A year ago first-year coach Everett Hodges put a young squad on the diamond for the Waurika fast-pitch softball squad and experienced limited success.
The 2019 version of the Lady Eagles fashioned a 5-16 mark, but that was a vast improvement over the previous few seasons and the outlook for the 2020 campaign is optimistic as the Lady Eagles return all the starters for last year’s team.
Waurika will open the season Monday when they host Wilson and Big Pasture. The Lady Eagles will return to action Tuesday by hosting Ryan.
Grandfield will come to Waurika one week from today to close out a busy first week of the fast-pitch season.
Besides being long on experience, the Lady Eagles will also feature some depth for the first time in a number of years as 14 players make up the pre-season roster.
Leading out in the circle for the Lady Eagles will be Riley Howell. Liberti Simmons, Alana Lewis and Faith Roberson will also be counted on to provide Coach Hodges with some options with the pitching staff.
One of the areas of concentration in pre-season workouts has been at the plate and Coach Hodges thinks fans will see the difference.
All the leading hitters from last year return for the Lady Eagles including two seniors – Hope Cummings and Landry Forsyth. Gracie Walling will also be counted on to provide some offensive punch for the Lady Eagles.
Cummings, Simmons and Forsyth were all-conference selections a year ago for Waurika.
“This might be the first year I feel we can have all nine hitters in the lineup able to hit,” said Hodges in talking about the upcoming season.
“We also might have the fastest outfield in this part of the state with Simmons, Showalter (Aubree) and Barnes (Brooklyn),” added Hodges.
Simmons recently was cleared to play after a recent ACL injury.
Look for Faith Hill, MacKenzie Taylor, Alexia Henry and Harley Bradshaw to also provide help off the bench in the 2020 season.
“Our season sets up to have a little success early,” Hodges noted.
In reflecting on this year’s schedule Hodges believes with the strength of the pitching staff for the Lady Eagles they can compete with anybody.
“Ringling is always tough and Temple will be improved,” Hodges said.
Kassie Bohot is serving as an assistant coach this fall for the Lady Eagle fast-pitch squad.
With experience, depth and talent, the Lady Eagles are poised to have the best season in years and could possibly contend for their first district title in school history.
Lady Eagles Fast-Pitch Schedule
August
10: Wilson and Big Pasture; 11: Ryan; 13: Grandfield; 17: at Ringling; 18: at Velma-Alma; 20, 22: Southern Eight Conference Tournament; 27: Temple and Geronimo at Temple.
September
1: at Ryan; 3: at Grandfield; 8: at Central High; 10, 12: at Temple Tournament; 14: at Wilson; 15: Ringling; 17: Temple; 21: Velma-Alma; 24: District Tournament.
Most everyone knows about the tremendous football tradition that has been established by Ringling over the past 45 years.
There have been several state titles won by the Blue Devil gridders, but the success has not carried over to the hardwood at the eastern most school in Jefferson County.
The Ringling basketball squads have never made an appearance in a state tournament. And, the Ringling boys have never played in an area tourney since that layer of playoffs began in 1970.
The Ringling boys and girls basketball teams have only played for a regional title a total of four times. Three of those regional championship games involved the Lady Blue Devils. Ringling lost all four of those games.
The Blue Devils have played in two regional loser’s bracket championship games, but dropped contests to Wynnewood and Healdton.
The Lady Blue Devils have appeared in the regional loser’s bracket title game four times and hold a 2-2 mark in those contests. The Ringling girls advanced to the area tourney after wins over Elmore City in 1989 and Healdton in 1986.
The Ringling girls have made four appearances in the area tourney, but hold just a 1-5 record. The only win came in a 1991 Class 2A area at Chickasha as Ringling defeated Apache, 69-47.
The last district title for the Blue Devils came in 2004 at the Class 2A tourney at Walters. Ringling handed Walters a 42-39 setback in the title game.
Ringling won its first district championship in 1946 at the Class B tournament hosted by Dundee. The Blue Devils edged Healdton, 17-16, in the semifinals and then downed Fox, 30-12, in the championship game.
While it is possible not all the district tourney results have been located, it is believed that the Blue Devils played in their first district tournament at Waurika in 1931. Ringling fell to Ryan, 21-19, in the first round.
The latest district tournament title for the Lady Blue Devils came in 2007 when Ringling rolled to a 48-31 victory over Healdton in the Class 2A tourney at Healdton.
Out of the 15 district titles claimed by the Lady Blue Devils, five of them were won because Ringling was the only entry in the Class A tournament played at Healdton from 1950 to 1954.
