2015 was another year of progress for Warren County schools.

Fans saw a softball state championship, a wrestling state title appearance for the second year in a row, the first district title for a basketball program and numerous conference championships.

These are the stories that shaped 2015:

Warrenton softball wins state championship

It was a historic season for Warrenton softball, as the Warriors captured the first state championship in school history. 

The Warriors defeated Cape Girardeau Notre Dame 12-2 Oct. 24 in the Class 3 title game in Springfield.

Warrenton finished the season 28-2 and featured a balanced attack all season.

Senior pitcher Taylor Nordwald posted an 18-1 record on the mound, striking out 85 batters and giving up 15 earned runs in 119 2/3 innings.

At the plate, junior shortstop Jenny Jansen led the team with a .581 batting average and 54 hits. She added 42 RBIs, 14 doubles and three home runs.

Jansen was one of five Warriors named to the all-state team, and was also named Gateway Athletic Conference Player of the Year. 

Head Coach Trevor Hibbs was also honored by the conference, and was named GAC Coach of the Year.

Filipek finishes second at state again

Warrenton junior Dan Filipek took an undefeated record into the Class 3 152-pound state tournament last season, but came up one win short for the second year in a row.

Filipek lost to Oak Park’s Hunter Shelton, 2-1, in a tiebreaker in the state championship match and finished the season 53-1.

In the first round of the state tournament, Filipek pinned Austin Marler of Windsor in 30 seconds. He needed overtime to beat Carthage’s Seth Logan, but rebounded to defeat Isaac Townsend of Neosho in the semifinals, 9-3.

Filipek set a school record for wins, and improved upon his sophomore mark of 46-6.

This season, Filipek jumped to the 160-pound division and is currently undefeated.

Liberty Christian boys reach title game

The Liberty Christian boys basketball team finished second in the Missouri Christian Schools Athletic Assocation state tournament after losing to Life Church in overtime, 69-65.

It was the second consecutive state title loss for the Eagles.

Liberty Christian struggled at the free-throw line in the championship game, missing 10 of 21 attempts, but had the ball in a tie game with under a minute to play in regulation.

The Eagles couldn’t convert, and returned home disappointed for the second straight season.

Seniors Tanner Meyer and Calvin Edwards combined for 49 points and earned spots on the all-state first team.

Warrenton girls capture first district title

The Warrenton girls basketball team survived a last-second 3-point attempt to win the first district championship in program history, beating Kirksville, 50-48.

Warrenton led 23-17 at halftime, but Kirksville connected on three consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game in the final moments.

With 10 seconds remaining, Hannah Sutton hit one of two free throws to give Warrenton its final lead.

In the sectional against St. Charles West, the Warriors nearly erased a 20-point deficit before running out of gas late, losing 54-39.

Warrenton finished the season 18-9.

Davis leads Wildcats at state

The Wright City senior joined siblings Brittney and Trent on the Wright City all-state wall after finishing sixth in the Class 3 high jump finals.

Davis posted a height of five feet, 11 inches in the final round, despite not picking up the sport until his senior season.

Davis qualified for the state meet with a jump of 6-1 in the sectional.

Washington finishes eighth at state

Warrenton senior Jordon Washington qualified for the Class 3 100-meter finals in May, and finished eighth in the state with a final time of 11.6 seconds.

Washington narrowly advanced past the preliminary round after pulling his hamstring during the race.

The senior sprinter expected to finish second or third in the qualifying race, but had to sit and wait for eight more runners to determine if he would qualify for the finals.

Washington finished fourth in the finals as a junior, in 2014, and was expected to finish higher before his injury.

Warriors sweep baseball’s top honors

Warrenton senior and starting pitcher Ben Stephens was named Gateway Athletic Conference Player of the Year after striking out 90 batters and posting a 7-2 record. Stephens finished the season with a 0.93 earned-run average, and finished his four-year varsity career with 19 wins.

Warrenton Head Coach Eric Burle was named GAC Coach of the Year after leading the Warriors to a 13-13 record.

The Warriors advanced to the district championship for the second time in three seasons.

Warrenton senior legion completes historic season.

The Warrenton Senior Legion Post 122 advanced to the Zone 1 tournament for the first time in program history, thanks to a 13-3 regular season over the summer.

The team captured a No. 2 seed in the district tournament, its highest seed since 2006.

Post 122 advanced to face St. Charles in the Zone 1 opener, 11-1.

Wright City football finds success in playoffs

First-year head coach Jeff Sargent led the Wright City football team to an 8-4 record and the third round  of the Class 3 postseason.

The Wildcats defeated Duchesne, 21-0, in the first round and dispatched O’Fallon Christian in the following round, 28-17.

Wright City wide receiver Troy Muse led the Wildcats in both wins, finishing with 13 catches for 249 yards.

In the quarterfinals against Centralia, the Wildcat offense was slowed down in a 43-12 loss.

Five Wildcats were named to the Eastern Missouri Conference first team, including Muse, who was also a Class 3 all-state first-team selection.

Freshmen qualify for state cross country

Warrenton’s Nathan Nordwald and Wright City’s Tristin Riley gained valuable experience after qualifying for the cross country state finals Nov. 7 in Jefferson City.

Nordwald finished 131st in the Class 3 race with a time of 18 minutes, 54.10 seconds, slightly off his normal pace. Nordwald was the only Warrenton boy to qualify for the state meet, and finished faster than 18 upperclassmen in the race.

Riley finished his race in 19:22.20, good enough for 119th and better than 43 runners in Class 2.

Andrea Poole (22:15.19) led the seven Warrenton girls at the state meet. She was joined by Mary Broker (22:56.90), Meagan Sanders (23:15.14), Darya Wilke (24:01.63), Madison Stevens (24:22.93), Emily Brunson (25:15.15) and Emma Housewright (25:25.04).

Jynna Fritz (22:08.10) and Erin Tomschin (23:30.85) represented Wright City.

BEST IN STATE — The Warrenton softball team celebrates after defeating Cape Girardeau Notre Dame to capture the Class 3 state championship Oct. 24.           Derrick Forsythe photo.