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Track regionals predictions
April 25, 2008I know they started this morning, but I wanted to give my two cents on the weekend's track meets.
The top two in each event of the four classifications will be heading to Austin in a couple of weeks. Here are people I consider have pretty good shots, as long as they reach the same times/distances they have so far:
Class 4A
Wade Thornton (WFHS) should get out in the high jump and he could even earn a medal for state. And I would expect James Chambers (Rider) to move on again in the discus and maybe even the shot put.
WFHS' two hurdlers (Rachel King and Alexis Thurmond) both have had great years, but there are a couple of Saginaw hurdlers who have run ridiculous times. The WFHS 4x100 relay has been good, but it will need to clip off some time to repeat. And do not count out Isaiah Anderson in the 100 or Rider's Taylor Stolt in the triple jump.
Class 3A
Kelsey Johnson (Iowa Park) most likely will advance in the 1,600 and 3,200. I like her chances in the two mile even more now because the Argyle girl who won the 3,200 at state a year ago decided to run the 800 instead.
If Darien Williams (Vernon) and the Cantin guy from Graham reach their district marks in the triple jump and discus, respectively, then they could go too.
Demetrion Cooper (Hirschi) has a chance in the hurdles, but I think the Lady Huskies missed on their best chance (the 4x200) with a dropped baton at district. If the Justiss kid from Bowie can break two minutes again like he did in the 800 at district, then he will have a chance, too.
Class 2A
Every year, Holliday has a kid who sweeps the 1,600 and 3,200. Hance Loyd will probably do that this time around.
The Olney relays, as well as Holliday's, have shots on the boys side. Cody Cope has a real good long jump distance from district, and Gunnar Sewell (Holliday) will contend in the 400.
I almost forgot about Brock Harris (Olney). He will go in both hurdles unless something drastic happens. He went in the 110 a year ago.
On the girls side, Nichole Jones will get out in the 800, where she was second at state a year ago. City View has a chance in all three relays (the mile is probably the best bet) and I will be shocked if they fail to get one out. Watch out for Dusti Cribbs (Olney) in the hurdles, and Henrietta's Allison Whitehead medaled at state two years ago in the high jump, so you cannot count her out.
Class A
I am just going to write names here:
Brian Hoff, Windthorst (110 hurdles -- he got a state medal last year at this event)
Knox City girls 4x100
Julia Holub, Seymour (3,200)
Seymour girls 4x200 and 4x400
Mallory Schenk, Windthorst (high jump -- came in second at state last year)
Zach Hardin, Seymour (400)
Sam Smith, Archer City (high jump)
Jeremy King, Quanah (pole vault)
Sammy Nunez and Anason Jones, Munday (shot put)
Colby White, Northside (100, 200)
Shelby Gutierrez, Knox City (100, 200)
I am sure there are some others in each class who could have career performances this weekend, and some of these guys may come up short, too.
I guess we will wait and see.
Posted by at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Area track athletes going to regionals
April 22, 2008Because I am obsessed and have a little too much time on my hands during the day, I have compiled a list of city and area track athletes heading to regionals this week.
There's about 350 of them, and the top two in each event in the region will go to Austin on May 9-10.
