Andrew Craig, Camden Griffith, Avery Gregg Make Lions All-Star Squad

Missouri Lions District 26-M4 is honored to announce the 2026 All-Star Classic Basketball Teams players. The event will take place at Penney High School in Hamilton on Saturday, June 6 with the girls’ game starting at 6 p.m.

“We are extremely grateful for the coaches and schools that nominated these outstanding players for this year’s All-Star basketball games,” said Lion James Pedersen, District 26-M4 All-Star Basketball committee chair. “Each year, our district strives to provide the best classic possible for these deserving high school senior players.”

District 26-M4 has 22 counties throughout Northwest Missouri with over 80 high schools. We received over 70 nominations for this year’s game. Coaching the boys’ teams this year are Todd Mercer, Maysville, and Dan Martin, Mercer. Coaching our girls’ teams this year are Daniel Hernandez, Macon County-Bucklin and Josh Deitch, Norborne. In late March, volunteer coaches drafted players to their teams.

The following are high school seniors who were drafted and have signed a contract to play in the games:

Boys

Dakota Brandon, Braymer

Jett Cornett, South Harrison

Andrew Craig, North Harrison

Jackson Davis, Carrollton

Issac Dixon, Trenton

Landen Dodds, Tri-County

Carter Fewins, Tri-County

Eli Gaiser, Maysville

Camden Griffith, Gilman City

Kobe Hill, Mercer

Pryce Johnson, Gallatin

Corbin McBee, Braymer

Drake Montez, West Platte

Mason Nester, North Andrew

Jace Palmer, Albany

Creyton Roup, Mound City

Zach Samples, Carrollton

Jaishon White, Chillicothe

Gavin Wilmes, Gallatin

Girls

Kinsley Allnut, Grundy County

Tatum Coe, Macon County

Grace Downing, DeKalb

Leeseah Fordyce, Grundy County

Avery Gregg, Gilman City

Alexis Hunter, South Harrison

Alexis Jones, Macon County

Ashlyn Klippenstein, Maysville

Emalee Langford, South Nodaway

Avi Leabo, Norborne

Sarah Mansur, Norborne

Alison O’Neal, Tina-Avalon

Madeline O’Neal, Tina-Avalon

Jenna Owen, Carrollton

Timberlynn Palmer, Southwest Livingston

Montgomery Ross, Carrollton

Mylee Schrick, Savannah

Ella Scott, Savannah

Brylee Sherill, South Harrison

Allyson Smith, North Platte

Lexa Stonger, Grundy County

Kristin Waters, Norborne

Hamilton was chosen as the location of this year’s event because it is centrally located in our Lions district. A banquet will be held Friday night for the selected players, their parents and coaches at Hamilton Methodist Church’s Family Life Center. 

“Our Lions motto is ‘we serve’ and our committee works hard to serve these young men and women in accordance with Lions International’s youth global cause,” Pedersen said. “We support young people so they can make positive choices, lead healthy and productive lives, and become the next generation of service leaders. We hope this event will be a memorable experience for these players as they continue to grow as an adult and an athlete.”

Proceeds from the All-Star Basketball Classic are redistributed back into the Lions District 26-M4 in the form of continuing education scholarships for recently graduated seniors.

 

Gilman City, Tri-County to Coop in Three Sports

Gilman City will coop in three different sports with Tri-County, both schools announced Thursday, effective with the 26-27 season. They will coop in softball, basketball, and baseball. Gilman City will oversee softball, basketball, and junior high softball. Tri-County will oversee junior high basketball and varsity baseball.

 

Lady Hawks Conclude Record Breaking Season; Avery Gregg Finishes Stellar Career

Gilman City concluded their 27-2 season with a 42-31 loss to Rock Port in the State Quarterfinals in Gallatin Friday. The Hawks had their best season ever, getting a school record 27 wins; their previous record was 24 set during the 2007-2008 season. They won their second straight HDC title and their second straight HDC Tournament title. They won four tournaments this year; they won the Gallatin, Gilman City, and District 14 title as well.

Rock Port returns to state, where they finished fourth last year. They were on a mission as they were not satisfied with that showing; they were sharp during warmups, and how a team practices during warmups frequently translates into the game.

Khloey Sperry shot Gilman City into a 5-4 lead after one quarter, scoring all five of their points. The focus of the game was on stopping Audrie Meyerkorth. Avery Gregg faceguarded her all night long and did the best job any enemy defender has done on her the last two years, holding her to five points. Rock Port kept screening for her to get her open, but even when Gregg was caught chasing through the screens, she would close out hard and force a miss.

