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Journal-Spectator 2008 Sports Year in Review
January Wharton wins St. Joes Tourney The Wharton High School basketball team beat Hallettsville Sacred Heart, El Campo, and Industrial to capture the St. Joseph Invitational Tournament title in Victoria. Vernequa Taylor scored 31 points in the title game and captured MVP honors. Ja'lessa Jones and Shaniqua Dogins were selected to the all-tournament team. Lechler named to 3rd Pro Bowl East Bernard and Texas A&M graduate Shane Lechler was voted to his third Pro Bowl after leading the NFL with a 49.1 gross yards per punt average (Lechler was voted to his fourth Pro Bowl last week.). Lechler also claimed the NFL's net punting average title with an average of 41.1.
With a decisive 76-38 win at Columbia, the Wharton girls basketball team improved to 16-4 overall and 10-1 in District 24-3A. More importantly, the Lady Tigers secured a playoff berth. In the win, Taylor registered 25 points, nine rebounds and seven steals, and Jones had 24 points, 11 boards and five assists. Swimmers qualify for regional Several Wharton swimmers earned a trip to the Region VI Class 4A Championships in Katy by finishing in the top six at the District 25-4A Championships in El Campo. Wharton finished fourth as a team. In girls relay races, the Wharton 200-yard medley relay team of Amanda Billings, Blair Zahn, Shea Flynn and Sara Harper won the event. The 200-yard freestyle team of Harper, Megan Lesak, Billings and Flynn finished second. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Lizzie Roades, Kendall Watson, Zahn and Lesak finished fourth.
In individual races, Roades finished sixth in the girls 200-yard freestyle relay. Billings won the girls 200-yard individual medley, and Castro won the boys race. Flynn finished fourth in the girls 50-yard freestyle. Harper finished sixth. Flynn won the girls 100-yard butterfly, and Lesak finished third, and Castro won the boys race. Lowe finished sixth in the boys 100-yard freestyle. Roades finished third in the girls 500-yard freestyle. Cline finished fourth in the boys race. Billings finished fourth in the girls 100-yard backstroke. Zahn finished third in the girls 100yard breaststroke, and Cline finished third in the boys race.
The Wharton girls basketball team crushed Stafford 63-45 at Tiger Gymnasium to improve to 12-1 and clinch the title with one game remaining in the regular season. They would close out the regular season 13-1 in district and advance to the area round of the playoffs before falling to Hardin-Jefferson. Taylor finished with 22 points and nine assists. Shaniqua Dogins scored nine points and had 16 rebounds. Chandra Johnson scored seven points and had eight rebounds. EB's Hayes signs with Blinn East Bernard running back Mike Hayes overcame injuries his junior and senior years to finish with a sensational career for the Brahmas. Hayes, who was selected the Offensive Player of the Year in Wharton County, signed to play at Blinn College in Brenham. In addition to his local honors, Hayes was selected the District 27-2A Player of the Year in Dave Campbell's winter magazine.
The WHS boys basketball team fell one point shy of a District 24-3A playoff berth, dropping its season finale to Royal, 52-51. The Tigers, who finished tied with Royal with an 8-6 district record, missed the No. 3 playoff berth because of a tiebreaker. Taylor, Dogins superlatives Wharton girls basketball players Verne'qua Taylor and Shaniqua Dogins received individual honors on the All-District 24-3A basketball team. Taylor, a junior, was selected the Offensive Most Valuable Player. She totaled 265 points in 14 district games for a 19.9 average. Taylor also totaled 79 assists for a 5.6 average. Dogins was selected the Newcomerof the Year. She scored 200 points for a 14.3 average. She also pulled down 176 rebounds for a 12.5 average. Wharton junior Ja'lessa Jones earned first team honors and scored 196 points for a 14 point average.
Wharton juniors Chandra Johnson and Desurae Matthews were selected to the second team. Wharton junior Latoy Lavan received honorable mention honors. Wharton's All-Academic selections are freshman Brionna Farr, Dogins and Matthews. Boling boys grab Ganado golf tourney championship Boling boy's golf team edged out Wharton County rival and 27-2A foe East Bernard for the H. B. Benold Invitational Tournament championship Monday at the Mustang Creek Country Club. Boling finished with an 18- hole team total of 355 and East Bernard recorded a 356. Boling's Douglas Mach fired a 70 to earn first place medalist honors. EB's Jared Minks shot a 77 to take second. EB girls golfers win Boling tournament The East Bernard girls golf team brought home the championship trophy from the Boling Invitational Tournament held at the Newgulf Golf Club. The Brahmarettes finished with an 18-hole team total of 413. Amber Haedge fired a 95 to earn first place medalist honors. Liz Tovar shot a 103 to take second and Robin Litvik recorded a 104 to take third. March Ferrell hurls no-no in district opener Boling freshman Alyssa Ferrell pitched a no-hitter and struck out nine in a 7-0 win over Van Vleck in the District 27-2A opener. Ferrell was also 2 for 4 at the plate and scored a run. Ashton Kalina went two for four, scored two runs and stole two bases. EB girls golf team wins at Ganado The East Bernard girls golf team captured the H.B. Benold Invitational Tournament championship at the Mustang Creek Country Club. The Brahmarettes recorded an 18-hole team total of 425 to beat out second place Industrial, which finished with a 457. East Bernard's Liz Tovar shot a 102 to take third. Brahmarette Amber Haedge shot a 103 to finish fourth. WHS wins regional 3A tennis crown Wharton's tennis team brought home the Texas High School Tennis Coaches Association Region VI tournament championship which