Recently, Ryan honored their senior basketball players. They include:
(Player far left) Holland Carter,
Holland’s parents John and Cheryl Carter.
(Center) Travis Fristoe, parents Charles and Jaunita Fristoe (not pictured) His other parents, Clint and Christa Rollins, are in the picture.
(Far right) Laken DeBoard, Laken’s parents, Regina Reimer Darwin DeBoard.
Photo by Sheree hanson
The Waurika girls’ and boys’ basketball squads traveled to Velma-Alma last week to compete in the 87th annual Stephens County Tournament.
It was a tough week in what has become a tough season for the Eagles and Lady Eagles.
The Eagles finished sixth in the tournament after falling to Davis, 70-38, in the consolation finals last Saturday.
The Wolves jumped out in front of the Eagles, 14-3, after one quarter and extended the lead to 27-10 at the intermission.
The two squads played on even terms through the second half of play, but Waurika was unable to cut into the deficit.
The Eagles did have an advantage in scoring inside with 20 points, but suffered 18 turnovers in the contest.
Waurika shot only 27% from the field and was only 13 of 26 from the free throw line.
Turner Mora led the Eagles with eight points, while Gatlin Black and Edwin Garcia each added seven tallies.
Waurika earned the right to play for the consolation title with a come-from-behind 43-41 win over Central High last Friday in the consolation semifinals.
Central High dominated the first quarter as the Bronchos jumped out to a 17-10 advantage.
The Eagles still trailed at the half, 26-19, but were able to cut into the lead in the third quarter by outscoring Central High, 10-6, to trail 32-29 heading into the final frame.
The Bronchos held the Eagles at bay until the final moments but Coach Joe Masoner’s crew outscored Central High, 14-9, to secure the win.
The Eagles got the win despite shooting only 41% from the field and hitting only 43% of their charity tosses.
Waurika was able to stay in the contest by getting 19 points over turnovers and holding a 24-0 advantage on scoring inside.
The Eagles pounded the boards throughout the game resulting in a 30-15 advantage in rebounds.
Aaron Nitka shot 60% from the field and led the Eagles in scoring with 15 points.
In the first-round game on January 16, the Eagles fell to eventual tourney runner up Comanche, 59-31.
The Eagles suffered another dismal shooting night as they connected on only 28% of their field goals and converted only four of nine free throw attempts.
Comanche jumped out to an 18-9 first quarter lead and then extended the margin to 32-18 at the half.
The Indians continued the onslaught with a 16-5 scoring advantage in the third quarter to lead 48-23 heading to the final frame.
Comanche took advantage of 23 Waurika turnovers during the contest and held a 22-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
Nitka set the pace for the Eagles in scoring with eight points.
The Lady Eagles dropped both of their games during the tournament.
Waurika fell in the consolation semifinals to Empire, 70-37, and lost to eventual tourney champion, Comanche, 68-20, in the first round.
In the first round contest with the Lady Indians, Waurika fell behind, 25-0, after the first quarter.
Madison Roberson managed a single free throw early in the second quarter, but the Lady Eagles had too big a hole to climb out of and trailed 45-11 at the half.
No other details on the two games were available.
The Waurika squads were to have traveled to Walters last Tuesday.
Waurika returns home Friday to battle rival Ringling and then will travel to Cyril on Saturday. Waurika stays on the road Tuesday as they will travel back to Velma-Alma.
Game time is 6:30 p.m.
The Waurika girls took a 5-9 mark into the meeting with Walters, while the Eagles are 4-11 on the year before the matchup with the Blue Devils.
….Lady Eagles Earn Runner Up Honors Led By Smith’s Performance
Behind three gold medal performances in the relays, the Waurika boys’ track squad claimed the team title in the Waurika Eight-Man Invitational held last Friday at the local track.
The Eagles rolled up 141 points by taking the title in three of the four relays in the meet. Fox was the runner up with 119 points.