The first time the Lady Blue Devils won a championship game came in 1956 when Ringling defeated Fox, 38-29, in a contest played at Healdton.
The first result of a district tournament game played by the Ringling girls came in 1948 in the first round of the Class B fray at Healdton. The Lady Blue Devils fell to Dundee, 19-17.
It is possible Ringling’s girls competed in a district tournament before that, but the 1948 encounter is the first result that was located.
Both Ringling teams have played for a number of district titles, but that is because in recent years the Class 2A districts have featured only two teams.
Ringling most often played the district tournament at Healdton. The Ringling boys have played in the district tourney at Healdton a total of 30 times. The Lady Blue Devils have been in 25 district tourneys at Healdton.
Ringling first hosted a district tournament in 1951. The Lady Blue Devils were the only entry and the Blue Devils picked up a 25-21 win over Healdton and then fell to Wilson, 68-27, in the championship game.
The district tourney for Ringling has been played at Ringling a total of 10 times through the years with 2006 being the last time Ringling served as the host.
The last four seasons Ringling has competed in Class A, but prior to that Ringling was in Class 2A for 31 of the previous 37 years.
This past season the Blue Devils fell to Verden, 58-53, in the semifinals and it was the 75th loss for Ringling’s boys in district tournament play. The Lady Blue Devils won a first-round game over Verden, but fell to Canute, 92-53, in the title game.
Here is a summary of the playoff history for the Ringling basketball squads:
Boys
District Titles: 7
All-Time District Record: 34-75
District Final Appearances: 33
Most Frequent Opponent in District Finals: Wilson (9-12)
Longest Winning Streak: 4, 1962-1963
Longest Losing Streak: 16, 1965-1980
Most Points Scored: 80, vs. Elmore City-Pernell
Least Points Scored: 9, vs. Ardmore 1935
Girls
District Titles: 15
All-Time District Record: 36-56
District Final Appearances: 46
Most Frequent Opponent in District Finals: Lone Grove (0-8)
Longest Winning Streak: 4, 1989-1991
Longest Losing Streak: 6, 2011-2017
Most Points Scored: 72, vs. Wilson 1972 & Velma-Alma 1989
Least Points Scored: 13, vs. Walters 2011
Other Playoff Facts
Ringling Boys: Regional Appearances: 25; Regional Record: 10-28; Area Appearances: 0; Area Record: 0-0; State Appearances: 0; State Record: 0-0.
Ringling Girls: Regional Appearances: 38; Regional Record: 18-41; Area Appearances: 5; Area Record: 1-5; State Appearances: 0; State Record: 0-0.
Waurika’s two high school basketball teams have a long history of success at the district tournament level.
The boys’ and girls’ teams have a total of 50 district titles between them. The Eagles have claimed 30 of those titles and the Lady Eagles hold 20 district championship trophies.
However, it was the 1973 Waurika Eagle basketball team that outshines all the other squads that have graced the hardwood at Waurika High School.
That 1973 team finished the season with an unblemished record – 28-0 – and claimed the state championship in Class 2A.
Jerry Marsh coached the Eagles that season and it is one of six boys’ teams that have made the state tournament in school history.
The Jerry Gipson-led Eagle squad narrowly won its first two games at the state tourney and then claimed the title with an impressive 66-58 victory over Boley at the State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City.
But, each of those state tournament appearances began at the district tournament.
In the 1973 season the Eagles hosted the tournament and rolled to victories over rivals Grandfield and Temple.
Waurika has hosted the district tournament 30 times since the school’s first district tournament in 1922. The vast majority of those tournaments came before 1960 when Waurika hosted the district playoffs for a number of years.
The 1973 team was not the only team to make the state tournament. Other squads that began their march to the state tourney at the district level included squads from 1965, 1981, 1983, 1989 and 1990. The 1989 club advanced to the finals before falling to Weleetka, 66-57.
The Lady Eagles have only one state tournament appearance and it came in 1991 when Waurika dropped a first-round game to Dale.
Since 2000 the Eagles have only three district crowns, while the Lady Eagles have secured four district titles.
The Waurika boys have enjoyed two periods of time in school history where impressive squads were put on the floor. From the 1989 season through the 1992 campaign, the Eagles won 82 games and lost only 23.
Capped by the state tourney title in 1973, the Eagles went three years losing only 10 games, while collecting 73 wins.
Overall girls’ basketball at Waurika has not flourished nearly as much as their male counterparts. Even the state tourney team of 1991 lost eight games, while winning 22 games.
