Kearney High School is back in session and that means fall sports are starting up again. Here is your Bulldog Sports Recap.

Boys Soccer

The boys soccer team secured a win in their home opener against Staley on Tuesday, August 29. It was a defensive struggle, and the scoreline was 0-0 at the end of regulation.

Midway through the second period of sudden death, Keller Anderson made the save of the game at point blank range to keep the team alive. The Bulldogs won a corner kick shortly after, where Liam Ridle's ball to the far post was met by the head of Tucker Jones, who put it away to finish the game.

The Bulldogs are 1-0 on the season and open the Excelsior Springs tournament next week with a game against Pleasant Hill on Tuesday, September 5, at 5 pm.

Girls Tennis

The girls tennis season officially started with a Blue Springs South Novice Tournament on Monday, August 28, and a Liberty North match on Tuesday, August 29.

On Monday, eight novice athletes competed in the Blue Springs South Novice Tournament. For some of these athletes, this was their very first tennis match. Although no medals were brought home Monday, the athletes fought hard against the tough competition.

On Tuesday, the varsity and JV teams traveled to Liberty North. The Bulldogs left it all out on the courts, but unfortunately were not able to come away with the win. The night ended 0-9 for the Bulldogs.

While the varsity and JV teams were at Liberty North, the Bulldogs' C team hosted a home match vs Liberty North's C team. The C team put up a great fight ending the evening with a team score 8-6.

Softball

On Tuesday, August 19, the varsity softball team had their first home game of the season against the Oak Grove Panthers. The Bulldogs were able to secure the win beating the Panthers 5-3 with great pitching and great defense.

Highlights:

Macy Morrow went 1-4

Brooke Paalhar went 1-3

Alyssa Quick went 1-3

Morgan Pennington went 2-3 with 2 RBIs

Sela Lowrance had 2 RBIs. Sela also pitched and had a great outing. She had 6 strikeouts on the night. Kate Landwee came in the 7th inning to close out the game. She had 2 strikeouts.

Swim and Dive

The boys swim team traveled to Blue Springs on Tuesday, August 29, and finished in 3rd place against Blue Springs South, Park Hill, Smith Cotton, and St. Michael's. Here are the highlights:

Whitaker Steward, Bennett Freeman, Parker Bartlett, and Reid Salmonson finished in second place and dropped 3 seconds for a season best time of 1:50.76 in the 200 Medley Relay.

Whitaker Steward took home the gold in the 200 Freestyle with his state consideration performance with a time of 1:49.86.

Parker Bartlett finished in 3rd place in the 200 Freestyle with a lifetime best of 2:02.52.

Reid Salmonson finished in 3rd place in the 200 IM with a lifetime best of 2:26.17.

Parker Mendel finished in 5th place in the 50 Freestyle with a lifetime best of 27.28.

Diver Isaac Clayton finished in 4th place with a lifetime best score of 136.35, and diver Finn Simmons finished in 6th place with a lifetime best score of 115.70.

Parker Bartlett finished in 3rd place in the 100 Butterfly with an impressive, lifetime best performance that was just shy of a state consideration time of 1:02.98

Reid Salmonson finished in 2nd place with an impressive, lifetime best performance that was just shy of a state consideration time of 54.02 in the 100 Freestyle.

Parker Mendel finished in 2nd place with a time of 6:06.57 in the 500 Freestyle. This performance is almost 90 seconds faster than the last time he swam this event.

Reid Salmonson, Parker Bartlett, Parker Mendel, and Whitaker Steward earned a 1st place finish and a state consideration time of 1:39.54 in the 200 Freestyle Relay.

Whitaker Steward earned another 1st place finish and a state consideration time of 57.48, this time in the 100 Backstroke.

Bennett Freeman earned a 9th place finish with a time of 1:23.16 in the 100 Backstroke.

Isaac Clayton - Earned a 9th place finish in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:27.16.

KPGZ Sports - Brian Watts contributed to this story