The Lady Eagles also had an impressive outing as they claimed runner up team honors with 94 points behind team champion Empire’s 134 points.
The 3,200-meter team of Gustavo Gomez, Octavio Gomez, Bryson Hernandez and Colton Bryant may have turned in the most impressive performance. Their time of 9:57.18 in the event was nearly a full minute ahead of second place Fox.
The 1,600-meter relay team consisting of Turner Mora, Kevin Garcia, Cache Arellano and Bryant also took top honors with a time of 3:52.81 which outdistanced second-place Empire by 18 seconds.
The 800-meter relay squad also earned top honors but the race was a bit closer as all five teams finished within seven seconds of one another.
Waurika’s 800-meter relay team of Mora, Bryant, Nicolas Alvardo and Garcia edged out Empire with a time of 1:39.37, while the Bulldogs posted a time of 1:41.25.
Individually, the Eagles also had some outstanding performances as four different Eagles claimed gold medals in their events.
In the 3,200 meter run O. Gomez took first place with a time of 12:54.09. His teammate, Hernandez, took the silver medal in the race with a time of 13:17.16.
The Eagles also racked up the points in the 1,600 meter run by claiming the top three places in the event.
C. Arellano was the gold medal winner with a time of 5:41.09, while Hernandez finished second with a time of 5:57.40. Garcia earned the bronze medal with a time of 5:59.01.
Waurika also had multiple placers in the 400 meters. Mora earned first place with a time of 54.0 – his best time of the season. G. Gomez was third in the event with a time of 61.8.
The final gold-medal performance for the Eagles came in the 800 meter run as G. Gomez recorded a time of 2:28.32.
Mora also earned a silver medal in the long jump with a leap of 19-2.
Bryant placed sixth in the high jump with a leap of 5-2.
Rounding out the scorers for the Eagles was Garcia’s fourth-place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 24.19.
The Lady Eagle thinclads were led by the performance of Asia Smith. She accounted for 36 of the team’s 94 points with two gold medals and two silver medals.
Smith won the 800 meter run with a time of 2:47.51 and also claimed the gold medal in the high jump with a leap of 4-6.
In the 3,200 meter run, Smith’s time of 14:02.25 was good for second place. She was also second in the 1,600 meters with a time of 6:45.32.
Madison Roberson had an outstanding day in the shot put and discus. Not only did she claim the gold medal in both events, but she also set meet records with her performances.
Roberson claimed the title in the shot put with a toss of 36-5, while the Lady Eagles’ Landry Forsyth also scored with a sixth place finish.
In the discus, Roberson recorded a throw of 89-9 and Oliva Ralls also scored in the discus with a sixth place finish.
The Lady Eagle 800-meter relay team of Kameron Ziecek, Kaci Reynolds, Dallas Fristoe and Sara Ballard earned fourth place with a time of 2:10.87.
Ballard also earned third place in the 100 meters. Her time of 14.07 was good enough to earn the bronze medal. She also was the runner up in the long jump with a leap of 14-4.
In the high jump, the Lady Eagles had two other placers behind Smith’s winning performance. Ballard Lexie Streeter finished second in the event with a leap of 4-4 and Ballard was fourth with a leap of 4-2.
Ziecek also placed in two events. She was fifth in the 400 meters with a 76.93 clocking and sixth in the 200 meters with a time of 31.31.
The boys’ and girls’ junior high squads also competed in the meet. The Lady Eagles finished tied for second in the meet with 98 points, just behind team champion Bray-Doyle’s 102 points.
The Eagles finished tied with Alex for fourth place with 36 points. Fox won the junior high boys’ title with 134 points.
Tallen Mora and Liberti Simmons led the way for the Lady Eagles.
Mora won gold medals in the 400 meters and the long jump, while Simmons finished with a gold medal in the 110 meter hurdles.
Simmons also had silver-medal performances in the 300 meter hurdles and the high jump and finished fifth in the long jump.
