SPORTS
13 athletes off to state track

Montague County will have athletes from six schools competing at the state track meet in Austin later this week.
All together, 13 athletes from Bowie, Nocona, Saint Jo, Forestburg, Prairie Valley and Gold-Burg will compete on the biggest high school stage to see if they can bring home a medal.
From Bowie, senior Tucker Jones is competing in the 3A boys 110 meter hurdles event for the second straight year. Jones earned the one wildcard spot as he finished third at the regional meet this year.
Despite that, his qualifying time and personal record 14.73 seconds is better than several runners in the field. Jones finished ninth at state last year. With it being his final high school race, Jones is putting no pressure on himself outside of trying his best while enjoying the experience.
Jones is scheduled to run around 5:45 p.m. on May 2.
From Nocona, junior Graci Brown is back for the second straight year and is hoping she can repeat as state champion in two of the events she won last year. She won the 400 meter and 800 meter races last year.
This year, she won the 400 meter race at regionals, but finished second in the 800 meters after getting caught at the end. Still, her times compared to her competitors put her in the company to try and repeat again.
Brown also is a part of the 4×400 relay along with Ava Johnson, Ayden Patton and Meg Meekins, with Avery Crutsinger being an alternate runner, that got to state last year where they placed sixth overall. The team earned the wildcard after finishing third at regionals, but got the best time out of all third place teams.
Brown was not pleased with her tactics in the 800 meter race at regionals, but liked how she attacked the 400 meters. She knows she has it in her to repeat in both races again and is looking forward to proving it once again.
Brown and her teammates will compete on May 3, with the 800 meter race scheduled for 5:20 p.m., the 400 meter race at 7 p.m. and the 4×400 meter relay scheduled for 8:45 p.m.
Everyone else from 1A schools will compete on May 4.
Gold-Burg junior Isaac Renteria is returning to the state meet for the second straight year. With three appearances at the state cross country meet, Renteria is very familiar with what level it takes to compete on the biggest stage.
Renteria qualified in the 3200 meter race as a wildcard entry. His finished third at regionals, but his time was not only the best among other third place finishers, but better than half the field he will race at state ran.
Renteria just missed out on a medal last year as he finished fourth by three seconds. He is not the only repeat name in the race.
Renteria is scheduled to run at 9:15 a.m.
From Forestburg, the Lady Horns have two first time state qualifiers on the different sides of their career.
Reagan Ladewig is a senior representing Forestburg one last time while freshman Brenna Briles is hoping to cap off a spectacular first year in high school.
Ladewig finished second at regionals in the shot put. She is a longshot for a medal as her qualifying throw is one of the lower throws, but still Ladewig hopes she can break her personal record and hope for the best.
For Briles, she won the high jump at regionals. Her height puts her in the vicinity to possibly get a medal if she can either do it again or jump even higher.
Briles is scheduled to compete at 11:30 a.m. and Ladewig at 12:30 p.m.
From Prairie Valley, junior Linzie Priddy is going to the state track meet for the first time. Priddy has competed at the state cross country meet twice, in 2021 and 2023 so the state stage will not be new to her.
Priddy finished second in the 800 meters at regionals. She will have to improve on her qualifying time by a lot if she wants to earn a medal, but anything could happen.
Priddy is scheduled to run at 5:20 p.m.
From Saint Jo, freshman Damon Byrd made it to state in three events. His first two are solo field events as he won the long jump and finished second in the triple jump. His qualifying jumps put him right in the mix for a medal if he equals or surpasses his totals.
The long jump is scheduled for 9 a.m. and the triple jump at 1 p.m.
Byrd also is a part of the 4×200 meter relay team along with Blaine Penaluna, Devin Stewart and Lee Yeley. Wyatt Lucas and Barrett Johnson are alternate runners.
The team finished second at the regional meet. Its qualifying time puts them right in the mix with other top teams for a medal in what could be a close race.
The 4×200 relay is scheduled for 6:25 p.m.
All times and dates are scheduled to change in case of weather complications.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Softball Roundup

Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers again made a come back win against Perrin-Whitt in a high scoring affair that ended early.
The Lady Panthers won 20-10 against the Lady Pirates, winning after six innings due to run-rule.
Saint Jo’s last game had been 12 days earlier against the same Perrin-Whitt team it had also beaten in a high-scoring game 35-20. Another win would secure the Lady Panthers district title.
