Golf season upon us, softball getting warm, wrestling cools down

This week, many of the sports I covered had something going on. Men’s golf got underway, while softball entered its second week. Lastly, high school wrestling comes to a near conclusion as districts conclude and state is next up.

In regards to golf, its interesting to see how the team will do this year. The team had some ups and downs last year, placing first and second in tournaments. However, they had multiple middle of the pack finishes. The team has some potential and I’m glad I’ll be covering them this spring. Here’s my preview on the team:

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/sports/mizzou_sports/missouri-men-s-golf-begins-spring-season-saturday/article_c2d6335e-4f71-11ea-8ab9-834419f1b1eb.html

Missouri softball entered its second week with an undefeated record. The Tigers exceeded early expectations and saw timely pitching from their freshman staff. Theirs plenty of storylines on the team with interesting tidbits about each player. In their second week, the Tigers had some peaks and valleys. They went 4-2 in the ESPN St. Pete/Clearwater Invitational with some impressive rallies and a win in the border showdown against Kansas. Unfortunately, the team suffered their few losses, but they continue to show progress and also be a fun beat to cover for me. I’m learning more about softball everyday. Over the past few years, I’ve become a MLB junkie watching the games, studying analytics and even playing the video games. Softball has many of the same qualities, which make it easy and fun to follow along and pick up the college softball scene. Here’s my stories on Missouri softball and how they did in the ESPN St. Pete/Clearwater Invitational:

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/sports/mizzou_sports/eight-run-second-inning-lifts-mu-softball-over-kansas-in/article_3c81e06c-4eb0-11ea-b63e-9bab9c05587e.html

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/sports/mizzou_sports/missouri-softball-defeats-liberty-rallies-late-against-oklahoma-state-to/article_620aed70-4f9a-11ea-8a55-038b582d649d.html

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/sports/mizzou_sports/missouri-softball-suffers-first-loss-this-season-splits-saturday-doubleheader/article_a146c558-5063-11ea-8a44-3f60b76a5c18.html

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/sports/missouri-softball-struggles-offensively-as-tigers-lose-second-straight/article_4e2778f0-50ee-11ea-a09e-9bf6373f7a23.html

Lastly, high school wrestling neared the end with districts taking place. I’ve enjoyed learning about the sport that I previously knew little to nothing about. Now, I’m pretty well -versed in what is happening on the mats. District were nice to cover as many of the kids would move on to state, seeing the excitement and storylines they had. It was also nice to have Jackson cover it with me and get a feature on Rock Bridge’s Carter McCallister ahead of state. In terms of how Columbia wrestlers did at the Class 4 districts, here’s my story:

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/sports/prep_sports/local-wrestlers-punch-their-tickets-to-state-tournament-as-districts/article_3d5a2a3e-5055-11ea-8b8b-6320474eeff3.html