Missouri Sports Hall of Fame announces Winter Sports Luncheon

Local former athletes set for recognition by Mo. Hall; Dec. 16 event set for Oasis Hotel & Convention Center in Springfield
 
Three coaches – one a longtime high school basketball coach in the Ozarks, another who made an impact in women’s basketball, as well as a wrestling coach – will soon be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
They’ll be honored with a former Missouri State University standout and four high school eras at the annual Winter Sports Luncheon. The event is set for 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at the Oasis Hotel & Convention Center in Springfield.
“We’re excited to be honoring these outstanding coaches, individuals and high school teams. They’ve done so much for their sports, not only in putting winning teams in their gyms but also inspiring younger generations,” President & CEO Rob Marsh said Tuesday in announcing the Class of 2025.
The Class of 2025 features basketball coach Mike Wilson, the 1973 Forsyth High School State Championship Boys Basketball Team, Missouri State’s Johnny Murdock, the 1980-1982 Era of Purdy High School Girls Basketball, Cassville High School & University of Missouri standout Melissa McFerrin, Lebanon High School wrestling coach Randy Roark, the Marionville High School Boys Basketball State Tournament Teams, and the Clinton High School Boys Wrestling Era of 1990-1994.
The Hall of Fame also will bestow the Filbert Five Awards on 10 individuals who made significant contributions in the sport of basketball at the high school, collegiate and/or professional level. The award is named for the late Gary Filbert, a longtime basketball coach who at one time was an assistant to University of Missouri coach Norm Stewart (MSHOF Legend 2000), and was instrumental in the start of the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
This year’s Filbert Five women’s team features: Karissa McCarter Corpeny (Kickapoo High School/Arkansas State/Missouri S&T), Michelle Holman (Dadeville High School/Southwest Baptist University), Shannon Bigelow Pulsipher (Crocker High School/Mineral Area College), Shelly Garrison Rozean (Clever High School/College of the Ozarks) and Stephanie Lansdown Shelton (Seymour High School/Evangel University). The men’s team features Curtis Hargus (Hillcrest High School/Drury University), Collins Harris (Jefferson City High School/Drury University), Barry Kemp (Evangel University), Anthony Welcome (Nixa High School/Johnson County (Kan.) Community College/Drury University/William Jewell College) and Scott Welsh (Willard High School).

The following are honorees of local interest.

Marionville High School Boys Basketball State Tournament Teams
Marionville has enjoyed a strong tradition of high school boys basketball, with 17 state tournament teams. They cover six Final Four teams (1978, 1982, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006), as well as six that reached the state quarterfinals (1970, 1981, 1998, 2007, 2019, 2023). The 1996, 1997, 2003, 2010 and 2016 teams also won districts and played in the state tournament. The 1982 and 2005 teams won it all. Coached by Tony Armstrong (MSHOF 2018), the Comets beat Monroe City 70-61 in the finals, finishing 70-61. Coached by Ted Young (MSHOF 2020), the 2005 team beat St. Vincent 35-30 to win Class 2 and finished 27-3. The 1978, 2004 and 2006 teams all were state runners-up. The 1978 team, coached by Randy Rader, the Comets suffered a narrow 52-47 loss to Glasgow in the championship game and finished 26-4. The 2004 team fell just shy, as Van Far won the title game 46-40. The 2006 team also came close, as Harrisburg won the championship game 41-38. The 2002 team placed third.

Michelle Holman – Dadeville High School / Southwest Baptist University
In the mid-1990s, Dadeville fielded several talented girls basketball teams under coach Brett Soden, highlighted by the 1997 squad that advanced to the Class 1 Final Four and finished fourth in the state tournament. Known for her deep 3-pointers, Holman scored 2,820 career points and led the Ozarks in scoring for three consecutive seasons. Her total included a then-state record 285 3-pointers and 1,189 career rebounds (10.8 rpg). A three-time First Team All-State selection, she remains the only player in Dadeville history to have her jersey retired. In 1997, she was also recognized as USA TODAY’s Missouri Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Holman continued her basketball journey with one season each at Southwest Baptist University and State Fair Community College before channeling her passion for the game into a lifelong commitment to developing young athletes. For more than two decades, she has coached girls basketball at the grade school, junior high, and high school levels. At Walnut Grove, she has spent over a decade on the sidelines as an assistant coach for both the middle school and high school programs, with earlier coaching stops at Hollister High School (three seasons) and Omaha, Ark. (one season). Holman is the proud mother of two daughters, Kelli and Kolbi.

Shelley Garrison Rozean – Clever High School/College of the Ozarks
One of Clever’s initial standouts was Shelley Garrison Rozean, who was the first in school history to earn First Team All-State honors, doing so in Class 1 in 1981. She then repeated the honor as a senior in 1982. In fact, Clever had only three other girls earn All-State from 1988 to 2010. Coached by Jim LaSalle in volleyball, basketball and softball there, she scored 1,550 career points in basketball, averaging 23.5 points a game as a senior. She earned First Team All-Southwest Central League honors in all four sports her final three years after earning the distinction in basketball as a freshman. She also was a two-time All-District selection, and All-Ozark as a senior. Rozean helped the basketball and volleyball teams win conference championships all four seasons, with the softball team winning two SWCL banners. At C of O in basketball, Rozean started every game all four years – and was the first player there to have played all four years, as C of O started the program only three years before her arrival. They beat Missouri State by nine points and lost to the University of Arkansas by seven in exhibition games. She thanks her parents, Gilbert and Barbara, as well as siblings Lisa and Darren for their support. She and her husband, Eric, are parents to Maggie, Mollie, Mason and Miles and a grandson, Whitaker. Rozean is now in her seventh year at Springfield-based The Jacques Company, which handles rental properties and real estate.

Scott Welsh – Willard High School
Welsh was a three-time All-State selection for Willard High School for coach George Wilson (MSHOF 2008), earning Second Team honors in 1990 and then First Team All-State in 1991 and 1992. In all, he scored 1,899 points on varsity. Along the way, he helped the Tigers win the Blue & Gold Tournament in 1991 and place third in the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions a year later. That was a fitting part of his time with Wilson, who had coached his dad, Ed, at Fair Play High School and coached his brother, Steve, on Willard’s 1988 state third-place team. Welsh went on to a career in grounds, mostly as a golf course superintendent. He has been at Bill & Payne Stewart Golf Course in Springfield for the past five years. Previously, he worked 10 years at Green Hills Country Club in Willard and was at Island Green Golf Club in Republic for a decade. He got his start at Silo Ridge Golf & Country Club in Bolivar, learning under Ronnie Harmon. He also worked grounds for the Willard School District. Welsh and his wife, Angie, are parents to Syler, a senior at Willard High School.