In a couple of days, I will blog about the kids I think have the best chances of advancing. For now, here's the list:
REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
CLASS 4A BOYS
3200--Meter Run --Dylan Williams, Rider
Long Jump -- Isaiah Anderson, WFHS; Wade Thornton, WFHS
High Jump -- Wade Thornton, WFHS; Rodney Gilliam, Rider
Pole Vault -- NONE
Discus -- James Chambers, Rider; Andrew Johnson, WFHS
Shot Put -- James Chambers, Rider
Triple Jump -- NONE
400--Meter Relay -- WFHS
800--Meter Run -- NONE
110--Meter High Hurdles -- Jeylin Reed, Rider
100--Meter Dash -- Isaiah Anderson, WFHS; Davantay Chaffin, WFHS
800--Meter Relay -- NONE
400--Meter Dash -- Aaron Torrence, WFHS
300--Meter Intermediate Hurdles -- Jeylin Reed, Rider
200--Meter Dash -- Isaiah Anderson, WFHS
1600--Meter Run -- Dylan Williams, Rider
1600--Meter Relay -- NONE
--
CLASS 4A GIRLS
3200--Meter Run -- Kathryn Harvey, Rider; Laura Schaffner, Rider
Long Jump --Taylor Stolt, Rider; Kaitlin Foran, WFHS
High Jump -- Jazzmin Hill, Rider; Janette Merriex, WFHS
Pole Vault -- Sarah Vailes, Rider
Discus -- NONE
Shot Put -- NONE
Triple Jump -- Taylor Stolt, Rider; Marniqua Thompson, WFHS
400--Meter Relay -- NONE
800--Meter Run -- Brooke Selby, Rider; Aubrey Ellett, Rider
100--Meter Low Hurdles -- Rachel King, WFHS; Alexis Thurmond, WFHS
100--Meter Dash -- NONE
800--Meter Relay -- NONE
400--Meter Dash -- Santana Torres, WFHS; Chloe Thornton, WFHS
300--Meter Intermediate Hurdles -- Alexis Thurmond, WFHS; Rachel King, WFHS
200--Meter Dash -- Taylor Stolt, Rider
1600--Meter Run -- Brooke Selby, Rider; Kathryn Harvey, Rider
1600--Meter Relay -- WFHS
CLASS 3A BOYS
3200--Meter Run -- Christian Mendoza, Burkburnett; Britton Stuckey, Graham; Preston Peavy, Graham
Long Jump -- Spencer Sims, Graham; Detrion Daniels, Vernon; Darien Williams, Vernon
High Jump -- Kaleb West, Iowa Park; Spencer Sims, Graham; Dakota James, Graham
Pole Vault -- Josh Elkins, Graham; Grant Schur, Vernon; Colby May, Graham
Discus -- Chris Cantin, Graham; Darrell Harden, Graham; Lorenzo Barnes, Burkburnett
Shot Put -- Lance Groves, Graham; Jeremy McClain, Vernon; Tyler Methvin, Vernon
Triple Jump -- Darien Williams, Vernon; LaRay Mitchell, Hirschi; Hagan Little, Graham
400--Meter Relay -- Vernon; Hirschi; Burkburnett
800--Meter Run -- Brady Whitaker, Iowa Park; Nelson Justiss, Bowie; Jered Phillips. Burkburnett; Chris Killian, Burkburnett
110--Meter High Hurdles -- Demetrion Cooper, Hirschi; Louis Tubbs, Vernon; Spencer Sims, Graham
100--Meter Dash -- Willie Hartwell, Vernon; Caymon Edmonds, Hirschi; Troy Williams, Iowa Park
800--Meter Relay -- Vernon; Graham; Hirschi
400--Meter Dash -- John Lee, Graham; Chris Killian, Burkburnett; Eduardo Rincon, Graham
300--Meter Intermediate Hurdles -- Demetrion Cooper, Hirschi; Kaleb West, Iowa Park; Louis Tubbs, Vernon; Cyler Matlock, Bowie
200--Meter Dash -- Eric Wilson, Vernon; Detrion Daniels, Vernon; Troy Williams, Iowa Park
1600--Meter Run -- Britton Stuckey, Graham; Christian Mendoza, Burkburnett; Clint Morgan, Iowa Park
1600--Meter Relay -- Graham; Iowa Park; Burkburnett
--
CLASS 3A GIRLS
3200--Meter Run -- Kelsey Johnson, Iowa Park; Abigail Gonzalez, Graham; Kennedy Hendrix, Graham
Long Jump -- Deara Bradley, Hirschi; Shaquita Walker, Hirschi; Rilee Battista, Burkburnett
High Jump -- Rebecca Brown, Graham; Maddison Buschman, Graham; Katy White, Vernon
Pole Vault -- Lindsey Hall, Vernon; Kaylee Odom, Graham; Katie Adair, Graham