Mora was a silver medal winner in the 100 meters and a bronze medalist in the 200 meters.
Alana Lewis won silver medals in the shot put and discus, while Riley Howell took a bronze medal in the shot put.
Other placers for the Lady Eagles in the junior high division were: Bailey Romero, fourth in the 200 meters and the long jump and Mackenzie Horton fourth in the discus and fifth in the shot put.
The junior high boys were led by Trent Arellano. He earned three silver medals and one bronze medal in the meet.
T. Arellano was second in the long jump, 400 meters and 200 meters and finished third in the 100 meters. He was the only medal winner for the Eagles.
Other placers for the junior boys included Nicolas Wilson, who finished fourth in the 200 meters and J.J. Crank, who was sixth in the same event.
Last Thursday, the high school squads also competed in the annual Gary Readnour Memorial Invitational at Wynnewood.
The relay squads led the way in this meet, too, but the competition was a bit tougher.
The 800-meter relay squad of Mora, Garcia, Bryant and Alvarado finished second with a time of 1:38.88. The time is a season-best in the event.
In the 1,600-meter relay, the Eagles also earned the silver medal as Mora, Bryant, Garcia and Alvarado turned in a time of 3:49.56, which is also the best time recorded by the Eagles in the event this season.
The 3,200-meter relay squad of Bryant, C. Arellano, Mora and O. Gomez was able to earn the bronze medal with a time of 9:45.87. This was also the squad’s best time of the season.
Mora finished second in the long jump with a leap of 19-5.
Other placers in the meet for Waurika were Bryant in the high jump with a leap of 5-4 and Hernandez in the 3,200 meter run with a time of 12:14.27.
For the Lady Eagle thinclads, Roberson continued her impressive season in the shot put and discus. She earned the gold medal in the shot put with a toss of 36-10. Her throw of 89-10 in the discus was good enough for fourth place.
Roberson’s performance recorded in the meet in the shot put is among the top marks in Class A this season.
Streeter, Smith and Ballard all placed in the high jump for the Lady Eagles.
Streeter earned the silver medal with a leap of 4-6, while Smith was fifth and Ballard was sixth in the event.
Smith also placed in the 400 meters and the 1,600 meters. She earned the silver medal in the 1,600 meters with a time of 6:34.21. Her time of 70.18 in the 400 meters was good enough for sixth place.
Ballard also placed in the long jump. Her best performance of the day of 14-0.5 placed her fifth among the competitors in the meet.
The 800-meter relay team of Reynolds, Fristoe, Ballard and Zeicek finished third with a time of 2:12.
Reynolds, Streeter, Smth and Fristoe comprised the 3,200-meter squad that also finished third with a time of 12:36.55.
No team scores were kept at the Wynnewood meet.
Waurika’s next action on the track will be Saturday (weather permitting) as they host the annual Red River Invitational which will feature teams from Classes A to 3A. Events will begin at 9:30 a.m.
A man who has not only secured his place in local sports history, but has also secured a place in the hearts and lives of those who knew him and played for him passed away Sunday.
Raymon West will be remembered for his impact on the world of sports in Jefferson County.
He will be remembered for his contribution as the principal at Ryan High School.
He will remembered for championships.
He will be remembered as a great husband and father.
He will be remembered for being a great man.
Next week, Trey Smart will be writing a proper memorial to this coaching legend.
Until then, we just want to say that you will be missed Coach West.
Thank you for the memories and your contributions to our lives.
It has been a rough season for the youthful and inexperienced Waurika fast-pitch softball squad.
But, the Lady Eagles suffered their narrowest defeat of the season to Bray-Doyle, 10-8, Monday on the Lady Donkey’s home diamond.
In the second game with Ninnekah, the Lady Eagles fell, 7-2
The Lady Eagles were to have met Temple Tuesday.