was held at Katy High School.Wharton took 15 of 19 matches from Bellville and whitewashed Columbus 19-0. The regional championship was Wharton's eighth straight dating back to 2001. Owens, Jaquez qualify for state Wharton's Chris Owens and Erich Jaquez captured first place honors at the Texas High School Powerlifting Association Regional IV Championships held at Coldspring High School. Owens won the 275-weight class with a 1,505 pound total to qualify for the Class 2A- 3A state championships in Abilene. Jaquez won the 132- pound class and had a 1,385 pound total. Jonathan Wells finished fourth in the 132-pound class and had a 920 pound total. J.D. Rivera was a regional qualifer but didn't compete at the regional tournament because of his obligation to the baseball team. East Bernard's Gabe Segrest finished third in the 181- pound class with a 1,190 pound total and was an alternate at the state meet. Steiner signs to play at Jamestown Boling senior Matt Steiner signed to play football with Jamestown College. Steiner, a lineman, was a first team All-Wharton County and All District 27-2A selection last in 2007. The Jimmies compete in the Dakota Athletic Conference, a NAIA member school. The college is located in Jamestown, N.D. Thompson, Kirschke selected all district Wharton's Otis Thompson and Jordan Kirschke were Wharton's lone players on the All-District 24-3A boys basketball team. Thompson was a first team selection for the Tigers and Kirschke was a second team pick. Thompson, a senior, averaged more than 10 points a game. Kirschke averaged 14.3 points per game. Wharton's Kenneth Phynon and Jonovan Jones were honorable mention selections. Kirschke and Thompson were also All-Academic picks. Boling, EB players make 27-2A girls cage team Three Boling and two East Bernard players were placed on the All-District 27-2A Girls Basketball teams. Boling junior Ebony Ashley earned first team honors and Stephanie Rachunek and Jessica Moore were second team selections. Ashley scored 187 points in 14 district games and had 141 rebounds, 71 steals and 29 assists. Rachunek scored 76 points in district and has 44 rebounds. Moore scored 66 points and had 91 rebounds and 35 steals. East Bernard junior Haley Dawson earned first team honors and senior Roberta Pettit was a second team pick. Dawson averaged 13 points and four rebounds per game. Pettit averaged five points and five assists per game. Boling's honorable mention selections included Beth Llanas. East Bernard's picks included Florence Wilson, Bev Kresta and Tara Hlavinka. Boling's All-Academic selections include Paige Bucek, Kayla Montgomery, Moore and Llanas. East Bernard's selections included Paula Lopez, Florence Wilson, Robin Litvik, Hillarie Blazek, Kresta and Dawson. Hemphill shares 27-2A basketball newcomer Boling freshman Dennis Hemphill was selected the Newcomer-of-the-Year on the All-District 27-2A Basketball team. Hemphill averaged 16.2 points for the Bulldogs last season. East Bernard senior Mike Hayes earned first team honors. Hayes averaged 15.8 points per game. Junior Lance Crump was a second team pick and he averaged 5.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Boling senior B.W. McLeod earned second team honors, averaging 14 points and seven rebounds per game. Justin Hobbs, Tanner Thompson, Dupree Taylor were honorable mention selections for Boling. Matt Stelzel and Corey Slater were East Bernard's HM selections. Wharton netters fourth at state Wharton's tennis team finished fourth among 16 teams in the Texas Tennis Coaches Association State Tournament in Waco. Abilene Wylie took the championship. Vernon was second and Canyon was third. Wharton took 17 of 19 matches from Spring Hill and beat Sweetwater 10-9. Vernon took 10 of 14 matches from Wharton. The local team then lost to Canyon 13-5 in the third place contest. Repka perfect against Brazos East Bernard junior pitcher Courtney Repka was perfect from the circle in a 10-0 win over rival Brazos on a cold night at Koym Field. She retired 18 batters in the six inning game and struck out 15. Taylor repeats as County MVP For the second year in a row, Verne'qua Taylor was the Most Valuable Player on the All- Wharton County Girls Basketball Team. The Wharton junior Verne'qua Taylor totaled a whopping 443 points for a 18.5 per game average. She also had 91 rebounds and 115 points. Teammate and freshman Shaniqua Dogins was the Newcomer. She scored 312 points, grabbed 128 rebounds and dished out 82 assists. Laura Guidry earned Coach of the Year honors Wharton junior Ja'leessa Jones earned first team honors. She scored 286 points, pulled down 128 rebounds and had 82 assists. She was joined by junior teammate Chandra Johnson as a first team pick. She scored 232 points and had 153 rebounds and 22 assists. Boling junior Ebony Ashley earned first team honors. She scored 350 points, pulled down 241 rebounds and added 150 steals and 83 assists. Heading up the second team selections is Boling junior Stephanie Rachunek, who scored 254 points and pulled down 157 rebounds. East Bernard's selections included junior Haley Dawson and Florence Wilson. April Jaquez wins stateWharton junior Erich Jaquez brought home gold from the Division II Texas High School Power Lifting Association State Championships at the Taylor County Expo Center in Abilene. Jaquez won the 148-pound class with a 1,405- pound total. He had 525-pound effort in the squat, a 345-pound effort on the bench press and a 535- pound total in the dead lift. Jaquez had the best bench and deadlift among all the Class 3A schools. He was the second best lifter in all three divisions and set a state total record. Wharton senior Chris Owens finished eighth in the Super Heavyweight division with a 1,525- pound total. He had a 640-pound effort in the squat, a 350- pound effort on the bench press and a 535-pound effort on the deadlift. Tigers