Discus -- Jayla Hawkins Iowa Park; Courtney Ford, Graham; Taylor Smiley, Graham
Shot Put -- Courtney Ford, Graham; Chamyce Williams, Vernon; TiSierra White, Vernon
Triple Jump -- Brittany Spann, Hirschi; Shelby Walker, Vernon; Mallorie Fields, Graham
400--Meter Relay -- Hirschi; Burkburnett; Vernon
800--Meter Run -- Morgan Huffman, Graham; Elizabeth Watts, Graham; Katherine Patterson, Burkburnett; Kendra Dunn, Bowie
100--Meter Low Hurdles -- Mallorie Fields, Graham; Katy Reddell, Graham; Deara Bradley, Hirschi; Kayle Reaves, Bowie
100--Meter Dash -- Jazzni Bennett, Hirschi; Toiesha Cooper, Hirschi; Ravonda Straughter, Vernon
800--Meter Relay -- Vernon; Burkburnett; Graham
400--Meter Dash -- Casey Castro, Burkburnett; Melissa Handley, Graham; Cierra Braziel, Iowa Park
300--Meter Intermediate Hurdles -- Mallorie Fields, Graham; Kayle Reaves, Bowie; Deara Bradley, Hirschi; Allison Weitner, Vernon
200--Meter Dash -- Talia Toliver, Hirschi; Shaquita Walker, Hirschi; Kim Sides, Graham
1600--Meter Run -- Kelsey Johnson, Iowa Park; Abigail Gonzalez, Graham; Elizabeth Watts, Graham
1600--Meter Relay -- Burkburnett; Graham; Hirschi
CLASS 2A BOYS
3200--Meter Run -- Hance Loyd, Holliday; Nathaniel Berndt, City View; Justin Berndt, City View
Long Jump -- Cody Cope, Olney; Jack Seymore, Holliday; Aaron Williams, Henrietta
High Jump -- Landrey Lemons, Holliday; Cody Cope, Olney
Pole Vault -- Jodee Wales, Olney; Reece Rogers, Olney; Brandon Pannell, Holliday
Discus -- Landrey Lemons, Holliday; Joseph Williams, Nocona
Shot Put -- Kole Weldon, Jacksboro; Landrey Lemons, Holliday
Triple Jump -- Logan Gunter, Jacksboro; Zach Bergquist, Henrietta
400--Meter Relay -- Olney; Holliday
800--Meter Run -- Jake Bishop, Olney; Zack Soto, Jacksboro
110--Meter High Hurdles -- Brock Harris, Olney; Josh Scarbrough, Holliday; Zachary Luker, Nocona
100--Meter Dash -- Chase West, Jacksboro; Jack Seymore, Holliday
800--Meter Relay -- Olney; Holliday
400--Meter Dash -- Gunnar Sewell, Holliday; Ryan Soto, Jacksboro; Jake Bishop, Olney
300--Meter Intermediate Hurdles -- Brock Harris, Olney; Josh Scarbrough, Holliday; Colby Bennett, Jacksboro
200--Meter Dash -- Brandon Paul, Olney
1600--Meter Run -- Hance Loyd, Holliday; Nathaniel Berndt, City View
1600--Meter Relay -- Olney; Holliday
--
CLASS 2A GIRLS
3200--Meter Run -- Sara Cuba, Holliday
Long Jump -- Nikki Kincy, Olney; Maddisson Hardin, City View
High Jump -- Allison Whitehead, Henrietta; Courtney Diehl, Nocona; Dusti Cribbs, Olney
Pole Vault -- Dusti Cribbs, Olney; Lindsey Stephens, Olney; Jenna Honea, Holliday
Discus -- Stesha Simpson, City View; Staci Morgan, Olney; Katie Dowd, Holliday
Shot Put -- Codi Bussey, Nocona; Staci Morgan, Olney; Stesha Simpson, City View
Triple Jump -- Sarah Hinson, Olney
400--Meter Relay -- City View; Olney
800--Meter Run -- Nichole Jones, Holliday; Cassandra DeLeon, Jacksboro
100--Meter Low Hurdles -- Dusti Cribbs, Olney; Nikki Kincy, Olney
100--Meter Dash -- Sarah Hinson, Olney
800--Meter Relay -- City View; Henrietta
400--Meter Dash -- Lee Eickman, City View; Brysten Dunlap, Jacksboro
300--Meter Intermediate Hurdles -- Dusti Cribbs, Olney; Nikki Kincy, Olney
200--Meter Dash -- Madison Page, Henrietta; Kaitlin Roberts, City View
1600--Meter Run -- Sara Cuba, Holliday; Cassandra DeLeon, Jacksboro; Kylie Dillard, Holliday
1600--Meter Relay -- City View; Holliday
CLASS A BOYS
3200--Meter Run -- Geoffrey Cude, Munday; Margarito Gonzales, Electra; Bryson Kondracki, Bryson; Gilbert Nevarez, Benjamin; Gunnar Maxwell, Forestburg
