SPORTS
I watched a lot of Olympic track
The 2024 Summer Olympics are now officially over and there was a lot to celebrate.
Frankly too much for any one column, so I am going to write about the events that I watched in the second week, which was full of track and field athletes getting their moment in the sun.
Not everyone gets track and field which is beyond me. These are the fastest athletes at every distance, the highest and longest jumping, the most specifically skilled in any sport. I love to marvel at athletic freaks of nature when I watch sports and track and field has those in spades in almost every event.
There is a debate among pro athletes that track and field athletes are the overall best athletes which I won’t get into, but they deserve to get the spotlight for one week once every four years, if not more.
Also, the American track team earned the most of any team at the Olympics with 34 total medals including 14 gold. I won’t recap all, but here are the events and athletes that stuck out to me.
The week started with the sprinters, seeing who would be crowned the fastest man and women alive in the 100 meter race.
The USA had two sprinters who came in with potential to take the gold for the first time in many years.
The women had Sha’Carri Richardson, who went to high school at Dallas Carter and had been denied going to the last Olympics after testing positive for marijuana after winning the USA trials. She is known for being very stylish, though it was toned down for this Olympics.
The men had Noah Lyles, who had graduated from just running the equally fast 200 meters to also running in the 100 meters. He is an animated showman and also a big nerd, racing with a Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card tucked away he would then show the camera after wins.
It did not go Richardson’s way as she finished second. She earned a gold medal when she later anchored the 4×100 relay, coming back from second place to win the race.
For Lyles, it took a freeze photo and an explanation of what crosses the finish line first for people to realize he won the closest 100 meter final since 1980. He beat second place by five thousandth of a second.
It would not be all good for Lyles. His better event, the 200 meters, saw him finish third for a bronze medal. He revealed after the race he was dealing with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, which dropped him out of two other relays.
Gabby Thomas was not as hyped coming in, running in the 200 meter race. Still, she won gold for the first time after getting bronze at the 2021 Olympics and silver at last year’s world championship.
Her emotion after winning could bring a smile to anyone’s face.
Grant Holloway was looking to cement his career with a gold in the men’s 110 meter hurdles. He got silver at the 2021 Olympics despite being a heavy favorite and has won all of the world championships since then. He came through to win it to secure his legacy while Daniel Roberts finished second.
In the men’s 400 meter race, Quincy Hall dug deep in the final straightaway to pass three guys in front of him to win the gold medal in a matter that was inspiring.
In the women’s long jump, Tara Davis-Woodhall won the event. The magic was watching her and her husband, Paralympian Hunter Woodhall, reaction and exchange after she had won. She then did a sand angel in the jumping pit.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the middle and long distance runners from the USA had a great week. At any distance past 400 meters, America does not have a rich history of international success like some other countries do.
Arguably the sexiest of the long distance races is the 1,500 meter race, probably because it is the shortest.
Just short of one mile, every person had to be forced at some point in their life in PE to run, jog or walk a mile for time. It is the longest distance almost anybody can imagine jogging before things just get out of hand with the distances increasing.
It was supposed to be a showdown between Norwegian’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Great Britain’s Josh Kerr, who had been putting the other down in the press for a year leading up to the race.
Ingebrigtsen was the cocky defending Olympic champion in 2021 and Kerr had beaten him at the 2023 world championship.
Then the Americans crashed the party as Cole Hocker came from third place with his final kick, winning the race in Olympic record time and becoming only the third USA man to win gold in the event.
He was not the only American to medal as Yared Nuguse came from behind to edge Ingebrigsen for the bronze medal. It was the first time two Americans have taken medals in the event at the same Olympics.
The 1500 meter race was not the only event American distance runners did well in. Grant Fisher came back in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races to finish in bronze in both of them.
Then in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, where they add hurdles and a water work to the race, Kenneth Rooks made the bold but mad decision to take the lead and try to pull away at the beginning of the final lap despite his inexperience at the top level. He was caught on the final straight away by the defending gold medalist, but just held on to win the silver medal.
Of course, not all American track athletes were trying to win a gold for the first time. Several were defending champions and some of the all time greats doing what they do.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is so good at the 400 meter hurdles, there was only one runner in history who even had a chance to hang with her. She was in the race, Dutch athlete Femke Bol who made noise in the 4×400 relays for her country as well.
McLaughlin-Levrone blew not just Bol away, who did not have her best race, but the whole world as she set a world record despite no one being within a second and half of her. Fellow American Anna Crockrell got silver.