But Rock Port has a lot more than just Audrie Meyerkorth. Freshman post Stevie Gaines went off for nine points in the second quarter as Gilman City was focused on stopping Meyerkorth. That put Rock Port ahead to stay at 23-16 at the half. Leah Meyerkorth, another freshman, always wanted the ball in her hands and chipped away at the three-point line. And when Gilman City put Khloey Sperry on Gaines in the second half and slowed her down, Rock Port simply went to Braylyn Wood, another tall post player, who went off for eight points in the second half.

Rock Port was one of the most fundamentally sound defensive teams the Hawks had seen all year; they guarded well, they helped out on drives and jumped ball screens. The effort was there for Gilman City, but their low numbers (only eight players on the roster) told on them in the end as their legs were tired while Rock Port, with 12 players, could sub people in and out at will to give key players a break or keep them out of foul trouble.

Khloey Sperry had 18 points for the Hawks. Alli Burke had 6, Hailey McClure 5, and Avery Gregg 2. But the stat sheet did not show the kind of game Avery played; she saved her best defensive game for last by hounding Audrie Meyerkorth and limiting her, keeping the Hawks in the game. It was that kind of effort that she brought the last two years that earned her a spot at Culver-Stockton next year.

The Hawks closed out the season having won 46 out of their last 50 games. They survived adversity, injury scares, low numbers, the loss of three key players from last year, and breaking in three new players for this year. They will miss Avery Gregg badly next year and will be looking for someone to bring the ball up the floor, but they return five key players for next year and hope to bring up several freshmen from their successful junior high teams from the last two years. In two years, they hope to bring up two promising seventh graders, Chyles Webb and Aspen Wyatt.

Khloey Sperry has averaged 15 points a game and 15 boards and has carried the team, even when getting a lot more attention from defenses. She scored 30 against Winston last year and has had 20 rebounds and 8 blocks twice. Alli Burke has shown the ability to score in bunches. She improved her rebounding this year, getting as many as 13. She and Sperry have shown the ability to play all five positions when necessary.

Tenley Griffith made an immediate impact as a freshman in her very first game against Princeton when she controlled the game, grabbed a ton of tips and rebounds, and threw a Princeton player around like a rag doll as both were going for a loose ball. She also had 15 rebounds regularly and has had as many as 18. She got 19 tips in the Braymer game.

Hailey McClure came back this year from a knee injury. She had a breakout game against Union Star with 20 points. Other teams left her alone thinking she would not be a threat with her big knee brace, but she turned into the team’s third best rebounder behind Sperry and Griffith and got quicker as the season progressed. She got better as a defender as well, helping out on Meyerkorth in the Rock Port game if she got by Gregg. With Norborne faceguarding Avery Gregg and Khloey Sperry and keeping it close, McClure went off in the second half, scoring 15 points as the “mostly harmless” girl with the big knee brace dropped dagger after dagger and hit her free throws as well.

Paisley Taggart showed the ability to score in bunches at times. Pressed into service for all 32 minutes when McClure went down with the flu against Mercer, she grabbed several key rebounds and steals as the Hawks managed to survive.

Last year, nobody expected the Hawks to do anything after a 3-4 start, hitting a low point with a 51-22 loss to Northeast Nodaway in which Baylie Busby put up a quintuple double. But like the “Impossible Dream” Boston Red Sox of 1967, the Hawks suddenly started winning. Nobody expected the Red Sox, several years removed from the retirement of Ted Williams, to do anything that year, but they suddenly caught fire and won the pennant, coming within a game of knocking off Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. And nobody expected Gilman City, with one of the tiniest schools in the area, in one of (supposedly) the weakest conferences in the state, to suddenly compete with some of the best teams in the area, but they did.

And the Hawks kept winning this year. They drew the top seed at Gallatin, meaning they had the target on their backs after having been the best-kept secret in the area last year. They won that tournament and kept on winning, even with enemy teams scouting and preparing for them. They broke into the state rankings. The hope is that with a few more bodies on the floor for next year, they will finally make it over the top.

 

Hailey McClure Paces Gilman City Past Pirates 64-29

Gilman City rolled on through sectionals Monday as they beat Norborne 64-29 behind 17 points from Hailey McClure. The Hawks had four players in double figures and six in the scoring column in the win.

Hailey was on from the beginning when she went to the rack, drew a foul, and hit both free throws to put the Hawks up 2-0. Tenley Griffith got a steal and drive, Alli Burke hit a 3-pointer, and Avery Gregg converted a third-chance putback to make it 9-0.

But the game was not without a couple of scary moments. The first happened after Millea Miller hit a triple for the Pirates, and then Khloey Sperry got the wind knocked out of her while scrambling for a loose ball. She was out until the start of the second quarter, but the Hawks held their ground as Tenley Griffith connected again before Avi Leabo took advantage of a carom and scored to make it 11-5 after one.

