MILWAUKEE, Wis.  –  The WIAA Spring Tournament Series concluded with the crowning of girls soccer champions in four divisions with hot and gusty wind conditions at Southeast Sales Powersports Stadium at Uihlein Soccer Park Saturday.

Top-seeded Muskego (21-0-2) becomes just the third program to win four championships in a row following a 1-1 tie and a 3-0 advantage in a shootout over third-seeded Madison West (16-3-3) in the Division 1 final.

Following a scoreless first half, the Warriors scored an unassisted goal at the 44:56 point of the second half. Kiara Muech found the right side of the goal off a rebound from a shot at the top of the box. The Regents evened the score at 74:26 on an unassisted goal by Elsie Watson after controlling a loose ball in the box and lifting it over the goalkeeper.

Muskego had the only shot on goal in the two overtime periods, which was saved, requiring the shootout to determine the champion.

Savannah Mittelstaedt was the winning goalkeeper for the Warriors, allowing the one goal in regulation while making four saves. She also stopped the three attempts in the shootout. Adah Lambeck allowed one goal and made one save in the game for the Regents. Nola Maughan and Catherine Arnold each had a game-high two shots on goal for Madison West.

Madison West had an 8-7 edge in shots, including a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Regents also had a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Muskego wins the program’s fifth State championship overall in its 10 tournament appearances, and Madison West finished runner-up in its 13th experience at State.

Second-seeded Brookfield Central (14-5) edged top-seeded Pewaukee (13-9) 2-1 to claim the State title in Division 2.

Quality shots were hard to come by in a scoreless first half, but Dylan Romero of Brookfield Central broke through to break the tie at 46:30 in the second half with a shot into the left side of the goal off a nifty assist from Megan Rauch inside the box. The Pirates tied the game at 1-1 with a goal by Hannah Sorkness that crossed the box inside the left post following a pass from Peyton Stading. The Lancers regained the lead at 68:58 when Alexandra Rossi fired an unassisted shot from 12 yards out into the right side of the goal, which proved to be the game-winner.

Pewaukee had a slight advantage in shots at 13-11, but Brookfield Central had an 8-7 edge in shots on goal. The Pirates also had the advantage in corner kicks at 5-3. Charlotte Vaughan led all players with four shots for the Lancers. Rossi and Kara Delisle each had a pair of shots on goal. Annie Robinson made six saves in goal and allowed one score to be credited with the victory. Kylie Rameker and Addi Burkemper each attempted three shots to lead the Pirates in that category. Allison Dykstra made four saves in goal and allowed both goals.

Brookfield Central won its seventh State championship in its 15th tournament appearance. Pewaukee finished runner-up in its first State experience.

Catholic Memorial (20-2-1), the top seed in the bracket, defeated second-seeded Edgewood (15-4-2) in the Division 3 championship game, 4-2.

Edgewood led 1-0 following a goal by Lauryn Matenaer at 25:21 in the first half. Her shot from the left wing crossed over into the right side of the goal off an assist by Natalie Cavanaugh. Catholic Memorial tied the game before halftime at 34:29. Margaret Sisk knocked in a shot within the box on a deflection off the crossbar on a shot by Claire Weber, who was credited with the assist.

The second half began with a flurry of scoring, beginning with a goal by Weber just 26 seconds into the period off an assist from Sisk, and then Julia Rothermel scored Catholic Memorial’s third goal less than two minutes later at 42:07 on a header off a corner kick by Weber. Edgewood reduced its deficit to 3-2 at 44:23 on Matenaer’s second score of the game on a pass into the box by Sonoma Bever, which was directed into the goal. The same combination on CMH’s third goal struck again on a corner kick at 45:10 of the second half to account for the final score.

Catholic Memorial had a decided advantage in shots at 18-7, shots on goal at 9-5 and corner kicks, 8-0. Rothermel recorded a game-high five shots, and Weber had three shots on goal, scoring once and distributing two assists to lead CMH. Jenna Welsch was credited with the win in goal, yielding two goals and making three saves. Matenaer led Edgewood with two goals on three shots. Sonoma Bever also had three shots–two on goal–and an assist. Caroline Onderak started in goal for Edgewood and played the first 34:29 of the game, surrendering a goal and making five saves before leaving the game with an injury. Madeline Cavanaugh was issued the loss in goal, yielding three goals with no saves in 45:31 minutes played.

