The five county 1A tennis players competed at the state meet in San Antonio on Tuesday.
Gold-Burg sent the girl’s doubles team of Kelly Contreras and Shadie Whitaker along with Sadie Whitaker competing in girl’s singles. Prairie Valley sent the mixed doubles team of Veronica Gutierrez and Issac Yeargin.
Unfortunately, none of them were able to make it out of the first round as they had tough seeding. Still, just getting there was an accomplishment as four of the five were making a return trip to state.
Gold-Burg’s Contreras and Whitaker made it the previous year, but lost in the first round to the defending state champs. This year the duo lost to a team from Nueces Canyon Barksdale that also was the defending state champs and would end up finishing second overall. Not only that, it came after a four-hour rain delay.
Twin sister Sadie did not have a much easier time. She played a girl from Water Valley in the first round who would end up finishing third overall. Still, after going with her sister and friend the previous year as just support, to be able to make it back this year as a competitor was a great thing to see.
Coach Cheryl Cromleigh was proud of her girls as it was a culmination of all the years that built up to it.
Contreras finished out her career on Tuesday, but the Whitaker twins have one more year to go if they and Cromleigh want to try and make it back to state in some way.
The Prarie Valley duo also made it back for the second time in a row. With the first round loss to a team from Mertzon Irion County, it was the last high school meet for seniors Gutierrez and Yeargin.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.