CAST YOUR VOTE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE. YOU MUST RANK NO. 1 TO NO. 4 WITH NO. 1 BEING YOUR TOP PICK.
Hermitage Boys Cross County
The Hermitage boys cross country team was dominant on its way to a third-consecutive Class 1 championship. Junior Easton Sabala led the way with a third-place finish for the Hornets. He was at the head of four total all-state performers including Bailey Jones (sixth place), Zac Sutt (22nd place) and Jeff Salmon (23rd place). Dillon Meyer finished 27th to round out the Hermitage scoring. The Hornets won the team title with 55 points, 45 ahead of second place.
Mansfield Baseball
Mansfield baseball set a goal at the beginning of the season to win a state title in honor of their late coach Doug Jones. The Lions accomplished that feat by finishing 21-2 and winning the Class 2 state championship. The Lions outscored opponents by 10.6 runs per game from the district semifinals through the state title game. That included a 16-3 win over Canton in the Class 2 state championship game.
Skyline Girls Basketball
2016-17 was a long time coming for Skyline. After four consecutive trips to the Final Four without a state championship, the Lady Tigers finally broke through to win the Class 2 title and finish with a record of 31-2. Skyline rolled through the Final Four by winning the final two games in Mizzou Arena by an average of 25.5 points against teams that had a combined two losses each coming into the their game with the Lady Tigers.
Walnut Grove Boys Basketball
After falling in the Class 1 state championship in 2016, the Walnut Grove Tigers would not be denied in 2017. The Tigers trailed Advance by five points heading into the final quarter before outscoring Hornets 16-8 to win the Class 1 title and finish with a record of 30-3. Walnut Grove also became the most prolific 3-point shooting team in Missouri high-school basketball history. In the championship game, Walnut Grove went 13-for-34 from 3-point land. The 3’s made a the 3’s attempted are both state records.