Long Jump -- Jeremy King, Quanah; Trey Groves, Seymour; Callan Coltharp, Seymour; Jeremy Beesinger, Archer City
High Jump -- Sam Smith, Archer City; Trey Groves, Seymour; Jeremy Beesinger, Archer City; Jordan Carter, Knox City; Zack Agnew, Northside
Pole Vault -- Jeremy King, Quanah; Dustin McLaughlin, Electra; Geoffrey Cude, Munday
Discus -- Anason Jones, Munday; Dustin Stewart, Munday
Shot Put -- Samuel Nunez, Munday; Anason Jones, Munday; Travis Veitenheimer, Windthorst; Landry Freeling, Northside
Triple Jump -- Tevin Mitchell, Quanah; Callan Coltharp, Seymour; Jared Guerrero, Seymour; Caleb Collier, Munday; Zack Agnew, Northside; Kory Durham, Crowell
400---Meter Relay -- Munday; Archer City; Electra; Northside
800----Meter Run -- Dustin McLaughlin, Electra; Marcos Gonzalez, Electra; Tarrington Rivers, Seymour; Dylan Benson, Benjamin
110--Meter High Hurdles -- Brian Hoff, Windthorst; Jonathan Key, Munday; Mitchell Ainsworth, Bryson; Zack Hise, Windthorst; Anthony Hollingsworth, Chillicothe
100--Meter Dash -- Brian Hoff, Windthorst; Colby White, Northside; Francisco Gonzales, Electra
800--Meter Relay -- Archer City; Bryson
400--Meter Dash -- Zach Hardin, Seymour; Joe Davis, Throckmorton; Caleb Collier, Munday
300--Meter Intermediate Hurdles -- Jonathan Key, Munday; Rolando DeLaRosa, Electra; Johnathan Collier, Munday; Brian Hoff, Windthorst; Ethan Hager, Gold--Burg
200--Meter Dash -- Jonathan Birkenfeld, Munday; Colby White, Northside; Steven Urbanczyk, Munday; Ross Peters, Seymour
1600--Meter Run -- Dustin McLaughlin, Electra; Bryson Kondracki, Bryson; Margarito Gonzales, Electra; Chad Reynolds, Forestburg
1600--Meter Relay -- Munday; Windthorst; Petrolia
--
CLASS A GIRLS
3200--Meter Run -- Julia Holub, Seymour; Julie Acevedo, Benjamin; Brittany Barrington, Throckmorton; Katrina Donnell, Seymour; Anali Granados, Chillicothe; Kathy Correa, Chillicothe; Vanessa Humphrey, Northside
Long Jump -- Laurie Bellah, Throckmorton; Loren Tucker, Petrolia
High Jump -- Mallory Schenk, Windthorst; Carmen Stallcup, Windthorst; Sofia Ramos, Bryson; Melinda Riggins, Northside
Pole Vault -- NONE
Discus -- Tara Riley, Quanah; Hannah Lewis, Electra; Larami Stewart, Munday; Karley Edge, Archer City; Angela Payne, Saint Jo
Shot Put -- Hannah Lewis, Electra; Yontria Wyatt, Munday; Dana Dockins, Munday; Sherrie Williams, Munday; Blythe Wilkinson, Northside
Triple Jump -- Morgan Willett, Archer City; Shayla Rose, Forestburg; Kenzie Herr, Saint Jo; Kate Wegar, Saint Jo
400--Meter Relay -- Knox City; Munday; Archer City; Petrolia; Crowell
800--Meter Run -- Samantha Serrato, Munday; Sofia Ramos, Bryson; Whitney Browning, Seymour; Katie Meurer, Windthorst
100--Meter Low Hurdles -- Sarah Burt, Knox City; Jolynn Easter, Archer City; Lindsey Osteen, Bryson; Samantha Nason, Electra
100--Meter Dash -- Shelby Gutierrez, Knox City; Faith Hunter, Munday; Laurie Bellah, Throckmorton; Savannah Parker, Petrolia; Ashley Grinsley, Gold--Burg
800--Meter Relay -- Seymour, Munday, Petrolia
400--Meter Dash -- Elizabeth Springer, Archer City; Sofia Ramos, Bryson; Carmen Stallcup, Windthorst; Holly McCrary, Knox City; Shayla Rose, Forestburg
300--Meter Intermediate Hurdles -- Lindsey Osteen, Bryson; Jolynn Easter, Archer City; Whitney McCorkle, Windthorst
200--Meter Dash -- Shelby Gutierrez, Knox City; Jackie Mataska, Petrolia; Faith Hunter, Munday; Elizabeth Springer, Archer City; Mandy Campos, Seymour
