SPORTS

Swofford’s dream comes true

Published

10 years ago

07/29/2014

For former Nocona High School star Caleb Swofford, it’s the culmination of a childhood dream.
Swofford recently announced his intention to play college baseball at North Central Texas College in Gainesville.
“We saw him throw and we liked what we saw,” said longtime NCTC Head Baseball Coach Scott Harp. “We were going to be short on left-handed pitching, and Caleb helps us.”
Harp said he liked how Swofford was able to change speeds on his pitches.
Nocona Head Baseball Coach Brent Lewis, who played at NCTC during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, said he spent countless hours working with Swofford during the 2014 campaign.
“We worked on his mechanics,” Lewis said. “He listened and worked hard. He’s able to hit spots and work down in the zone. I think he has a good change-up and a slurve.”
A slurve is a combination slider/curveball pitch.
“Caleb was a workhorse for us,” said Lewis, who guided the Indians to 10 wins this season. Read The Bowie News’ mid-week edition for more on this story.

Nocona’s Caleb Swofford shows his left-handed delivery during a playoff game against Jacksboro from the most recent 2014 season. Swofford has opted to continue playing baseball for North Central Texas College in nearby Gainesville. Click on the photo itself for the complete image. (News file photo by Blake Wood)

SPORTS

Firecracker 5K welcomes 100 runners on July 4th

Published

3 days ago

07/13/2024

bowienews

Saint Jo’s Firecracker 5K welcomed 100 runners for its 16th year on July 4th.
According to runsignup.com, Old Jo’s Firecracker 5K saw 100 runners of all ages register to kick off in downtown Saint Jo.
Brayden Willett, 14, Nocona, was the top male finisher with a time of 19:02.6. Sarah Rainey, 35, Saint Jo, was the top female finisher with 21:47.1.
In the male nine and under division, I. Miller, nine, Muenster, repeated his first place win from 2023 with at time of 34:52.8. E. Thomas, eight, no town listed, also repeated her win with a time of 31:58.5.
Emry Raney-Cavnar, 14, Ardmore, OK, won the male 10-14 group and E. Christensen, 11, Decatur, took the female race. In the male 15-19 division Luke Gehrig, 17, Muenster, won, while Sophia Christensen, 15, Decatur, took the ladies’ title.

See all the results and more photos in the weekend Bowie News.

Special appreciation to Jennifer Gaston Panther Photography for use of her photos.

Brayden Willett, 14, Nocona, was the top male finisher in the Firecracker 5K.

Sarah Rainey, 35, Saint Jo, came in as the top female finisher in the Firecracker 5K.

SPORTS

MLB All Star Week underway Metroplex

Published

3 days ago

07/13/2024

bowienews

Major League Baseball and the Texas Rangers have planned a full week of activities for 2024 All-Star Week taking place in Arlington, Fort Worth and the North Texas region from July 12-16.
The 94th Midsummer Classic will be played at Globe Life Field on July 16, marking the second All-Star Game to be hosted by the Rangers following the 1995 All-Star Game at The Ballpark in Arlington.
HBCU Swingman Classic: July 12
All-Star Commissioner’s Cup: July 12- July 15
Jennie Finch Classic: July 12-15.
All-Star Village: July 13-16
All-Star Futures Game: July 13
All-Star Celebrity Softball: July 13
MLB Draft Opening Night: July 14
Home Run Derby: July 15
All-Star Red Carpet Show:July 16
MLB All-Star Game presented: July 16

Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.

SPORTS

Bullfighter starts early training for his future dream job

Published

6 days ago

07/10/2024

bowienews

By JORDAN NEAL
[email protected]
When most young kids get into rodeo, the craziest ones might be lucky enough to ride small bucking horses and maybe bulls in their late teens.
Then there is 12-year-old Riggin Garrett, who is already pursuing what he hopes is his future career as a bullfighter. It is a dream he began trying out several years ago at rodeos in and around this county.
This is not the Spanish variation of bullfighting where they end up killing the bull, this is “freestyle bullfighting” which is more popular in America. Here bullfighters attempt to make the bull look a fool, using their athleticism to barely dodge them, put their hats on their heads, leap over them and sometimes use a barrel as a prop. They also work as protection for the cowboys during the bull riding to help save bucked off riders.
In competition, both the bullfighter and the bull are judged after a 60-70 second encounter with points scored due to the various maneuvers pulled off.
Garrett is the son of Keysha Avens and Shane Garrett, and will be going into seventh grade at Saint Jo. As long as he can remember, Garrett has always been interested in bullfighting.

Read the full feature in the mid-week Bowie News.

Top Photo by J. Kelley Photography.

CORRECTION – In the mid-week Bowie News, the photographer for the picture on the top of page 1B was misidentified. The photo came from J. Kelley Photography, not Andre Silva as stated. We apologize for this error.