End of season Baseball Awards Ceremony held
Photo by Shari Harris
Licking Mayor Keith Cantrell, right, presented Head Coach Harv Antle, left, coaches Cole Roark and Chris Harris, statistician Jeremy Rinne, and each of the members of the 2022-23 Licking High School Varsity Baseball team with proclamations from the City congratulating them on their first place win at the 2023 Class 3 State Tournament.
By Coach Harv Antle
LICKING, Mo. – The Licking Wildcats held their end of the season baseball banquet and awards ceremony last week at Triumph Sports.
Licking Mayor Keith Cantrell was in attendance to present the Wildcats with a proclamation from the city congratulating the team on its season and state championship. Following the proclamation, the team and its guests enjoyed a variety of deli treats from Town and Country Supermarket and desserts provided by the players.
Athletic Director Phil Gambill served as the evening’s keynote speaker. Gambill offered his congratulations to the team and warned players not to become complacent, while encouraging them to continue their pursuit of excellence.
Photo by Shari Harris
The players stood and were recognized by Mayor Cantrell at their awards ceremony.
Head Coach Harv Antle followed Gambill to the microphone to recap the season and announce postseason awards and accolades. Also, Antle took time to individually introduce all players (varsity and junior varsity) and included season statistics and personalized comments.
The Wildcat varsity team finished the spring with a record of 27-6 and the Class 3 State Championship. In the fall, Licking was 21-3 for an overall record of 48-9 this year.
The JV Wildcats also experienced a successful 2022-23 school year as they compiled an overall record of 18-8-1. The program-wide record for Licking this year was 66-17-1.
“We are pleased with where we are as a program,” commented Antle. “However, as always, there are areas for improvement. These players are disciplined, committed, and our mission now is to sustain the level of excellence we have achieved and keep moving the program forward.”
Here is a list of awards presented:
Varsity Letters – Logan Gorman, Garrett Gorman, Malachi Antle, Cole Wallace, Kannon Buckner, Keyton Cook, Keyton Rinne, Austin Stephens, Rusty Buckner, Silas Antle, Derek Mendenhall, Kale Cook, Karson Walker, Kellar Davis.
All Conference – Malachi Antle (Frisco League MVP), Rusty Buckner, Keyton Cook, Kellar Davis, Cole Wallace.
All District – Malachi Antle, Rusty Buckner, Keyton Cook, Kellar Davis.
All State – Malachi Antle, Kellar Davis, Rusty Buckner, Keyton Cook.
Academic All State – Silas Antle, Austin Stephens, Keyton Rinne, Keyton Cook, Kellar Davis, Kannon Buckner, Cole Wallace, Malachi Antle, Garrett Gorman, Logan Gorman.
Academic All State Team Award – The Wildcats were the number five team in Class 3 with a team GPA of 3.53. It was the fifth year in a row Licking finished in the top five of Class 3. Also, the Wildcats placed eight members in the local chapter of National Honor Society.
Team Awards:
Pitcher of the Year – Kellar Davis
Defensive Player of the Year – Cole Wallace
Wildcat Award – Keyton Rinne
Offensive Player of the Year – Rusty Buckner
MVP – Kellar Davis