CMH won its membership-leading 11th State championship in the 17th appearance by the Crusaders. Edgewood, also nicknamed the Crusaders, finished runner-up in its eighth State experience.

In Division 4, top-seeded Xavier (20-3-1) captured the crown with a 2-0 win over third-seeded Ozaukee/Random Lake (13-7-4) in the tournament final.

The Hawks put the first goal on the board at 3:56 in the first half. Sydney Neilitz placed a grounder into the net at the right corner from straight away with an assist from Kate Jannette for a 1-0 Xavier lead.

Xavier added an insurance goal at the 54:48 in the second half. Helayna Krueger scored an unassisted goal from the left side of the box that caromed off the right post and into the goal for a 2-0 Hawks’ lead.

The Xavier defense stymied the Ozaukee/Random Lake offense by allowing just one shot attempt in the game and no shots on goal. The Hawks recorded an overwhelming advantage in shots at 12-1, including 9-0 lead in shots on goal. Neilitz and Kayla Standish each had a game-high four shots on goal for Xavier. Abigail Anderson was the winning goalkeeper without having to make a save. 

The Hawks attempted eight corner kicks, and Ozaukee/Random Lake was held without an attempt.

Rebecca Kraemer played the entire game in goal for Ozaukee/Random Lake, allowing two goals and making seven saves.

Xavier won the State championship for the fourth time– the first in Division 4–in the Hawks’ 12th appearance in the tournament. Random Lake/Ozaukee finished runner-up in its first appearance as a co-op program.

While Jackson Cantwell already secured his commitment to the Miami Hurricanes, he continues to dazzle in track and field. This time, he won the Under-20 national shot put title in the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon.

Despite being the youngest competitor, Cantwell won by throwing a six-kilogram shot 69 feet, eight inches away. Meanwhile, North Dakota freshman Ethan Thomas finished second with a throw of 68 feet, 7 ¾ inches. Oregon’s Ben Smith (66’ 10 ¾”) and Ole Miss commit Ashton Hearn (64’ 5”) came in third and fourth, respectively.

Jackson Cantwell aspired to break the competition’s national record. Still, winning gold is a nice consolation for the On3 Class of 2026’s top college football prospect. He adds this accomplishment to his Missouri high school track and field shot put and discus throw state titles. If everything goes well, the 6-foot-7 offensive tackle could follow his parent’s footsteps and be a future Olympian.

Meanwhile, Cantwell helped the Nixa Eagles high school football team reach the Missouri Class 6 state championship but lost to DeSmet Jesuit, their only loss in 14 games last season. However, the Eagles finished the year as Missouri’s top-ranked team, based on the On3 Composite Team Rankings.

After the Nike Outdoor Nationals, he returns to Nixa for his senior high school football season, hoping to win a state title this time. As his mission stays the same, so too is his On3 Industry Ranking compared to other high school football seniors. His 98.77 mark is slightly over Georgia commit Jared Curtis for the number one spot. Likewise, his NIL value is estimated at $1.9 million.

The Hurricanes are lucky to welcome Jackson Cantwell, who, as On3’s Charles Power wrote, is a “Big-framed offensive tackle with eye-popping athleticism and functional strength as a high school underclassman.”

Welcome to “Olympic Sports Catch Up!” As the Olympic sports manager at this beautiful little website, I lead a team of talented and passionate writers who have a special interest in non-revenue Olympic sports at Missouri (I despise the phrase “non-revenue.”) Because it’s the summertime and (flag) football was added to the LA2028 Olympics, I’ll make an exception for the inclusion any Mizzou athletic team.

I’ve broken down each of the sports below and will be sharing fun/relevant info, social posts any writing our talented crew has done, and links to other stories from outside of Rock M that people have done, as we used to do in the Links posts. We are in a content desert, y’all.

Enjoy!

Non-Sports Specific

Mizzou has found great success in volleyball, softball and gymnastics in recent years, and track and field just crowned an individual national champion in Valentina Barrios Thursday night. Meanwhile, baseball and women’s basketball have struggled in recent years but provide tremendous upside for generating revenue.