Saint Jo started off the game well, scoring five runs in the first inning and one more in the top of the second inning to go up 6-0. The Lady Pirates then reeled off nine runs in the bottom of the second inning which usually would change the whole momentum of the game with them up 9-6.
Perrin-Whitt added one more run in the third inning after holding Saint Jo scoreless, which is another rare feat in the team’s history of playing the other. The Lady Pirates led 10-6 and had momentum.
Then the Lady Panthers scored six runs in the fourth inning to take the lead back. Saint Jo’s pitching and defense tightened up to not allow any more runs in the final three innings while the Lady Panthers added four runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.
It was enough to end the game early by one inning, with Saint Jo winning 20-10.
Symbri Evans and Reagan Wilson each had four RBIs to lead the team while Mercedes Diaz was second with three RBIs. The team finished with 20 hits while drawing nine walks.
Defensively, Saint Jo allowed only seven walks, a good improvement from a lot of games where the total in the double-digits while the Lady Panther defense committed four fielding errors and allowed 15 hits.
The win wrapped up a district title for the team. For the girl’s program, it is the fourth team district title this season, having already secured one in volleyball, basketball and track.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians ended their regular season on a sour note against one of the top teams in the district last week.
The Lady Indians lost to Lindsay 12-2, with the game ending after five innings due to run-rule.
Nocona was coming off of securing its first playoff appearance the previous week, but knew it would be tested against a Lady Knights team they had previously lost to handily in late March. The Lady Indians hoped they could competed better and try to treat the game like a playoff game.
Lindsay led after the first inning 1-0. Nocona came back in the second inning with two runs scored by RBI singles from Ashlynn Brown and Gwyndelyn Forsyth to take the lead 2-1. The Lady Knights tied the game with one run in the same inning to make it 2-2.
Unfortunately, the next three innings belonged to Lindsay. The Lady Knights scored six runs in the third inning to grab momentum. Lindsay then scored three runs in the fourth inning and one more in the fifth inning to end the game early due to run-rule.
The Lady Knights won 12-2.
Nocona ended with four hits while drawing six walks in the game. Lindsay finished with 11 hits and the Lady Indians committed four fielding errors.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Baseball Roundup

Nocona
The Nocona Indians picked up wins against Era last week to secure their second straight playoff appearance with one more game to play.
The Indians beat the Hornets 12-5 and by run-rule 10-0 after four and half innings.
Nocona was coming off of a tough series against Muenster, losing both games, playing well in one but not the other.
The Indians knew they had a good chance to beat Era if they played up to their potential and they showed it from the first inning in game one.
Nocona rallied off seven runs in the first inning before the Hornets had even bat to put itself in a good situation to possibly end the game early.
The only downside was the Indians were not able to offensively keep up the pressure. Nocona added one run in the seventh inning, two in the sixth and two more in the seventh inning.
Era scored four of its five runs in the final inning to put a bit of a sour note on an Indians win that could have finished stronger as Nocona won 12-5.
Miller Jentry led the team with four RBIs while Walker Murphey and Jayce Lehde each drove in two runs. The team had 16 total hits and drew five walks.
On the mound, RJ Walker pitched three innings and allowed no runs on two hits while striking out seven. The defense committed three fielding errors.
While letting the Hornets off the hook in the first game, Nocona made up for it in game two.
The Indians scored seven runs in one inning again, this time it coming in the second inning. Nocona added three runs the next two innings and shut out Era to secure the win by run-rule after four and half innings. The Indians won 10-0.
Brody Langford and Murphey each drove in two runs each to lead the team. Nocona finished with 10 hits, with four going for extra base hits while Era committed three fielding errors.
On the mound, Walker pitched all five innings and allowed no runs on two hits while striking out eight and walking two. The defense committed two fielding errors.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers lost a tough game at Perrin-Whitt last week, with most of the damage coming in the sixth and final inning.
The Pirates scored eight runs in the sixth inning to win the game one inning early due to run-rule 16-6.
The Panthers were coming off an uplifting win against Bellevue that saw them come back several times the previous week on the road. Saint Jo had played Perrin-Whitt in late March and had lost both games in close fashion so the Panthers hoped this time would be a different outcome for them.
The Pirates scored four runs in the first two innings before Saint Jo answered with three runs scored in the third inning. Perrin-Whitt added one run in the same inning and three in the fourth inning.
The Panthers cut the lead down to two runs after scoring three more runs in the fifth inning, making the score 8-6 heading into the sixth inning.
Unfortunately, Saint Jo had an inning from hell, allowing eight runs on five singles, a triple, two walks and a hit batter. The final run scored ended the game early.