Sperry came back for the second quarter and Alli Burke splashed a triple, Sperry turned a third-chance try into a free throw, Sperry got loose in transition and got a pass from Avery Gregg, and Avery went coast to coast to make it 19-5.

But Norborne would not go quietly; they were in the Sectionals for a reason and they may have been playing their last game, given they have seven players on the roster, five of them seniors, and only one eighth grader listed on their junior high roster. They were following Mercer’s lead by faceguarding Avery Gregg and Khloey Sperry and daring someone else to beat them. And they lived and died by their press, which they were not afraid to use even after a missed shot.

Avi Leabo slashed and scored and then Kristin Waters stole the ensuing inbounds pass to cut it to 19-9. The teams traded blows for the rest of the quarter, leaving Gilman City ahead 26-16.

Leabo cut it to 26-18, and Norborne got the ball back with a chance to cut it to two possessions, but Khloey Sperry jumped a pass and scored, starting a big Hawk run. All of a sudden, with the Pirates swarming Gregg and Sperry every time they touched the ball, Hailey McClure realized it was her time to step up and score, and she did, slashing and scoring . Alli Burke pulled up and hit a 3-pointer in transition, McClure slashed and got to the line, making both tries, and then added a triple to make it 38-18.

Carleigh Ellis hit a 3-pointer to break the run, but then Avi Leabo clotheslined Tenley Griffith, who was fighting for a rebound, picking up her fourth foul. Griffith was shaken up on the play, but Paisley Taggart came in and Griffith came back later.

Hailey McClure knocked one down from the high post, Avery Gregg cashed in off a Khloey Sperry steal, and then Paisley Taggart stole an errant outlet pass and threw it in at the buzzer to make it 44-21.

Millea Miller picked up her fourth foul to start the fourth quarter for Norborne. As the foul trouble mounted for the Pirates, the Hawks found a lot more open lanes to the basket. Khloey Sperry made one of two after Norborne got to five fouls in just the first minute of the fourth quarter. Sperry cashed in off a Pasiley Taggart steal and Alli Burke made her second pullup three of the night to make it 50-21.

Norborne made one last stand as Kristin Waters cut inside and scored and Leabo came back and added a triple to make it 50-26. But Avery Gregg made one of two at the line, Alli Bruke got loose in transition against the press, Khloey Sperry drew a foul after a second-chance putback try and cashed in at the free throw line, Khloey Sperry aired one out to Hailey McClure for two, Khloey Sperry blocked a shot, rebounded it, and aired it out to Avery Gregg for two, and Paisley Taggart got a steal and fed Hailey McClure for two to make it 61-26.

The Hawks subbed freely at that point, but they kept pulling away as Avery Gregg made one more free throw before checking out and Hailey McClure got loose in transition again at the buzzer.

Hailey McClure had 17 points for the Hawks. Alli Burke had 14, Avery Gregg 13, Khloey Sperry 12, Tenley Griffith 6, and Paisley Taggart 2.

Khloey Sperry had 3 blocks and Alli Burke 1.

Tenley Griffith had 13 boards. Khloey Sperry had 9, Alli Burke 8, Hailey McClure and Avery Gregg 5, and Paisley Taggart 4.

Khloey Sperry had 5 assists. Alli Bruke and Avery Gregg had 3, Hailey McClure and Paisley Taggart 2, and Tenley Griffith 1.

Tenley Griffith had 9 tips. Khloey Sperry had 8, Paisley Taggart, Avery Gregg, and Hailey McClure had 5, and Alli Burke had 2.

Khloey Sperry had 6 steals. Paisley Taggart had 4, Tenley Griffith 3, Avery Gregg 2, and Alli Burke 1.

 

 

Tenley Griffith’s Daggers Help Hawks Advance to District Finals

North Harrison gave Gilman City everything it could handle in the District Semifinal game in Pattonsburg Wednesday. But like Gilman City’s subsequent win over Princeton, it was a role player, Tenley Griffith, who stepped up and made some of the biggest shots of her life to close the door on the Shamrocks, getting a putback and two free throws to hand the Hawks a 42-37 win.

At first, it looked like it would be a walk in the park for the Hawks when Khloey Sperry, normally a post player, stepped outside and hit back-to-back jacks to put the Hawks in front 6-0. But then North Harrison got a free throw from Hali Smith, another from Jaxcynn Hansel, a shot from the high post from Gracie Young, and a steal and drive from Ava Rinehart after Gracie Young got a tip to knot it at 6-6 after one.

