Sensational and nearly historic seasons for both Madill and Kingston basketball teams began the 2024 Marshall County sports year with a phenomenal Kingston football season rounding things out.
Although none of the county’s four basketball teams (girls and boys) reached the Oklahoma State Tournament, all four made impressive runs into the area playoff round.
Madill’s girls were on the brink of their first ever state trip before ending the campaign with a17-13 record while the Wildcats posted their best season in roughly 15 years. Madill began the season at 19-1 while moving all the way to sixth in the Class 4A state rankings before wrapping up with a 22-5 mark.
The Kingston Lady Redskins ended the regular season ranked ninth in Class 3A, but suffered losses to fifth rated Community Christian in both the regional finals and area finals to end with a 20-9 record for Coach Chad Rumer.
On the boys’ side, the Redskins sailed under the radar most of the season while building off a rugged early schedule. They notched area tournament wins over Heritage Hall and Jones but bowed out against Mount St. Mary in the contest to punch a final state ticket.
Spring sports were a bit tough on both sides of the county but each school baseball team had its moments.
Madill wrapped up with an 11-14 record on the diamond, arguably saving one of its best performances for the end of the year with a 2-0 stunner over perennial power Kingfisher in the regional opener.
The Redskin baseball team finished with a winning record at 15-13, forcing them on the road for the regional tournament which did not prove too kind.
In slow pitch softball, Madill recorded five wins and Kingston notched six.
The soccer pitch proved to be successful late in the season for the Wildcat squad as the boys rode the strength of three straight district wins to the Class 4A playoffs, bowing out to Clinton (3-1) in round one.
Madill’s girls unit tallied a 2-1 win over Atoka early in the year but struggled to find the back of the net most of the remainder of the spring season.
The fall campaigns for Madill were a struggle as the Wildcats scored a 35-3 victory over Mariettain Week 2 for their lone triumph. The Lady Wildcat fastpitch unit wrapped up the year with a 7-22 mark.
Kingston’s football march to the playoffs was an impressive one to say the least, rolling to a district championship. The Redskins put up loads of eye-popping statistics along the way during a 10-2 campaign in which their only losses came in final quarter nail biters against Fairview and Marlow.
On the softball diamond, the Lady Redskins notched a second-place finish in District 3A-1 only behind eventual state champ Lone Grove. They squeezed out a pair of wins to claim the regional title before a pair of defeats at Lindsay in the super regional, winding up with a 21-16 overall record.
Cross country saw Madill’s boys unit posted an eighth place team finish in the Class 4A State Meet while the girls had a spectacular individual effort from junior Yadira Barbosa, who took fifth with a time of 12 minutes, 11.6 seconds.