SPORTS
Richey trades in basketball for pom poms
Bowie 2020 graduate Brysen Richey thought her days in athletics were over once the high school track season was officially canceled last year due to COVID-19.
The pint sized girl with big hair did get to finish both her cross country season and her final basketball season, where she helped the team reach the regional quarterfinals as its point guard.
Richey had mostly stuck to those types of activities after the age of 11 years old.
It is surprising to some then to see Richey as part of the Tarleton State University cheer squad this year. She helped the squad finish second in the advanced small co-ed open division at the National cheer association collegiate cheer and championship at Dayton, FL on April 10. The squad also finished second in the spirit rally and fifth in game day divisions.
Despite not cheering in junior high or high school, aside from the student section, Richey did have some background in cheerleading. She did gymnastics from the age of 2-11 and did some competitive cheerleading until the age of 10.
It was her mom, Nicki, who had the idea for her daughter to give the sport a try heading into college.
“I never really thought about it until she said something to me,” Richey said. “So we called my old tumbling coach because he lives in Wichita. We went up there one day just to mess around and see if I could still do everything I used to. So I thought, yeah, I’ll try out.”
When her friends found out she had not just tried out but made the cheerleading squad at Tarleton State, she said several were surprised.
“Whenever people think of cheerleaders, I think high school cheer and college cheer, it’s a lot different,” Richey said. “All they know is high school cheer, so whenever they knew I tried out they were really surprised.”
While the tumbling had come back to her easily, it was all of the stunts that as a flyer who gets lifted up by her teammates, was a learning curve for her.
“I’d never stunted on the level that they’re on, so I had to learn a lot,” Richey said.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Bowie had six players play in the Maskat Shrine Oil Bowl football all-star game. For pictures from not just the football game, but the basketball and volleyball games as well that feature athletes from Bowie, Nocona and Saint Jo, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6875584&T=1
Nocona is welcoming back Coach Sandy Langford, former coach and alumnus for the Lady Indians, as its new volleyball head coach.
Langford comes back to Nocona after spending the past 11 years leading the Glen Rose volleyball program.
Her circumstances with her family allowed her to jump at the opportunity once she became aware the position at Nocona was available.
“My youngest graduated and is playing football at Midwestern (State University),” Langford said. “All of our family is here and I knew that Coach Kara (Lucherk) was leaving. We were eventually going to retire here. Our oldest son plays college football at West Texas A&M and we’ll be two hours closer to him as well.”
She again will lead the Lady Indians volleyball program, one that she led all the way to the state title game in 2011, which is the farthest the volleyball program has ever gone in its prestigious history.
Langford kept up that level of success during her 11 years at the bigger 4A Glen Rose. She won less than 20 games only twice during her time, winning her 500th career game back in 2023. Her teams were ranked among the top 10 in the state five times and Langford led Glen Rose to the state tournament in 2017, the best finish in program history.
With the Lady Indians also having its own string of success, appearing in back-to-back regional finals while finishing atop the district standings both years, Langford is excited to not just keep the success going, but shoot for the stars.
“We are not expecting anything less than a state championship,” Langford said.
She has stacked the non-district schedule with strong, state-ranked 3A and 4A teams as well as big tournaments that will test Nocona’s mettle early next season in the hopes it will prepare them for a long playoff run.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
The Red River High School Bass Club competed this past weekend, May 31 – June 1, at the State Tournament on Lake Conroe for the two-day tournament.
Two of the teams from Montague County traveled south to try their best at the culmination of the year for the state title. Teams were able to pre-fish on Friday before the Saturday and Sunday competition. On Friday, there was a flipping contest for the youth and Cooper Johnson won third overall and won a $500 scholarship and an Academy gift card.
The club’s two teams who competed were Lane Smith/Colt Henry with boat captain Jimmy Smith. The team placed 63rd with a total of 16.22 pounds. The second team of Cooper Johnson/Corbyn Patton and boat captain Jayson Toerck placed 169th with a total weight of 2.29 pounds.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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