The Lady Eagles have never had back-to-back 20-plus win seasons – at least from years where a final record was available.
Waurika’s girls have not missed a district tournament since 1958, but prior to that season the Lady Eagles had made only five district tournament appearances.
For several of those seasons – it is not known exactly how many – Waurika did not field a girls basketball team.
The first year the Lady Eagles competed in the district tournament was in 1929. Waurika defeated Sugden and Empire before falling to Union Valley-Randlett in the semifinals.
It was 1964 before the Lady Eagles laid claim to a district title. Waurika defeated Temple, 33-31, in the championship game of the tournament played at Temple.
The last district title won by the Lady Eagles came in 2017 when Waurika defeated Maysville, 62-17, to claim the crown.
Waurika’s boys first district tournament was held at El Reno. The Eagles lost to Ninnekah, 39-4, in what has been the lowest scoring district tournament game in school history for Waurika.
Waurika played in the district tournament for two more years, but did not make another district appearance until 1929. The Eagles made the most of the opportunity by winning a district title on their home floor in 1929.
Waurika defeated Hastings, 19-17; Terral, 22-14; Comanche, 23-22; and, Union Valley-Randlett, 23-20 to earn the first district title in school history.
The most recent district tourney title for the Eagles came in the 2006 season when the squad dropped Bray-Doyle, 66-50, in the championship game at Waurika. That team finished with a 24-6 mark and was also a regional champion.
The 2006 squad fell short of a state tournament run when it lost two straight games in the area tourney at Chickasha.
Here’s a quick summary of the history of district tourney play by the Waurika basketball teams:
Boys
District Titles: 30
All-Time District Record: 71-63
District Final Appearances: 57
Most Frequent Opponent in District Finals: Ryan (10-4)
Longest Winning Streak: 7, 1987-1992
Longest Losing Streak: 5, 1975-1979
Most Points Scored: 89, vs Big Pasture 1959
Least Points Scored: 4, Ninnekah 1922
Girls
District Titles: 20
All-Time District Record: 40-47
District Final Appearances: 52
Most Frequent Opponent in District Finals: Ryan (2-3)
Longest Winning Streak: 7, 1996-2001
Longest Losing Streak: 9, 1977-1885 and 2002-2010
Most Points Scored: 72, vs. Ryan 2016
Least Points Scored: 10, vs. Union Valley-Randlett 1929
Other Playoff Facts
Waurika Boys: Regional Appearances: 46; Regional Record: 42-45; Area Appearances: 10; Area Record: 11-8; State Appearances: 6; State Record: 7-5
Waurika Girls: Regional Appearances: 27; Regional Record: 23-33; Area Appearances: 11; Area Record: 7-10; State Appearances: 1; State Record: 0-1.
In a year when nothing is normal, all-state honors for track took on a different look for the 2020 season.
With much of the season canceled including the regional and state track meets, the Oklahoma Track Coaches Association developed a process where athletes from the six classes of track were selected for all-state status.
Four of those athletes came from Jefferson County schools – three at Waurika and one at Ryan.
Sara Ballard, Nic Alvarado and Turner Mora are the three all-staters from Waurika and Juliet Spangler is the all-state selection from Ryan.
The Oklahoma Track Coaches Association took nominations from coaches for all-state honors and the best performances from the 2019 season were taken into account. Only seniors were selected for all-state for the 2020 season.
Normally, the winners of each event in each class at the state track meet are given all-state status in track.
Less than a dozen student-athletes from each class were selected for the elite honor and in Class A – which Ryan and Waurika are classified for outdoor track – eight girls and 11 boys were named to the squad.
Spangler has been an integral part of the Cowgirl track program for the past four years. A promising senior season opened with Spangler winning the 1,600 meters and finishing second in the 3,200 meters. She was part of the gold-medal winning 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relay teams in the only meet this past spring.
Spangler was a big part of the scoring that gave the Cowgirls the meet title at Maysville in the only competition for 2020 and she played a role in helping the Cowgirls to tie for the meet title at the Waurika 8-Man Invitational in 2017.
The former Cowgirl, who will be taking her talents to Cowley County Junior College in Kansas to play basketball, holds the third best time in school history in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.
Juliet Spangler
Spangler was part of the 1,600-meter relay team that holds the school record of 4:40.70 set at the 2019 Class A State Track Meet. She was also part of the 3,200-meter relay team that set the school mark of 10:52.01 in the 2019 Red River Invitational at Waurika.
For her four-year career at Ryan Spangler has won four 1,600 meter titles, five 3,200 meter titles, one 1,600-meter relay title and four 3,200-meter relay crowns. That is a total of 14 gold medals.
Spangler also won a total of 27 silver medals and 11 bronze medals. She placed in events – meaning fourth through sixth place – a total of 21 times.
Spangler’s dad, Steve, served as her coach in track, cross country and basketball all four years of her high school career.
Ballard has been a mainstay for the Lady Eagles in cross country and track, however, her senior season was cut short by an injury.
The 2020 Waurika graduate excelled in the long jump for Coach Joe Masoner’s Lady Eagle thinclads. In her career she won the event once, finished second on two occasions and was third three times.
Sara Ballard
Ballard also placed a total of eight times in the long jump in three seasons.
In the 100 meters, Ballard won two bronze medals and placed five other times. She also scored in the 200 meters and the high jump in meets.
Ballard also was part of the 400-meter relay team, the 800-meter relay team and the 1,600-meter relay team for the Lady Eagles.
Alvarado was a consistent performer for coach Roger Jessie’s Eagle thinclads in his four seasons competing in the sport.
In the only competition for 2020, Alvarado helped three relay teams – the 400-meter, 800-meter and 1,600- meter squads – to place at the Velma-Alma Invitational. The 400-meter relay team was fifth, while the 1,600-meter relay captured fourth place. Alvarado helped pace the 800-meter relay to a bronze medal performance in the meet.
In Alvarado’s career, the outstanding three-sport athlete was a key participant in the 800-meter relay that saw great success for the Eagles.
He helped lead the squad to four gold-medal finishes – including a regional title – and four runner up finishes.
He helped Waurika earn a bronze medal in the event during his career and helped the squad place in three other meets.
Nic Alvarado
Alvarado was also part of the 400-meter relay that claimed two meet titles, one silver-medal finish and two bronze medal performances in his career. Results from his freshman season and his participation in the relays was not available.
Individually, Alvarado most often represented the Eagles in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. He has one silver medal in the 100 meters and has placed in the event two other times. He also has placed in the 200 meters on two occasions.
Mora comes from a legacy of athletic prowess at Waurika. His older brother Turner, his sisters, Tara and Tatum and his dad Guy preceded Turner on the oval. And, his younger sister, Tallin, still has two more years to continue the family’s tradition of athletic excellence.
The four-sport athlete has enjoyed not only a stellar track career at Waurika, but also a tremendous football career as the starting quarterback for the Eagles. Turner was the player-of-the-year in Waurika’s football district this past season and helped lead the Eagles to a 21-3 mark the past two years including two district titles.
Turner Mora
Mora’s track accomplishments are many over the past four years.
In the only meet in 2020 at Velma-Alma, Mora led the Eagles’ 800-meter relay team to a third place finish and was part of the 1,600-meter relay that notched fourth place. He was also fourth in the long jump.
The 1,600-meter relay team has been outstanding for the Eagles for the past four seasons and Mora is just one of the reasons for the success in that event. In his freshman season, the 1,600-meter relay won the state title and in 2018 the Eagles were second.
In four years in just the 1,600-meter relay, Mora was part of at least nine meet titles, three silver medals and one bronze medal. Mora was part of the squad that placed four other times. Some of the results from his freshman seasons were not available.
Mora was also part of all the other relays at one time or another, but the most frequent participation came in the 800-meter relay. Mora helped the Eagles to four gold medals in the event, along with three silver medals and two bronze medal finishes. He was part of helping the Eagles place in the event three other times.
Individually, Mora competed in the long jump and 400 meters for the Eagles. He holds five gold medal finishes in the 400 meters along with one runner up finish and four bronze medals. He also placed one other time. In the long jump, Mora acquired two silver medals and placed in four other meets.
Mora and Alvarado were also part of the Coach Jessie’s Eagle track squad that won the 2017 Class A Regional Track Meet. Both were also part of the 2019 Eagle team that finished second at the Class A regional. The two competitors helped the Eagles secure the meet title in the Waurika 8-Man Invitational all three years of their careers.
Boise City had four members of the Class A all-state squads making Cimarron County and Jefferson County the only two counties in the state with four all-state track athletes from the Class A list.
The district basketball tournament for high school girls’ and boys’ teams is the first step in the long process of competing for a state basketball championship in Oklahoma.
The Class A and B schools were able to complete that process this past March with the crowning of state champions, but the upper classes were not able to complete their state tourneys in Oklahoma City and Tulsa because the pandemic forced the cancellation of those events.
In today’s prep basketball world the district tournament is the first of three steps to earning a spot in the state tournament each year for classes B through 4A. The district tourney sends the champion and runner up to the regional tournament. From there teams compete to advance to the area tournament and ultimately the state tournament.
Today’s district tournaments are much smaller than the district frays held 40 to 60 years ago when district tournaments featured six to eight teams. Of course, there were more high schools in Oklahoma prior to 1970 than exist today.
District tournaments in Oklahoma were started in 1919 and the winners of those district tournaments were the qualifiers for the state tournament. There was one class for boys and one class for girls and only eight district tournaments.
A few years later the regional tournament was added and for a number of years a team had to win just two regional tournament games to qualify for state.
At some point regional tournaments had eight teams and a squad had to win three games to earn the state tourney berth.
The Jefferson County schools did not compete in a district tournament until 1922 when the Waurika boys sent a team to the district tourney.
Hastings, Terral and Addington sent teams over the next three seasons to compete in the district tournament.
The Terral, Ryan and Hastings girls were the first female squads to compete in a district tournament in 1929.
The first year for Ryan’s boys to compete in a district tournament was in 1929.
Irving boys, Hastings girls and Sugden’s boys and girls teams also entered district tournament play in 1929.
Claypool, Ringling and Union Valley’s boys’ teams first competed in a district tournament in 1931.
While most schools had a girls’ team compete in a district tournament at some point, nearly all Jefferson County schools went several years without a girls team entered in a district tournament.
Around 1948 all the Jefferson County schools did have girls teams competing in the district tournament.
Ryan and Waurika have snared more district titles than any of the other schools, but they continue to compete in basketball today along with Ringling.
All the other high schools that existed around Jefferson County closed by about 1960.
The introduction of more than one class of basketball for boys and girls also had an impact on the success of the county teams.
All schools in Oklahoma competed in the same class until 1931 when two classes of boys basketball began. In 1980 there were six classes of boys’ basketball and since 1996 there have been seven classes that crown state champions.
Girls’ basketball in Oklahoma has undergone the biggest changes through the decades. Girls played six-on-six for many years.
There was only one class for girls up until 1950 when schools were divided into two classes. In 1964, three classes of play began.
In the 1980’s the larger schools in Oklahoma began to play five-on-five and in 1988 the first five-on-five champion was crowned.
The last six-on-six champions in Oklahoma were crowned in 1995 and Oklahoma was the last state to switch to five-on-five for all schools. From that point on, there have been seven classes in girls’ basketball.
Ryan, Waurika and Ringling were many times classified in a different class from the rest of the schools in the county.
There was a period of time that Waurika and Ringling were in a class above Ryan, but in the last few years all three schools have been in Class A.
Most often the county teams gathered for the district tournament at Waurika or Walters – especially in years prior to 1960. Ringling was the exception as they competed in a district tourney that was most often held at Healdton.
Once consolidation hit and several county schools closed the district tournament began to be held at schools that required more travel.
Since district tournaments are now over 100 years old this would be a good time to examine the history of the county high schools and their achievements in the basketball playoffs that began with a district tournament,
NEXT WEEK: The high school basketball playoff history of Waurika.
The recognitions for standout Ryan athlete Juliet Spangler continue to mount.
The 2020 Cowgirl senior was named to the Oklahoma Fellowship of Christian Athletes All-State squad it was announced recently.
Spangler, a three-sport letter winner in her senior season, was honored for achievement in the classroom and on the athletic field while being involved in her local Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle.
For the past three years Spangler has been a member of the Cowgirl cross country, basketball and track squads. In her freshman season, Spangler lettered in four sports – cross country, fast-pitch softball, basketball and track.
Spangler was a four-time state qualifier and a two-time regional medalist in cross country and recently signed to continue her basketball career at Cowley County Community Junior College in Kansas. She has numerous achievements in track and basketball.
The FCA all-state selections are high school seniors nominated for the award. The FCA all-state awards have been given since 1975 to students in both large and small schools in Oklahoma.
FCA recognizes the character, academic and athletic achievement and the Christian faith of individual student-athletes.
In addition to her athletic achievements, Spangler has excelled in the classroom as well. She was a member of the Ryan High School Beta Club and maintained a 3.5 grade point average through high school. She will graduate fourth in her class. She was also on the yearbook staff.
Spangler, along with Lily York, Brooklyn Charmasson and Samantha Good were instrumental in beginning the FCA chapter at Ryan. Spangler is a member of Ryan’s First Baptist Church.
“Throughout my years of playing basketball, I have been blessed to be able to travel overseas and compete,” Spangler said in a recent interview. “I have competed in Australia and Costa Rica and it was awesome.”
Steve Spangler, who coached his daughter in cross country, track and basketball this past season also serves as the huddle leader for the local Ryan FCA chapter.
The 46th annual Honors FCA Banquet was scheduled for April but was canceled because of the recent pandemic. Spangler was honored at a virtual awards ceremony last Sunday night.
During the ceremony 34 athletes were cited by the FCA organization for upholding the core values of the organization – teamwork, integrity, service and excellence.
Eight coaches were also recognized for their service to FCA huddles in schools around the state of Oklahoma.
The virtual broadcast featured a testimony from one female all-stater, one male all-stater and one of the all-state coaches.
John O’Dell, the executive director of the Oklahoma FCA, presided over the ceremony.
Post season awards continue to come in for three Ryan girls’ basketballers.
Juliet Spangler, Samantha Good and Lily York – members of this past season’s Ryan Cowgirl basketball team that went 14-10 on the year – were honored by The Sunday Oklahoman newspaper.
The paper handed out its annual all-state and Super 5 girls’ basketball players in Oklahoma last Sunday.
The three Ryan standouts were all named on the honorable mention list of the Class A Super 5 team.
Spangler, Good and York were part of 32 girls selected to receive honorable mention status from all Class A high schools around the state.
Good – the team’s leading scorer this past season – finished with a scoring average of 14.7 and she was 16th in the state among the leading scorers in Class A for the 2020 season.
Samantha Good and her family Photo by Sheree Hanson
Right behind Good in the scoring list was Spangler who finished 17th in the state among Class A scorers with her 14.2 average.
York, who averaged 13.7 points a game, came in at 19th among the Class A girls in scoring average.
Lily York and her family. Photo by Sheree Hanson
The only school across the state to have more players make honorable mention Super 5 in Class A was Glencoe. Ryan joined Canute and Ripley that had three players on the list.
The Super 5 honorable mention selections were from all freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors in Class A.
On Monday, the three girls were also honored by the Oklahoma Girls High School Coaches Association.
York, Spangler and Good were selected to the All-District Team for the Small West. The girls were named to the squad from all over western Oklahoma’s smaller schools.
The three girls, who have all committed to play at the next level, were among 31 senior girls selected to the team from the western side of the state.
Juliet Spangler and her family. Photo by Sheree Hanson
With the cancelation of graduation and other activities related to the 2020 senior class – including the all-sports banquet – it would be appropriate to recognize the accomplishments of the senior athletes at Ryan High School.
There were five seniors on the Cowboy football team last fall. While the team dropped to a disappointing 4-6 record in 2019, these seniors during their careers had two winning seasons and made playoff appearances as juniors and seniors.
Andrew Villerreal had an outstanding senior season as a running back on offense and a stellar defensive performer as well as the kickoff specialist for the Cowboys. For his accomplishments he was named to the District B-4 all-district first team.
Villerreal was a two-year starter for the Cowboys and moved to the running back position his senior season after leading the team in receptions as a tight end in the 2018 campaign. In the 2018 season Villerreal was a second team utility player on the District B-4 all-district squad.
Gunner Phillips and Walter Snider were both starters on the 2019 squad and Jonathan Clark and Parker Carey also contributed to the team in a reserve role as injuries hit the team during the season.
Three senior athletes led the Cowgirl cross country squad to an outstanding season. Juliet Spangler and Lily York – both four-year participants in the program – and Gracie Stamper, a newcomer during her senior year – helped the cross country team to a Class 2A regional title. The Cowgirls also won five other meets during the season.
Spangler and York were selected to the Class 2A All-Star Cross Country team and were instrumental in the program’s success the past four years.
Spangler was an individual state qualifier her freshman season and was part of the Cowgirl teams that qualified for state in her final three years of high school. Spangler had four top-ten finishes in meets during her senior season.
York battled some injuries during her senior campaign, but she was consistently among the top two to five Cowgirls during the season. York managed four top-ten finishes during the year.
Stamper, in her first year of competing in cross country, provided some much needed depth for the Cowgirls during the 2019 season.
Samantha Good and Brooklyn Charmasson finished their senior seasons in fast-pitch softball as all-conference honorees by the Southern Eight Conference. It was the second year in a row for Good to be named to the all-conference squad.
Both Charmasson and Good were three-year starters for the fast-pitch team and in their sophomore season the Cowgirls won what is believed to be a school-record 16 games.
Savannah Lashley and Madisen Rhoades also were members of the 2019 fast-pitch softball team and both were starters during their senior seasons on a team that struggled to a 2-19 record.
Villerreal as the only senior member of the Cowboy basketball team for 2020. He was a starter on a team that went only 6-17, but showed tremendous improvement from the past two seasons. Villerreal was also a starter on the 2019 squad.
Good, Spangler and York were key members of the 2020 Cowgirl cage squad. The three girls all became members of the 1,000-point club for their careers during their senior year and were part of the Cowgirls two straight winning seasons in their junior and season seasons.
All three girls played in the Southern Eight’s annual all-star game held at Ryan and the three girls will be furthering their basketball careers in college next fall.
Bailee Martin was also a senior starter on the Cowgirl team in 2020, while Charmasson saw considerable playing time off the bench as the Cowgirls had only seven or eight players much of the season.
Of course the spring sports seasons for the Ryan seniors were cut short by the nation-wide pandemic and the closure of schools across the state of Oklahoma after spring break.
The slow-pitch softball team managed to get in four games before the season ended. Good, Rhoades, Charmasson, Lashley and Stamper were members of the team that went winless at the beginning of the season.
The Cowgirl track squad made only one appearance before the cancellation of the season, but it was a good one. The Cowgirls won the Maysville Warrior Invitational and York and Spangler – the only two senior members of the team – played a significant role in the meet title for the Cowgirls.
York was a member of the 400-meter relay team that finished fourth and she was also part of the meet champion 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relay teams. In the 800 meters, York earned a silver medal.
Spangler was also part of the two gold-medal winning 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relay teams. She also captured a gold medal in the 1,600 meters and finished second in the 3,200 meters.
Both girls have been key components to the Cowgirl track program in the past four years. York was part of the regional runner up 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relay teams in her junior season and was part of the 3,200-meter relay team that finished second in her sophomore year. In her freshman season York was part of the 1,600-meter relay team that finished as a regional runner up.
In additional to joining York on the relay teams at the regionals during her career, Spangler also finished second in the 3,200 meters and third in the 1,600 meters at regionals during her junior season. As a freshman, Spangler recorded a regional runner up finish in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.
There were no senior male athletes that competed in track for the Cowboys in 2020 and Ryan failed to have enough players to field a baseball team during the 2020 season.
All of these seniors are to be commended for outstanding careers and contributions to the Ryan High School athletic program in their senior year and beyond.
The story of high school sports at Waurika High School for the 2019-2020 school year will be forever incomplete.
The nationwide pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus forced schools across Oklahoma to close thus ending the spring sports at Waurika.
Despite the disappointing ending to the sports slate for the Eagles and Lady Eagles, the year produced some memorable moments and the accomplishments of the teams for the school year should be noted.
The Lady Eagles’ fast-pitch softball team under the direction of first-year coach Everette Hodges was the first team to complete its season.
The Lady Eagles finished a disappointing 5-16 season and while the wins were few the team won more games than the previous two seasons combined.
The Lady Eagles softball squad did not have a senior on the team and the future looks bright.
Hope Cummings, Liberti Simmons and Landry Forsyth were Southern Eight Conference honorees.
The cross country season was a successful one for Waurika.
The Eagle squad finished ninth in the regional cross country meet and had two other top-five finishes in meets earlier in the year including the team title at the Healdton Invitational.
Kevin Garcia was the top runner for the Eagle harriers that were coached by Joe Masoner.
The Lady Eagle runners turned in an outstanding season. The squad finished fifth in the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet and were third in the regional meet hosted by Waurika.
The Lady Eagles had six other top-five finishes in meets at Duncan, Cameron University, Walters, Velma-Alma, Oklahoma Baptist University and Healdton.
Lexie Streeter and Tallin Mora were the top competitors for Coach Masoner’s squad and Asia Smith joined the squad late in the year and was the top Waurika runner at the regional and state meets.
Waurika’s football squad enjoyed a second straight outstanding season last fall.
Second-year coach Joe Allen led the Eagles to a 10-2 record and a second straight district title and fifth straight playoff appearance – the second longest streak in school history.
The Eagles ended the season with a tough 38-14 loss to Pioneer-Pleasant Vale in the second round of the Class B playoffs.
Waurika had advanced to the second round with a resounding 54-6 victory over Cyril in a contest that ended at halftime.
Only seven teams in school history have posted a better record than the 2019 squad.
Turner Mora was named the District B-4 player of the year and Jordan Watkins earned the defensive lineman of the year honors. Gabe Jenkins was named the district’s newcomer of the year.
Kevin Garcia, Brandon Forsyth, Payton Fletcher and Hunter Wesberry were also honored by being named to the all-district team.
Basketball took the limelight for the winter months with both the Lady Eagles and Eagles finishing the year with winning seasons.
For the Eagles the 13-11 mark was the first winning season since 2020 in coach Garret Bachand’s first year at the helm of the Eagle roundballers.
The Eagles were eliminated in the first round of the district tournament at Alex.
Treyton Torrez, a freshman, was the top scorer for the Eagles on the hardwood and he was named all-conference for both the Southern Eight and Oil Field conferences.
Coach Kalee Baxter led the Lady Eagles to a 15-11 mark in her third season directing Waurika girls’ basketball program.
The Lady Eagles fell in the district finals to Alex, but advanced in the consolation bracket to the regional tournament where they defeated Ringling, but fell to Binger-Oney in the consolation semifinals at Alex.
Asia Smith was named the defensive player of the year for the Southern Eight Conference and she led the Lady Eagles in scoring.
The Lady Eagles had no seniors on the squad and with a lot of experience and talent returning next year the expectations will be high.
The spring sports of baseball, boys and girls track and golf were unable to finish the season.
Coach Joe Allen was in his second year at the helm of the Eagle baseball squad and the team had managed a 2-2 mark in the early part of the scheduled.
The Eagles had games with Geronimo and a doubleheader with Frederick postponed before the season was abruptly halted.
The Eagles had won the first two games of the year and dropped the final two games played and almost half the squad was made up of seniors.
It was believed the Eagles will be in the running for the district title in 2020, but district pairings were still a month away from being announced when the season ended.
The track season had featured only one meet – the Velma-Alma Invitational.
The Eagles of coach Roger Jessie finished eighth in the meet with 34 points, while Coach Joe Masoner’s Lady Eagles also finished eighth with 26 points.
Tallin Mora won the long jump at the V-A meet.
The golf squad of coach Kalee Baxter had not begun competition before the interruption of the season.
With last week’s decision by the state school board to dismiss live instruction at schools across the state came the disappointing news that all high school sports for the remainder of the school year would be canceled.
This meant that promising seasons for Waurika in baseball, boys track and girls track came to a close.
At Ryan it meant the end of the slow-pitch softball season and also track for boys and girls. The Ryan Cowgirls had posted a win in its first meet of the season and the season was shaping up to be a good one with a senior-laden team.
So while the teams were disappointed to not be able to compete the remainder of their scheduled season, it was more of a bitter disappointment for the seniors on those teams as they saw their athletic careers come to a close.
“I hate it for our seniors (the cancellation of the schedule),” said Waurika athletic director Everett Hodges. “A lot of memories are made in their high school careers.”
Ryan athletic director Tony Tomberlin echoed the sentiments of Hodges.
“I feel bad for all the kids playing spring sports, especially the seniors,” Tomberlin noted. “For all of them this would have been their last opportunity, whether they continue to the next level or not, to play high school sports.”
“Unfortunately the seniors this year will miss that chance,” Tomberlin added. “It is something these kids will never get back.”
At both schools there were seniors looking forward to put a crowning achievement on their sports careers.
At Waurika, however, the impact of no spring sports has its effect economically.
Waurika annually will host a number of track meets including two high school meets that attract a number of schools’ participation.
“Track has always been a money making sport for us,” Hodges said. “I hate that we are missing out on that.”
At both schools a small loss of revenue will be incurred as baseball season at Waurika and slow-pitch softball season at Ryan were lost although the admissions to most of those contests will barely cover expenses of hiring umpires and providing equipment.
But, it is also during this time that an opportunity for student-athletes to learn a certain perspective about sports.
Sports, while important and can teach life lessons, are not nearly as important as we sometimes would like to think.
The current athletes at Ryan and Waurika will come to understand that the health and well-being of people is more important than a game.
“Back in World War II seems to be the only time they shut a lot of things down in sports,” Hodges reflected. “That almost seems like those times – times of war.”
The impact of the loss of the games and competition pales in comparison to life and death circumstances which some in our state and nation are facing.
“I think I will really notice the lack of sports as we get into the end of season time frame,” said Tomberlin.
“If it carries on into football season, I really will notice and I think everyone else will as well,” added Tomberlin who will look forward to his third season at the helm of the Cowboy football program.
While the disappointments and void of no high school sports is real, the reality of a bigger life lesson learned during this time stands a bit larger than a game or track meet.
At some point in the future the student-athletes who have been impacted will come to realize that truth.
