WRIGHT CITY FINALLY OVERCOMES WARRENTONWarren County claimed a state championship and many other accolades over the past 365 days, considerable progress was made in moving the programs back toward the top.Individual sports continue to be more dominant than teams, with eight athletes being named all-state in their respective sports. In terms of postseason success, the Warrenton softball team made the biggest push, winning its second straight district title.Let’s take a look at how the world of sports broke down for Warren County in 2014.While it was only for the consolation prize, a triumphant January victory turned out to be the biggest of the year for the Wright City basketball team.For the first time since the senior class of 2014 had been in high school, the Wildcats defeated their county rival Warrenton in a 65-56 double overtime contest at the Clopton Tournament. It was a chance meeting that turned into sweet redemption for Wright City.The Wildcats controlled much of the game, taking advantage of Warrenton foul trouble. Wright City led 10-4 after one quarter and 19-17 by halftime.Warrenton led by two possessions in the final minutes of regulation, but the Warriors committed fouls that led to converted free throws for Wright City.Warrenton became limited inside with Craig Vardiman and Brandon Moeller each fouling, meaning Alec Tonioli and Ron Richardson had to take on much of the scoring responsibility.Frustrated and desperately needing stops in the second overtime, the Warriors committed more fouls, allowing Wright City to pull away.Senior Cody Klemp, who had never scored against Warrenton until that game, led the Wildcats with 15 points.Junior Ty Davis added 14 points.LIBERTY CHRISTIAN TEAMS FINISH FIRST AND SECOND AT STATEIt was a successful conclusion to the season for the Liberty Christian basketball teams in February, as the girls finished first and the boys placed second in the Missouri Christian Schools Athletics Association.Led by Avery Dickson with a game-high 22 points, the girls team topped Westwood 44-30 to claim the program’s first title since the 2007 season.The Eagles began the tournament with a 57-20 win over Crosspoint Christian and defeated Providence Christian 37-18 in the semifinal.The boys team came up in short in the title game, losing 57-41 against Eagle Ridge of Cape Girardeau.Despite losing a 30-point per game scorer the previous season, Liberty Christian improved significantly throughout its 2013-14 campaign and piqued at the key time.The Eagles defeated Westwood in the quarterfinal, before dominating Community Christian 87-32 in the semifinal.Liberty Christian was led by Tanner Meyer with 12 points in the title game.FILIPEK FINISHES SECOND AT STATEHe hadn’t even made it to the MSHSAA Championships as a freshman.But by the end of the his sophomore season, Dan Filipek found himself competing in the 145-pound state title match in February.Filipek took the bracket by storm, winning his first three matches before losing a 2-1 decision against Platte County’s Johnny Blankenship.In the first round, he defeated Edxel Morales of Carthage by fall in 1:22. Filipek then dispatched Kearney’s Andrew Borden 3-1 in overtime, before topping Willard’s Connar Loderhose in a 5-4 decision.Filipek’s success came one year after he sat in the stands watching his older brother, J.J., win the program’s first-ever state title.So far this season Filipek is 21-0 in the 152-pound weight class in pursuit of return to the championships.LUECKE CLAIMS SECOND STATE MEDALAfter finishing second in Class 3 as a junior, Warrenton golfer Ethan Luecke returned to the MSHSAA Championships where he placed fifth during his senior campaign in May.The only Warrenton golfer to ever earn back-to-back all-state honors, Luecke flirted with the lead on Day One but was unable to shave off enough strokes to make it into the top spot. He battled gusty winds and troublesome greens during the second round at Fremont Hills Golf Club in Nixa.Luecke carded a combined 152 over 36 holes, having entered the second day five strokes out of the lead with a 74. It was a contrast to his junior year when Luecke entered Day Two in command of the leaderboard.On that second day he shot a 37 on the front nine before finishing the back with a 41.Logan-Rogersville’s Davis Palen and Boonville’s Brett Windsor tied for a low round of 145 to be named co-champions.Luecke has since gone on to Indiana Wesleyan University, where he is currently a member of the Wildcats’ golf team.WARRENTON TRACK MEDALS IN THREE EVENTSIt was fourth-place across the board for the Warrenton track team, which medaled in three separate events at the MSHSAA Championships in May.Senior Drake Wagner shattered the school’s 200-meter record yet another time as he cruised to a fourth-place finish in the open sprint event. His mark of 22.28 seconds earned him all-state honors alongside three