As you can read in our B Section this week, the 2021 fall sports season for the Wright County school districts is officially underway. Hartville, Mansfield, Mountain Grove and Norwood combine to have 12 fall sports programs competing on the varsity level.
This includes football, volleyball, baseball, softball and cross country. (Editor’s Note: Our cross country preview will appear in our Sep. 1 issue.)
This is an exciting time for these young student athletes as they get to see the results of their hard work in the offseason.
There are several storylines to follow this year.
In football, the Mountain Grove Panthers are coming off a season in which they reached the district championship game.
They have a lot of quality returning players who get to enjoy showing off their new field to opponents this season.
Something tells me this squad will not be an under .500 team in 2021.
In volleyball, Mansfield has restarted a program that had success in the 1990s. Meanwhile, Mountain Grove’s players will look to build on the success they had late last season under their new head coach.
In baseball, we get great match-ups with Mansfield, Norwood and Hartville taking on each other. Should be some great games. As for softball, it’s strange to not have a team in the fall in Mansfield, but they are getting a new field. Norwood and Hartville should take big steps forward.
In cross country, Mountain Grove, Hartville, Norwood and Mansfield have individual runners who can push for top finishes. Follow all teams this season with our coverage in the Wright County Journal.