qualify for regional Five Wharton boys, one girl and two relay teams earned the right to compete at the Region III Class 3A Track and Field Championships. They advanced by either winning or finishing second or third in the District 25-3A field events at Cardinal Stadium on the campus of Columbus High School. Keemon Jones won the long jump competition with a 21-0 effort. Chris Owens won the shot put with a 51-4 toss. Raymond Felder finished third in the discus with a 123-3 throw. Chris Taylor finished third in the triple jump with a 41-11.5 effort. Chris Taylor finished second in the 300-meter hurdles with a 40.18 time. Wharton junior Jal'essa Jones finished second in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles with a 47.46 time. The Wharton 800-meter relay team of Ronnie Ray, Jonovan Jones, Keemon Jones and Kevin Turner finished third with a 1:30.79. The 1,600-meter relay team of Taylor, Ray, Jonovan Jones and Turner finished second with a 3:29.72. EB girls claim 27-2A golf championship The East Bernard girls golf team claimed the District 27-2A golf championship at Rio Colorado. The Brahmarettes beat out Boling, which won the title last in 2007, with a 18-hole team total of 411. East Bernard's Amber Haedge fired a 90 to earn first place medalist honors. Brahmarette Robin Litvik recorded a 107 for fourth. EB girls capture 27-2A tennis championship East Bernard's girls tennis team claimed the District 27-2A tournament championship at Columbia Lakes. The Brahmarettes totaled 50 points. Boling was third with 24. EB boys golf team wins 27-2A championship 27-2A championshipEast Bernard's boys golf team won District 27-2A Tournament held at Rio Colorado. The Brahmas finished with a 18-hole team total of 348 and Boling was three strokes back with a 351. For the second year in a row, Boling junior Douglas Mach won first place medalist honors by firing a 73. Brahma Jared Minks shot a 77 for second and Stocks Bradley carded an 82 to take third. WHS tennis teams win 24-3A crowns Wharton's boys and girls tennis teams captured their eighth straight District 24-3A Tournament championship at Columbia Lakes. The girls team totaled 40 points. Columbia was second with 22. The boys team finished with 26 points. Sealy was second with 18. Brahmas win 27-2A track championship The East Bernard boys track team broke a long drought and captured the District 27-2A Track and Field Championships, which were completed at Cougar Stadium on the campus of Brazos High School. The Brahmas totaled 152.5 points to beat out second place Van Vleck's 149. The top three in each event qualified for the regional meet. East Bernard's 400-meter relay team of Goff, Martin Hayes, Chris Plunkett and Lance Crump finished third with a 45.55. The 800-meter relay team of Goff, Crump, Martin Hayes and Mike Hayes finished third with an 1:33.61. In individual running events, Miles Locke finished third in the 800-meter run with a 2:08.29. Mike Hayes won the 100-meter dash with an 11.15. He had a 10.53 time in the prelims. Matt Stelzel won the 300-meter intermediate hurdles with a 40.43 and finished second in the 110- meter hurdles with a 16.14. Nick Guerra finished third in the 1,600-meter run with a 4:55.52 and third in the 3,200- meter run with a 10:38.23. In field events, Cameron Mazoch won the pole vault with a 12-0. Chris Plunkett finished second. Brahma Martin Hayes won the high jump at 5-8. Bryce Koenig also cleared that height but placed second on number of misses. Adam Kubena finished third in the shot put with a 46-5. Gabe Segrest finished second in the discus with a 128-1 throw. B.W. McLeod was Boling's lone regional qualifier after finishing third in the 200-meter dash with a 22.94. Lady Bulldogs earn trip to regional meet Two Boling girls relay teams and two individuals earned reginal berths by finishing in the top thee at the District 27-2A championships held at Cougar Stadium on the campus of Brazos High School. The 400-meter relay team of Jessica Moore, Joneva Jackson, Sigrid Roberts and Ebony Ashley finished third with a 52.31. The 800-meter relay team of Moore, Jackson, Roberts and Ashley finished third with a 1:51.97. In the field events, Sigrid Roberts finished third in the long jump with a 16-3. She added a second place finish the high jump with a 4-9. Kierra Jackson finished second in the shot put with a 32-11.25 effort. All-County boys hoops team loaded Boling freshman Dennis Hemphill averaged 16.2 points and was named the Newcomerof the Year on the Wharton Journal Spectator and El Campo Leader-News Wharton County Boys Basketball Team. First team selections include Wharton seniors Jordan Kirschke and Odis Thompson. Joining the two Tigers was East Bernard senior Mike Hayes who averaged 15.8 points and four Second team selections include Wharton junior K.C. Curtis, who scored 87 points in 14 district games. He was joined by East Bernard junior Matt Stelzel who averaged 8.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Lady Bulldogs clinch final playoff spot Boling beat Van Vleck 7-2 in a district playoff to claim the third and final District 27-2A playoff spot. The teams split their league games and finished tied with 7- 5 records to force the playoff. In the district playoff, Boling pitcher Alyssa Ferrell stymied Van Vleck for the most part. She also contributed in the batter's box, going three for four with a double and three RBIs. Katie Womack was 3 for 4. Van Sant accepts Tomball position Wharton Athletic Director and head football coach Gary Van Sant tendered his resignation from the WISD to accept a coaching position with Class 5A Tomball. Van Sant's Tigers finished the 2007 season 2-8. Tigers secure final playoff spot Wharton earned the third and final District 24-3A baseball playoff spot by beating Columbia 10-0 at Renfro Field.The Tigers rode a five game win streak to finish 9-5 in league. Wharton