other teammates.Junior Jordon Washington also finished fourth, leaving his mark on the 100-meter race with a time of 11.17 seconds. It wasn’t a personal best but still good enough to land him among the top half of the field.Wagner and Washington both joined sophomore Justin McBroom and junior Carlos Lopez in the 800-meter relay, where the Warriors also finished fourth with a mark of 1:29.88.WRIGHT CITY SENDS ELITE DUO TO MEDAL STANDTwo seniors separated themselves from the competition when it came to being the most elite Wright City had to offer.Seniors Ben Randolph and Brittany McPike were the lone representatives for the Wildcats at the MSHSAA Championships, and both returned home with hardware.Randolph broke the school record in the 800-meter race, finishing seventh with a time of 1:57.64, which eclipsed Larry Paul’s mark from the 2006 state meet. Randolph also owns the school’s 400-meter record.Meanwhile, McPike was making her debut at state in the discus throw a week after shattering the school record with a heave of 121 feet, 11 inches to win the sectional meet.She had doubts about even making it to state but adjustments made to her spinning method the week before districts turned out to pay dividends. She finished second seventh at state with a top throw of 118 feet, 1 inch.Randolph and McPike will both have their pictures placed alongside the other all-state athletes in Wright City history in the school’s athletic hallway.POST 122 LEGION PROGRAM EXPANDS TO THREE TEAMSWhile success wasn’t abundant right away, excitement was still abound in the summer baseball programs in Warrenton.The Post 122 Legion organization, which has dissipated to just one team in recent years, had enough numbers to move back to three teams in 2014.Brian Vogt coached the freshman team, which finished the season 8-14.Kenny Dildine took the helm for the junior program, which concluded the summer 4-14.The senior team was under the direction of Kevin Shough. The AAA team was able to finish the season but battled limited depth, leading to a second record of 8-14.The program has plans to maintain the three programs again next summer, with Scott Butler coming on board to take the reigns of the freshman team from Vogt.COACHING CHANGES ABUNDANT IN 2014Both Warrenton and Wright City underwent their share of personnel changes in the coaching department over the past 12 months.Wright City saw the most significant turnover, with three head coaching jobs undergoing transition.In the spring, it was announced that Ken Brown would no longer be the varsity boys basketball coach after three seasons at the helm.Assistant Rick Halteman has since taken over the program.The volleyball program also welcomed new leadership, as James Baker took over as head coach, replacing Todd Gambill.In November head football coach Matt Brooks announced his decision not return for another year with the program, although his immediate plans are to remain in the district as a teacher.Warrenton also welcomed in several new faces, including former Bowling Green coach Greg Williams. He took over leadership of the varsity girls basketball team, which had been under the direction of Barb Woodruff for the previous 13 seasons.The Warrenton football program also added two new assistants, with alumni Ryan Raterman joining the staff along with former Wright City coach Jeff Sargent.WARRENTON SOFTBALL CELEBRATES SUCCESSFor the second straight season the Warrenton softball team reached the MSHSAA Playoffs by winning the district tournament.The Warriors defeated St. Dominic 1-0 in their Class 3 District Title game with a run in the top of the seventh inning.They went on to fall 5-4 against Mexico in a sectional playoff road game, despite going ahead early.Warrenton finished 20-4, recording its second straight 20-win season and sweeping the GAC to win the conference title.The Warriors also had three players named to the Class 3 All-State team.Sophomore Jenny Jansen was a first-team infielder, while classmate Kaylee Anderson was named to the first-team for her pitching abilities.Junior Taylor Nordwald also excelled enough on the mound to earn second-team honors as a pitcher.BRUNING LEADS WILDCATS WITH STATE MEDALDespite never having participated in distance running before, Wright City senior Luke Bruning was able to bring home the Wildcats’ first state medal since the 2011 season.After transferring from Liberty Christian, where he excelled on the basketball court, Bruning was looking for a way to stay in shape. But his conditioning paid off, as he quickly bolted into the Wildcats’ No. 1 spot, cutting down on his time enough to earn All-State honors at the MSHSAA Championships.Bruning finished 23rd in the Class 2 race with a time of 17:31.He was one of three Wright City runners to compete at the state meet, alongside Jynna Fritz (43rd) and Erin Tomschin (103rd).YEAR IN REVIEWDerrick Forsythe photo.