Sports

Body GRAIN VALLEY – Perseverance helped Ray Countian Doug Brisbin get his third-place finish in the E-modified feature race July 3 at Valley Speedway. Running fourth late in the 20-lap race, hoping to pass Kansas City’s Mike Ryun, Brisbin tried multiple ways to overtake Ryun.

Body RICHMOND – The Dolphin Swim Team swam away with its June 23 season-opening triangular with Carrollton and Marshall. Spurred by 24 event wins, the Dolphins tallied 341 points.

Body LAWSON – Orrick has completed a phase of offseason boys basketball training. On Monday, the Bearcats finished their summer-league schedule at Lawson with back-to-back losses to Penney of Hamilton’s and Lawson’s varsity squads.

Body On the surface, a flooded ballfield and a 2017 movie about a former figure skater might seem to have nothing in common. For me, however, they do.

Body The more I cover motor sports, the better I understand basketball fans. Assuming you have stopped repeatedly ramming your head into a kitchen wall because that last sentence has confused the blankety-blank-blank out of you and are ready for me to continue, I will explain.

Body HARDIN – The Bulldogs had to relocate to start this week’s softball camp. Originally, they were scheduled to begin camp Monday at the Hardin American Legion and Auxiliary baseball and softball fields.

Body ORRICK – Kirk Thacker found himself at square one last week while leading the Bearcats through their first 8-man football camp of the summer. A1987 Richmond High School graduate, Thacker is Orrick’s new varsity football coach.

Body WARRENSBURG – David Wood’s June 12 outing at Central Missouri Speedway went “a lot better” than his other evenings this stock car racing season. “I’ve had motor trouble from the beginning of the year, and then, I … (couldn’t) get the car to go forward,” Wood said.

Body HARDIN – A new coaching era has begun with Norborne Hardin-Central’s varsity 8-man football program. Andrew Watson succeeds Kirk Thacker, now at Orrick, in leading the Aggies.

Body ORRICK – Kirk Thacker sees his new job of coaching and teaching at Orrick as therapeutic. A 1987 Richmond High School graduate, Thacker became Orrick’s varsity 8-man football and varsity track coach and joined the high school faculty as a social studies teacher this spring.