SPORTS
SHOOTING: Team USA is locked and loaded
By ERIC VICCARO and DANI BLACKBURN
sports@bowienewsonline.com
Team USA shooters descended on Willa Walla Shooting Range in Dye Mound last week to hone their craft before the Rio Olympiad.
Shooting sports begins on Aug. 6, and runs through Aug. 14. There are several shooting disciplines involved – ranging from rifle to air pistol and trap to skeet.
According to the Rio Olympics’ website, shooting as a sport originated in Europe – and there are German clubs more than 700 years old.
The first American shooting federation began in the 1870s. Women began participating in Olympic shooting at Los Angeles in 1984.
“We feel like we are doing our part for the Olympic movement,” said Nita Weger, who owns Willa Walla along with her husband, Johnny. “We’ve known these people for more than 15 years now,” Weger added. “They are kind of like our own.”
This marked the second time Team USA trained at Willa Walla, which also served as a practice ground for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
“To Johnny and me, this was a golden opportunity,” Weger said. “We’ve gotten to know a lot of young people, and watched them grow up. We’ve formed some close relationships.” Read more in the July 27 Bowie News.
Members of Team USA Shooting practice at the Willa Walla Shooting Range in Dye Mound on Friday. Willa Walla has served as the training ground for Olympic shooters for the past two decades. Josh Richmond is seen in the foreground. (News photo by Dani Blackburn)
SPORTS
Bellevue girls fall to Jacksboro
Bellevue’s girl’s basketball team led at halftime but a quick 9-0 Jacksboro run in the opening moments of the second half would prove the difference in a 28-25 Lady Eagle loss June 15 in a Nocona Summer League game.
Leading 12-9 at the half, Bellevue continued to shut down the inside game of the Tigerettes. Jacksboro switched tactics and began firing from outside. Three 3-pointers in the span of just under two minutes gave Jacksboro an 18-12 lead.
Bellevue kept things close, however, getting on the second half scoreboard with Mattie Broussard’s basket and free throws cutting the deficit to two, 18-16. A Haven Jones 3-pointer put the Lady Eagles up 19-18 midway through the second half.
The Tigerettes had just one 3 -pointer the rest of the way but got inside for a pair of buckets to take a 25-21 lead with 4:50 to go. Both offenses shut down late.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
SPORTS
Childers takes over as BHS track/XC coach
Most school-age athletes start off playing everything. By the time they graduate, they whittle it down to just one or two.
New Bowie girl’s track and overall cross country coach Shawnda Childers is no exception. While at Iowa Park she competed in volleyball, cross country and track before cutting out volleyball and focusing on track and cross country to close out high school.
Childers did not stay with athletics while moving on to Midwestern State University, where she received her bachelor’s and master’s Degrees. After graduation, shestarted coaching in Electra. She came to Bowie for one year, then went back to her old stomping grounds in Iowa Park where she spent the next four years.
The return home also put her in contact with now-Bowie Coach Griffin Fields, who was a coach there at the time. From Iowa Park, she spent the next three years at City View.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
SPORTS
SJ’s Gooch new girl’s basketball coach
New Saint Jo Girl’s Basketball Coach Grant Gooch isn’t completely unfamiliar with the area.
“We went to Muenster quite a bit when I was a kid,” Gooch, who will be going into his 20th year as a coach, said. “We’d load up the cooler from the meat markets. It’s good to be back.”
Gooch worked with Saint Jo Athletic Director CJ Hantz when the pair were in Throckmorton. Gooch comes to town from Menard where he spent three years at the West Texas school.
Gooch says coaching and education kind of come naturally to him.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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