Kearney athletes are playing to win early in the school year. Here’s a look at how the Bulldogs did in sports this week:

Softball

On Wednesday, September 8, the JV and Varsity softball team took on the Tigers from Excelsior Springs. JV got things going by coming away with a 16-0 win. The bats were alive and the girls had solid defense.

The Varsity walked away with a 6-4 win. The game was tied 2-2 for the first four innings. The Tigers were able to score two runs in the top of the fifth inning. The Bulldogs battled back in the bottom of the fifth and scored 4. The Bulldog defense held the Tigers for the last two innings to secure the win.

On Tuesday, September 7, the softball team traveled to Grandview to take on the Bulldogs for their first conference game of the season. Both Varsity and JV came away with wins as the varsity team won 25-0 and the JV team won 15-3.

Girls Tennis

On Tuesday, September 7, the Varsity, JV, and novice athletes traveled to St. Joseph to compete against St. Joe Central. The athletes battled it out on the courts with some very tough competition. Varsity ended the night with a 2-7 score and JV ended the night at 1-8. Seniors Flannery Simmons (8-3) and Rachael Hallier (8-5) both won their varsity singles matches and Junior Lillian Gaik (6-3) won her JV singles match.

On Wednesday, September 8, six novice players: Alexis Roberston, Preslee Oliver, Elizabeth Shoemaker, Neffie Rinck, Bailey Love-Davis, and Charleigh Elliott traveled to Staley for a novice tournament. Both Preslee (6-0) and Alexis (6-5 tie break) won their first singles matches. Both singles players got some experience running tie breakers. Bailey and Charleigh won a consolation match for doubles at 6-3 later in the day. Although the team did not come away with any medals or placements, the athletes all played very well and learned from the competition.

Girls Golf

On Wednesday, September 8, the JV team played at the Varsity Lawson Invitational at Hidden Valley Golf Course and scored 8th place overall out of 11 Varsity teams. Low scorer for Kearney was Freshman Emily Stauffer with 112. Other scores include Megan Zingerman (115), Bailey Sherman (122), Kayla Resler (133), Kailey Romero (139)

The Varsity team played against Staley in a 9 hole match at the Excelsior Springs Golf Course. The Bulldogs beat Staley 180 – 184. Low round for Kearney was Senior Kenzi Kutch with 41. Other scores include Jessica Riley (43), Hailey Parker (47), Jojo Kutch (49), Anna Tourney (53)

The C team also played against Staley in a 9 hole match at the Excelsior Springs Golf Course. The Bulldogs were edged out by Staley 263 – 270. Low scorer for Kearney was Freshman Palak Patel who shot a 64. Other scores include Katie Parks (68), Izzy Kimberlin (68), Amelia Byers (70).

On Tuesday the girls golf team traveled to Lees Summit to compete in the BSS Jaguar Invitational. The girls competed well in very windy conditions and finished 9th overall with a team score of 399. Congratulations to Kenzi Kutch for finishing in 9th place with an 18 hole total of an 88. Here are the other individual scores: Hailey Parker- 99; Jessica Riley- 101; Jojo Kutch- 111; Anna Tourney- 122.

Boys Soccer

The boys soccer team opened play in the Excelsior Springs Tournament vs. Savannah this week. The Bulldogs won 5-1 to advance to the semi-finals vs. Fort Osage. Goal makers for Kearney were Aiden Komarek with 2, and Cory Kreiling, Tucker Jones, and Aiden Pasieniuk with 1 each. The Bulldogs are 1-2 so far this season.

Cross Country

In cross country action Saturday the girls team placed 1st and the boys were 4th in the silver division against class 4 teams. Medalists were: Alex Kinstler 1st, Abby Elam 3rd, Heidi Adams 6th, Liela Murphy 10th, Olivia Brock 14th, Cody Adams 15th and Jackson Elsea 19th.

The girls won the meet by 35 points ahead of Platte County.

KPGZ Sports - Brian Watts contributed to this story