overcame a 1-4 start in district and was 4-5 after dropping a 1-0 heartbreaker to Sweeny at Tiger Field back on April 8. In the win over Columbia, Kris Looper tossed a one-hitter, retiring 14 of 15 batters and striking out seven. Hunt tapped AD/grid coach at Wharton It took Wharton ISD board members only 20 minutes to name Stacey Hunt as the new athletic director and head football coach. Hunt, 38, served the same position at Class A Granger where Wharton's first-year superintendent, Dr. James Bartosh, hails from. Hunt's 2007 football team went 12-2. The Lions went 8-4 in 2006. He had a 38-28 record in six years as a head coach at Granger. Roberts qualifies for state track meet Boling junior Sigrid Roberts qualified to compete in the Class 2A State Track and Field championships in Austin. She earned the trip after finishing second in the Region XIV Class 2A long jump competition at Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Texas State University in San Marcos. Her 17-2.75 leap came in the finals. Brahmas claim postseason berth East Bernard's baseball team, facing a deficit for the 11th straight game, rebounded from an early 3-0 hole to outscore Hitchcock 10-6 at Renfro Field and secure the third playoff berth out of District 27-2A. The Brahmas and Bulldogs finished tied for the third and final District 27-3A playoff spot with 5-5 records. After Cameron Orsak's solo home run in the first trimmed the deficit to 3-1, the Brahmas got a bad-hop RBI single from Hudman and a two-run single to left by Matt Stelzel. A sacrifice fly by Orsak, 2-for- 2 with 2 RBIs, got Stelzel home to make it 5-3. James Powell went the distance for East Bernard. Tiger doubles teams qualify for state Four members of the Wharton's tennis team earned berths at the year's Class 3A State Tournament at Penick-Alison Courts on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin. The Wharton girls doubles team of Christie Viktorin and Ashley Aaronson won the regional championship with a 6- 3, 4-6, 6-4 win over a Bellville team. The mixed doubles team of Ric Doestch and Rachel Gubbels finished second after beating Groesbeck team 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 in a playback match. Mach qualifies for state golf tourney Boling senior Douglas Mach earned a trip to the Class 2A State Tournament for the second year in a row. Mach qualified by finishing second at the Region IV Tournament at the Quail Creek Country Club in San Marcos. Mach fired rounds of 70 and 77 for a 36-hole total of 147. He finished second last year with a 152. May WCJC players earn South Zone honors Four Wharton County Junior College baseball players were named to the All Region XIV South Zone Team. Freshman pitcher Trey Ross went 4-1 in zone play with an ERA of 3.54. He struck out 43 batters in 48 innings. Sophomore infielders Alex Johnson and Cody Ross were named, and sophomore Brian Minzenmeyer made the team as a designated hitter. Ross had a .355 average with 38 hits and 29 RBIs. Johnson had a .327 average with 23 RBIs and 30 runs scored. Minzenmeyer had a .410 average with 23 RBIs with four home runs and 41 runs scored. Wayne Walters retires from EB Long time East Bernard coach Wayne Walters announced his retirement from the district after 18 years of service. Walters' first position in East Bernard, in 1990, was as boys basketball coach and he produced a winning record. He was the Brahmas defensive coordinator under head coach Rick Sowell. He also was an assistant baseball coach behind Jerry Brantly. His first coaching job was in 1977 at Lufkin Hudson where he credited his athletic director Ronnie Durham, who has coached for 42 years and had only two losing seasons, with getting him started right. In 14 years of coaching seventh grade football, he has 12 district championships and one runner up. He compiled a 95-17-4 record. He also taught physical education at the junior high. In five years as cross country coach, four of five teams were district champions. He also coached powerlifting and the 1992 team finished third in the region. During his three years as head football coach, 1996-98, Walters compiled a 27-6 record The 1996 team went 11-2, advancing to the Class 2A regional quarterfinals before losing to Refugio. The 1997 team went 8-2 and the 1998 team had the same record as there was a threeway tie for the second and third playoff spot. He also coached varsity track. Tigers' playoff season ends Giddings rallied to beat the Tigers 8-6 in a four-hour marathon that ended after midnight in a Class 3A bi-district playoff series. Giddings then broke 3-3 tie Saturday to win 8-3 to advance to the area round. Wharton finished with a 13-14 record after winning five straight district games to make the playoffs. Ciruti retires after 33 years After 33 years of successful baseball coaching Wharton's Floyd Ciruti announced his retirement from the sport he loves. Ciruti, 57, actually made the decision before the season started but waited to tell his players until after the playoff loss against Giddings. During his career, Ciruti compiled a 547-310 record for a .637 winning percentage. He collected his 500th win in 2006. This season was Wharton's eighth straight season to make the playoffs which is Ciruti's longest streak. His 1980 team made it to the state tournament and got beat 4-2 by DeSoto Ciruti had 70 plus players who went on to play college ball and at least 10 played in minor league organizations. Ciruti graduated from Sterling High in Baytown. He played baseball and earned his degree at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. Brahmarettes softballers sweep No. 1-ranked Franklin Franklin's No. 1 Class 2A ranking didn't mean a thing to the East Bernard's softball team in a Region IV area round series this weekend at Ira Floyd Jr. Field The Brahmarettes swept the 27-1 Lady Lions by 18-2 and 10-3 scores