Athletics departments that strike the right balance between the revenue sports and Olympic sports, and between short-term and long-term success, will set themselves up for the future both in competition and on the balance sheet.

Baseball

There has been some movement in the portal for the Tigers both in an out since I last checked in with you. Transferring out are relief pitcher Victor Christal, OF/1B Brady Picarelli, pitcher Brock Lucas and UTIL Trey Calloway.

Kam Durnin (June 18)- Durnin spent his first two collegiate seasons in the American Athletic Conference at Wichita State, where he hit .251 with a .724 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) this year and had 20 extra-base hits alongside 23 walks to 54 strikeouts, playing mostly at shortstop. The Camdenton native’s best season came as a true freshman, hitting .267 with an .833 OPS and seven home runs for the Shockers. Durnin is mashing this summer in the Appalachian League with the Kingsport Axmen, going 12-31 (.387) so far in nine games and recording more walks (9) than strikeouts (8).

Jamal George (June 15)- George was a part-time starter for Texas A&M in 2024, playing in 34 games and making 17 starts. The incoming senior hit .231 with a .584 OPS for the Aggies in 65 at-bats, also stealing six bases, and split time between the corner outfield and second base. The Trujillo, Puerto Rico, native’s addition will add back depth to Mizzou’s outfield after the graduations of Pierre Seals and Cayden Nicoletto. George is unlikely to start for the Tigers, but senior has solid numbers in college with the potential for a second-season jump in the SEC. This addition gives Jackson another experienced position player and valuable depth.

Basketball- Men’s

What we know is Trent Burns was making enough of an impression in early spring workouts that it caused other bigs on the roster to consider their position in the depth chart. Burns has more of a shooting touch than any other post currently on the roster and projects to be the kind of big who can stretch the floor.

Scottie Adkinson (2027 CG) is outperforming some of the best competition on Nike’s EYBL circuit, currently ranking in the 95th percentile for offensive efficiency. Unsurprisingly, the 6-2 guard remains a menace on the break. What’s surprising is the fact his dosage of off-ball opportunities has doubled up his combined tally of pick-and-rolls, isolations, and handoffs.

The Tigers face four high-major teams, all in the top 100 of Bart Torvik’s projections, but also have the usual assortment of buy games against low and mid-major squads. The team has eight games falling in that category, with only two teams – SEMO and Bethune-Cookman – cracking the top-250 of the Torvik projections.

Basketball- Women’s

Kellie Harper has been hot on the recruiting trail in her first season at the helm of the Tigers, and as of June 11, they’ve offered 23 different prospects spread across the USA in 2026 and 2027.

• Practice has started! Here’s some social posts! And SEC opponents! Per Dylan (on RockM+), this slate is favorable for Mizzou.

Games against Texas A&M, Arkansas, Georgia and Auburn are the perfect opportunity to pick up wins in the unforgiving grind of conference play. Plus, conference games against Alabama, Ole Miss and Oklahoma seem much more manageable with a strong crowd. That leaves just one home game left: Texas

• I’ve been loving this X’s and O’s content series with Kellie Harper. Next up, Lisa Thompson and Jordana Reisma!

Football

Isaac Jensen is much more of the pass-catching variety at the moment, though his massive frame makes you wonder what it would look like if he puts on the necessary weight to start pushing dudes around in the trenches. He’s all of 6’6”, but could stand to add a few dozen pounds before he’s game ready. But he’s got decent athleticism and size you can’t teach. He’ll continue Drinkwitz and Kirby Moore’s long-standing project to find a towering TE to revive Mizzou’s dormant tight-end-passing-game.

The greatest Missouri team of all-time (according to SP+) was the 2008 squad that finished +24.0 and ranked 7th in SP+. Last year’s Alabama finished +25.0 and ranked 4th in SP+.

In a “down year”.

We should all have that level of misfortune.

Golf- Men’s

• Per MUTigers, HC Glen Millican and incoming freshman Reese Roberts will be a part of the Team USA World Junior Golf Cup in Nagoya, Japan in late June.
• Congrats to Veikka Viskari on making the semifinals of the Amateur Championship.

Gymnastics

• Looks like Mizzou’s new rookies, Kimarra Echols, Hayli Westerlind, Bryce Kupbens and Maiya Terry will arrive in CoMo!

• I could re-live this season forever.

