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RHS baseball heads list of top 2012 stories

By Russ Green-Sports Editor

Here are the top local sports stories from 2012.

1. Richmond Spartan baseball team claims first MRVC East and District championships. Coach Brandon Quick’s Spartans easily had one of the best RHS baseball seasons ever during the spring of 2012. The Spartans rolled through the league with a 9-1 record to claim their first conference championship. Richmond clinched the crown with a 1-0 win over Holden with seniors Trent Dial and Kyle Carroll teaming up to blank the Eagles. Nathan Sickle’s RBI-single in the top of the first provided the only run Richmond would need.

After defeating defending district champion Excelsior Springs 5-2 in the semifinals, the Spartans captured their first-ever district title by disposing of long-time nemesis St. Pius X in the District 15 finals, 4-3 at Chrysler Stadium in Independence. The Warriors had defeated Richmond in the district tournament the past two springs. Sickle drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh inning to bring home Reid Summers with the winning run after Richmond battled back from a 3-1 deficit in the bottom of the fifth. Carroll’s 2-run home run in the fifth tied the game. Jimmy Hamm earned the win in relief of Carroll by inducing a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play on his first pitch to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the seventh.

 2. Young Lady Spartan golfers learn fast. The Lady Spartan golf team, made up of one senior (Zoe Harper), a sophomore (Breann Mathis) and three freshmen (Makenzi Turley, Maddy Zeller and Rebecca Westbrook) earned its way to the state golf tournament by placing second at the Class 1 Sectional meet held on a cold, windy day in Maryville.

3. Cody Gorham wraps up outstanding running career at RHS. Senior Cody Gorham, who owns most of Richmond’s long-distance running records, went out with some flair at the Class 3 State Track Meet in Jefferson City. Gorham, who was also a three-time state qualifier for the Richmond cross country team, became a four-time state qualifier for the Spartan track team in the spring.

 4. RHS claims two individual district champions in tennis.It was a good year for the Spartans’ and Lady Spartans’ No. 1 singles players. Senior Edoardo Brioschi helped lead the Spartans to a runner-up finish in the MRVC East race and a second-place district finish. Brioschi capped the season by winning the Class 1, District 13 tournament. Sophomore Bailey Busse chalked up 28 singles victories and several tournament titles for the Lady Spartans in the fall. Busse won the MRVC and Richmond Invitational tournament championships earlier in the season and highlighted the season by becoming the youngest Lady Spartan ever to win a district championship.
5. Bulldogs fall in 8-man district title matchup.Although Hardin-Central Coach Kirk Thacker had to replace his entire backfield from a 10-1 season in 2011, the Hardin-Central Bulldogs managed to turn in another solid campaign. Not only did the Dawgs have an entirely new backfield, but Thacker also had to juggle personnel due to injuries off and on throughout the season.
 The complete story is in the Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013 Richmond News.

Click here for our E-edition and read the rest of the story.

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