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STORM CENTER: Full throttle running

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Cross country season is kicking – pardon the pun – in the area.
This past Thursday, the sports editor went to the Wichita Falls Invitational inside Kiwanis Park.
The course itself, despite being flat, isn’t the easiest to run, let alone walk.
The grass has burnt up from not receiving much rain in recent months and the course itself meanders like an unpredictable serpent around the boundary of the facility.
Cross country can be one of those overlooked sports, and unfortunately the blame can lie with people like me – the sports editor.
Football is king in Texas, and volleyball is the queen of fall sports for girls.
But, there’s also cross country, and plenty of it.
Today, the sports editor went to the Decatur Reunion Run inside Joe Wheeler Park.
I think it’s pretty special the Decatur Independent School District serves as host for not just one meet per year, but two.
Decatur takes the sport of cross country mighty seriously, as evidenced by all the success the Eagles and Lady Eagles have had.
The Lady Eagles have won state championships four times, the oldest from 1999 and the most recent in 2009.
Not to be outdone, Decatur’s boys have claimed state championships in 2001, 2005, 2006 and 2012. The credit goes to the runners for sacrificing themselves. And to head coach David Park.
The cross country team has its own website through Decatur ISD, complete with a glossary of workout terms, the rules of the road, runner placement and expectations for team leadership.
Cross country coverage ramps up as the season goes along.
Next Wednesday, Oct. 7, Bowie High School will have its first meet at home in a long time. The race will take place at Twisted Oaks Golf Course.
I am happy to see course superintendent Chad Thummel and owners Andy Duke, Dewayne Hamilton and Greg Vicars allow runners to use the facility.
The first time I visited Twisted Oaks, back when it was known as Top O’ The Lake, I thought it was the perfect venue for a meet.
There are enough hills to challenge the runners, and the ground is soft because the course is watered on a consistent basis. The venue is maintained immaculately, in other words.
There’s only drawback I can see having a meet at Twisted Oaks. But, it’s a minor issue. Parking is not ample for school vans and spectators.
However, that could be said for most of the meets I’ve attended throughout my career. Read more from this column in the weekend Bowie News.

Editor’s Note: The Storm Center column is the expressed written views of sports editor Eric Viccaro and not The Bowie News.

Bowie’s Dane Lancaster continues his recovery from a rodeo accident, running for the junior high boys’ cross country team. Click on the image itself for the complete photo. (News photo by Eric Viccaro) 

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Bowie Sports Banquet

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The Bowie sports banquets was on Monday night. Olivia Gill and Tucker Jones were named Jackrabbit and Lady Rabbit of the year. Pick up the mid-week paper for all of the sports team awards and pictures.

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Chisholm Trail Rodeo entertains crowd

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A steer wrestler gets a good grip as he comes off his horse to get the steer on the ground. (Photo by Benjimen Barker from J Bar S Photography)

The 72nd Chisholm Trail Rodeo was a big success on Friday and Saturday nights at Nocona.
The rodeo had big crowds and saw some good competition from both local and far reaching talent.
Winners in the events included Zach Hibler in bareback riding, Lindsey Muggli in barrel racing, Ashley Goforth in breakaway roping, Leanardo Lima in bull riding, Cody McCartney in calf roping, Thomas Moellering in ranch bronc riding, Wacey Hathcock in saddle bronc riding, Renato Finazzi in steer wrestling, Rowdy Jones and Rance Doyal in team roping.

To see full results and more pictures, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.

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Saint Jo pair heading back to state tennis

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Saint Jo girl’s doubles team Kyler Dunn and Taylor Patrick won the 1A region III tournament to earn a second straight trip to state. (Courtesy photo)

The regional tennis tournaments were late last week in North Richland Hills and a doubles team is moving on to state.
The Saint Jo girl’s doubles team Kyler Dunn and Taylor Patrick won the 1A region III tournament and will return to state for the second straight year.
The pair rolled through teams from Morgan, Dodd City, Priddy before beating a Graford team in the finals. The pair did not lose a set and only lost five of the 53 games it played, never losing more than one in a set.
The team made it to state last year after finishing second at regionals and won a match at the state meet against a team from Vernon Northside. They then lost to the eventual state champion team from Utopia and finished tied for third place.
They will be the only tennis players from Montague County playing at state this week as others did not have as successful regional tournament.
The Saint Jo teammates and fellow girl’s doubles team Bailie Nobile and Maxey Johnson won their first match against Ector 6-1, 6-4, but fell in their next match against Lometa, 6-1, 6-1.
From Prairie Valley, Case Carpenter was competing in boy’s singles. His first match was a draining two and half hour battle against a player from Strawn Carpenter came through in the three-set battle, winning 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Unfortunately, the magic was not there in the second game. Paired against the eventual tournament champion from Gustine, Carpenter lost 6-0, 6-1.
From Gold-Burg, Alyson Rojas and Jimena Garcia competed in girl’s singles. Rojas won her first match against a girl from Avinger 7-6, 6-2. Unfortunately, the next match she lost to a girl from Graford 6-0, 6-0 to end her tournament.
Garcia lost a tough first match against a player from Ector. Both sets could have gone either way with the scores being 6-4, 7-5 to the winner.
The mixed doubles team from Forestburg, Jesse Wadsworth and Alli Cisneros, also did not make it through.
From Nocona, Kaygan Stone was playing in the girl’s singles 2A region II tournament.
Unfortunately, she got paired against the player who would go on to win the tournament in the first round to end her season.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.

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