Then the men’s shot put saw all time great Ryan Crouser earn his third straight gold medal in the event. He came into the games not 100% because of an injury earlier this year, but he just gutted it out to still win.
Fellow countrymen Joe Kovacs finished behind him for the third straight Olympics as well, earning his third silver medal in the event.
To wrap it up, while he was not competing for USA, the American born Mondo Duplantis, who competes for Sweden for reasons, showed why he is the greatest pole vaulter of all time despite being just 24 years old.
He broke his own world record at the games of 6.25 meters or 20 feet and little more than five inches.
If you have never seen in person how high a pole vaulter can go in person, anything past 15 feet is scary high so 20 feet is insane to me.
While the most famous image of pole vaulting from the games was a slow motion video of someone’s appendage hitting the bar, I wish it was this moment.
I know I missed some track and field moments, especially from other countries. Also, while I would like to talk about the basketball tournament, this story is long enough as is.
What event did you like watching during week two of the Olympics? Leave a comment or send an email to [email protected].
Saint Jo vs Gold-Burg
The Saint Jo Panthers got some measure of revenge from last year by beating fellow Montague County team Gold-Burg on Friday.
The Panthers won the low-scoring game 26-22 against a Bears team that made them earn everything.
Saint Jo was coming into the game following a one-sided but disappointing win against Fort Worth THESA in week one.
Gold-Burg was trying to find answers after being on the receiving end of a one-sided beat down against Perrin-Whitt in week one.
The Bears broke their more than a decade long losing streak against the Panthers last year on Saint Jo’s homecoming. The Panthers were hoping not just to win, but to dominate.
Unfortunately for Saint Jo, it did not start the game off on a good note. The very first play saw the Panthers fumble the ball away to Gold-Burg, recovered by Caleb Epperson.
The Bears moved the ball, but eventually Saint Jo got the ball back when Damon Byrd intercepted a pass on the Panther’s own 15-yard line.
Saint Jo’s offense moved the ball down, but Gold-Burg looked like it might get a stop. Facing fourth and goal from the 10-yard line, the Panther’s Devin Stewart looked to pass, but eventually scrambled in for a touchdown run. Saint Jo went up 6-0.
At the start of the second quarter, the Panther defense forced another turnover, again from Byrd who intercepted another pass.
This time the Bear’s defense, with the help of some penalties against Saint Jo, forced the Panthers backwards. Eventually Gold-Burg forced a turnover on downs and got the ball back on Saint Jo’s own 18-yard line.
The Bears took advantage as Levi Hellinger found big Eli Freeland for a five-yard touchdown pass. The good extra point put Gold-Burg up 8-6.
The Panthers swiftly answered back.
Within 30 seconds they had moved all the way down the field before Wyatt Lucas scored on a short run to give Saint Jo back the lead, this time up 12-8.
Gold-Burg tried to answer, but the offense looked like it was going to stall. On fourth down the Bears tried to throw it deep, but was intercepted again, this time by Saint Jo’s Wade Lucas.
With 42 seconds left and the Panthers deep in their own territory, Gold-Burg was trying to keep it a one-score game heading into halftime. Then the Bears did the one thing they did not want to happen.
Saint Jo saw Stewart connect with Wade Lucas on a 49-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left. The Panthers went into halftime up 18-8.
Gold-Burg still believed it could come back. Unfortunately for the Bears, their first drive of the second half saw them turn the ball over. Saint Jo’s Mathew Sampson got the sack, forced a fumble and recovered the fumble for the Panthers around midfield.
Another score for the Panthers would have been a devastating mental blow for Gold-Burg. Fortunately for the Bears, their defense came through big.
Gold-Burg forced a fumble which was scooped up by Jayton Epperson who returned it 59 yards for a touchdown. The extra point cut the lead down to 18-16 and gave the Bears new life.
Neither team scored in either of its next two drives.
Saint Jo tried to answer, moving the ball down the field. Then Gold-Burg’s defense forced another turnover as Keelyn Case intercepted a pass in the end zone.
The Bears were driving down into the Panthers territory when Saint Jo’s defense forced another turnover as Jayden Curry recovered a fumble at his team’s 19 yard line.
Shortly after at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Panthers gave the ball back when an errant toss on a run play missed its mark and Gold-Burg’s Zander Crawford recovered it at Saint Jo’s 22 yard line.
The Panther defense held up and forced a turnover on downs after allowing the Bears to move the ball only seven yards to their 15-yard line.
