Lady Wildcat Softball celebrates seniors

By Editor | May 6, 2026 |

Photo by Shari Harris
Accompanying Licking Wildcat senior softball player Hannah Payne were her parents, Mike Payne and Jessica Harris.

Photo by Shari Harris
Licking Wildcat senior softball player Mya Rinne was accompanied by her parents, Jeremy (also her coach) and Nicole Rinne.

The Licking High School Softball Lady Wildcats made their Senior Night extra sweet with a win over Ellington, 16-3. Seniors Mya Rinne and Hannah Payne were recognized after the game.

Letters were read which had been written by two teammates to the seniors, and after a few tears were wiped away, Coach Jeremy Rinne spoke about each player. He complimented Hannah Payne for always giving it her best. More tears were seen as he spoke about the honor of getting to coach his daughter, Mya Rinne, during her senior year. He concluded by expressing how proud he was of all of the team members, then teammates handed out gifts to each senior.

Fifth seed Licking will face fourth seed Potosi in the first round of the Class 2 District 3 District Tournament on Thursday, May 7, at 3 p.m. The semifinal round will be on Monday, May 11, with Licking’s side of the bracket scheduled for the 4 p.m. game. The bottom half of the bracket’s game will be at 5:30 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for Wednesday, May 14, at 4 p.m.

Houston, Salem and Bourbon are the first, second and third seeds, respectively, in the tournament. Grandview (Hillsboro) is the sixth seed, Kingston is seventh, and a combined Steelville/Viburnum team is eighth. The District Tournament will be held in Potosi. Good luck, Lady Wildcats Softball, in District play!