Ward graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a minor in psychology. He also has 21-hour concentration in environmental science, social studies and education.
Ward started following sports in southeast Missouri when he was five-years-old in 1991. In the 2009-10 basketball season, he watched 84 varsity basketball teams play a total of 147 varsity games. He has also attended the state basketball, baseball and volleyball tournaments the last three seasons. His favorite baseball memory is watching the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Texas Rangers in the 2011 World Series.
Ward completed an internship in the summer of 2010 at semoball.com. During the internship he had the opportunity to visit and photograph the athletic facilities at all 58 semoball schools. He also researched the district and state championship histories of 55 schools and used the Cover it Live application to cover the Senior Babe Ruth state baseball tournament. After the internship he served as sports editor at Daily Dunklin Democrat in Kennett, Mo., from 2011-2013.
MHSVCA all-state, all-region volleyball teams released
The Missouri Volleyball Coaches Association has released its all-state and all-region teams for the 2014 season.
Seven players from the SCAA Conference received recognition on the all-state team.
Bernie sophomore setter Morgan Baker was selected first-team all-state in Class 1. Bernie sophomore middle hitter Kayli Tanner received honorable mention on the Class 1 all-state team.
Bloomfield senior middle hitter Lindsey Young was selected first-team all-state in Class 2. Bloomfield senior setter Chelsea Delay was selected second-team all-state in Class 2. Woodland freshman middle Krista Rhodes received honorable mention on the Class 2 all-state team.
Dexter senior middle hitter Jessica Lindsey was selected second-team all-state in Class 3. Dexter senior middle hitter Shyann Jines received honorable mention on the Class 3 all-state team.
According to the Missouri Volleyball Coaches Association: "All-state teams are determined by a committee that meets on Saturday afternoon of the state tournament. Any all-region player is eligible for all-state because (depending on regional strength), a second team player from one part of the state may be better than a first teamer from another part of the state. Coaches of all-region players send in a profile that lists season stats, honors and other information to assist the committee. For a player to be honored, their coach must be a member of MHSVCA. The committee then selects between 8-12 players to be on each class's first team, second team and honorable mention teams.
"All-region teams are selected by MHSVCA member coaches. This award recognizes season-long play in one of five regions of the state established by the MHSVCA. During the last week of the regular season, each member coach can vote for as many as eight players per class in their own region only. The votes are tallied and the top eight vote getters (and ties) in each region are named to the first team, the next eight (and ties) are named second team and the next eight (and ties) are named honorable mention. A player must have a minimum of two votes to be considered all-region. For a player to be honored, their coach must be a member of MHSVCA. If a region does not have enough players to complete a team, then a region may not have a second team or honorable mention team."
View complete all-state selections and all-region selections for the southeast Missouri region below:
ALL-STATE
Class 1
First-team: Rachel Holthaus - Winona; Lexi Smith - Santa Fe; Taylor Covington - New Haven; Katie Verseman - St. Vincent; Morgan Baker - Bernie; Libby Dove - Green Ridge; Mallory Uptegrove - Stover; Taylor Rolen - Eminence;
Second team: Jackie Verseman - St. Vincent; Kylie Limback - Santa Fe; Abigail Hough - Winona; Trista Kormeier - New Haven; Abby Benz - KC Lutheran; Breanna Peck - Green Ridge; Brooke Wilson - Osceola; Caitlin Petty - Leopold; Alyssa Young - Billings;
Honorable Mention: Kyndal Thomason - Winona; Lauren Wiggins - Santa Fe; Delia Lowman - St. Vincent; Kayli Tanner - Bernie; Emily Wedlock - Mound City; Emma Borcherding - New Haven; Jessica Nentrup - Lockwood; Ellison Brunkhorst - Concordia;
Class 2
First-team: Lindsey Young - Bloomfield; Johonna Walkup - Mountain View; Rebecca Roepe - St. Paul Lutheran; Molly Hill - Jefferson; Ellie Watkins - Lutheran St. Charles; Haley Luebbering - Fatima; Cheyenne Day - Mountain View; Tara Buthod - Fatima; Kaylee Larimer - Strafford; Jorden Stacey - Fair Grove;
Second team: Chelsea Delay - Bloomfield; Chloe Rear - Strafford; Shannon Peters - St. Paul Lutheran; Kaleena Logan - Cole Camp; Emma Lander - Crane; Emily Keilholz - Fatima; Kristen Williams - Arcadia Valley; Susan Roth - Valle Catholic; Raegan Wieser - Saxony Lutheran; Allie Holmes - Clearwater;