1600--Meter Run -- Samantha Serrato, Munday; Julie Acevedo, Benjamin; Brittany Barrington, Throckmorton; Katrina Donnell, Seymour; Anali Granados, Chillicothe; Elora Granados, Chillicothe
1600--Meter Relay -- Seymour; Windthorst, Munday
Posted by at 12:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Dallas Stars fever
April 21, 2008I now have caught it. Which is pretty weak that it took this long, considering my past.
Growing up in Dallas, I was a die-hard Stars fan. Watched nearly every game. Can recall nearly every huge playoff contest.
I can tell you how awesome the line of Joe Nieuwendyk, Jamie Langenbrunner and Dave Reid were in the '99 playoffs, which ended with a Stanley Cup.
But soon, I moved to Wichita Falls, where unfortunately every Stars game cannot be seen. And then the first-round playoff exits stared culminating, leaving me too disappointed.
And now that I work nights, that makes it even harder to watch the Stars play.
It is with some sadness that I admit I had not watched much of the Dallas-Anaheim series before Sunday's Game 6. I was even off a couple of those nights, but found other things to do.
I know a lot of the players, but would not be able to tell you the lines the players are on.
My brother, who rarely misses watching a game and even attended Game 4, has supplanted me as the ultimate Stars supporter in the family (Or maybe my mom should hold that title. She loves, and I mean LOVES, the sport. She even had partial season tickets a couple of years ago).
But after watching the Stars knock out the defending Stanley Cups champs with a 4-1 win, I cannot wait for them to play again.
I want to know when the next game is. And who they will play. And how will I make sure I do not miss this upcoming series.
You see, I love football, baseball and basketball -- but postseason hockey cannot be beat. Low-scoring, hard-hitting fun is had every night.
It provides an edge-of-your-seat drama that no other game can match. There aren't a gazillion timeouts that drag the outcome out, like in basketball.
You have to win 16 games to hoist the Stanley Cup, unlike four in football. It is far more intense and physical than baseball.
A few years ago, I wrote a column saying the hardest championship to win is hockey. I got a couple of criticizing e-mails from that, but I will go to my grave believing it.
And now that the Stars are out of the first round since 2003, I am jumping on the bandwagon. Stanley Cup, here they come!
Posted by at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
The return of Sound Off
April 17, 2008I did not work last night, but I saw online this morning that there was finally a Sound Off.
We have gone two full weeks without one of those, and I cannot give you a good reason why.
In my time at the paper, maybe there has been a day or two during the uneventful summer where we would not have one.
But right now, with so much stuff going on. And for two full weeks, that is just pretty weird.
One thing I think that hurts the amount of Sound Offs we get is now with the web, you can reply to a Sound Off in the comments section instead of writing your own Sound Off in.
And since we changed our website a year ago, there is no link that will send us Sound Offs from our site.
I guess we will see if there is another Sound Off in Friday's paper.
Also, I had a couple area football coaches bring up my MSU spring game experience last weekend. Burkburnett coach Bill Dalke said I missed out on the best part of coaching --having parents criticize your playcalling.