Rinehart picked up her third foul, but knocked down a 3-pointer before coming out. Gracie Young hit a baseline shot, Lani Briggs hit a 3-pointer, and Hali Smith went coast to coast and the Hawks were down for the count at 16-6. Paisley Taggart hit one from the left wing just inside the arc and Alli Burke hit a free throw after Gilman City had missed a ton earlier, but Ava Rinehart threw up an even deeper three to make it 19-9.

But then Khloey Sperry started carrying the Hawks on her shoulders, slashing and scoring for two, getting a steal and scoring, and then converting a three-point play after a putback to make it 19-16 and the Hawks were still breathing at the half.

Avery Gregg got a steal and cashed in at the free throw line and Alli Burke hit a 3-pointer after Tenley Griffith kept the possession alive with an offensive board and Hailey McClure got her to ball, and the Shamrock lead was gone and the Hawks were in front 21-19.

Ava Rinehart slashed and scored to tie it at 21, but Khloey Sperry converted a three point play, one of three she would convert, to make it 24-21. Hali Smith kept it close for North Harrison, cutting it to 26-24 at the 3:41 margin. But Khloey Sperry converted her third three-point play, Hailey McClure hit one free throw, and Alli Burke two more as the free throws finally started to fall for the Hawks, who led 32-24 after three.

Gilman City had been playing man to man during their comeback bid, but switched back to their zone to start the fourth. But North Harrison began a push as Lani Briggs hit a 3-pointer and Jaxcynn Hansel converted an offensive board into two free throws to make it 32-29. Avery Gregg got an offensive board and cashed in at the free throw line and Hailey McClure grabbed an offensive board in the high post and scored to make it 36-29.

Gilman City went back to their man to man, but all of a sudden, it didn’t matter as North Harrison got red hot from the field. Jaxcynn Hansel cashed in on a putback, Ava Rinehart hit a 3-pointer, and North Harrison took advantage of two missed Hawk free throws as Lani Briggs hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key off a pass from Hali Smith to go in front 37-36 with 1:33 left.

Tenley Griffith missed a baseline shot, but Khloey Sperry was right there for the putback and converted with 1:11 left to put Gilman City back in front 38-37. She was fouled by Addison Milligan, but missed the free throw. There was a heartstopping moment for North Harrison when Hali Smith and Jaxcynn Hansel fought over the rebound, not realizing who the other person tearing at the ball was, but nothing was called and the Shamrocks had a chance to take the lead again.

But Lani Briggs missed a 3-pointer and Hailey McClure came away with the board for Gilman City. Tenley Griffith converted a miss into gold for the Hawks with 21 seconds left, making it 40-37.

Avery Gregg got a steal and drew Ava Rinehart’s fifth foul, but missed two free throws with 13 seconds left. Khloey Sperry grabbed an offensive board, but missed the putback try and Jaxcynn Hansel came away with it. But Tenley Griffith stole the ball back for the Shamrocks and hit both free throws with 4.3 seconds left to seal it for the Hawks.

Ava Rinehart had 13 points for the Shamrocks. Lani Briggs had 9, Hali Smith 6, Jaxcynn Hansel 5, and Gracie Young 4.

Jaxcynn Hansel had 6 blocks. Hali Smith and Ava Rinehart had 1.

Jaxcynn Hansel had 17 boards. Hali Smith had 12, Addison Milligan 8, Lani Briggs and Ava Rinehart 4, and Gracie Young 3.

Hali Smith, Addison Milligan, and Jaxcynn Hansel had 3 assists. Lani Briggs had 2 and Ava Rinehart and Gracie Young had 1.

Hali Smith had 5 tips. Ava Rinehart had 4, Lani Briggs 2, and Addison Milligan and Gracie Young 1.

Ava Rinehart, Lani Briggs, and Jaxcynn Hansel had 1 steal each.

Khloey Sperry had 21 points for Gilman City. Alli Burke and Tenley Griffith had 6, Avery Gregg 4, Hailey McClure 3, and Paisley Taggart 2.

Khloey Sperry had 4 blocks. Alli Burke had 3 and Tenley Griffith 1.

Khloey Sperry had 16 boards. Avery Gregg had 11, matching a career high. Hailey McClure had 9, Alli Burke 7, and Tenley Griffith 5.

Avery Gregg had 3 assists. Hailey McClure had 2, and Tenley Griffith, Paisley Taggart, Khloey Sperry, and Alli Burke had 1.

Tenley Griffith had 12 tips. Khloey Sperry had 4, Avery Gregg 3, Alli Burke 2, and Paisley Taggart and Hailey McClure 1.

Avery Gregg had 5 steals. Tenley Griffith had 3, Hailey McClure 2, and Khloey Sperry and Alli Burke 1.