4B
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Denton Record-Chronicle
Denton Record-Chronicle
2011-12 Area Standouts ATHLETE OF THE YEAR Jessie Johnson ARGYLE, SR. Johnson’s accomplishments throughout her time at Argyle were capped off when she won the Class 3A pole vault gold medal in Austin, winning the event with a mark of 13 feet, 1 inch. Johnson broke the 3A state record by an inch, and missed the state record by six inches. The single accomplishment is magnified when compared to Johnson’s previous successes. Starting in her sophomore year, when she won the event by an entire foot, she went on to win three straight gold medals, a true mark of dominance in any single event. Each year she improved on last year’s height, finally reaching the 13 foot mark at the state meet in May. Johnson qualified for the state meet with a height of 13-6. The next closest qualifying mark was 17 inches shorter than Johnson’s height. Johnson is already enrolled at Auburn, where she’ll look to continue her success.
COACH OF THE YEAR Brady Bell ARGYLE GOLF HEAD COACH In a year where Argyle enjoyed success in almost every one of its team sports, Bell helped the Argyle varsity boys golf team do something it had never done before — reaching the Class 3A state tournament. Argyle finished second to the 2011 state champions Prosper in the regional championships to reach its first state tournament. Bell was able to navigate his young squad through a taxing regional bracket. And in their first year, at state the Eagles came up four strokes shy of a third-place finish and 11 strokes shy of first-place Fredericksburg. Argyle entered Day Two of the tournament with the second-best team score but were unable to squeeze out a top-three showing. With all five of his best players coming back next season, Bell may be well on his way to building a strong program in Argyle.
SOCCER Corey Barahona
Stevie Harris and Lindsey Eccles
GUYER, SR. Barahona earned Offensive MVP honors in District 7-5A and was one of the main reasons the Wildcats earned a playoff berth last season. Along with Harrison Gorman, Sean Diamond and Edgar Jimenez, Barahona played an integral role in an effort to maintain a consistent scoring attack. Guyer entered the playoffs as the final seed from 7-5A and was bounced out of the first round of the playoffs by a Plano squad that won District 8-5A and advanced to the regional semifinals. Barahona is headed to play at Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods in Kansas City, Miss., according to the school’s website.
RYAN, SR. Harris and Eccles have been two of the biggest reasons why the Lady Raiders were a threat to win the Class 4A state title over the past two seasons. While Ryan was unable to reach the state tournament for the second straight season, Harris and Eccles’ play provided Ryan’s offense with an immediate spark when needed. The duo were both named District 11-4A co-MVPs in one of the toughest districts in the state. Harris will play at Midwestern State next fall, while Eccles will ply at Dallas Baptist.
TRACK AND FIELD Sterling Fuggett
Argyle’s 4x400 meter relay
RYAN, SR. Despite all the laughing and joking he did off the track, Fuggett justified his nonchalant attitude by anchoring Ryan’s track team last season. With the departure of Aaron Scott, Fuggett helped Ryan’s 4x200 and 4x400 meter relay teams to reach the state meet. Fuggett, a standout in both football as well, holds Ryan’s high jump record and is a part of three relay school records. Fuggett is attending Bakersfield (Calif.) College to play football and run track, with hopes of possibly attending the University of California or USC afterward.
ARGYLE Brooke Robertson, Laine Lowry, Taylor Mueller and Darby Hargroves almost brought Argyle a gold medal in the 4x400 meter relay at the 3A state championships. The relay squad finished second with a time of 3:57.35, less than three seconds behind Waco Connally’s squad. The 4x400 team bested the 3:59.49 mark it used to qualify for state. The team joined Jessie Johnson as the school’s female representatives at the state meet. Ben Woolums, Reese Thompson, Spencer McCloud and Dalton Ledford represented Argyle on the boys side.
GOLF Argyle Boys Varsity
Denton Girls Varsity
ARGYLE In reaching the first state tournament in school history, the Argyle boys varsity golf squad leaned on its depth to finish third in Austin. Hunter Thompson, Blake Lyle, Colton Katzen, Nick Louy and Lance Roden comprised a young squad that finished four strokes short of a medal finish. The Eagles relied on a balanced attack from all five boys, giving the team extra insurance, as the top four scores are counted. Thompson and Lyle will be the only seniors on the team next year. Katzen and Louy will be seniors while Roden will be a sophomore, giving the Eagles a great chance to return to state next season.
DENTON Denton’s varsity girls squad, comprised of Payton Andress, Jill Jordan, Stephanie Swenson, Stephanie Mobley and Lindsey Heal, led the Lady Broncos to a District 4-4A Championship and pushed Denton into the regional tournament for the third straight year. Andress, Swenson, Mobley and Heal were all named to the all-district squad. Led by head coach Mick Maxey, Denton had a very deep and evenly-talented squad. With Andress, Jordan and Swenson graduating, it will be up to Mobley and Heal to continue the success Denton’s enjoyed the last few years and lead the Lady Broncos in their trek to state.
SWIMMING AND DIVING D.J. Lang
Kathryn Ray
DENTON, SOPH. Denton sophomore D.J. Lang was one of of two Broncos to qualify for the state swim meet, joining Cody Knapp and Denton’s 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley relay teams. Lang broke a school record in the 200 freestyle at this year’s district meet, and earned swimmer of the year accolades as well. Denton ISD head swim coach Chris Cullen said Lang, who primarily swims freestyle events, improved as the year went on and put up some of the fastest times at regionals. Lang, who will be a junior next season, will be a welcomed return next year and will look to improve on this year’s results.
RYAN, SR. Ray joined Mikey Winfrey as Ryan’s delegates at the state swim meet. Ray received one of eight call-up spots to swim in the 200-yard individual medley. The selection made Ray the only swimmer to qualify for the state meet in swimming and water polo in the 21 years Chris Cullen has coached the Denton ISD swim program. Ray, who will continue her swimming career at Texas-Permian Basin, is one of the most well-rounded and versatile swimmers, Cullen said. Ray’s versatility allowed her to swim in the IM, an event she typically doesn’t swim. She still made it to state.
TENNIS Maddie Schorlemmer and Lacy Blake
Chris Atterberry and McKenna Barber
ARGYLE GIRLS DOUBLES In a year where Argyle seemed to be good at about every sport, Maddie Schorlemmer and Lacy Blake showed the state why they were favorites to win the Class 3A tennis girls doubles championship. The duo won the title in their fourth appearance in state, defeating Abilene Wylie’s Shelby Corn and Whitney Frazier 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The win against Wylie capped an undefeated run for the doubles partners while only dropping three sets all year. Schorlemmer will continue playing collegiately at Midwestern State in the fall. The pair added to the program’s growing tennis accomplishments, as Zack Santagate took home the boys singles title in 2011.
KRUM MIXED DOUBLES Picking up where their older siblings left off three years ago, Krum’s Chris Atterberry and McKenna Barber reached the state tournament in the Class 2A mixed doubles championships, going all the way to the state championship game before losing in three sets to Ingram Moore’s Ali Sheriff and Tyler Moore. Atterberry and Barber, along with Zach Ripple and Tyler Sargent, represented Krum at the state tournament for the seventh straight season. Last year was Krum’s last in Class 2A for the present future, as the Bobcats will be moving up to Class 3A next year, increasing the level of competition and making an eighth-straight appearance at state that much harder.
Sadler penalty hands Indy victory to Keselowski By Chris Jenkins Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Brad Keselowski planted an emphatic kiss on the yard of bricks at the finish line, becoming the first driver to celebrate a win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series. Elliott Sadler was fuming, certain that he should have been celebrating instead. Keselowski took the lead when Sadler was penalized for jumping a late restart, then held on to win a controversial finish to the inaugural Nationwide race Saturday at the historic 2.5-mile track. Keselowski said winning at Indy was special because of the track’s tradition. “I’m glad to be some small part of that,” Keselowski. Sadler passed Keselowski on a restart with 18 laps to go, but officials ruled that Sadler went too early and black-flagged him. Sadler stayed on the track for several laps, apparently hoping officials would reconsider the penalty, before finally coming in with 12 laps to go and giving up the lead to Keselowski. An agitated Sadler said Keselowski spun his tires on
Motor sports NASCAR Nationwide Indiana 250
the restart — a brief loss of traction that would slow Keselowski down — and Sadler said he had no other choice but to surge forward because cars were stacking up behind him. “You tell me what the protocol is if the leader beats me to the restart line — which he did and it’s on video just as clear as day — and then he spins his tires,” Sadler said. “It’s just like missing a shift. Do I stop and wait for him to get his shift right or do I stop and let him get his tires? Oh, yeah, by the way, I’m getting pushed by the 3 car, who’s also getting pushed by the 43 car.” Keselowski said he hadn’t seen a replay, but his perception at the time was that Sadler was far enough ahead to justify the penalty. “They just want it to be close and fair,” Keselowski said. “It was obvious that [Sadler] beat us by more than that. That’s NASCAR’s call.” Sam Hornish Jr. was second, followed by Ty Dillon, Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon. Sadler finished 15th but held on to the Nationwide points lead. He leads Austin Dillon by
Associated Press/Bill Friel
Danica Patrick’s car, left, slides to a stop after making contact with that of Reed Sorenson and the wall during Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Indiana 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. one point. Danica Patrick’s day ended early after she collided with Reed Sorenson on lap 39. It was another strong run for Hornish as the 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner is trying to rebuild his racing reputation after a couple of rough seasons racing stock cars. Hornish was happy to see his Penske Racing teammate win, but disappointed he wasn’t the one in victory lane. “I guess if there’s a guy I can handle losing to, it’s Brad,”
Hornish said. “But I want to win. To be that close, it would have been nice to be able to do that. There’s always next week, but there’s never a chance to win the inaugural [Indy] Nationwide race again.” Kyle Busch dominated the first half of the race, but got shuffled back in the field during a round of pit stops on lap 63 and Hornish took the lead. Keselowski then passed Hornish for the lead with 29 laps to go, and a caution came out shortly afterward. Busch
was fourth on the subsequent restart but spun out right after the race went green. He managed to avoid major damage but lost his shot at the win. Sadler then shot past Keselowski on a restart with 18 laps to go — but Sadler was black flagged for jumping the start. With his crew pleading with NASCAR officials, Sadler stayed on the track instead of coming into the pits to serve the penalty. Sadler finally came in with 12 laps to go, fuming
over the radio to his crew as he gave up the race lead and handed it back to Keselowski. Adding Nationwide to Indy was part of an effort by officials to drum up interest and boost sagging attendance at the Brickyard 400. But the addition of Nationwide to the weekend schedule didn’t prove to be an immediate hit with fans, as the grandstands were largely empty Saturday. Officials estimated attendance at 40,000. Any fans who came to see Patrick race didn’t get to see much of her. Patrick appeared to tap Sorenson’s back bumper going into Turn 1, causing the back end of Sorenson’s car to slide sideways. Sorenson nearly saved it, but his left-front wheel got into the infield grass, causing him to spin out. Patrick then hit Sorenson’s car, causing heavy damage. “I got pretty close and I might have tapped him,” Patrick said in a television interview. “I’m not sure.” Patrick said Sorenson slowed unexpectedly. “I didn’t mean to take him out,” Patrick said. “I don’t know if he’s still going or not, but I’m sorry.”