Saint Jo finally got some breathing room again in the second half when its offense moved down the field and scored, with Stewart scrambling for a 10-yard touchdown. Crucially, the team using its third kicker of the night, finally made an extra point to put the team up two scores instead of just one.
The Panthers were up 26-16 with three minutes left to play.
Gold-Burg tried to quickly move the ball, but it was slow going. Eventually, the Bears cut the lead back to one score when Jayton Epperson scored on a five-yard run.
With the score 26-22 with 41 seconds left and too few timeout remaining for Gold-Burg, it all came down to the onside kick. Saint Jo recovered it with little drama kneeled the ball to run out the clock to win.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians improved a little bit, but the result still wasn’t good in their loss at Electra on Friday night.
The Tigers won 28-0 as the Indians are still struggling to make things work offensively while on defense they are trying to do too much.
Nocona was coming into the game following a tough lopsided loss to Lindsay in week one. Electra had won a low-scoring game against Santo in week one.
The first quarter saw the Indian defense hold despite the offense turning the ball over on their first possession. The Nocona defense eventually forced a turnover on downs at their own 14 yard line late in the quarter to keep the game tied at 0-0 heading into the second quarter.
Eventually, the Tiger offense started to get rolling and hit on some big plays. Electra scored twice in the second quarter and looked to be trying to score once more before halftime. The Indians Jose Gomez intercepted a pass to give Nocona the ball back to keep the score 14-0 at halftime.
The second half saw the Tigers score two more times on long touchdown plays. Nocona’s offense could not answer and fumbled the ball away in the third quarter.
Electra won 28-0.
Forestburg
The Forestburg Longhorns lost a tough game at Wichita Christian on Friday night.
The Stars won by mercy-rule 58-8 in the third quarter in a game where the Longhorns actually hung with them a bit in the first half.
Forestburg was coming off a one-sided with against Savoy in week one. Wichita Christian was as well against San Jacinto Christian Academy.
The first quarter saw neither team able to score until the final minute. Then the Stars struck first on a long touchdown run. Seconds later on defense, Wichita Christian then intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown.
The Stars then did it again on the next drive to start the second quarter to go up 22-0 after a little more than a minute of game action.
The Longhorns settled down and drove the ball down the field before quarterback Sanchez connected with Kyler Willett on a 30-yard touchdown pass.
It cut the lead to 22-8. Forestburg had another chance before halftime to score and possibly cut the lead further down, but could not come through.
Coach Greg Roller thought his team had played well despite the score in the first half and felt they had a good chance to come back.
Unfortunately, the Longhorns did not play well in the third quarter.
The Stars scored four offensive touchdowns and returned a fumble for a touchdown to pull away and win 58-8.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News. For pictures from the Gold-Burg vs Saint Jo game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6868626&T=1
Former longtime Bowie Coach Hubert Boner will be inducted into the Bowie Hall of Honor during halftime at this week’s home varsity football game on Sept. 13.
Coach Hubert Ellis Boner was born on June 21, 1943, to parents Hubert Lee and Edith Mae (Rowe) Boner. Coach married the love of his life Lois Evelyn Sisk on March 25, 1966, in Alvord. The Boners were blessed with two children, daughter Kristi and son Kenny, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren and one on the way.
Boner attended Alvord High School where he lettered all four years in football, basketball, track and two years in baseball. Boner was twice named all-district honorable mention in 1959 and 1960 in football.
After graduating Alvord High School in 1961, Boner attended North Texas State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education and a Master’s degree in education.
Coach Boner took his first coaching job in 1966, under Head Coach Charles Blanton. Boner later moved to Amarillo and then to Grapevine.
In 1970, he made his return to Bowie, teaching eighth grade science, physical education and coaching seventh and eighth grade boys. Boner remained in Bowie for more than 30 years of his 33-year career of teaching and coaching, retiring in 1999.
During those 30 plus years of coaching at Bowie Junior High, he had two undefeated football teams and one undefeated basketball team. His teams amassed a win/loss record of 161 wins and 75 loses in football and in basketball 209 wins and 65 loses and in track eight district titles. One of his favorite memories was winning a district track meet with no first-place finishers.
Boner started coaching to increase his involvement with his students and for the love of athletics along with making a little extra money. He stated, “I coached for the love of competition.”
He also stated, “I feel like I accomplished more at this (junior high) level to prepare students for athletics and future challenges they would face in life.”
He was a 30-year member of the Texas High School Coaches Association and is a current member, Sunday school teacher and deacon at Southside Baptist Church.
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