Posted by at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
One crazy week
April 14, 2008I have been meaning to blog a lot more starting last week, but it has been pretty crazy around here in the sports world.
A quick breakdown of what has been going on:
Last Saturday (not a couple of days ago, but the week before that): I was able to get a few minutes to talk with Greg Biffle when he was in town while his pit crew was racing at Red River Speedway.
Biffle told me he expects to be back with Roush Fenway Racing next season and that he thought he would have a pretty good showing in the next day's race (more on that later). He is not a very big guy, but he was very friendly during the interview.
It was pretty neat for RRS to bring his guys out. One of Biffle's pit crew members is Wichitan Ryan Dextraze, who helped set things up.
Last Sunday: Was able to experience my first NASCAR race in person. Drove to Texas Motor Speedway and saw Carl Edwards win for the third time in 2008.
With a media pass, I was able to experience everything -- the pits, the garages, Victory Lane, etc. I am not a huge racing fan (I have probably watched three full races on TV in my whole life) but it was a pretty cool experience.
I wrote my column on Jeff Gordon, who finished last for only the second time in his career. The other was also at TMS, only one of two tracks he has not won at.
As for Biffle, he had some mechanical problems and struggled to 39th place. Not so much of a correct prediction after all.
Tuesday: I did not forget Monday. I was off and was pretty much worthless after a long day at NASCAR (I know, I lead a tough life).
On this day, I traveled to Denton for the 5-4A track meet. Several kids got out to regionals, which is in a couple of weeks in San Angelo.
Rider girls got second, as did the WFHS boys. I think at least a couple of city kids have a great chance of getting to Austin: WFHS high jumper Wade Thornton, who hit a school-record 6-10 in Denton and Rider discus thrower James Chambers, who went a year ago.
The WFHS boys 4x100 has a decent shot, although their time is about a second or less off last year when it went to state. And the Lady Coyotes have two great hurdlers in Alexis Thurmond and Rachel King.
Unfortunately, Saginaw has a couple of really fast girls, one of which just ran the second-fastest ever national outdoor time in the 100. So those WFHS girls have their work cut out for them.
Wednesday-Thursday: Off days spent working on hockey stories, watching Masters, etc.
Friday and Saturday: Covered the Wildcats, who ended up losing their playoff series to Fairbanks in four games.
It was also a big weekend as the Rider girls soccer team advanced all the way to the Class 4A state championship before losing.
Back to hockey. Before the series started, I predicted Fairbanks would win in give games. Wichita Falls had struggled down the stretch, and the Ice Dogs may have the best goalie in the league in Cody Reichard.
Here is what I saw in the 3-1 and 6-3 losses. I think the Wildcats depended on Cardwell, Salazar and Everett to the point that if they failed to score, then Wichita Falls was not probably going to win.
I thought the team played well at times, but was too inconsistent. They probably should have won Game 3, but Reichard played too well.
I think the Ice Dogs were outplayed for the first half of Game 4, but were able to take the lead on a couple of soft goals/breakdowns. The Wildcats never really solved Reichard until they were trailing 5-1 in Game 4.
I totally agree with what Coach Bowkus said in my boss Nick's Sunday column. The Fairbanks goalie was better than Mike Jarboe and it looked like the Wildcats might have peaked too soon. A disappointing end to a great season.
Well, that was my week. Also on Saturday, I was a guest coach during the MSU spring football game. Check out my column in Monday's paper if you want to learn more about that.
Posted by at 12:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
My brackets are finally garbage
April 6, 2008If felt pretty good to go into Final Four weekend with both brackets having a chance at placing in the office pool.
My good bracket could have won it all if UCLA topped Kansas in the championship game.
My evil bracket had also made a resurgence, and a Memphis win against UNC would have moved me into second.
Unfortunately, neither possible outcome happened. And so my brackets are crumpled up and thrown into the garbage.
With all the talk about four No. 1 seeds in San Antonio, one would think there would have been a couple of competitive games on Saturday.
But Memphis got rolled pretty easily. And Kansas built a 28-point first-half lead over UNC.
So who wins the NCAA title? I will keep it in the Big 12 and give it to the Jayhawks, who I thought could have won it all along but I couldn't pick them because of all the recent burns.
Posted by at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
