2016 Semoball Cup goes to...

Nick Thompson's throws at the MSHSAA Class 2 track & field championships helped put Malden over the top in the Semoball Cup standings this spring.

The senior, who helped the football team reach the state championship game in the fall, won the discus with a throw of 158-feet, 7-inches and threw 53-feet to win the shot,. That, along with an all-state throw in the discus by senior Zach Gray, put Malden seventh in the Class 2 team standings.

Those performances in track and field, a third-place finish at state for the softball team in the spring and a combined winning percentage of .706 carried the Green Wave to the Cup.

Malden overtook Bell City, Saxony Lutheran and two-time defending Cup winner Notre Dame in the standings.

The Semoball Cup is awarded to the school with the most outstanding sports program based on a formula that takes into account the combined winning percentage of all sports teams, plus bonus points for advancing in postseason play for both teams and individuals. The bonus points are divided by the number of teams a school fields, making it possible for both large and small schools to compete together.

Malden teams were a combined 106-44 in football, baseball, softball, volleyball and basketball. Only one school in the 56-team field had a better overall winning percentage.

The Green Wave made it to the Class 2 football championship game, losing to four-time defending champion Lamar 37-0 for their only loss of the season.

The softball team finished third in the spring state tournament while three of the four remaining teams played for a district title and won at least 20 games.

In individual sports, Malden placed second in both boys and girls district track meets, winning a combined seven events. Along with Thompson and Gray, Malden got all-state performances from the girls 800-meter relay, Tebrya Benford and Alexus Leshay.

Even if Thompson had finished second in both of his events, the Green Wave had enough points to win the Cup, albeit by less than a point.

Malden finished 34.14 points ahead of Bell City with 170.67 points.

Bell City (136.53 points) won a state title in baseball and had a .683 winning percentage with two district titles in individual sports.

Saxony Lutheran (126.06) won a state title in girls soccer and placed second in girls basketball, finishing third in the Cup race.

Notre Dame (120.17) was fourth in the standings after placing second at state in the fall softball tournament. The Bulldogs won five district titles, most of any program, and had five all-state performances, including co-medalist honors in golf by Jack Litzelfelner.

Westwood Baptist of Poplar Bluff (110.58) finished fifth winning a state title in girls basketball and placed second in boys soccer. The Eagles, however, do not compete in MSHSAA tournaments and were awarded points only for the games they won at the state level.

Gideon (103.30) placed third at state in boys basketball and had two other sports win a district title, St. Vincent (98.45) finished second in boys cross country state meet while Bernie (98.19) placed third at state in volleyball.

Bloomfield (97.73), Advance (97.67) and Jackson (96.68) each had a team place fourth at state. Van Buren (91.67) had the best overall win percentage as teams went a combined 100-41 while Neelyville (91.12) and Naylor (82.95) each finished second at state in girls basketball. Portageville (81.34), Dexter (79.99), Poplar Bluff (79.67), Perryville (79.51), Greenville (79.44) and Chaffee (75.34) rounded out the top 20.

Nearly half of the area schools, 26, finished with an overall winning record while 96 athletes earned all-state honors in individual sports such as cross country, swimming, track, golf, wrestling and tennis.

2016 SEMOBALL CUP STANDINGS
The Semoball Cup is presented to the school with the most successful season based on a formula that takes into account the combined winning percentage of all sports teams (WIN) plus bonus points for advancement in postseason play for both teams (POST) and individuals (IND). The bonus points are divided by the number of teams a school fields for a final point total. Here are the final standings:

SCHOOL WIN POST IND TOTAL NOTEWORTHY

1. Malden 70.67 48.33 51.0 170.67 2nd football, 3rd softball, 2 ind. champ

2. Bell City 68.37 66.67 1.5 136.53 1st baseball, 2 ind. district titles

3. Saxony 69.63 52.86 3.57 126.06 1st girls soccer, 2nd girls basketball

4. Notre Dame 64.07 30.0 26.10 120.17 2nd softball, ind. champ; 5 district titles

5. Westwood 48.08 62.5 0.0 110.58 1st, 2nd non-MSHSAA state tourneys

6. Gideon 63.30 40.0 0.0 103.30 3rd in boys basketball; 3 district titles

7. St. Vincent 58.62 5.83 34.0 98.45 2nd boys XC, 8th girls XC

8. Bernie 64.44 33.75 0.0 98.19 3rd in volleyball

9. Bloomfield 57.14 31.25 9.33 97.73 4th boys basketball, golf

10. Advance 53.92 8.75 35.00 97.67 4th in golf

11. Jackson 62.33 12.22 22.13 96.68 4th in girls XC

12. Van Buren 70.92 1.25 19.50 91.67 9th girls XX, 11th boys XC; 100-41

13. Neelyville 53.62 37.50 0.0 91.12 2nd girls basketball

14. Naylor 45.45 37.50 0.0 82.95 2nd girls basketball

15. Portageville 60.51 20.83 0.0 81.34 3rd softball

16. Dexter 57.87 8.13 14.0 79.99 11th girls track, ind. champ

17. Poplar Bluff 60.17 9.50 10.0 79.67 4 district titles, 13 all-state (most)

18. Perryville 58.76 18.75 2.0 79.51 2nd boys soccer

19. Greenville 66.44 12.0 1.0 79.44 2 district titles; teams were 99-49-1

20. Chaffee 47.01 27.00 1.33 75.34 3rd in softball

21. Scott City 46.90 25.83 2.25 74.98 3rd in baseball

22. Kennett 58.02 12.14 1.20 71.37 2 district titles, softball quarterfinals

23. Cape Central 33.78 11.0 25.22 70.00 3rd boys swim, football semifinals

24. Oran 59.84 9.0 0.0 68.84 1 district title, 3 runner-ups

25. Sikeston 50.64 11.50 6.25 68.39 4th boys basketball, 12th girls track

26. Woodland 56.25 0.0 11.75 68.00 1 district title, 8 all-state honors

27. Scott Central 56.98 8.75 0.0 65.73 1 district title

28. Kelly 45.74 1.67 15.25 62.65 Ind. state title in boys track

29. Cooter 49.58 12.50 0.0 62.08 1 district title, quarterfinalist

30. New Madrid 43.84 15.0 3.0 61.84 3 district titles

31. Clearwater 49.65 11.0 0.0 60.65 1 district title, quarterfinalist

32. Caruthersville 47.79 10.0 1.67 59.46 2 district titles, quarterfinalist

33. Senath 58.02 0.0 0.0 58.02

34. Ellington 50.39 6.0 1.0 57.39 1 district title

35. Twin Rivers 49.33 6.0 0.0 55.33 1 district title

36. Southland 52.44 2.5 0.0 54.94 0 district title, 2 runner-ups

37. Zalma 38.67 0.0 16.0 54.67 5 all-state honors

38. Doniphan 50.35 0.0 0.33 50.69

39. Charleston 34.67 4.29 10.0 48.95 1 district title, 3 all-state honors

40. Risco 45.74 1.25 0.0 46.99 0 district title, 1 runner-up

41. Holcomb 45.26 0.0 0.0 45.26

42. South Pemiscot 45.16 0.0 0.0 45.16

43. East Prairie 41.75 0.0 3.0 44.75 3 all-state honors

44. Meadow Heights 41.74 1.0 0.5 43.24 0 district title, 1 runner-up

45. East Carter 38.60 1.25 1.5 41.35 0 district title, 1 runner-up

46. Clarkton 39.36 1.67 0.0 41.03 0 district title, 1 runner-up

47. Leopold 37.00 1.25 0.0 38.25 0 district title, 1 runner-up

48. Puxico 33.77 0.0 0.0 33.77

49. Campbell 33.61 0.0 0.0 33.61

50. North Pemiscot 33.33 0.0 0.0 33.33

51. Hayti 26.73 0.0 4.5 31.23 3 all-state honors

52. Marquand 30.61 0.0 0.5 31.11

53. Oak Ridge 21.35 0.0 5.0 26.35

54. Delta 13.79 0.0 0.0 13.79

55. Delta-Deering 12.77 0.0 0.0 12.77

56. Richland 8.33 0.0 0.0 8.33

Click here for standings following winter sports.

Click here for standings following fall sports.

Click here for the 2015 Cup.