SPORTS
Boothe will lead Bowie tennis
Last week, Bowie High School announced Dayna Boothe as the new head tennis coach.
Along with the news, it also was revealed Bowie would embark on its first fall season, at least in recent history, of team tennis to make it a full-year sport like it is at larger schools.
Athletic director Tyler Price made the choice to devote someone who knew the game and had the schedule to coach it both in the fall and spring seasons which is unlike every other sport.
“We were able to bring someone in here who was passionate about tennis and knew the game,” Price said. “She can devote all her time to it since she won’t coach any other sports.”
It is a homecoming for Boothe.
Her grandparents owned Mac’s Grocery and another, Carl Turpen, was a longtime clerk at Boyd’s Auto Parts.
She grew up and graduated from Bowie High School in the early 1990s where she played tennis before going on to play two years at Midwestern State University in 1994-95.
A part of coming back also is the restoration of her first marriage.
“My husband (H.C. Boothe) and I were high school sweethearts,” Boothe said. “We were married from ages 21-25. Unfortunately we divorced at 25, but we got remarried to each other on Aug. 14, 2021, exactly 28 years to the day from when we got married the first time. Coming back to Bowie involves the restoration of that relationship and us coming back to build a life together here.”
After her own playing days were over, Boothe was involved with her daughter’s tennis career her whole life at Weatherford before she went on to play college tennis. Along with fostering that love from the start, she eventually became a junior high tennis coach at Weatherford.
She admits she has been called a drill sergeant by her son in terms of her coaching style, but likes to think of herself differently.
“I’m tough, but I’m out there to have fun too,” Boothe said. “I’m pretty driven and competitive and I want kids to do their best, but we also are going to have fun. If we aren’t enjoying ourselves, we are not going to put our heart and passion into what we are doing.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
District awards for 1A released
With the baseball and softball seasons over for the area 1A schools, district awards have been released.
Listed below are those earned honors on the field and in the classroom for Saint Jo and Bellevue.
Softball
Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Utility player: Taylor Patrick; Catcher: Jordyn O’Neal
Baseball
Superlatives
Offensive MVP: Devin Stewart, Saint Jo
Newcomer of the Year: Bryce Ramsey, Bellevue
Pitcher: Trent Gaston, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Jayden Curry, Saint Jo
Second team
Pitcher: Charlie Barclay, Saint Jo
Infielder: Brycen Bancroft, Bellevue; Sam Martin, Saint Jo
Outfielder: Rylan Forrester, Saint Jo
Catcher: Charlie Evans, Saint Jo
Utility: Logan Hoover, Saint Jo
DH: Amzy Barclay, Saint Jo
Honorable mention
Cody Gaston, Saint Jo; Xander Joyner, Saint Jo
To see academic awards from Saint Jo players, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Forestburg coach retiring
Eldon Van Hooser is leaving Forestburg better than he found it.
The head boy’s basketball coach is retiring after more than 30 years, spending the last five at Forestburg.
Van Hooser did not come to this decision because of a lack of fire or feeling tired after decades in the profession. He had to for family reasons.
“My wife has MS (multiple sclerosis) and it’s a disease where you have trouble standing and walking and she needs help,” Van Hooser said. “I am able to so I am going to step away from teaching and coaching to be there for her.”
Van Hooser was hired in 2019. Along with being the boy’s basketball coach, he also was the football team’s defensive coordinator.
There were some lean years for Forestburg on the boy’s athletic side, with numbers being low and the available athletes being mostly underclassmen.
For two years, the Longhorns’ boy’s basketball team won few games and one of those seasons saw the team field five players on the high school team.
“One of those years we had COVID-19 and the other we had five kids,” Van Hooser said. “It was very rough. After that we worked with the kids and we had a good freshman group coming up. Next year they are going to be seniors.”
That group has helped to turn the program around. Last year the young Longhorns team contested for a playoff spot and just barely missed it finishing fifth in the district.
This season, that same group took a leap and finished second in district with a record of 7-5.
Despite losing its last two regular season games in dramatic fashion heading into the playoffs, the team stepped up in the bi-district game.
Playing against an athletic Newcastle team, Forestburg led for most of the game.
Unfortunately, the previous game against Bellevue saw the Longhorn team blow the lead late in the fourth quarter against a hard pressing style team and they were suffering the same fate against the Bobcats down the stretch.
Fortunately, Forestburg held on just enough to win 53-46. It was the first boy’s basketball playoff win in nine years for Forestburg.
“It was huge for our program,” Van Hooser said. “This new year we will have new goals. The new coach will have some goals of his own, but I set some for the team and think that we have come a long way.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Bowie Sports Banquet
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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