on Friday and Saturday to advance quarterfinal round of the playoff. EB totaled 12 hits in the first game and 10 more in the second. EB's playoff season ends East Bernard's baseball season came to an end when Edna's Michael Vickery belted a threerun shot in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 12-9 Class 2A Region IV win at Veteran's Park Strickland Field in Weimar. The Brahmas had battled back from a 7-3 deficit, scoring six runs in the seventh to go up 9-6. Aaronson, Viktorin mine bronze The Wharton doubles team of Ashley Aaronson and Christie Viktorin brought home bronze medals from the Class 3A University Interscholastic League State Tournament at the Penick- Allison Tennis Complex at the University of Texas. Prior to that, it had been 20 years since any Wharton female players had earned any medals at state in tennis. Aaronson-Viktorin won their quarterfinal match beating Megan England and Kailey Lampkin of Kaufman 6-3, 6-4. In the semifinal, Aaronson and Viktorin lost to Sara Howard and Morgan Wilkins of Wimberley 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Roberts finishes 6th at state Boling junior Sigrid Roberts placed sixth in the Class 2A long jump competion in the UIL State Track & Field Championships at Mike A Meyers Stadium on the University of Texas campus. Roberts had a 16-11.25 effort. Mach plays in state golf tourney Boling junior Douglas Mach tied for sixth in the Class 2A State Golf Tournament. Mach fired rounds of 75 and 76 for at two-day, 36-hole total of 151. Salado's Ryan O'Rear took first place medalist honors with a 73-67 - 140 total. Pioneers regional runners-up Wharton County Junior College's baseball team returned home from Mount Pleasant after going 4-2 in the Region XIV Tournament at Bob Barker Stadium on the campus of Northeast Texas Community College. The Pioneers dropped a 11-1, five-inning decision to Alvin Community College as the Dolphins earned a trip to the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction. WCJC eliminated South Zone champion San Jacinto College 5-4 earlier in the day. The Pioneers came out of the loser bracket to win four straight games after dropping a 6-1 decision to Panola in Saturday's tourney opener. The 4-2 record was WCJC's best effort in the tournament which cranked up in 1995 when the Pioneers started playing baseball again. Repka's one-hitters lift EB East Bernard junior Courtney Repka pitched lights out softball as the Brahmarettes swept Yorktown by identical 1-0 scores in a Class 2A Region IV semifinal series at the Shiner Starplex. Repka pitched a pair of one-hitters and struck out combined 22 batters in the two games. She faced the minimum 21 batters in Game 3. WCJC athletes honored Wharton County Junior College athletes were honored at the 45th Annual Athletic Banquet at the Pioneer Student Center. Each year the WCJC Booster Club presents the best all-around athlete with the Johnnie Frankie Award in honor of the late Johnnie Frankie who coached several sports teams at Wharton County Junior College over many years. Tony Frankie, Johnnie's son, presented sophomore Chelsie Fowler of New Braunfels with the award. Fowler was also named Most Valuable volleyball player by first year coach Brianna Florus. WCJC baseball coach Bob Nottebart named Cody Ross of Austin as the Most Valuable baseball player, and rodeo coach Sean Amestoy selected Lauren Cox of Cotulla was the MVP. Academic All-Conference athletes included Tracy Beicker (Volleyball) of Seguin, Kyle Koenig (Baseball) of East Bernard, Jennifer Inabnit (Volleyball) of Sugar Land, Kelli Thompson (Rodeo) of Wharton, Zach Weyand (Baseball) of Sugar Land and Max Herschap (Baseball) of Austin. Tigers make 24-3A teams Seven Wharton players were represented on the All-District 24-3A Baseball Teams. Wharton junior Chris Acuna was selected the district's Offensive Player of the Year. He had a .500 average with 20 hits in 40 at-bats. Acuna also hit three homers and had 20 RBIs, scoring 16 runs. Junior pitcher Kris Looper was a first team selection. He went 3-4 with a 1.97 ERA. He struck out 37 batters in 39 innings. Tiger senior JD Rivera was a unanimous selection as an outfielder. He had a .326 average with 14 hits and eight RBIs. Wharton's second team selectons included pitchers Michael Mata and Taylor Ustynik, outfielder David Horta and designated hitter Ben Williams. Wharton senior Brian Cervenka and junior Lucas Munoz were honorable mention selections. Brahmarettes win region East Bernard scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to beat Poth 2-0 at the St. Joseph O'Connor Sports Complex to claim the Class 2A Region IV softball championship. The Brahmarettes advanced to the UIL State Tournament at the Red McCombs Softball Complex in Austin. East Bernard beat the Pirettes by the same score in the first game of the series. Pitcher Courtney Repka struck out 11 batters in the first game and 14 in the second. Owens signs with McMurry Wharton senior lineman Chris Owens signed a scholarship to play football at McMurry University in Abilene this fall. Owens said he also plans to participate in track at McMurry. During his senior year, Owens was an All- District and All-Wharton County selection in football, finished 7th in state in power lifting and was a regional qualifier in the shot put. McMurry is a NCAA Division III school with an enrollment of 1,400 students and is a member of the American Southwest Conference. Kerlin named baseball coach Columbia assistant baseball coach Kelly Kerlin was selected the new Tiger coach. Kerlin, a 1995 graduate of Taylor High School played baseball University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton. Kerlin was an assistant at Columbia, under head coach Jeff Swank, for seven years. He'll also be an assistant football coach and teach science. June Lobpries helps Aggies to finals Contributing