Joplin High School teacher/coach Tony Witt takes head basketball post at McAuley

(From Joplin Area Catholic Schools)

Joplin Area Catholic Schools (JACS) welcomes back 2000 graduate Tony Witt. Beginning with the 2020-21 academic session, Witt will serve as the science teacher in St. Peter Middle School and as the head boys basketball coach for McAuley Catholic High School.

“Coach Witt brings the knowledge, experience, and leadership that it takes to be successful both in the classroom and on the court,” said Dr. Emily Yoakam, principal at St. Peter Middle School and McAuley Catholic High School.

“We are thrilled to not only hire someone of his caliber and credentials, but also to welcome this Warrior back home.”

Witt holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a Master of Science in education from Missouri State University. He currently serves as the assistant girls’ basketball coach and the high school chemistry and physical science teacher at Joplin High School (JHS). He has held both positions since 2018. 

Prior to teaching and coaching at JHS, Witt held the positions of chemistry teacher, head golf coach, and assistant varsity boys coach for Diamond R-IV.

“Tony brings 13 years of experience as an assistant coach from three different programs,” said McAuley Catholic’s Athletic Director Mike Howard. “I couldn’t think of a better place to start his head coaching journey than right here at his alma mater!”

During his four years at McAuley, Witt had a passion for athletics and is part of McAuley Catholic’s 1,000-point club for basketball with 1,046 points. During his junior year of high school, he was named 1st team all-conference, 1st team all-district, and 3rd team all-area. As a senior at McAuley, he was named 1st team all-district, 1st team-all area, conference player of the year, and 2nd team all-state. Witt played one year of collegiate ball before breaking his foot.



“To get the chance to return to a place that had an incredible impact on my life is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Witt said. “I consider it an honor and a privilege to teach and coach in the same hallways where I was once a student and a player. I want to thank Dr. Yoakam and Coach Howard for believing in me, and whether they know it or not, they are turning this kid’s dream into reality.”

Robert Corn, Tongula Givens Steddum named to MIAA Hall of Fame

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Robert Corn and Tongula Givens Steddum will be part of the 2020 MIAA Hall of Fame Class, the organization announced today.

Corn and Givens Steddum are part of a group of 11 individuals and five teams to be inducted in this year's class. The time and date for the induction ceremony are still yet to be determined.

As a basketball player, Robert Corn was a tenacious defender who provided the leadership that enabled Missouri Southern to reach the quarterfinals of the NAIA Basketball Championships in 1978. Co-captain of the 1977-78 team, Corn helped the Lions finish 27-9 and capture both the CSIC and NAIA District 16 championships.

But that performance as a player pales to what the Benton, Ill., native accomplished as coach of the Lions. Corn retired in 2014 following 25 years as the head coach at his alma mater, including a 1999-00 season that saw the Lions finish with a 30-3 record and an Elite Eight win in the NCAA D-II Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky. Corn left the program as the winningest coach with 413 career wins. He currently is third-best in all-time wins by a men's basketball coach in the MIAA. He guided the Lions to two MIAA regular-season titles (1999-2000 and 2010-2011), as well as three MIAA Tournament Titles (1993, 2000, 2014). He coached the team to five NCAA Tournament Appearances in 1993, 2000, 2011, 2012, and 2014.

Corn went on to work in the Development Office at Southern following his retirement as a coach and retired from that position last year. Corn and his wife, Cindy have two sons, Rob and Scott and reside in Joplin.

Givens Steddum last competed in track & field as a Missouri Southern State University student-athlete in 1995, yet her name continues to dominate the school's history of track & field. Givens still holds many of the top 10 outdoor marks in both the triple jump and the long jump. Indoors, Givens has many of the top ten marks ever in the long and triple jump. She is the only female in school history to surpass 41 feet in the outdoor triple jump and one of two to surpass 20 feet in the long jump.

Givens Steddum was an eight-time All-America at MSSU, including national championships in the triple jump in 1994 (outdoor) and 1995 (indoor). She collected three MIAA high-point individual awards during her Southern career and held each Southern record in the triple jump and long jump at the time of her graduation and held the MIAA meet record for the outdoor triple jump until 2018.

In 1993, Givens Steddum was named MSSU's Female Athlete of the Year and claimed the honor again in 1995, the same year she also won the E.O. & Virginia Humphrey Award, given to the institution's outstanding student-athlete of the year.

In the 2003 indoor season, she had the third-best U.S. women's triple jump mark and the eighth-best long jump. Givens Steddum trained at MSSU in 2000 and went on to qualify and compete in the 2000 Olympic Trials. She also qualified for the 2004 Olympic Trials.

Givens Steddum and her husband Chris, have a son, Colby and reside in Dallas, Texas.

With Corn and Givens' induction, Southern has 11 individuals and one team in the MIAA Hall of Fame.

MSSU women's golf signs community college transfer

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Missouri Southern golf coach Mike Wheeler has announced the addition of Madison Saenz to the 2020-21 women's roster. Saenz will have two more years of eligibility left.

Saenz is a 5-5 transfer from McLennan Community College where she earned Academic All-Conference honors in 2020, as well as being named a conference athlete of the week.

A native of El Paso, Texas, Saenz prepped at Eastwood High School where she was a four-year letter winner on the golf team, while lettering three years in volleyball.

Saenz helped her team to three-straight District Championships, while being named All-District twice and All-City as a junior. She was a member of the All-City Academic Team for both Volleyball and Golf. Saenz finished third in her District Championships in 2018.

She helped the volleyball team to three-straight District Championships, while also earning All-District honors in volleyball.

Saenz is the daughter of Jackie and Pete Saenz and is a biology/pre-med major at Southern.

"Madison brings a lot of experience at a high level," Wheeler said. "Coach (Derek) Skaggs and I believe that 2020-21 will be a breakout year for her. She is a competitor and joins Kylie Carnes and Maggie Moore to give us three juniors for our third year of play."