SPORTS
UIL changes playoff format
The University Interscholastic League announced on Tuesday changes for the upcoming school year when it comes to playoff formatting.
For 2A-5A schools, playoff formatting for volleyball, basketball, softball, baseball and soccer will now be split up into two divisions that will model itself like the 6A football playoffs. For 1A schools, this will only be applied for basketball. In all, there will be 12 state champions in those sports now.
This means there will be two playoff divisions within every classification. Districts will stay the same and not be affected. Four teams from every district will still make the playoffs, but now the two biggest schools of the four will play in the bracket with the other bigger schools while the two smaller schools will play in the other bracket.
This will not be like 1A-5A football, where divisions are hard cut by enrollment numbers and district alignments are set up with this in mind. Some districts that feature schools with low enrollment numbers within a classification will have to send two schools to compete in the big school bracket.
At lower levels, it might still set up a scenario where a team faces a school with twice the enrollment numbers. The thought process is it should happen less.
With fewer teams in the playoff bracket, certain parts of the playoffs like the area round and the regional tournament will not be featured as there will be less games to play on the way to the state tournament.
While the announcement was surprising to some, other coaches said they first heard about it at the basketball state tournament. UIL polled coaches, who were reportedly all for the change according to Nocona athletic director Blake Crutsinger.
For some schools, the changes will not mean much besides fewer games. Bowie is in that spot. With an enrollment number of 493, only Vernon and Iowa Park are the schools in its district that are bigger and would have to finish at the top two spots in the standings in order for Bowie teams to play in the smaller bracket.
For other schools, the change could be a big deal. Nocona’s enrollment of 234 is only 20 short of the 2A limit. The Indians will most likely play in the bigger bracket in every sport.
The Lady Indians basketball team finished as runners-up at state this year and will return four of their five starters. The teams that have beaten them the last two years, Martin’s Mill and Lipan along with several other 2A basketball powers have low enrollment numbers and would probably be in the smaller school bracket.
For 1A schools, the change is welcome but the fact volleyball was not included was sad to see for some coaches. From a numbers perspective, there are almost twice as many schools that offer basketball (213) than volleyball (123) in 1A.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The full week of Jim Bowie Days Celebrations started on Saturday with the golf tournament at Top of Lake Golf Club.
The golf tournament had two flights and was set up in a two-person scramble format.
The overall winner was the team of Curtis Payson and Colton Williams who played in the afternoon flight and finished with a score of 51.
The morning flight was won by Call Wells and Kevin Starry who shot 54. The second place finish in the flight was Wayne Leek and Wes Thomas who were one stroke behind with a 55.
Third place was shared between the teams J and P Tompkins along with Roger and Mike Cox.
The afternoon flight saw Wayne Leek and Kevin Starry team up and finish in second place as they shot 54. M. Childers and G. Leek finished in third place.
The longest drive winners were Greg Brown in the morning and Kenzie Jaresh in the afternoon. The closest to the pin winners were Corbin Leathers in the morning and Jaresh again in the afternoon.
Incoming Bowie High School junior Heidi Siebert was chosen to receive the first Greater Texas Ford Dealers Female Athlete of the Month on Monday at Kory Hooks Ford Dealership. Siebert was nominated by her tennis coach Dayna Boothe becasue she “exemplifies excellent character and relentless dedication.” During the fall season, she was the team’s #1 position in girls’ singles and earned second team all district. In the spring season, she won two tournaments while competing in girl’s singles. She also received academic all-district during both seasons. She was given the award by Kory Hooks and had Bowie tennis coach Dayna Booth, Athletic Director Tyler Price and Principal Joanne Keeler present as well as friends and family.
The full week of Jim Bowie Days Celebrations started on Saturday with the bass tournament at Lake Amon G. Carter.
The bass tournament was the start of the day and had 23 teams compete. By the time of weigh-ins, 14 teams brought in fish to be weighed.
The overall winner was the team of Rick and Cody Green. The pair had a total of 11.58 pounds to take first place. It all came from one fish as well, so they also took home first place for the big bass award.
They finished just ahead of the team Casey and Jimmy Smith, whose one fish was just a bit lighter at 11.50 pounds in both total and big bass competitions.
It was extra special for the Greens since the team had finished second the previous year, beaten by the Smith team who were seeking their third straight first place title at the JBD Bass Tournament.
Third place went to the team of Doug Covington and Melanie Mack. They tied with three other teams with the most caught fish, ending the day with four caught. Their total was just short as well, weighing in at 11.48 pounds. Their biggest fish caught at 6.81 pounds was also the third biggest caught of the day.
For full results, go to the Jim Bowie Days Facebook page.
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