Soccer

• Here’s the schedule! Per Dylan at RockM+, the Tigers play seven of the same conference opponents as last year, and finished 0-6-1 in those games. The non-con looks similar to last year, and the Tigers will again face SLU, Memphis, MO State and Illinois (finishing 1-2-1 in those games).

As a whole the Tigers will play 10 home games, including the first Mizzou athletics event of the new school year in the home opener against SDSU (plus an exhibition against K-State on Aug. 6).

Mizzou faces six teams who made the NCAA Tournament, taking no shortcuts as Golan looks to have the best season in years for the Tigers.

Softball

She made 23 appearances in the circle for the Cougars with 14 starts. Michalak notched a team-best 35 strikeouts over 59.2 innings to go with a 6-5 mark in 2025.

Adding a young pitcher, but one with experience, is a smart move for a program looking to rebound, though her stats (a 5.75 ERA and more BB than K) are a bit eye-opening, per Karen. There is still a lot to do in order to move this program back into the top of the conference like they’ve been in recent years. Especially with the losses of Taylor Pannell (A&M) and Madison Walker (Florida), amongst many others.

Swim & Dive

Track & Field

• A bit delayed but incredible congratulations must go out to Valentina Barrios, Mizzou’s first individual javelin national title winner. She is the THIRD individual national champion of the year for Mizzou Athletics!

Other results: Kristi Perez-Snyman (high jump, 6th place) and Callan Saldutto (javelin, 3rd place) earned First Team All-American honors in the high jump while Claudina Diaz (high jump, 11th place) and Alicia Burnett (100m, 11th place) earned Second Team honors. Skylar Coffey finished 21st in the men’s discus after setting a PR in the first round of the west regional. The women overall placed 20th at NCAAs, which is their third best finish in school history. This is their highest finish since 2018, when they finished 11th.

“It was an outstanding week for the Tigers,” head coach Brett Halter said via MUTigers. “I’m really proud of everyone’s efforts and appreciate the support that we’ve had through our season. It’s been a collective effort – high-level performances take a village to achieve, and this staff did an incredible job of helping us reach that goal. The credit goes to the kids in the arena for sticking to the plan and achieving a historical season.”

• Some Tigers also participated in the USATF U20 Championship. Ryan Eddington took bronze in the 1500m. Charlotte Cullen advanced to the finals of both the 800m and the 1500m.
• Jonathan Seremes made his Diamond League debut with a fourth place finish in the triple jump.

Volleyball

• Dawn Sullivan & Co. has wasted no time adding a bunch of high-level roster additions! Lucky Fasavalu, a 5-8, top-60 setter from CA, Maizy Agnello, a 6-1, 43rd ranked outside hitter from IL, Eve Bushnell, a 6-2 outside hitter from NC, and Danielle Lewis, a 5-5 libero from NC.

Here’s Matthew’s master list of the roster members thus far.

Wrestling

• Brian Smith welcomed in 2-time NCAA qualifier Evan Bates from Northwestern. Matthew wrote on RockM+, “Similar to Maxx Mayfield, Bates provides the solid floor of a likely top-25 wrestler with a limited ceiling. He seems likely to be what he is at this point, garnering a lower seed at the NCAA Championships and lasting three or four matches but not making it deep into the consolation bracket”

Overall, this is a solid addition for Tiger Style as the program looks to get back into the top-10 at next season’s NCAA Championships after back-to-back down years. If nothing else, the team should be more prepared for attrition and adversity in 2025-26.”

China’s women put up a spirited performance against defending Volleyball Nations League champions Italy at Kai Tak Arena on Sunday, but eventually succumbed to a 3-0 defeat as the Hong Kong leg of the tournament came to a close.

The result, which was China’s first defeat of the week, means they are sixth with one more week of competition before the finals in Poland.

China pushed the Paris Olympic champions all the way in the first two sets, losing 25-21, 32-30, but collapsed in the third, bowing out 11-25.

“All of the matches in Hong Kong told us a lot and I’m really excited about our upcoming performances,” Dong Yuhan, the outside hitter, said.

“Our team has a bright future, we will follow the fighting spirit and try to continue our good results.”

Italy have now won all of their matches over the first two legs of the Nations League as they look to defend their 2024 crown.