Perrin-Whitt won 16-6.
Charlie Barclay led the team with two RBIs while Devin Stewart, Trent Gaston, Charlie Evans and Rylan Forrester each drove in one run. Saint Jo finished with eight hits and drew seven walks.
Unfortunately, the Panthers gave up 12 hits and walked seven batters while committing two fielding errors.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles only played one game last week due to weather concerns later in the week and lost to Perrin-Whitt.
The Pirates won 15-0 after four innings, winning by run-rule in a game the Eagles hopes to forget.
Bellevue had one from Brycen Bancroft and River Trail drew the only walk in a game where not much went right. Eight fielding errors from the Eagles, eight walks issues and six hits added up really fast.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Jackrabbits go 1-1 against Holliday

Bowie baseball went 1-1 last week against a Holliday program that is usually among the top in the district until this season.
The Jackrabbits won the first game 2-1, but lost two days later a frustrating game 10-7,
Bowie was coming off a series sweep against City View the team hoped would kickoff a string of wins to finish the regular season and get into the playoffs after losing the first three series of district play.
The Jackrabbits hosted the first game of the series last week and it proved to be a low-scoring pitchers duel.
Through five innings neither team scored any runs and hits were hard to come by for both teams. In the top of the sixth inning, Holliday got two runners on base with an error at second base and an intentional walk with two outs. Unfortunately, two wild pitches allowed a run to score for the Eagles to take the first lead of the game 1-0.
It went to the bottom of the seventh inning with Bowie down to its last three outs. The Jackrabbits led off with a walk as the team finished with seven walks in the game. Then Trae Seigler hit a single to put two runners on with no outs.
Lead base runner Edmond De Leon stole third base. An error on the throw allowed him to then proceed home to tie the game and for the next base runner to reach second base. Caden Belcher then laid down a sacrifice bunt. The throw was too high for the first basemen which allowed the baserunner, Braden Rhyne, to run home for the winning run on the fielding error.
Bowie won 2-1.
The Jackrabbits had only two hits in the game from Seigler and Belcher while drawing seven walks. Holliday’s two fielding errors both came in the seventh inning to help Bowie come from behind.
On the mound, Siegler pitched all seven innings, allowing one run (zero earned) on four hits while striking out nine and walking two. The defense committed two fielding errors.
The Jackrabbits knew they could win now, but the second game was far from the pitching duel of the first game.
The first two innings were scoreless when Bowie broke the tie in the third inning. Boston Farris hit an two-run inside the park home run to give the Jackrabbits a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, the goodwill from that play would be sucked out the next inning.
Holliday answered with five runs on two doubles, two singles and three walks while Bowie made two pitching changes in the inning while arguing about the strike zone.
The Jackrabbits cut the lead to one run after scoring two runs in the fourth inning. Belcher scored on the basepaths thanks to an error trying to pick off a runner. Hunter Rodriguez then hit a sacrifice fly ball to drive in another run to cut the lead to 5-4.
The Eagles answered in the same inning, drawing four walks to score one run to make it 6-4 heading into the fifth inning.
Holliday had another big offensive inning, scoring four runs on a double, two singles a walk and a hit batter to go up 10-4.
It stayed that way until the seventh inning where Bowie had to try and make another miracle happen. The Jackrabbits showed life, putting two runners in scoring position with two outs. Seigler then hit a two RBI triple. Two batters later, Austin Cheney hit a groundball to the shortstop that resulted in an error that allowed another run to come through and for the inning to keep going.
After another walk, Bowie had loaded the bases up and were now a big hit away from possibly tying up the game. Unfortunately, the next batter struck out looking, ending the game on sour note since many Jackrabbit fans had been complaining about the strike zone all night.
Holliday won 10-7.
Farris and Seigler led the team with two RBIs each with Farris hitting a home run and Seigler a triple. Bowie finished two six hits and drew eight walks.
On the mound, the Jackrabbits pitched four different players who combined for nine walks and one hit batter while giving up nine of the 10 runs in the game. The defense committed two fielding errors.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the second game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6874530&T=1
-
NEWS2 years ago
2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS1 year ago
Suspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS2 years ago
SO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS2 years ago
Wreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS2 years ago
Murder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
NEWS2 years ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
NEWS2 years ago
Bowie Police face three-hour standoff after possible domestic fight
-
NEWS2 years ago
Driver stopped by a man running into the street, robbed at knifepoint