Today Waurika begins play in the Class A District Tournament at Ringling. The Lady Eagles were to have met Wilson at 12 noon today and the loser of that game was scheduled to face Ringling at 1:30 p.m.
The winner of the first game was scheduled to meet Ringling at 3 p.m.
The tournament is double-elimination with the championship game scheduled for 4:30 p.m. today and an “if necessary” game at 6 p.m.
In Monday’s action, the Lady Eagles spotted Bray-Doyle an 8-0 lead after the third inning.
In the top of the fourth, the Lady Eagle’s bats came alive.
Gracie Walling reached on an error and scored on Kaci Reynold’s RBI-single. Madison Roberson, who singled and Reynolds scored on Landry Forsyth’s double to center field.
Tallin Mora also singled and eventually scored on Hope Cummings’ ground out cutting the Bray-Doyle lead to 8-4.
The Lady Donkeys extended the lead to 10-4 in the bottom of the fourth and that proved to be the difference in the game.
Waurika refused to give up despite the deficit. Faith Roberson led off the rally with a triple and scored on Walling’s single to left. M. Roberson and Reynolds singled with Walling scoring on Reynolds’ single.
M. Roberson scored on Mora’s ground out and Reynolds crossed the plate on Forsyth’s single to cut the margin to 10-8, but the rally ended with a fly out.
In the second game of the three-way meeting at Bray, Ninnekah got off to a 1-0 lead after scoring in the top of the third.
Ninnekah added five more runs in the top of the fourth inning to move in front, 7-0.
The Lady Eagles managed two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Destiny Barnes singled and advanced to third on M. Roberson’s single. Barnes scored on an error and M. Roberson scored on a wild pitch.
After holding Ninnekah scoreless in the top of the fifth, the Lady Eagles got a one-out single from F. Roberson, but the next two Lady Eagles were retired to end the game.
Two Ryan student athletes recently returned from a sports leadership camp experience in Costa Rica.
Jasmine Villerreal and Alicen Williams, both students at Ryan High School, spent 10 days at the camp that is a sports leadership experience for high school female athletes.
Former Ryan athlete, Whittany Spangler, was also part of the select group of athletes chosen to participate in this elite camp.
The leadership camp is operated by Beyond Sports and was founded by two former college athletes that were inspired by the power of cross-cultural understanding through sports and wanted to create opportunities for student athletes to travel abroad and create meaningful connections and unique experiences through their sport.
Since 2010 the camp has hosted over 3,000 athletes and the facility is located within walking distance to a beach.
The Girls Leadership Academy for Service and Sport (GLASS) is the event Villerreal and Williams attended. A team of current college athletes served as mentors for the group of girls on a campus that has been developed in Playa Flamingo, Costa Rica.
Each session of the camp consists of 18 or less students and each attendee fills out an application that includes personal information, the sports they participate in and essay questions.
Based on the applications, the girls are chosen to participate at their expense in the camp. Financial assistance is available for participants.
Williams and Spangler were slated to attend last summer but the camp was canceled because of COVID-19 and this year, Villerreal decided to try and join her friends for the experience.
“I really wanted to try something new and learn more about leadership and service while being in another country,” Williams said about this unique opportunity.
Villerreal was also excited to attend this camp because of its location out of the United States.
“Stepping out of my comfort zone and traveling out of the country by myself was a big factor for me wanting to go,” Villerreal noted. “Meeting a bunch of new girls from all over was also a factor for me.”
Both girls were elated to find out they were accepted to the camp that has only a few sessions each summer.
“I was really nervous but super excited,” noted Villerreal. “I actually started packing the day I found out because I was so excited.”
Williams echoed Villerreal’s comment about finding out she had been accepted. “I was super excited to get the opportunity to go have fun and learn so much with other amazing girls.”
Each day’s activities began with a workout and then time with their appointed mentor. After breakfast the group went on an excursion.
After lunch and a short amount of free time, the girls had another workout and then conducted sports clinics in the community giving them opportunities to interact with the culture.
