KANSAS CITY — As the crowd thundered its approval, David DeJesus endured a violent and lengthy congratulation from his teammates at Kauffman Stadium last week. It was hard to blame the mob assembled at home plate for its enthusiasm. After all, it had been waiting awhile for such an opportunity. With his last-gasp blast in the ninth inning, the Royals’ veteran outfielder ended the team’s three-year drought without a walk-off home run — the first since April of 2005. His 10th long ball of the year assured them a fourth-place spot going into the All-Star break.

Johnny Coy spent his first days as a Sun Devil finding ways to settle in and beat the heat.
The Benton graduate and Arizona State freshman attended his first classes this week amidst scorching, triple-digit temperatures.

In the past two weeks, the Big 7 League just got a lot smaller.
After a series of June meetings and subsequent school board rulings, three Big 7 schools — Holton, Jefferson County West and Royal Valley — confirmed their intention to leave the conference in order to start their own league along with Perry-Lecompton and Santa Fe Trail.
The moves won’t take effect until the 2010-11 school year but leave Hiawatha, Sabetha and Nemaha Valley in a precarious position.

For Kate Gallagher, there’s no such thing as an off-season.
While most of her classmates are enjoying their summers off, the Savannah junior-to-be practically will spend the entire month of July on the road.

Hamilton freshman Lindsay Vollmer arrived on the track and field scene with quite a splash. Actually, her impact more closely resembled a tidal wave.

Every high-powered offense needs a talented decision-maker at its core — equal parts deadly goal scorer and unselfish point guard.

On the heels of an all-state basketball season, Johnny Coy put up even more impressive numbers in his “secondary” sport.

Maryville, Mo. — As Bishop LeBlond teammates, Tyler Irizarry never had to worry about guarding Jonathan Wright.

When injuries prematurely ended his playing days at Missouri Western, Justin McCarthy struggled to find many positives in his situation.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — For a few exuberant moments, John Farmer allowed his steely demeanor to crack wide open.
The compact Maryville junior leapt and pumped his fists as he ran along the runway at Dwight T. Reed Stadium. A 22-foot long jump will do that.
His personal best vaulted him ahead of the competition and landed him a second-place finish at Saturday’s Missouri Track and Field Championships.