solid, and sometimes outstanding, play to the team effort, Wharton's Jami Lobpries helped boost the Texas A&M Aggies into the finals of the NCAA Softball World Series being played at ASA Hall of Fame Field in Oklahoma City. In her best offensive performance of this year's National Championship Tournament, the senior centerfielder had a hand in both runs of the Aggies' 2-1 win over Louisiana Lafayette. In the fourth inning of the game, Lobpries lofted a sacrifice fly to left field scoring third baseman Jamie Hinshaw on the play. In the seventh, she led off the inning with a single, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error. She then scored on an infield single by first baseman Rhiannon Kliesing. The Aggies advanced to the finals against ASU by eliminating the tournament's top seed, the University of Florida. A&M dropped an afternoon game to UF by a 6-1 margin, but then bounced back that evening to edge the Gators 1-0 in extra innings. In the afternoon loss, Lobpries walked in three plate appearances. In the victory, she was 1-3 with a walk. In addition to generating offense, Lobpries has played errorless ball and produced some ESPN highlight catches in centerfield. With the win over Florida, A&M set the team's single-season win record (57) which was previously held by the 1987 and 1994 teams. In addition, it allowed the Aggies to become the first Big 12 team to reach the championship series since Oklahoma won the title in 2000. Brahmarettes win state East Bernard's Haley Dawson came home on a wild pitch in the top of the first inning in the Class 2A state championship softball game against Coahoma at Red McCombs Field on The University of Texas at Austin campus. That's all the Brahmarettes needed to win the game 1-0 before a partisan East Bernard crowd of 1,100. Pitcher Courtney Repka, who struck out 13 batters and gave up an infield hit in the seventh. Repka was selected the tournament's Most Valuable Player after she struck out 13 and walked three in the title game. The strike outs gave her 342 on the season and 1,012 in her career. The Brahmarettes beat Industrial in a first round bi-district contest. They swept then No. 1 ranked Franklin in a best of three area round series and then beat Rosebud-Lott 3-2. After losing the opening game of their regional playoff to Yorktown 3-2, EB battled back to win the next two by identical 1-0 scores and swept No. 1 Poth in a pair of 2-0 games to earn the state berth. East Bernard totaled eight hits in the game and stranded as many runners. Demny drafted by Nationals East Bernard graduate and Blinn College pitcher Paul Demny was drafted by Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals. He was selected in the sixth round and was the 181st all overall pick. The right handed pitcher, has a fastball in the mid 90s. Demny played under former East Bernard coach Greg Murrile, and led the Brahmas deep into the playoffs in 2005, 2006 and 2007. All-County softball East Bernard junior pitcher Courtney Repka repeated as Most Valuable Player on All-Wharton County Softball Team. Repka struck out 430 batters during the season, giving her 1,012 for her career. She walked only 11 batters in 174 innings and gave up only five earned runs. Repka pitched six no-hitters and several one and two hitters during the season. Newcomer recognition went to Boling freshman pitcher Aylssa Ferrell, who led the Lady Bulldogs to the playoffs. She went 10-10 on the season with an ERA of 3.37 with 113 strikeouts in 106 innings. East Bernard coach Amy Bush, who repeated as Coach of the Year. First team selections included pitchers Jael Ramirez. Ramirez was 5-10 on the season with a batting average of .278. Wharton senior Brittany Gutierrez and Boling junior Stephanie Rachunek shared catching honors. East Bernard junior Liz Reyes was the utility player. All-County baseball Wharton senior leadoff hitter J.D. Rivera's leadership earned Rivera this year's Most Valuable Player on the All-Wharton County Baseball Team. Rivera boasted a .392 average with 21 hits and 15 RBIs. He walked six times and scored 29 runs. First team selections included Wharton pitcher Kris Looper. Looper had a 5-5 season record with a 1.88 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 52 innings. He also contributed a .338 batting average with 25 hits and 16 RBIs. Infielders include Wharton's Michael Mata, East Bernard's Clinton Graves and Boling's Justin Hobbs. Outfielders are Chris Acuna from Wharton, Aaron Alexander from East Bernard and Trevor Archer from Boling. Sharing utility player honors were Taylor Ustynik of Wharton and Sean Hollis of Boling. Second team selections included East Bernard junior pitcher James Powell. Infielders included Cameron Orsak and Matthew Stelzel from East Bernard and Koby Sanchez and Tanner Thompson from Boling. Outfielders included Ben Williams from Wharton. Tiger junior Lucas Munoz earned utility player honors. Ciruti inducted to HOF Former Wharton baseball coach Floyd Ciruti, who coached the Tigers for 33 years, was inducted into the Greater Houston Area Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Honor during a ceremony at Reckling Park. Ciruti learned in May he would be inducted into the Hall. The home plate ceremony came after Tiger graduate J.D. Rivera played in the all-star baseball game. The Wharton center fielder was one for one, stole two bases and scored two runs. Ciruti compiled a 547-310 record for a .637 winning percentage. He collected is 500th win in 2006. Trotter named to WHS staff WHS Athletic Director Stacey Hunt announced the hiring of Michelle Trotter as the new girls basketball and cross country coach. Trotter played and graduated from West Fork High School in Arkansas in 1989. She received her degree in kineselogy from Harding University in Arkansas in 1994 and her masters in education in 1995. Trotter coached at Class 