Following dinner, the girls engaged in a leadership development workshop each evening.
Williams and Villerreal did not have any trouble sharing the benefits from the experience.
“The camp showed me different aspects of my life I never could have seen by myself,” Villerreal explained. “Trying to be a leader is hard especially having that mindset that you have to be perfect. People tend to lose sight of who they really are when trying to be that perfect.”
“For me the greatest benefit of the week was getting to learn more leadership skills that help with serving others,” said Williams.
No doubt the camp enhanced the opportunities that await the pair of Cowgirls in the upcoming sports seasons.
Villerreal is a four-sport athlete at Ryan participating in fast-pitch softball, cross country, basketball and track.
“I carried a lot of weight on my shoulders due to lack of confidence this past year,” Villerreal said. “I realized you can’t do everything by yourself and people are going to have opinions.”
“I want to come into the year more confident and having fun,” Villerreal added. “Having fun and doing whatever you enjoy doing can change your whole perspective.”
Williams, who will be a senior for the Cowgirl cross country, basketball and track teams this coming school year came away with focus in regard to the upcoming seasons.
“I think it will help me to be a better leader for our team as well as being a good teammate,” Williams commented.
Both girls obviously took away memories from the experience that will last a lifetime.
“My greatest memory was getting to help out with the CEPIA kids,” Williams said, “I loved getting to play soccer and kickball with them and it was also so cool to see the culture down there and how others live.”
CEPIA is a non-profit organization that promotes culture and educational opportunities for the kids in Costa Rica.
Villerreal mentioned the opportunity to work with the kids but she also talked about relationships built and the opportunities to serve.
“Getting to meet everyone and becoming loser and seeing how fast e built those connections in just 10 days was amazing,” Villerreal said. “Doing services such as dog walking, environmental clean ups and helping with the kids was a great memory.”
Williams urged anyone to try to attend the camp.
“For any girl who would like to experience it, I would definitely say to go for it because I loved it such much and learned so many thing while making connections,” Williams said.
From al the comments of Williams and Villerreal, it is evident that the mission statement of GLASS – empowering the next generation of female leadership through sports, service and global engagement – was accomplished and will make a difference in their experiences in the upcoming sports seasons.
In only their second outing of the outdoor track season, the Ryan Cowgirls’ 3,200-meter relay team turned in a record-breaking performance at the Cache Invitational last Thursday at Cache High School.
The relay team of Lilybet Harmon, Lily York, Holland Carter and Juliet Spangler smashed the school record with a time of 11:56.76 – besting the old mark by nearly 11 seconds that was set in the 1990 Southern Eight Conference track meet.
The Cowgirls, however, could manage only a fourth place finish in the 3,200-meter relay in a tough meet that featured a large and small school division.
The small school division was comprised of schools from Class 4A down to Class A. Marlow claimed the team title with 137 points – well ahead of runner up Rush Springs that finished with 96 points.
Ryan tied Hobart for ninth place in the small school division with both teams earning 20 points in the meet.
Spangler was the only Cowgirl competitor to score in any other events in the meet.
The Cowgirl sophomore was third in the 1,600 meters with a time of 6:24.33. That time is the third best in school history with Spangler owning the two fastest times in the event.
Spangler also claimed a bronze medal in the 3,200 meter run with a time of 13:45.36.
That time is the second best mark in the event in school history and Spangler owns the school record at 13:38.16.
The Cowgirls’ 1,600-meter relay team of Harmon, York, Carter and Spangler did not score in the meet finishing in seventh place, however, their recorded time of 5:21.37 is thought to be the second best time in school history and just six seconds off the school record of 5:15.0 set in the 1990 Southern Eight Conference meet.
Other competitors included Carter in the 800 meters who also finished one spot out of earniing points, while Harmon finished 11th in the event.
York was eighth in the 3,200 meters.
Sadie Guzman and Justyce Keith also competed for the Cowgirls in the sprint events.
