By Brandie Gay
Van-Far hosted an EMO Senior Showcase on Sunday, April 7.
The EMO Conference is made up of the following schools: Bowling Green, Clopton, Elsberry, Louisiana, Mark Twain, Montgomery County, North Callaway, Silex, Van-Far, Wellsville-Middletown and Wright City.
Class 2 District 5 All-District Coach of the Year, Pat Connaway, stated it was a fun day and it was good to recognize several of the area seniors.
“Unfortunately, this event used to be put on yearly, but had fallen through the cracks the last several years,” he said. He gives credit to Tracy Wilburn for coming up with the idea to restart it and use it as a fundraiser for the junior/senior classes.
Special thanks went to Scott Hanson and Chad Reading for donating their time and referring both games. Also, thanks went to all the EMO coaches who donated their time to be a part of this day.
Connaway said he would also like to thank the student athletes, their parents and Natalie Gibson, as well as the Van-Far School District for hosting the game.
The sponsors also deserve a thank you for making this happen. They are South Lake Designs, Bobbie Elaine’s Consignment and Boutique, and Tracy Wilburn and the Van-Far Booster Club.
The seniors and coaches who participated in the EMO Senior Showcase are: First Team, Carmen Wilburn, McKenna Eng-Hoffman and Katelyn Sutton from Van-Far; and Taylor Martin from Mark Twain. These girls were coached by Joe Basinger from Montgomery County.
Second Team, Karlie Ellis and Abagail Mooney from Silex, Kaedyn Johnson from Wright City and Meagan Cripe from Wellsville-Middletown. These girls were coached by Todd Cripe from Wellsville-Middletown. The game ended in a tie.
First Team Nikos Connaway, Gage Gibson and Carter Jennings from Van-Far, Harrison, Martin, Lumley from Louisiana; Fessler and Twellman from Silex; Hall and Myers from Clopton. These boys were coached by Coach Pat Connaway and Coach Brett Reading from Van-Far.
Second Team, Jacob Elmore-Stellwagon and Cade Smith from Montgomery County, Samuel Pezold and Paul Russell from North Callaway; Ezekiel Byers and Christopher Dowell from Elsberry; Christopher Kornfield & Carle’on Jones from Wright City. These boys were coached by Coach Moeller from Elsberry, Coach Cripe from Wellsville-Middletwon and Coach Kroeger from Montgomery County.