SPORTS
STORM CENTER: Makayla’s Wish has come true
Ever since the sports editor set foot in Montague County, he’s been amazed by the generosity of the rodeo community.
That was on display yet again last Saturday during a benefit barrel race on behalf of 17-year-old Saint Jo resident Makayla Garrett.
The benefit, called Makayla’s Wish, took place at the Montague County Cowboy Church covered arena on a spectacularly sunny January afternoon in Montague.
There were nearly 200 entries and a tidy five-figure sum was raised to help Garrett and her family during this great time of need.
See, Garrett’s suffering from a condition called familiar adenomatous polyposis (FAP). FAP is a fatal, and there’s currently no known cure.
Garrett’s half-sister Audrey died from FAP back on Nov. 5, 2013. The condition is hereditary, meaning it can be passed down from generation to generation within a family.
FAP first strikes the large intestine, one of the most important parts of the human body’s digestive system.
Polyps can transform into cancer, like it has for Makayla in her stomach and esophagus. The root cause of FAP is a genetic mutation, a flaw in the body’s tumor suppressor genes.
“I’m still in shock,” Makayla’s mother Keysha Avens said of the outpouring of support this past Saturday.
The barrel racing circuit knows Makayla very well.
Her younger sister, Faith, is a barrel racer. Younger brother Hunter Garrett is on the youth rodeo circuit locally. Riggin Garrett, three years old, is already following in Hunter’s footsteps. Read more of this column in the weekend Bowie News.
Editor’s Note: The Storm Center column is the expressed written views of sports editor Eric Viccaro and not The Bowie News.
Saint Jo resident Makayla Garrett (right) enjoys riding a horse during Saturday’s Makayla’s Wish benefit barrel race at the Montague County Cowboy Church. (Courtesy photo by Keysha Avens)
A positive culture can be tough to install but will reap dividends if done correctly.
Trinadee Imotichey is trying to do just that with her Forestburg Lady Longhorns.
Imotichey, an assistant coach on the 2025 Forestburg volleyball team, was moved into the head coaching position. Last year’s coach, Cori Hayes, took over as football head coach.
Imotichey, in her 2nd year in Forestburg, said she learned a lot from Hayes and is ready to take over.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Bowie’s summer softball league team overcame a 6-1 deficit with a six-run third inning for a 7-6 win over Bridgeport in its season opener July 6.
The league consists of teams from Bowie, Nocona, Lindsay, Bridgeport, and Alvord and will last three weeks. Bowie will host games each week.
Bowie pitcher Hazel Trahern gave up two singles and a groundout to put the Sissies on the board in the first. It would be the only hits she gave up in the game. Two groundouts and a strikeout got the Lady Rabbits out of the jam.
Bowie got the run back in the bottom of the first with Andee Jo Miller opening the frame with a walk and a stolen base. She then scored on Kynlee Baker’s groundout to tie the game at one.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Rest. Run. Repeat.
Sage Keck, an 8th grader at Montague, lives by this mantra. No ifs, ands and buts about it.
She’s been running since fourth grade PE classes where she would run a mile every week. After discovering she could outrun the other students, she began to enjoy it and continued doing it.
Her success continued, as she finished 2nd overall against more than 200 runners at the Old Saint Jo 5K July 4. In last weekend’s Texas Junior Olympics, she reached the pinnacle of her career so far by qualifying for the United States of America Track and Field (USATF) National Junior Olympics in Norwalk, Calif. in three events.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
-
NEWS3 years agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS4 years ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS3 years agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS4 years agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS3 years agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
Show us something good9 years agoCountry music star children perform in Bowie
-
NEWS3 years ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
100th Birthday4 years agoLooking back at the 1958 Centennial edition of The Bowie News