The Cowgirls will be in action again tomorrow at the Stratford Invitational and will compete on April 13 at the Southern Oklahoma 8-Man Invitational hosted by Waurika.
The state track meet in all classes is challenging for every school in Class A.
While the performances posted by the larger schools are almost always better, there are many more Class A schools and that results in a real challenge for a school to score points in the state meet.
That is what the track squads from Ryan discovered at last weekend’s Class A State Track Meet conducted at Western Heights High School in Oklahoma City.
The Cowgirls finished in a tie for 40th place among the 47 schools that scored points in the state track meet. The Cowgirls finished with two points and tied with Cimarron, Red Oak and Kremlin-Hillsdale.
The Cowboys finished tied for 47th at the meet with just a single point. The Cowboys finished tied with Depew, Okarche and Indiahoma.
Thomas was the boys’ team title with 120 points and Boise City-Keyes was the team runner up with 58 points.
Boise City-Keyes turned the tables on Thomas in the girls’ team race by claiming the title with 125 points, while the Lady Terriers finished second with 75 points.
Many more teams scored points in the 2019 state meet with the new format in team scoring. Eight places earned points in each event and the top six finishers received medals.
The Cowgirls’ 3,200 meter relay team of Lilybet Harmon, Lily York, Juliet Spangler and Holland Carter managed eighth place with a time of 11:02.5 – just ahead of rival Waurika. The two teams have battled back and forth at nearly every meet in the 2019 season and the state meet was no different.
The time posted was the third best in school history and the second best in the 2019 campaign.
A few other Cowgirls competed in the state meet, but did not score. Carter posted her second best time of the season in the 800 meters, but it was good for only 11th place, while Harmon also posted her second best time in the same event, but managed only 14th place. Carter’s time was 2:36.55 and Harmon posted a time of 2:41.00.
Spangler also competed in two individual events. The junior finished well back in the field in both the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters. Her time in the 1,600 meters was 6:26.21 and was her second best of the season and the seventh best in school history.
In the 3,200 meters, Spangler posted a mark of 14:08.71 and was her third best time of the season.
The only other event the Cowgirls competed in was the 1,600 meter relay and despite setting a school record for the event finished only 15th – just behind Southern Eight Conference rival Geronimo.
The team of Harmon, York, Spangler and Carter finished with a time of 4:40.70, which was five seconds better than the previous school record of 4:45.71. That time was posted by the squad at the regional meet the week before the state meet.
For the Cowboys Walker Rawlings and Travis Fristoe competed at the state meet.
Rawlings was the only placer for the Cowboys as he finished eighth in the discus with a throw of 120-0 – his third best performance of the season.
In the shot put, Rawlings recorded a throw of 40-1 – his fifth best of the season. He finished 10th among the 16 throwers in the competition.
Fristoe competed in the 110 meter high hurdles for the Cowboys and recorded a time of 18.75 – his best time of the season. Fristoe’s performance was 14th among the 16 runners in the event.
SEASON-ENDING NOTES: Rawlings placed in the discus and becomes the second in his family to place in the event at the state meet….McCain Rawlings placed in the discus four consecutive years with the last year coming in 2015….In the discus, the Cowboys have placed 13 times in the state meet….Gary Waitman was the last Cowboy to win the state title in the discus and that came in 1988….Fristoe was the first Cowboy to compete in the 110 meter high hurdles at state meet since Rickey Hill finished second in the event in 2003….The Cowboys scored at the state meet for the first time since 2015 when they finished tied for 16th….The Cowboys have managed to score in a state meet only five times in the past 16 years…The best finish by a Cowboy track squad at state came in 1973 when Ryan finished fourth and won the mile relay state title….The Cowboys have only three top ten team finishes in state competition….The Cowgirls also scored in the state meet for the first time since 2014…..The Cowgirls’ best team finish at the state meet came in 190 when Ryan managed a tied for ninth place….The Cowgirls have scored at the state meet only 10 times since meets for girls began in 1972….The strength of the Cowgirls’ track squad the past few years have been in the distance relays….The 1,600 meter relay team has broken the school record 11 times in the past two seasons….The 3,200 meter relay team from the past two seasons holds 14 of the top 15 times in school history….The 2019 3,200 meter relay team became the first Cowgirl relay team to place at the state meet in school history.
