SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOLS: Signing on the line
By ERIC VICCARO
bnewssports@sbcglobal.net
Nocona High School athletes Miriam Diaz and Jaxon Phipps put pen to paper, signing with a pair of regional colleges, on Tuesday at the school.
Diaz will be joining both the cross country and track and field teams at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.
“It’s a dream come true,” Diaz said. “I’ve always wanted to run on the college level. I love running. It’s really cool to see this hard work pay off.”
This weekend, Diaz was named to The Bowie News’ All-Montague County track and field team, capping a stellar scholastic career running on tracks and grass.
Phipps is set to play baseball at Murray State, a two-year junior college located in Tishomingo, Okla. A drive from Nocona to Tishomingo is roughly 96 miles according to Google maps.
“It’s always something I wanted to do, play college baseball,” Phipps said. “I’ve been working hard every year to get better.”
Phipps was a starter at Nocona in baseball for all four years. Jaxon said he will focus primarily on being a middle infielder at Murray State.
Murray State was eliminated from the postseason by Western Oklahoma State College, but the Aggies had a successful season with a 38-18 record.
The Aggies finished with a .317 team batting average and .415 on-base percentage.
Under head coach Zach Crabtree, Murray State won the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series in 2013.
Murray State plays in the Bi-State Conference along with the likes of Seminole State and Rose State, which is where Bowie’s Dylan Slade, Cooper Cantwell and Coby Bentley will play on at the next level. Read more in the weekend Bowie News.
Jaxon Phipps (left) and Miriam Diaz of Nocona both signed on to play collegiate sports during a special ceremony on Tuesday in the school library. Phipps will play baseball at Murray State in Oklahoma while Diaz will run for nearby Midwestern State. (Courtesy photo by Todd Peterson/Nocona Independent School District)
In its first match since last year’s state semifinal appearance, Saint Jo hosted Bryson Aug. 11 and took a 25-13, 25-12, 25-21 win over the Cowgirls.
The Lady Panthers lost some talent to graduation but have five seniors ready to have a successful season. Savannah Hil, one of the five, got Saint Jo rolling offensively with a four-point serving string, including a pair of aces. Abby Carter’s kill and Kamron Skidmore’s block helped put the Lady Panthers up 5-2 in game one.
Hadleigh Moore added a four-point string of her own to extend the lead to 10-3. Tatum Morman’s pair, helped by a Hill kill, gave Saint Jo a 14-5 lead. Bryson got within five before a Hill 3-pointer, with help by a Carter kill, put the lead back at 18-10.
After an Olivia Johnson kill broke serve, Jordyn O’Neal served up the final five points, with Johnson providing a kill to move things along.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Despite being the smallest school in the Brock varsity classic volleyball tournament, the Lady Indians finished 4th out of the eight teams there.
After losing to the host team in its first pool play match Aug. 14 18-25, 14-25 and also to Class 3A Wall 12-25, 8-25, Nocona rebounded to close out pool play with a 20-25, 25-23, 25-20 win over Christoval. Sy Parker had 16 kills and 7 blocks in the three matches. Raylea Bowles had 12 kills, 17 digs and served up three aces. Maddyn Bowles had seven kills and 14 digs while Paige Davis had seven kills and 15 digs. Baylee Thomas added 11 digs.
From the setter spot, Kasi Castro had 20 assists, served up five aces and contributed 14 digs. Leah Meekins added 18 assists and six digs during the three matches.
To open Saturday’s bracket play, the Lady Indians posted a 25-18, 18-25, 26-24, 25-19 win over Fort Worth Christian. Castro staked Nocona to a 2-0 lead in game one. Kills by Parker set up pairs of points from Raylea Bowles and Leah Meekins helped Nocona negate an early deficit and take a 10-9 lead.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
County football teams had their first scrimmage of the season Aug. 14 with mixed results.
Forestburg hosted Azle Christian and Victory Christian. Under a new system with new head coach Cori Hayes, the Longhorns looked pretty good in the coach’s eye.
“The first team looked good,” Hayes explained. “Overall we need to work on our pace and blocking assignments and blocking assignments. Overall we looked good for the new regime.”
Forestburg hits the road to scrimmage Newcastle Aug. 21.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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