SPORTS
Three athletes qualify for state
Three track and field athletes have qualified for the state meet after strong performances at the Conference 1A Region 3 meet last weekend at Whitney High School.
F o r e s t b u r g H i g h School advances the cousin duo of Alexia Britain and Zach Bradley to the state shot put competition, set for May 11-12. Britain threw 31-10.50 in the varsity girls shot put competition at the regional meet to secure a second place finish and her spot at state.
“We set a goal all year that we wanted to make it to state, and we knew we had a good chance with their natural ability and work ethic we knew we could get where we wanted and obtain that,” said Forestburg Track Coach Cori Hayes. “Zach and Lexi being cousins makes it extra special and they are getting to go together.”
Meanwhile, Bradley blew away the competition for first place in varsity boys shot put with a throw of 42-09.00. Prairie Valley High School athlete Chase Edwards flew 6-01 during the boys high jump competition for second place and an appearance at state.
“Chase is a hardworking kid and I’m glad that his hard work is paying off,” Prairie Valley Coach Zac Tabor said. “Going into the meet, he knew he had a chance to advance if he stayed focused and jumped well. He did just that and is now the first boy since 2013 and only the second boy ever in school history to qualify for the state meet.”
Multiple other athletes from Montague County had strong showings at the meet, including the four athletes representing Gold-Burg High School.
“I was thrilled for our Gold-Burg kids to get to experience the next level of competition,” said Gold-Burg Track Coach Cheryl Cromleigh. “We had two athletes who had been before and two who had never been. It was a great experience for everyone.”
Junior Will Hamilton threw his way to a fifth place finish in the varsity boys shot put competition, while junior Blake
Allen finished regionals with a 9th place showing.
“They had personal records at the regional track meet and Blake finished in ninth place, one place out of making it to the finals. He jumped really well,” said Gold-Burg Track Coach Gordon Williams. “It’s always nice to do your best jump and throw at the regional meet. Will finished fifth, about a foot away from being in the top two or three.”
To see how the rest of the county athletes did, pick up a copy of the mid-week 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.
The Maskat Shrine Oil Bowl is this week on June 6-7 and graduating athletes from Bowie, Nocona and Saint Jo are confirmed to be playing.
In total, seven athletes from Bowie, five from Nocona and three from Saint Jo are planning to play in the all-star games this week. Nocona also will have a pair of coaches participating as well.
The girl’s basketball game kicks off events on June 6, scheduled for 6 p.m. at Wichita Falls Memorial High School. In the game, the east team will have Nocona players Avery Crutsinger, Meg Meekins and Reagan Phipps playing while Kyler Spitzer and Clayton Brown coach them one last time.
On the west team, Saint Jo’s Payzlie Cervantes is confirmed to be playing.
The boy’s basketball game is scheduled to follow at 7:30 p.m. On the east team, Bowie’s Boston Farris and Nocona’s Jose Gomez Jr. will be playing.
On June 7, the volleyball games are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. with the small school game. On the west team, Nocona’s Kaygan Stone and Saint Jo’s Taylor Patrick are confirmed to play. On the east team, Saint Jo’s Aubrey Morman will get to play her teammate.
There are no local athletes confirmed to be playing in the big school volleyball game.
The final event is the football game, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. It is an all Bowie affair with six players confirmed to be playing for the east team: Justin Clark, Jorge De Leon, Hunter Fluitt and Braden Rhyne, Preacher Chambers and Moh Azouak.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona Independent School District officials looked inward for a new athletic director/head football coach, selecting Jeff Hill for the position.
Hill, who served last year as Nocona football’s offensive coordinator and also led the softball program to the playoffs for the first time in a while as its head coach, was upgraded to the role.
This came on the heels of former Athletic Director Blake Crutsinger, who served in the role the last four years, resigned in May.
For Hill, the choice to apply for the position was a no brainer. His one year in Nocona had impressed upon him and his wife that it was the place they would like to be long term.
“I’m looking for a town to raise my kids in and Nocona has treated my family really well,” Hill said. “There are some really good people. The kids work hard. Everything I am looking for in a hometown is right here in Nocona and I want to try and make it as best as it can be, especially through athletics.”
Before Nocona, Hill served as the athletic director at S&S Consolidated while also spending time at Hebron and Whitewright in his coaching career.
Hill expresses great respect for the departing Crutsinger and besides changing a few small things in how he personally wants to do things, he is not trying to come in with a sweeping restructuring of the whole athletic department.
The program had five of its six team sports make the playoffs, with volleyball playing in the regional final and the girl’s basketball team winning the state championship.
That along with two athletes competing at the state championship in cross country and track with one earning a gold medal, it was one of the more successful school years in athletic program history.
“Coach Crutsinger was awesome and did a great job so honestly just little tweaks, a little bit of structure and cohesion amongst the coaching staff between boys and girls,” Hill said. “I hope to keep the winning tradition going overall in the athletic department.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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