A number of players from the Waurika and Ryan basketball squads were honored by the Southern Eight Conference coaches recently.
Madison Roberson of Waurika was named the most valuable player in the conference for 2018. She led the Lady Eagles in scoring and rebounding and they claimed the Southern Eight Conference regular season crown with a perfect 5-0 mark.
Asia Smith was also an all-conference selection for the Lady Eagles. Smith was the second leading scorer and rebounder for Waurika.
Lily York, a sophomore for the Ryan Cowgirls, was selected as the co-offensive player of the year along with Grandfield’s Matti Clemmer.
Another sophomore, Juliet Spangler, was also named to represent Ryan on the all-conference squad.
The defensive player of the year honors went to Hollie Babel of Geronimo. She helped lead the Lady Blue Jays to a 14-15 record including a district title.
On the boys’ side, Waurika’s Cache Arellano was named to the all-conference team. Arellano was the scoring leader for the Eagles averaging 10.3 points a game and was also the leading rebounder averaging 8.3 rebounds a game.
No other boys from Waurika or Ryan were named to the squad all-conference squad.
The most valuable player of the conference for 2018 was Geronimo’s D’Marcus Crabtree. Crabtree was the ringleader on an experienced Geronimo squad that swept all its Southern Eight opponents during the regular season to claim the conference title.
The offensive player of the year was Geronimo’s Luke Riley.
Riley and Crabtree led the Bluejays to an outstanding season. The Blue Jays finished with a district title and were third in the Apache Tournament and the consolation champions at the Comanche County Tournament.
Geronimo closed the season with a 21-8 record after dropping a one-point decision to Sterling in the consolation bracket finals of the regional tourney. Riley led the Blue Jays in scoring against Sterling with 11 points, while Crabtree finished with 10 points in the season-ending loss.
Securing the defensive player of the year honors was Big Pasture’s Austin Frieling. The Rangers won a district title and fell to Lookeba-Sickles in the regional tourney finals last Saturday night but remain alive for another week.
Big Pasture opens area tourney play today (Thursday) at Cache and they will face Fox.
The Rangers managed a 4-1 mark in the Southern Eight Conference which was good for runner up honors.
The annual Southern Eight Conference All-Star game will be held Monday (February 26) at Temple. The girls’ contest will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the boys’ game to follow.
All the all-conference squad members will be competing in the game along with players selected as a conference all-star.
Representing the Cowgirls in addition to York and Spangler will be Samantha Good and the lone Cowgirl senior, Kenzie Lewis.
Joining Roberson and Smith from Waurika will be Lexie Streeter.
The girls’ team will be coached by Ryan’s Steve Spangler and Waurika’s Kalee Baxter.
Three Eagles will join their teammate Arellano in the game. They are Seth Cathey, Kevin Garcia and Turner Mora.
Representing the Cowboys in the game will be Dawson Tomberlin, a senior for the Cowboys, and junior Skylar Parkhill.
The conference was down somewhat in basketball this season especially on the girls’ side.
No girls’ team finished with a winning record with Geronimo leading the pack with 14 wins on the season. Big Pasture girls managed a 10-17 record and were the only other girls’ squad to record at least 10 wins.
Three boys’ teams posted winning records for the 2018 campaign. Big Pasture is the only team still alive and will finish with a winning record. Geronimo posted the best record of the conference teams with a 21-8 mark, while Grandfield also had a winning season at 14-11.
The conference consisted of only six schools this past year – Temple, Big Pasture, Geronimo, Ryan, Waurika and Grandfield. Frederick will join the Southern Eight Conference next season.