2A Riesel, located 60 miles north of Waco, this past season. She coached Class 3A West from 2005-2007 and at Fort Bend Bush in Sugar Land 2003-05. July Carter named WHS VB coach Wharton Athletic Director Stacey Hunt named Cuero High graduate Courtney Carter the new Lady Tiger volleyball coach. Carter received her bachelor's degree at Texas A&M-Commerce and master's degree at Texas State University in San Marcos in 2006. She coached at Class A Waelder last season after a one year stint as an assistant coach at Class 3A Luling. Tiger Sharks garner 7 medals The Wharton Tiger Shark swimming team brought home seven medals from the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation Games of Texas Swim Meet held at Palo Alto College in San Antonio. Three individuals and three relay teams medaled, including gold medal-performances from Tate Lowe in the boys 13-14-yearold 50-yard freestyle and from the girls 13-14 200-yard freestyle relay team. Lowe, who also earned a bronze in the 100-yard freestyle, topped a field of 28 swimmers to earn his gold in the short sprint. The girls 200-yard freestyle relay team consisted of Derian Thrash, Hannah Harper, Kaitlyn Norrell and Kaleigh Kacal. The same group of girls also claimed one of the three silver medals earned by the Tiger Sharks, placing second in the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 2:08.69. The boys 200-yard freestyle relay team of Tyler Knezek, Colin Curlee-Hintz, Lowe and David Harbaugh garnered a silver medal, turning in a 1:42.95, almost a full two seconds better than its seeding time of 1:44.92 . Kacal earned the other silver, swimming a 28.76 in the finals of the 50yard butterfly. Knezek supplemented his relay silver with a bronze in the 100-yard IM, swimming a 1:05.75 in the finals. August Local netters nab bronze Cameron Kieler and Haley Rainer captured a bronze medal in the girls 16-and-under doubles division at the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation State Tennis Meet held at McFarlan Tennis Center in San Antonio. After losing to eventual champions Ana Nino and Cathy Saenz of Mission, 6-3, 6-4, in the semifinals, Kieler and Rainer rebounded to beat Alex Monriquez and Jade Cantu of McAllen, 8- 4, in the third-place match. Kieler and Rainer, both of Wharton, opened the tournament with an 8-1 victory against the team of Ramirez/ Rivera from Mission. Kieler also competed in the 16-andunder singles, topping Victoria Flores of San Antonio in the opening round before falling to eventual champ Bianca Flores of Corpus Christi. Football season starts On the opening night of the high school football season, Wharton, under new head coach Stacey Hunt, gave powerhouse Rice Consolidated all it could handle, pushing the game to overtime before falling, 26-20. East Bernard opened its season with a 25-14 win over Palacios, and Boling dropped its opener to Houston Christian, 30-6. September Rivalry night The Tigers might have opened their season 0-5, but they made a name for themselves with tight games in a tough non-district schedule. On Sept. 19, they were 48-point underdogs heading into their game against county rival El Campo, but the Ricebirds needed a late score to hold on to a 26-14 win. On the same night, East Bernard handled Boling, 48-13. Lady Tigers win 26-3A opener First-year head coach Courtney Carter's squad opened the season 14-8 before opening district play with a sweep of Columbia. Heather Reynolds led Wharton's offensive attack with 13 kills. She also had nine digs, three aces and one assist. Ja'leesa Jones contributed with 21 assists, two kills and three aces. Shaniqua Dogins had 13 kills, three assists, two digs, three blocks and three aces. October Tigers win! Wharton's football team celebrated it's homecoming with a thrilling 21-20 win over Royal in the District 26-3A opener at Tiger Stadium. Wharton built a 21-0 halftime lead and took that into the fourth quarter before Royal rallied back. A late defensive stop secured the win. Tigers blank Stafford Two long scoring drives and a stingy defense helped Wharton knock off Stafford 21-0 at Spartan Stadium. With the win the Tigers inproved to 3-0 in district an clinched a playoff berth.The Tigers defense yielded only 39 yards to the Spartans for the game with only seven of those yards coming in the second half. The Tigers racked up 292 yards for the game with 256 coming on the ground. Raymond Felder led the Tigers on the ground with 104 yards on 11 carries and DeShavian Williams added 96 yards on 19 carries. Lady Tigers claim playoff spot Wharton's volleyball captured a District 26-3A volleyball playoff spot with a four-game win Stafford. It left Wharton tied with Sweeny for second place with 6-3 records heading into the season's final matches. Heather Reynolds led Wharton's offensive attack with 15 kills. Shaniqua Dogins finished with 13, Shanice Baldwin added four, Brionna Farrr had three and Marsha Melton had two. White qualifies for regional Wharton's Kaymondria White finished fifth in the District 26-3A girls cross-country championships at Needville to qualify for the regional meet in San Antonio. November Boling wins a wild one Boling won a Halloween Havoc battle over Caney Creek-rival Van Vleck at Bulldog Stadium. When the final second ticked off the clock, Boling prevailed 49-45. Justin Hobbs, who returned to the game after suffering an injury, connected with Dennis Hemphill on a 18-yard scoring strike with only 17 ticks left on the clock to provide the difference. EB CC teams win 26-2A titles East Bernard's boys and girls cross country teams made the short trip to Wallis on a cold morning and brought home the District 26-2A championships. The girls teams totaled 35 points and beat out second place Brazos, which compiled 40 points. Christy Acevedo won the two-mile race with a 12:53, and Kelsey Merritt was second at 13:05. Kayla