By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
You know them as the state champions, the final four contenders, the district titleholders. But the Mountain Grove Panthers will be completely reloading from their previous five years of dominant championship play, returning only one player who saw considerable floor time last season. But with over 20 years of coaching and 400 wins under his belt, head coach Duane Hiler is no stranger to rebuilding.
The Panthers were the Class 3, District 2 champions in 2018-19 and ended their season in the first round of the Class 3 state tournament with a 15-13 record. Six graduates will now be noticeably absent: Dawson Hiler, Bryce Lauderdale, Gaven Vaughn, John Felker, Noah McCallister and Dylan Massey, who is playing basketball at College of the Ozarks.
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Senior Rhett Wakefield is the lone returning player. He is joined by classmate Cason Lee (6’9”) and juniors Gaven Charlton and Cory Gittings. Sophomores Bryce Stenzel, Brock Penner, Nick Archer, and Jase Dowden will be new faces on the court, as well as freshmen Holland Glenn, Tyson Elliott, Brody McNew, Drew Vaughn, and Kyler Penner.
“Any of about 15 kids could start or play considerable minutes and they range from freshmen to seniors,” said Coach Hiler. “The SCA will be very competitive from top to bottom. We hope to be competitive.”
The Panthers open their season Nov. 26 at Springfield Catholic.