It is not surprising to know that Jefferson County has produced some of the best track athletes in state history.
Given Waurika’s successes in the 1930’s when it was dubbed the “Track Capitol of Oklahoma”, you would assume the schools in this south central Oklahoma county would be among the best in track.
The state track meet began to be held in 1944 – just after some of the years of domination by the Waurika track team.
And, Waurika was the first Jefferson County school to crown a state champion.
But, the highest finish by a team from Jefferson County belongs to Addington – a state runner up finish in 1946 at the state track meet held at the University of Oklahoma.
The next highest finish by teams from Jefferson County is fourth and that has been done five times by three different teams.
The Waurika boys’ team has three fourth place finishes – all but one of them was a tie for fourth.
Ryan’s boys’ squad finished in a fourth-place tie in 1973, while the Waurika girls nabbed a fourth-place finish in the 2000 state track meet.
Both the boys and girls teams from Ryan, Ringling and Waurika have scored in the state track meet.
Addington and Sugden both scored in two times each before those schools were closed. Mountain Home also scored in the 1947 state track meet.
Hastings, Irving, Union Valley, Claypool and Terral did not score in the history of those schools at the state meet.
A quick glance of the regional meets show that Terral scored a single point in the 1951 regional, while Claypool scored points in 1955.
Of course, Mountain Home, Sugden and Addington scored in regional meets in the early years of the state track meets.
Hastings, Irving, Union Valley and Claypool all closed in the 1950’s, while Terral’s high school consolidated with Ryan after the 1985 season.
Five different squads have recorded fifth-place finishes – Waurika boys (twice), Ringling boys and Waurika girls (twice).
Addington had a sixth-place finish in the 1945 meet, while Ringling’s girls and Ryan’s boys tied for sixth place in 1973 and 1976, respectively.
Waurika’s girls also had a sixth-place finish in 1992.
Seventeen other schools have had finishes between seventh and 10th – Sudgen (1948), Waurika girls (1999, 1974, 1991), Waurika boys (1947, 2021, 1998, 2005, 2017, 2018 and 1951), Ryan boys (1961), Ryan girls (1990), Ringling boys (1984, 1963 and 1983) and Ringling girls (1986).
The best finish by Ryan’s girls came in the 1990 season when the Cowgirls finished in a tie for ninth place.
Ringling’s best boys’ team finish came in the 1971 state meet when the Blue Devils recorded 21 points.
The best finish by the Lady Blue Devils was a tie for sixth place in the 1973 state meet – the second state meet ever held for high school girls.
The Waurika boys’ track squad has the most top ten finishes with 12.
The girls teams from Waurika have seven top 10 finishes since the first state meet was held in 1972.
The best finish in this century was recorded by the Waurika girls when they finished fourth at the state meet held at Putnam City High School. The Lady Eagles garnered 50 points in the meet.
The most recent best finish was this past spring when the Waurika boys finished eighth at the Class A State Track Meet held at Cherokee. The Eagles’ posted the seventh best finish ever this past spring.
There have been some droughts along the way by the boys and girls teams from Ryan, Ringling and Waurika where those teams did not score in the state meet.
The Cowboys went from 1944 to 1954 without having an athlete place at the state meet. The Cowgirls went from 1992 to 2011 without a competitor placing in the state meet.
Ringling has gone the longest without scoring in a state track meet. The Blue Devils did not score in a state track meet from 1985 to 2019 – but it can be assumed that no track teams were fielded in many of those years.
The Lady Blue Devils went 23 years without scoring – from 1995 to 2018 – but again there were probably several seasons where they did not have a team.
Waurika’s boys went from 1952 to 1964 without an athlete placing in the state track meet, while the Waurika girls went from 1975 to 1984 without scoring.
NEXT WEEK: A look at some individual performances by Jefferson County athletes at the State Track Meet.