Honorable Mention: Tyler Reid - Bishop LeBlond; Shannon Mitchell - Southwest Wash; Jacey Jacobs - Mid Buchanan; Hannah Bahr - Valle Catholic; Megan Williams - Arcadia Valley; Lexi Tennis - Clever; Haley Stallings - Fair Grove; Megan Chism - El Dorado Springs; Abigail Bergman - Saxony Lutheran; Hilah Fish - Jefferson; Krista Rhodes - Woodland; Kaitlyn Miller - Adrian;
Class 3
First-team: Megan Donovan - Villa Duchesne; Hannah Cherry - Villa Duchesne; Jena Otec - St. Pius of Festus; Grace Richmeyer - St. Pius of Festus; Anne Geiger - St. Pius of KC; Sarah Schiesl - St. Pius of KC; Eric Haslag - Helias Catholic; Lindsey Griggs - Helias Catholic; Ashley Dudenhoeffer - Helias Catholic; Teagan DeFalco - Logan-Rogersville; Audrey Asand - St. Francis Borgia; Leketor Member-Meneh - Lutheran South;
Second team: Abby Groover - Logan Rogersville; Alex Spears - Perryville; Kacy Eschweiler - St. Charles West; Kai Wesemann - Pleasant Hill; Jessica Lindsey - Dexter; Cailey Braker - Bishop DuBourg; Kourtney Kekec - North County; Lydia Goodson - Notre Dame Cape Girardeau; Katie Tyler - O'Hara; Blake Berhorst - Helias Catholic; Marisa Drevenak - Villa Duchesne;
Honorable Mention: Laynie Cameron Dak - Mt. Vernon; Jordan Kriete - St. Francis Borgia; Shyann Jines - Dexter; Rachel Schnick - Perryville; Rhegan Spiegel Savannah; Mariana Edmond MICDS; Breanna Sitzes - Windor;
Class 4
First-team: Madison Duelo - Liberty; Tori Roe - Lafayette; Ashley Ophoven - Ozark; Kendra Sater - Ozark; Bethan Besancehez - St. Joseph's Academy; Lauren Peterson - Liberty; Moran Gresham - St. Joseph's Academy; Allison Turner - Lafayette; Carlisa May - Lee's Summit West; Lexi Hart - Trumann; Paige Erego - Parkway West; Aubrey Cheffey - Nixa;
Second team: Amanda Noel - Lafayette; Olivia Nowakaowski - Park Hill; Jade Faucette - Francis Howell; Orie Agbaji - Oak Park; Katie LaVirgne - Cor Jesu Academy; Paige Perry - Ozark; Emma Brand - Glendale; Abby Knight - Smith-Cotton; Emma Lock Lee's Summit; Mackenzie Irwin - Carl Junction; Maren Mair - Platte County; Rachel Rippee - Kickapoo;
Honorable Mention: Alayna Martin - Lafayette; Bailey Baumann - Ozark; Bradyn Wall - Carl Junction; Emily Rudolph - Marquette; Dominique Lipari - Liberty; Hannah Western - St. Joseph's Academy; Caroline Clifford - Ozark; Kourtney Knox - Farmington; Elle Sandbothe - Lee's Summit West; Audrey Fischer - Nerinx Hall; Alicia Starr - Blue Springs; Kayla Wainwright - Park Hill South;
ALL-REGION
Class 1
First-team: Caitlin Petty - Leopold; Bailee Cope - Leopold; Morgan Baker - Bernie; Taylor Rolen - Eminence; Kayla Johnston - Bismarck; Katie Verseman - St. Vincent; Brilee Henson - Bismarck; Kellie L'Hote - St. Vincent;
Second team: Kayli Tanner - Bernie; Leah Landewee - Leopold; Hayli Smith - Eminence; Brylee Morse - Advance; Addie Shelton - Bernie; Alanis Below - Advance; Brook Earnhart - Gideon; Wynter White - Clarkton;
Honorable Mention: Samantha Rainwater - Greenville; Jackie Verseman - St. Vincent; Lindsey Walk - Greenville; Cierra Lott- Clarkton; Katelyn Riley - Clarkton; Dana Link - Crystal City;
Class 2
First-team: Raegan Wieser - Saxony Lutheran; Susan Roth - Valle Catholic; Kristen Williams - Arcadia Valley; Molly Hill - Jefferson; Brittany Bessenger - Portageville; Allie Holmes - Clearwater; Lindsey Young - Bloomfield; Hannah Bahr - Valle Catholic; Megan Williams - Arcadia Valley;
Second team: Abigail Bergman - Saxony Lutheran; Hilah Fish - Jefferson; Lexie King - Woodland; Chelsea Delay - Bloomfield; Kim Young - Clearwater; Krista Rhodes - Woodland; Kaley Roper - Bloomfield; Justice Carlock - Malden;
Honorable Mention: Cassandra Moulton - Valle Catholic; Samantha Cryts - Puxico; Chelsea Cureton - Woodland;
Class 3
First-team: Jessica Lindsey - Dexter; Alexandria Spears - Perryville; Jena Otec - St. Pius of Festus; Kourtney Kekec - North County; Megan Skaggs - Park Hills Central; Lydia Goodson - Notre Dame; Shyann Jines - Dexter; Abbie McAlister - Notre Dame Cape Girardeau;
Second team: Breanna Sitzes - Windsor; Krysten Garrison - Dexter; Riley Meyer - Ste. Genevieve; Emma Basler - Ste. Genevieve; Kelsey Kingsland - DeSoto; Grace Richmeyer - St. Pius of Festus; Sam Feeney - Notre Dame Cape Girardeau; Sydney Skaggs - Park Hills Central;
Honorable Mention: Libbi Schnurbusch - Perryville; Emily Eaton - North County; Brooke Moll - Perryville; Brooke Hogard - Perryville; Kayla Buxton - Perryville; Kenzie Jones - Park Hills Central; Katie Duncan - Windsor;
Class 4
First-team: Kourtney Knox - Farmington; Mattie Bradley - Farmington; Halle Huffman - Poplar Bluff; Autumn Reid - Jackson; Lauren Beydler - Sikeston; Kori Tapp - Poplar Bluff; Ester Chinwuko - Sikeston; Kaitlyn Gilliam - Farmington; McKenzie Bess - Cape Central;
Second team: Kayla Thurman - Jackson; McKinzie Scott - Jackson; Maci McCuan - Jackson;
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