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Morgan Recognized Nationally

Schoch: Ozark's Cook latest D-I basketball commit from area

Sep. 16, 2013

Written by

Matt

SCHOCH

Filed Under

An Arkansas fan, Hannah Cook traded Razorback red for a deeper Crimson on Friday night.

The Ozark High School senior announced her commitment to attend and play basketball at Alabama at halftime of her high school’s football victory over Republic.

The 5-foot-10 guard/forward will join new head coach Kristy Curry, who comes to Tuscaloosa after seven years as head coach at Texas Tech.

Cook chose the Crimson Tide over Missouri State and Florida Gulf Coast. Creighton was in the mix for Cook in the summer, as well.

After landing local prospect Aubrey Buckley of Parkview, new MSU Lady Bears coach Kellie Harper nearly landed Cook as well.

“Hannah wasn’t even considering Missouri State until Coach Harper came along,” Cook’s father, David, told News-Leader correspondent Justin McMillin. “And then they hired Jackie Stiles (as assistant coach). That made Hannah take a second look and then it came down to Missouri State and Alabama.

“What Coach Harper has already accomplished, as far as the excitement about the program, is tremendous.”

Cook becomes the third Division-I commit from the area girls basketball scene, joining Buckley and Marshfield’s Lauren Aldridge, who will attend Kansas.

Cook said she is glad to have the decision behind her so she can focus on her senior season.

“It was probably the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make because I’m from here,” Cook told McMillin. “But Alabama just felt right. I’ve been stressing all summer over it.

“But it’s definitely Alabama and I’m thrilled to be going to there.”

Missouri State was trying to make it a double for local prospects, as coach Paul Lusk’s Bears recently secured a commitment from Willard’s Chris Kendrix, the area’s most sought-after men’s recruit.

That means most of the top senior basketball prospects in southwest Missouri have made college commitments.

The next major prospect is Waynesville’s Juwan Morgan, an athletic 6-foot-7 forward, who is entering his junior season.

Last week, Rivals.com rated Morgan as the nation’s 137th best prospect in the Class of 2015.

Morgan is one of two players in the state on the list, as Columbia Hickman’s Jimmy Whitt is No. 79.

Rivals lists Missouri State and Tulsa as schools with interest in Morgan.

Making the national list is significant for Morgan and the area, as no local player has finished their prep career in The Rivals 150 list since Branson’s Steven Hill was rated No. 37 and Rogersville’s Drew Richards was No. 110 in 2004.

You can expect Morgan and the Waynesville Tigers to have a strong season this winter and contend for an Ozark Conference championship.

Coach Chris Pilz and the Tigers also will most likely get a call from tournament director Mark Fisher to be in the 2015 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions.

Contact Matt Schoch

at (417) 836-1191 or maschoch@news-leader.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MattSchochNL.

Former Tiger Earns UAA Athlete of the Week Honors

Washington U. Has School-Record 10 Earn UAA Athlete of the Week Honors

St. Louis, Mo., October 14, 2013 – A week after having nine University Athletic Association (UAA) Athlete of the Week honorees, Washington University in St. Louis followed that up with a school-record 10 selections, as announced Monday by the Association.

Freshman middle hitter Caroline Dupont, Leawood, Kan. (Blue Valley North) and freshman libero Kalehua Katagiri, Kane'ohe, Hawaii (Kamehameha-Kapalama) of the No. 11-ranked volleyball team, senior forward Jessica Johnson, Carmel, Ind. (Brebeuf Jesuit) of the No. 3-ranked women’s soccer team, and senior defensive back Tate Byers, Tulsa, Okla. (Bishop Kelley), freshman left guard Craig Claire, Morris, Ill. (Morris), sophomore left guard Ben Lake, Berea, Ky. (Rockcastle County), senior center Jon Levin, North Potomac, Md. (Quince Orchard), junior left tackle Connor Meneough, Ormond Beach, Fla. (Father Lopez Catholic), freshman kick/punt returner Dylan Newcomb, Waynesville, Mo. (Waynesville) and junior right tackle Will Thompson, Tulsa, Okla. (Holland Hall) of the football team each earned the honor.

Dupont posted a .434 hitting percentage to lead the Washington U. volleyball team to a 4-0 record at the UW-Whitewater Invite III Friday and Saturday. She hit .318 with 10 kills, five blocks and five digs in the Bears’ four-set win over St. Catherine Friday. Dupont followed that with 16 kills and a .314 hitting percentage to help the Bears earn a 3-2 win over host No. 18 UW-Whitewater Friday. During Saturday's two wins over Westminster and DePauw, Dupont hit .692 with 19 kills and just one error on 26 swings. She was also named the UAA Athlete of the Week Sept. 9.

Katagiri averaged 4.38 digs per set to help Washington U. finish 4-0 at the UW-Whitewater Invite III. She tallied double-digit digs in each of the Bears' four matches to extend her streak to 19 straight matches. In the final match of the tournament, she recorded 20 digs in Washington U.'s sweep of DePauw, marking the sixth time this season she has topped the 20-dig mark.

Johnson, who earned the honor for the second time in her career, scored a goal and had an assist to lead the women’s soccer team to a 2-1 win over No. 14 Carnegie Mellon Saturday at home. She scored in the fifth minute to put WUSTL up 1-0, and then assisted on the game-winning goal by junior Lillie Toaspern in the 43rd minute.

Byers led the Washington University defensive unit with eight tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the Bears' 45-41 win at Hendrix College Saturday in Conway, Ark. Byers, who had seven solo stops, earned the honor for the first time in his career.

Newcomb had a career-high 176 all-purpose yards in the Bears' 45-41 victory at Hendrix College Saturday. He had 170 kick-return yards (34.0 avg.) and six punt-return yards (6.0 avg.) in the win, including a career-long 58-yard kickoff return to start the game.

The Washington U. offensive line of Claire, Lake, Levin, Meneough and Thompson was key in the Bears' 45-41 win at Hendrix College Saturday in Conway, Ark. The line did not allow a sack for the third-straight game and recorded a season-high 524 yards of total offense in the win. The Bears also rushed for 304 yards, the highest total in head coach Larry Kindbom's 25 years at Washington U.