Tovar was fifth with a 13:18, Amanda Walters was eighth with a 13:23, Brittany Orsak was ninth with a 13:32, Kristen Gertson was 13th with a 13:59 and Amber Gertson was 26th with a 15:03. The boys team won with 25 points, and Brazos was second with 45. Patrick Pitts won the threemile race with a 17:35, and Nick Guerra was second with a 17:26. Zach Sprague was fourth with a 17:59, Miles Locke was eighth with an 18:25, Davis Badger was 10th with an 18:29, Thomas Garcia was 11th with an 18:32 and Andrew Boettcher was 18th with a 19:08. EB captures playoff berth It was a Brahma battle for the District 26-2A playoff seedings as East Bernard dominated the second half to defeat Hallettsville 41-14 at Memorial Stadium, securing not only a spot in the playoffs but also the No. 1 spot in Division II. East Bernard improved to 4-2 in league play and Hallettsville finished with the same record. East Bernard held a 21-14 lead at the half, but the local Bulls put up 21 unanswered points in the second half and held Hallettsville to only one first down the rest of the game. Tigers' playoff season ends Bellville relied on big plays and a strong defense to take a 31-6 victory over Wharton in a Class 3A Division II bi-district playoff game at Ricebird Stadium. Under first-year head coach Stacey Hunt, the Tigers finished 3-8. They went 3-2 in District 26-3A, with their two losses coming by a combined five points. Brahmas hammer LRA East Bernard's defense caused four first half turnovers, all of which led to scores that gave the Brahmas a huge halftime cushion on their way to a 56-21 blowout over Little River Academy in a Class 2A Division II bi-district playoff game at Merrill Green Stadium in Bryan. East Bernard had 300 yards of offense all on the ground. The Bulls did not even attempt one pass on the night. Majewski resigns Boling Athletic Director and football coach Neal Majewski tendered his resignation to the school district in mid-November. Majewski came to Boling from Wimberley in 2001 and served four years as an assistant under Rob Schoenfeld. This year's team went 1-8, beating only Van Vleck. He took over head coaching duties in 2005. He compiled a 10-27 and the 2006 team made the playoffs. Repka signs with Baylor East Bernard senior softball pitcher Courtney Repka made official her plans to further her career in the sport she loves. She signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Baylor University next year. EB CC teams run at state The East Bernard boys cross country team brought home the bronze medal from the Class 2A UIL State Championships at Settler's Park in Round Rock. The EB girls, in their first state appearance, finished fifth. For the East Bernard boys, Patrick Pitts finished 19th with a 17:21, Nick Guerra was 26th with a 17:27, Zach Sprague was 43rd with a 17:41, Miles Locke was 57th with a 17:57, Davis Badger was 59th with an 18:00 and Thomas Garcia was 68th with an 18:21. Kelsey Merritt was 23rd with a time of 12:41, Christy Acevedo was 33rd with a 12:50, Kristen Gertson was 40th with a 12:56, Amanda Walters was 48th with a 13:04, Kayla Tovar was 51st with a 13:08 and Brittany Orsak was 76th with a 13:31. Ansley signs with UH Wharton High graduate and WCJC sophomore Joel Ansley signed a letter of intent to play baseball at the University of Houston in the fall of 2009. He committed in August and made it official on National Signing Day. Ansley, an outfielder, boasted a .347 average during his freshman year with the Pioneers and had 34 hits in 98 at bats. He had a .745 slugging percentage, drove in 36 runs and scored 23 more. Ansley belted 10 home runs which led the Region XIV South Zone. Grosser signs with UTA Charae Grosser signed on the dotted line to play volleyball at The University of Texas-Arlington in the fall. She missed this past season with an injury but is now playing club ball in an Alvin league. Grosser, a 6-foot middle blocker/ right side hitter, was a threetime All-District and three-time All-County performer at Boling High School two years ago. Brahmas bash Karnes City East Bernard's defense continued to cause turnovers, leading to a 28-point second quarter as the Brahmas crushed Karnes City 42-0 in a Class 2A Region IV Division II area playoff game at Memorial Stadium. East Bernard advanced to the regional quarterfinals against Refugio before its season ended. The Brahmas' win was their sixth straight after losing to Rice Consolidated and Weimar in back to back District 26-2A games. Lance Crump finished with 11 carries for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Miles Lee had three receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns. December All-County Volleyball Wharton's Heather Reynolds and El Campo's Meredith Bard enjoyed immense success for their respective teams this fall and now they share Most Valuable Player honors on the All-Wharton County Volleyball Team. Reynolds, who earned the award as a freshman and sophomore, finished the season with 444 kills, 72 blocks and 89 aces The four first-team hitters included Shaniqua Dogins of Wharton and Bev Kresta of East Bernard. Dogins, who was the Newcomer last year, finished the season with 331 kills, 123 blocks, 74 aces and 49 blocks. Kresta totaled 230 kills and 49 solo blocks. Second team selections were headed up by Wharton sophomore Mardi Gutierrez, who is a defensive specialist. She had 275 digs with 33 aces and 11 kills. She was joined by Boling senior Whitney Rachunek, also a defensive specialist who had 127 digs East Bernard's Candice Dusek earned a second team spot as setter and teammate Brittney Wilcox made it as defensive specialist. Dusek had 473 assists and Wilcox had 462 digs. Hitters include Boling's Kierra Jackson and Jessica Moore of Boling. Jackson finished 134 kill and 86 blocks. Moore had 134 kills and 27 blocks. |
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