SPORTS
County sending 8 to state
After taking part in windy regional track meets this weekend, the area schools are sending eight athletes to the state meet in Austin in three different classifications.
Athletes from Bowie, Nocona, Saint Jo and Gold-Burg will be competing against the best athletes in the state in their events.
For several athletes this year was redemption for last year. Bowie junior Tucker Jones made it to the regional final in last year’s 110 meter hurdles, but unfortunately a tough fall at the beginning of the race did not allow him to finish.
This year Jones barely made it to the final as the last seed, but in the final he put together a clean race. It was close at the finish with the top four finishing within .13 seconds of each other. In the end, it was Jones who finished second, running 15 seconds flat and qualifying for state in the 3A classification.
With everything coming full circle, Jones was appreciative he was able to overcome last year’s failure.
“It shows anything can happen at any given moment,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t be where I am without moments like those.”
Jones dedicated his achievement to the memory of his late friend Colby Price, who died in December in a car wreck.
Another athlete looking for redemption was Nocona’s Graci Brown. The sophomore was only a hair short of qualifying for state last year in the 400 meters as a freshman in 3A. In 2A this year and motivated by last year’s disappointment, she redoubled her commitment to training.
It paid off as she not only qualified in the 400 meters this year, but won it as well as the 800 meter race as well.
Brown also finished second in the long jump and anchored the 4×400 relay team that included Ava Johnson, Ayden Patton and Megyn Meekins to second place to qualify in those events as well. Overall, that performance and several others helped the Lady Indians team finish tied for fourth.
“Last year losing that wildcard by .002 really pushed me this year,” Brown said. “Every time I get in those blocks or just racing that 4×400 for my team, I don’t want that to ever be me again and I won’t let that be me. The training I did this year compared to last year is unlike any other so I am just thankful for that.”
For other athletes in the 1A classification it was a return to state in a way for all three. Saint Jo senior Collin Thomas has qualified for state all four years in cross country. He qualified for the first time last year in track running the 800 meters and was a part of the 4×400 relay team. This year he is heading back by finishing second in both the 800 meters and 1600 meters.
“I am very excited,” Thomas said. “I think I will not be as nervous this year after experiencing it last year. I want to make it in the top three this year so I can get a medal.
He won’t be alone as he is joined by fellow Saint Jo athlete, sophomore Devin Stewart, who finished second in the high jump as he jumped six feet flat. Stewart also will be making a return to state after being a part of last year’s 4×400 relay team that qualified.
“I’m pretty excited,” Stewart said. “I’m not sure last year’s experience will help much. Last year I ran and this year I am in a field event so it will be different. I just hope I can improve on my results from regionals and see what happens.”
The final athlete who qualified is not unfamiliar to the state stage. Gold-Burg sophomore Isaac Renteria has already run in the state cross country meet twice. This year he parlayed his success running long distances in the fall to the spring. Renteria finished first in both the 3200 meter race and was just ahead of Thomas in the 1600 meter race.
“I think my experience at the next level will help me prepare for this competition,” Renteria said. “While I won’t be shocked, I expect that the experience will still be different. However, I am fully aware that I will have to give it my all just to be able to compete.”
The state meet is scheduled for May 11-13 at Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas in Austin.
Results for all of the athletes from area schools who competed at the regional meet are in the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie Jackrabbits beat down City View on the road on Monday by run-rule to pick up a district win.
The Jackrabbits won 15-0 after five innings due to run-rule as they dominated against the Mustangs.
Bowie was coming off a close loss at Holliday in a game it nearly came back to win, so took out its frustration on a struggling City View team.
The Jackrabbits got going early as Troy Kesey hit a solo home run with two outs to get a rally going for the team. Two batters later Edmond De Leon hit a two-run home run.
Rayder Mann hit a ground ball to third base that resulted in an error that drove in a run. Cy Egenbacher then hit an RBI single to put Bowie up 5-0 before the Mustangs had even hit.
After a scoreless second inning, the Jackrabbits got back going in the third. Boston Farris and Seth Mann both hit a two RBI doubles.
Kesey and Hayden Rodriguez followed with RBI singles to make it 11-0 for Bowie.
The Jackrabbits kept the pressure in the fourth inning. Farris hit a three-run home run and Kesey later drove in another run with a double to make it 15-0 for Bowie.
The game continued into the fifth inning and City View needed to score at least six runs to keep the game going. The Mustangs broke up Kesey’s no-hitter on the mound with three straight singles to load the bases up with no outs.
Kesey finished strong, striking out the next two batters before inducing a fly ball to center field for the final out.
The Jackrabbits won 15-0.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians got some revenge by beating Perrin-Whitt on Thursday at home.
The Indians won 5-3 to hopefully make up for losing the previous game in the final inning against the Pirates.
Nocona had lost two days earlier to Perrin-Whitt 3-2 after leading for the entire game until the final inning.
The second game it was the Pirates that led for the majority of the game, leading 2-1 after the first inning. The Indians tied the score 2-2 after the third inning, but Perrin-Whitt got the lead back in the fourth inning with one run to make it 4-3.
Nocona took control in the sixth inning when Wesley Murpehy drove in two runs with a double. Brody Langford followed him with an RBI single to double the Indians score and put them up 6-4.
This time around, Nocona’s defense held on in the final inning, allowing only one base runner before closing the game with little trouble.
Missing scores
Scores from Saint Jo and Bellevue are not updated due to games being delayed due to weather late last week.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie Lady Rabbits came up just short of winning their final game at City View on Friday.
The Lady Mustangs held off a furious Lady Rabbits rally in the seventh inning to scrape out a win 11-10.
Bowie was entering the game knowing it was the last game of the season no matter what so it came out loose and ready.
The Lady Rabbits took control early. Chloe Kinney scored due to an error trying to pick her off. Sage Gossett hit a single that drove in one run and an error on the throw allowed another run to score.
Several batters later, Beau Combs and Victoria Cox both hit RBI singles to make it 5-0 for Bowie.
The Lady Mustangs scored two runs to make cut the lead to 5-2 after the first inning.
Bowie scored one run in the second inning when Serenity Klump was able to score from third base due to an error by the catcher. City View equaled that run in the same inning with an RBI double.
After the teams exchanged scoreless innings in the third and fourth, things picked up in the fifth inning.
Kaylie Kinney hit an RBI double with two outs to extend Bowie’s lead to 7-3.
The Lady Mustangs answered with a huge inning to get back in the game. Three singles and two errors allowed City View to score four runs and tie the score up at 7-7.
After the Lady Rabbits offense could not get anything going in the sixth inning, the Lady Mustangs picked up where they left off.
Five straight singles, one walk and a passed ball allowed City View to score four more runs to take the lead 11-7 heading into the final inning.
With Bowie down to its last three outs of the season, the team buckled up to get something going.
Cox hit a one out double. Chloe Kinney followed with a single that drove her in. After a strikeout and Kinney advancing to second base after a passed ball, Klump drove her in with a double.
After a walk, Gossett came through and hit a single that drove in one more run to cut City View’s lead to one run.
With the tying run in scoring position, Bowie was in good condition but was also down to its last out.
Unfortunately, the next batter struck out looking to end the game and the Lady Rabbits season.
City View won 11-10.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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