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.
Saint Jo’s Firecracker 5K welcomed 100 runners for its 16th year on July 4th.
According to runsignup.com, Old Jo’s Firecracker 5K saw 100 runners of all ages register to kick off in downtown Saint Jo.
Brayden Willett, 14, Nocona, was the top male finisher with a time of 19:02.6. Sarah Rainey, 35, Saint Jo, was the top female finisher with 21:47.1.
In the male nine and under division, I. Miller, nine, Muenster, repeated his first place win from 2023 with at time of 34:52.8. E. Thomas, eight, no town listed, also repeated her win with a time of 31:58.5.
Emry Raney-Cavnar, 14, Ardmore, OK, won the male 10-14 group and E. Christensen, 11, Decatur, took the female race. In the male 15-19 division Luke Gehrig, 17, Muenster, won, while Sophia Christensen, 15, Decatur, took the ladies’ title.
See all the results and more photos in the weekend Bowie News.
Special appreciation to Jennifer Gaston Panther Photography for use of her photos.
Major League Baseball and the Texas Rangers have planned a full week of activities for 2024 All-Star Week taking place in Arlington, Fort Worth and the North Texas region from July 12-16.
The 94th Midsummer Classic will be played at Globe Life Field on July 16, marking the second All-Star Game to be hosted by the Rangers following the 1995 All-Star Game at The Ballpark in Arlington.
HBCU Swingman Classic: July 12
All-Star Commissioner’s Cup: July 12- July 15
Jennie Finch Classic: July 12-15.
All-Star Village: July 13-16
All-Star Futures Game: July 13
All-Star Celebrity Softball: July 13
MLB Draft Opening Night: July 14
Home Run Derby: July 15
All-Star Red Carpet Show:July 16
MLB All-Star Game presented: July 16
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
By JORDAN NEAL
[email protected]
When most young kids get into rodeo, the craziest ones might be lucky enough to ride small bucking horses and maybe bulls in their late teens.
Then there is 12-year-old Riggin Garrett, who is already pursuing what he hopes is his future career as a bullfighter. It is a dream he began trying out several years ago at rodeos in and around this county.
This is not the Spanish variation of bullfighting where they end up killing the bull, this is “freestyle bullfighting” which is more popular in America. Here bullfighters attempt to make the bull look a fool, using their athleticism to barely dodge them, put their hats on their heads, leap over them and sometimes use a barrel as a prop. They also work as protection for the cowboys during the bull riding to help save bucked off riders.
In competition, both the bullfighter and the bull are judged after a 60-70 second encounter with points scored due to the various maneuvers pulled off.
Garrett is the son of Keysha Avens and Shane Garrett, and will be going into seventh grade at Saint Jo. As long as he can remember, Garrett has always been interested in bullfighting.
Read the full feature in the mid-week Bowie News.
Top Photo by J. Kelley Photography.
CORRECTION – In the mid-week Bowie News, the photographer for the picture on the top of page 1B was misidentified. The photo came from J. Kelley Photography, not Andre Silva as stated. We apologize for this error.
-
NEWS2 years ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS8 months agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS1 year agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS2 years agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS12 months agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
NEWS1 year ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
NEWS1 year agoBowie Police face three-hour standoff after possible domestic fight
-
NEWS2 years ago
Driver stopped by a man running into the street, robbed at knifepoint