A panel of "experts," including former coaches, players and longtime fans were recently asked to list the best McDonald County High School sports teams in the school's 50-year history.
The only rule given to those on the committee was that the four-year career of the "Triplets" teams of Suzanne Nyander Sutton, LaDonna Wilson McClain and Sue Thomas Buttram from 1980 to 1983 would be combined into one team for the purposes of this list in order that those teams would not take four of the top 10 spots.
In almost every top 10 poll of any kind, there is disagreement on not only who or what should be in the top 10, but also the order of those making the list, especially the top spot.
But to no one's surprise, those combined four teams were ranked number one by every member of the committee -- making them the unanimous choice for best team in the history of McDonald County High School.
Which of the teams during the four years was best? That will be left unanswered, if there ever could be an answer.
During the four years of the Triplets, the Lady Mustangs won four district titles, two state championships and a state runner-up. Coached by Jerry Davis and Elaine Shewmake, the Lady Mustangs during those four years were the biggest thing to hit McDonald County since the filming of Jesse James in 1938.
There were too many signature wins in the four years to remember just one or two, but winning the state championship as seniors after being upset in the opening round of the state playoffs the year before (to Bolivar who went on to win state that year) put an exclamation point on the dynasty.
Coming up as the second best team in the school's history was the boy's basketball team of 1981. After a slow start to the year, the team went on a 19-game winning streak that got them to the state semifinals where they lost. McDonald County rebounded to beat Sullivan in the third-place game to finish with a 24-7 record. Coached by Jack Shaver and Denny Chenoweth, the team included Randy Sutton, Mike Jones, Mark Duncan, Mike Hanke, Lee Smith, Bruce Stancell, Jamie Gilion and Curtis Townsend.
Third place goes to another girl's basketball team -- the 1987 team that finished fourth in state. Jerry Davis' fourth team to make it to the state semifinals included Myli Taylor, Angie Gilgen, Amy Manning, Susan Biglow, Dixie Brooks, Shanna Greene, Lee Ann Harmon and Toni Craig.
In fourth place, just two points out of third place is the 1975 boys basketball team that took a 25-0 record into the district championships before getting beat by Joplin Memorial in a sold-out gym at Webb City High School.
Led by Charles Harvey, Jimmy Stauber, Kirk Allman, Wayne Fisher and Richard Anderson, key wins by the Shaver-coached club included a win over Memorial at MCHS earlier in the season and a comeback from a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Tulsa Webster in the championship game of the Miami tournament.
The first non-basketball teams to make it on the list are the 1994 golf team and the 2010 boys cross country team which tied for fifth place. The golf team of Tony Armstrong, Cameron Walker, Steve Meador, Jason Wagner and Coby Sheppard finished third in state. The team was coached by David Riffel.
The cross country team finished fourth at the 2010 state meet. Coached by Darbi Stancell and Tim Kilby, the team included Jordan Noffsinger, Spencer Paul, Reid Schmit, Tristan Cummings, Caleb Littlefield, Alan Hay, Nate Huerta and Dillon Williams.
Places 7-10 were separated by just a few points.
In seventh is the 2001 district champion baseball team, the school's first district champion in the sport. Coached by Lee Smith, the team finished with a 17-12 record, after finishing as district runners-ups the year before with an 18-7 record.
Representing track and field is the 1982 girl's track team that took eighth place. The team is the lone track and field district champion. The team included Nyander, who set the state record in the high jump. That record stood until early in the 2000s.
In ninth place is the 2013 Lady Mustang softball team that set the school record in wins with a 23-3 record. Coached by Tray Shaddox and Smith, the team won the Joplin and Branson tournaments and had seven seniors go on to play college softball.
Rounding out the list tied for 10th are the 1970 football team and the 2006 Lady Mustang volleyball team.
The football team started the season 5-0 and was ranked in the state top 10 before injuries derailed the winning streak. Lead by running back John O'Brien, linebackers Jeff Brady and Rocky McMahan, along with quarterback Mike Wright, the team ended the season with a 6-3-1 record.
The 2006 volleyball team, coached by Bev Goff, won the district championship for McDonald County's only district title.
Several other teams received votes, including the 1982 and 1990 boys district champion basketball teams, the 1982 boys track team, the 1980 and 2001 football teams that both finished with 6-4 records, the 2008 girls softball district champs, the 2010 baseball team that finished with a 16-5 record, the 1993 girls basketball team that won conference and district championships and 1968-69 Mustang basketball team.
The list is 100 percent based on opinion and is meant to spark discussion. Your favorite team may not be listed -- there have been eight girl's district basketball champions and seven boys district winners alone -- but the important thing is that maybe the 2015-16 school year will bring about another top 10 team.
Sports on 07/30/2015