHONE: 532-4444

Victory is sweet for

MiddletonFive years ago, Tay-

lor Middleton made a promise to himself, to

his entire wrestling program.By the time his first

five years were up, the Smithville coach swore he’d deliver a Midland Empire Conference championship — or else.

“I said if I didn’t do it by year five, then I’d bet-ter quit,” Middleton said. “That’s what I told them when I interviewed.”

It’s been a strange journey to get there, but Middleton was as pleased as anyone involved with the Smithville wrestling program after the Warriors wrapped up their first MEC crown since 1995. And he should know how much it means.

He was there when it last happened.

Middleton was a sopho-more when the Warriors last stood atop the confer-ence standings in 1995,

Warriors win 1st

team title since ’95

By Andy Meyer

For the first time in a gen-eration, Smithville’s wres-tling team stands alone as the Midland Empire Confer-ence champions.

The Warriors claimed the conference title at the MEC Championships for the first time in 17 years on Saturday, Jan. 21, thanks to a com-plete team effort that left the squad with 11 individu-al medalists. In the process, Smithville knocked off two-time defending conference champ Cameron and won its first crown since 1995.

“We’re excited,” Smithville coach Taylor Middleton said. “It was a goal that these guys set as soon as they started working out this year, and we accomplished that goal.

“… It was a really good day. The kids wrestled hard today, and it was well-deserved.”

Matt Ray was the team’s only individual champion, though seven other team members finished second in their respective weight class-es, a long list that included Brody Lamb, Dalton Tipton,

n The Warriors took part in the truman tournament without two starters — Paige Imhoff and Kristen Stewart (knee injuries).

n A number of underclassmen filled in and played well in those roles, including freshmen Kyli Nelson and Kelsey Mothershead, who helped Smithville get back on track with a seventh-place finish at the challenging, week-long event.

s u p er s u b s

u See GirLS Page B2

u See mEC Page B3 u See mEyEr Page B3

boys basketball team all set to defend Cameron tournament title, paGe b2.InsIde: