Sports

By Sandy Anderberg

The Clarendon Broncos claimed the Bi-District Championship with two huge wins over Follett last weekend.

They blasted their opponent in the opening game of the three-game series 12-0 on Friday and demolished them on Saturday at West Texas High with a 22-1 final.

Kade Hunsaker recorded a perfect game in the first of the series as he threw a no-hitter, striking out 12 batters and walking no one.

The Broncos chipped away at Follett’s man on the mound and scored eight runs in the third to take a commanding lead. Nick Shadle connected on an RBI double and Clay Koetting earned a walk to get on base. Senior slugger Caleb Cobb slammed a two-run home run to bring his teammates home. Shadle posted three RBIs on two hits for the Broncos.

“It’s not very often you get to see a perfect game, let alone be involved in one,” Clarendon’s head coach Brad Elam said. “It was very exciting to be a part of and I know the kids were excited.”

The Broncos went back on Saturday to close the series and made a statement early in the game. They scored fourteen runs in the first three innings to control the game and get the win. Chance Lockhart was on the mound for the Broncos and allowed only one run over three innings. He struck out two, had no walks, and gave up only five hits.

Once again Shadle had his bat going as he racked up four RBIs on two hits. He posted a triple in the fourth inning and a double in the fifth to help the Broncos. Cobb also helped with a two-run single in the second.

“We were able to get everyone into the game and had a lot of players contribute,” Elam said. “Twelve different players had a hit and 14 different players scored at least one run. It was a great day all around. Very proud of how much these kids have accomplished. Twenty-one wins is the most in school history.”

The Broncos will continue their post-season play in the Area round with two games on Friday, May 13, at 1:00 p.m. at Plainview High School against New Deal. If a third game is needed, it will be on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Plainview.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

Bryce Grahn competed at the Regional Meet last week at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa and earned the right to advance to the State Meet to be held in Mike Myers Stadium in Austin Thursday through Saturday May 12-14.

Grahn finished second in the 1600m run with a time of 4:37.17. The first place finisher ran the race in a time of 4:33. He placed third in the 3200m run with a time of 10:04.17, which was six seconds behind the first place finisher.

If Grahn’s third place time holds as the fastest of all third place finishers in the regional meets, he will earn a wildcard and will advance to the state meet in the two-mile as well.

Colt Wood also competed in the meet in the 400m dash finishing in sixth place with a time of 52.04.

“Bryce and Colt competed really well at regionals,” coach Johnny Nino said.

“Colt finished sixth but ran his best time. The track kids competed well all during the track season. I am very excited about next year. I would like to thank all the track participants for their time and effort all year long. Coach Grahn has been great, and I greatly appreciate him for all that he does.”

Freshman Jenci Hernandez competed in her first regional meet for the Lady Broncos running the 3200m. She finished in 14th place with a time of 14:31.

“I want to give a special thanks to Jenci for getting herself to the regional track meet,” coach Alton Gaines said. “That is a big deal when you can get there as a freshman. It was a good finish to the season for our girl’s track. So proud of all of the Lady Bronco track girls and managers and I look forward to next year. Thank you, ladies.”

 

By Sandy Anderberg

The regular season is over for the Bronco baseball team. And it is ending on a perfect season in district play. The Broncos picked off each District foe one team at a time and finished at 19-5 overall. They will begin post-season play this week with time and place to be announced.

Last week, the Broncos sealed their District Championship by clobbering Nazareth and Wellington. They defeated the Swifts on the road 18-2 and finished the Rockets at home 15-3.

Chance Lockhart was on the mound for the Broncos for five innings. He gave up only two hits, while walking two and striking out four.

The Broncos had their bats going as senior Bryce Hatley had a single, a home run and accounted for six RBIs on two hits in the game. Kade Hunsaker recorded an RBI single in the first inning, and Josh Cobb slammed a two-run home run. Clay Koetting and Caleb Cobb each added an RBI double to get the scoring going for the Broncos early in the game.

The fourth and fifth innings added more runs for the Broncos as Nick Shadle had an RBI single and Preston Elam posted a double.

The Broncos picked up right where they left off in their game with Wellington. The Rockets were no match for the Broncos with Hatley and Caleb Cobb on the mound.

Offensively, the Broncos were sharp as they scored 12 runs in the first three innings. The runs were aided by several walks from the Wellington pitcher, but the Broncos had their bats humming as well. Hunsaker hit a two-run single, Hatley had an RBI single, and Cooper Bilbrey made it look easy with a RBI double. Before the game ended, Nick Shadle hit a huge two-run triple to seal the win.

“I was very pleased with the game,” coach Brad Elam said. “But we did make a few too many mistakes. We went 10-0 in district, which is a great accomplishment for these players. I am grateful to the seniors for all they have done and thankful for the great fan support. We had a great crowd at the game and we were glad we able to put on a good show for them.”

 

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos played hard in their two post-season games, but could not put it all together to get the win. They lost two games to Abernathy in their best two-out-of-three games.

They played the first game Thursday evening in Plainview and lost 4-8. According to head coach Gary Jack; the first game of the series did not go as they had planned.

“Our Bi-District playoff series was a wild one to say the least,” Jack said. “We started Thursday playing at Amarillo High. We did not play a very solid game in game one. We had a lot of mistakes fielding and throwing allowing them six easy runs. We battled to the end and came up short.”

Briley Chadwick was on the mound and Allyson Hogan was behind the plate.

“Briley had a very good day pitching, we just didn’t back her up very well defensively,” Jack said. “Allyson did a good job catching. Briley, Jensen (Hatley), Hannah (Hommel), Shelby (Baxter), and Briana (Butler) hit the ball very well in game one.”

The Lady Broncos played game two in Plainview on Saturday evening. Despite giving their all, the ladies were defeated 9-10. Hogan opened in the game and Chadwick came in to pitch in the fourth inning. Butler was behind the plate.

“This was a very exciting game and we played very hard throughout the game,” Jack said. “Abernathy took a 3-0 lead into the third inning, but we were able to come out and score three runs to tie it up with hits from Brooke (Martin), Briana, Allyson, Jensen, and Shelby.”

The Lady Broncos went into the fourth and were able to take a one-run lead from hits by Hannah, Emily (Johnson), Karlee (Adams), and Jensen. But Abernathy fought back to regain the lead with a big fifth inning making the score 9-4. But the Lady Broncos were not finished and still had fight in them. Several of the players had big at bats and they were able to tie the score at nine all in the sixth inning.

“We made some good plays in the bottom of the sixth to keep them from scoring,” Jack said. “We had runners on first and second with one out but could not get them home to take the lead. Abernathy came in and had runners on first and third with one out and was able to get a runner home safely to win the game.”

Jack knows the girls played hard and was proud of the way they battled.

“This was a good playoff game and series,” he said. “I’m very proud of our girls and the way they battled back in game two to the very end. We will miss our seniors; Sterling King (injured the last seven games,) Karlee Adams, Brooke Martin, and Shelby Baxter. They did a good job for us this year.”

 

By Sandy Anderberg

Clarendon runner Bryce Grahn is headed to the Regional Meet in Odessa on Saturday, April 30 where he will compete in both the 1600m and 3200m races.

Grahn finished second in both of the events at the Area Meet in Wellington last week. He finished the 1600m run at 4:37.86, which was just under three seconds out of first place. Grahn’s time in the 3200m was 9:58.19 and was two-tenths of a second out of first place.

Also heading to regionals is Colt Wood, who placed third in the 400M with a time of 52.34, and Jenci Hernandez, who qualified for the 3200m run by placing third at the Area Meet with a time of 13:37.60.

Wood and Grahn also participated in the 1600m relay with Bear Smith, Gavin Word, and Colt Wood. The relay team finished sixth with a time of 3:45.21.

The 400m relay was also sixth at 45.59 and was run by Clint Franks, Wood, Keandre Cortez, and Damarjae Cortez.

Smith finished sixth in the 400m dash with a time of 55.53. Taylon Knorpp was fifth in the shot put with a distance of 45’ and Marshal Johnson was fifth in the discus with a throw of 125’4″.

Shaelyn Owiti was fifth in the 400m dash with a time of 1:07.10 and MaRae Hall was sixth at 1:07.54. Berkeley Alexander was sixth in the discus with a throw of 95’4″.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos are headed to the playoffs this week, facing Abernathy at Amarillo High Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Game two, and game three if needed, will follow on Saturday in Plainview.

Last Tuesday, the Lady Broncos destroyed the Claude Lady Mustangs 35-1 in three innings.

The Lady Broncos dominated in every aspect of the game and head coach Gary Jack said that they received some great hitting from Jada Butler and Zoe Adams.

On Saturday, the ladies took on Follett at home and after extra innings, lost 7-9.

“This was a very close game all the way,” Jack said. “We played a good game most of the way; just a couple of little things opened the door for Follett.”

Allyson Hogan was on the mound for several innings before Briley Chadwick took over.

The teams were tied at three all going into the seventh innings and Follett was able to score three runs to take a 6-3 lead. But the Lady Broncos were determined and fought back.

“We came back and scored three runs with some good hits by Brooke (Martin), Briana (Butler), Ally (Hogan), Jensen (Hatley), Briley (Chadwick), Shelby (Baxter), and Emily (Johnson),” Jack said.

Follett would strike again and score three more runs to take a 9-6 lead.

“We came in and score one to end the game with a 7-9 loss,” Jack said. “That knocked us out of second and into third place going into the playoffs. We will play Abernathy in the Bi-District first round.”

 

By Sandy Anderberg

The Clarendon Bronco baseball team has been playing hard all year and was recognized last week as eighth in the top ten teams in the state in the Texas High School Baseball Association Poll.

The Broncos racked up two big wins last week. They shut out Kress last Tuesday 12-0, and the junior varsity knocked off Follett 4-2 at home on Saturday. Kade Hunsaker was on the mound for the Broncos against Kress and had a great game. Hunsaker threw a one-hitter, struck out eight batters and had no walks.

The opening three innings proved to set the tempo of the game as the Broncos scored seven runs. Nick Shadle had an RBI double and Preston Elam hit a sacrifice fly. Elam had three RBIs on two hits in the game. Josh Cobb and Bryce Hatley were able to score on a Kress error before Hunsaker slammed a double to bring home Caleb Cobb. The Broncos were virtually unstoppable as they added runs to the board before ending it with the win.

“Kade pitched a great game,” Elam said. “The first two batters reached base but he set down Kress in order the rest of the game. I can’t say enough about our pitching this season. They have been outstanding, especially in district. We are starting to hit the ball better also. So we are playing really well right now.”

On Saturday, the junior varsity made a good showing against Follett. According to Elam, Damarjae Cortez, Nathan Shadle, Josh Cobb, and Preston Elam had good hits.

“Cody Lowry and Isaac Dunham each scored a run,” Elam said. “Defensively, we made a lot of plays. Infield of Payton hicks, Cobb, Cortez, and Elam played really well. Shadle pitched a great game striking out seven and allowing only three hits.”

The Broncos will play Wellington Friday, April 29, to end regular season play.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

Marshal Johnson came home with the discus championship, Colt Wood posted the top time in the 400m dash for the title, and Jenci Hernandez ran the two-mile faster than the field to be named district champ in the 3200m run in Wellington at the District Track Meet last week.

Several other Broncos and Lady Broncos earned the right to advance to the Area Meet by placing in the top four of their event. Johnson heaved the discus 134’5½” to place first. Wood was first in the 400m dash at 54.01, and Hernandez ran the 3200m in 13:41.16 for first. The Bronco 400m relay was fourth at 46.19 and was run by Clint Franks, Wood, Damarjae Cortez, and Keandre Cortez. The 1600m relay was second with a time of 3:44.29. Members of that relay are Bear Smith, Wood, Bryce Grahn, and Gavin Word.

Taylon Knorpp was runner-up in the shot put with a distance of 43’7¾” and Seth Greer was third at 43’7″. Bryce Grahn was second in the 3200m run with a time of 10:15.38 to advance and Word was fifth in that event in his first varsity meet with a time of 11:43.99.

Damarjae Cortez ran fifth in the 100m dash at 11.01 and was also fifth in the 200m dash at 24.25. Bear Smith was second in the 400m behind Wood with a time of 56.67. Grahn also ran second in the 1600m run just two seconds off the first-place time with a 4:39.36 and Word was fifth at 5:14.55.

Berkeley Alexander will advance with a third place in the shot put at 31’7″ and the discus with a throw of 105’8 1Ž2″ for second place. Shaelyn Owiti ran third in the 400m with a time of 1:06.55 and MaRae Hall was fourth at 1:07.34. Hernandez placed second in the 1600m run with a time of 6:16.89.

The Broncos finished fifth as a team with 90 points and the Lady Broncos, who had only four participants finished sixth with 42 points.

The Area Meet will be held in Wellington on April 20.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

The Broncos’ strategy last week seemed to be to put the game away early as they pounced on both Valley and Memphis from the beginning and gained two big District wins. They started with Valley at home defeating them 12-2 and then traveled to Memphis and earned a huge 18-2 win.

Senior Caleb Cobb was on the mound against Valley and only allowed one earned run while throwing seven strikeouts and walking two. Valley did muster four hits off of Cobb, but could never turn them into runs.

The Broncos’ third inning was big as they scored six runs to get them going. Cobb hit a sacrifice fly, Kade Hunsaker slammed an RBI double and Nick Shadle had a walk.

Later in the sixth, Shadle mustered a double to keep the inning alive. Chance Lockhart was golden at the plate going 2-2 with a double and single.

On Friday, the Broncos blasted the Cyclones to get their other District win for the week. They scored thirteen runs in the opening inning to set the tempo of the game and send Memphis a message of their dominance. Lockhart threw the win and racked up 10 strikeouts while allowing only one earned run on two hits and one walk over the five innings.

Senior catcher Bryce Hatley and Kade Hunsaker each slammed a two-run home run in the first inning to add to Clarendon’s points on the board and Shadle added an RBI. Hunsaker had five RBIs in the game on four hits.

The Broncos kept things going with a single by C. Cobb and a double by Hunsaker. Ray Jaramillo and Payton Hicks added to the scoreboard as well and Josh Cobb slammed a double.

“I thought Chance pitched a great game,” coach Brad Elam said. “He had a perfect game going into the fifth inning. He was dominating.”

The Broncos will finish regular season play when they take on Wellington at home on Friday, April 22, at 4:00 p.m. and travel to Nazareth on Tuesday, April 26, to play at 4:30 p.m.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Bronco softball team added to their winning record last week with two huge wins over Booker and Gruver. As of now, the Lady Broncos are tied for second place and are 14-6 overall and 7-3 in district play. On Tuesday, the ladies easily handled Booker 18-2. According to head coach Gary Jack, the ladies played well especially in the first inning where they scored 11 runs to take a big lead.

“Everybody seemed to hit the ball very well,” Jack said. “And Shelby (Baxter) hit a deep one against the wind.”

Briley Chadwick was on the mound early in the game and Briana Butler came in to finish.

“Our defense played good with Jensen Hatley making a very nice play behind first base,” Jack said. “Bri and Ally (Hogan) had triples and Shelby, Hannah (Hommel), and Karlee (Adams) all had doubles in this game.”

On their home field Friday, the Lady Broncos came from behind to oust the Gruver Lady Greyhounds 9-5. Hogan was on the mound and Butler was behind the plate.

The Lady Broncos trailed 1-4 until the fourth inning when they were able to put four runs on the board to take a one-point lead.

“That all came with a couple hits by Emily (Johnson), Briana, and Karlee to load the bases,” Jack said. “Then Ally hit a double scoring all three. We went ahead 5-4 and held them with three great defensive catches by Zaryia Smith and one by Hannah Hommel.”

At Baxter’s next at bat, she slammed one to the fence for a double and scored later on a ground ball. Then hits by Baxter, Hommel, and Chadwick put three more runs on the board.

“It was a big District win for us,” Jack said.

The Lady Broncos will play Follett at home on Friday, April 22, at 4:00 p.m. to end regular season play. Then they will begin to prepare for post-season play.