The year 2022 was a good one for Montgomery County residents El Reagan and Andrew Bailey.

Reagan, who is from High Hill, celebrated her first state track championship in May, coming out on top in the pole vault. Bailey, who is from Rhineland, was appointed attorney general after working as general counsel for 20 months.

Other top stories in the county in 2022 included the Wellsville-Middletown boys basketball team returning to the state tournament after a long hiatus, the renovation of the Montgomery County Courthouse and Highway 19 being named after a valuable member of the Montgomery City community.

Here are the top Montgomery County stories for 2022:

Bailey appointed attorney general
Bailey was named attorney general by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Nov. 23 after serving as general counsel for almost two years. He replaced Eric Schmitt, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November.
Bailey has never held elected office. He has eight years of professional experience as an attorney, including stints working as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Warren County and as assistant attorney general. He also worked as deputy general counsel for the governor and general counsel for the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Reagan wins state title in pole vault
Reagan became the second Montgomery County athlete in three years to win a state title in the girls division after placing first in a school-record 10 feet, 8 inches in the pole vault at the Class 3 state track championship meet on May 28 in Jefferson City.
Reagan, who is a junior at MCHS, had eight victories in the pole vault, including the one at state. She joined a small group of state track champions from MCHS that included Renee Finke and Ehren Banfield.
Reagan earned her second all-state track medal. She placed eighth in the pole vault in her freshman year.
Three months after winning a state title, Reagan was named Old Settlers Picnic queen.

W-M boys basketball team places fourth
The W-M boys basketball squad turned in a memorable 2022 season, winning 20 games and placing fourth in the Class 1 Show-Me Showdown Springfield. The Tigers made their first trip to the Final Four since 1987.
W-M clinched a state berth by beating North Shelby in the state quarterfinals at Truman State University on March 5. The Tigers lost both of their Final Four games in overtime, falling to Stanberry in the semifinals on March 11 and St. Elizabeth in the third-place game the following day. It’s the fifth time in program history W-M placed in the top four at state.

Highway 19 named after county resident
A five-mile portion of Highway 19 was named the Russell Lee Burton Memorial Highway in honor of the longtime county resident who died in October 2021 in a motorcycle accident near New Florence.
A bill signing was held on July 1 at the State Capitol in Jefferson City with Parson, former State Rep. Jeff Porter and Gary Leu, a cousin of Burton, in attendance.
The highway starts on Kimmrich Road, which is three miles north of Interstate 70, and ends on Strube Road, located two miles south of the interstate. Signs were put up in December.

Courthouse being renovated
The Montgomery County Courthouse started its renovation project in mid-May. The $5.2 million project, which is scheduled to last until possibly January, included window and roof replacements and masonry repairs at the courthouse and jail, new lighting and ceilings and asbestos abatement. The courthouse was closed in September.

MCHS basketball teams win district titles
The Montgomery County boys and girls basketball teams captured district championships in 2022, making it the first time the Wildcats won district titles in both boys and girls divisions in the same year. Both squads beat Hermann in the district finals on Feb. 26.
Four days later, the MCHS boys and girls were eliminated by Cole Camp and Tipton, respectively, in sectional play in Sedalia.