Posted by
Jay Tope on December 14, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Tonight at 6pm, SAsports.com Senior Editor Jay Tope will emcee a special ‘Night of Champions’ in the CHS Gym to celebrate the Boerne Champion boys cross country team’s national championship.
Come out if you are in the area; there may never be another cross country team like this one….
Posted by
Jay Tope on November 17, 2009 at 6:35 am
This morning, SAsports.com’s Jay Tope has chosen the Boerne Champion boys cross country team to be on the Great Day SA show at 9:00 on KENS-5 TV.
The Champion Chargers will be celebrating their state championship, which they won for the 2nd year in a row this past Saturday. Coach Dave Fulkerson will be interviewed by Sonny Melendrez and Jay Tope; we will also mention some of the football playoff games for this weekend.
Posted by
Jay Tope on November 14, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Brandon Lacey of Lytle takes 3A cross country state title
by Jay Tope
Senior Editor, SAsports.com
The Boerne Champion cross country team made it two-for-two, winning their second 4A state cross country title in a row on Saturday at Round Rock Old Settlers Park.
The Champion Chargers did it with complete domination, finishing five runners in the top 15, and with Nathan Christianson and Travis Barclay taking the top two spots overall.
Also winning an individual state title was Lytle’s Brandon Lacey in the Boys 3A Division. He won state in tack last year, and is still only a junior.
Other noteable finishes:
5A
Stevens Falcon runner Jacob Benn took sixth place in the 5A Boys division. Sarah Fritzsche of Churchill was the top 5A area girls finisher, taking 44th place.
4A
The Boerne Champion girls did a great job as well, placing seventh in the 4A girls team competition. Katlyn Savage was their top runner, finishing 21st.
3A
The Luling girls took home the fifth place team trophy, with Maira Salinas getting the bronze medal. Janel Campbell of Ingram Tom Moore placed 14th on the girls side. Lytle’s boys team was third; Llano’s Marcos Vallejo and Paul Hansel of Cuero finished in the top ten.
2A
Courthey Haass’ eighth place finish helped her Navarro team to a seventh place overall mark. Dilley’s Justin Gonzales placed 33rd to lead area 2A boys.
1A
Brackett’s Kelsey Bruce, also the SAsports.com Brackett student writer, took home third place in 1A girls. As a team, Brackett placed eighth.
Posted by
Jay Tope on November 9, 2009 at 7:57 am
1A Girls Teams:
1. Zavala 85
2. Brackett 89
3. Mason 92
1A Girls Individuals
1. Laurie Byrd, Round Top-Carmine, 11:20.3
2. Kelsey Bruce, Brackett, 12:01.7
3. Sara Dugat, Zavala, 12:42.1
4. Shana Thompson, Douglass, 12:44.4
5. Hillary Bibb, Mason, 12:45.7
6. Amanda Weaver, Center Point, 12:47.9
7. Alexandra Maldonado, La Pryor, 12:48.2
8. Bianca Cruz, Brackett, 12:53.0
9. Brandy Santleben, Knippa, 12:54.0
10. Diamond Arispe, Rocksprings, 12:54.6
2A Girls Teams
1. East Bernard 51
2. Navarro 112
3. Rogers 156
2A Girls Individuals
1. Emily Koenig, Little River Academy, 11:52.4
2. Amanda Walters, East Bernard, 12:12.9
3. Courtney Haass, Navarro, 12:16.6
4. Celeste Meyer, Florence, 12:17.3
5. Kelsey Merritt, East Bernard, 12:19.5
6. Robin Garcez, Karnes City, 12:21.6
7. Lauren Bedrich, Rogers, 12:22.4
8. Kelsey Abbott, Lago Vista, 12:23.7
9. Courtney High, Industrial, 12:30.4
10. Nancy Juarez, Jarrrell, 12:35.5
3A Girls Teams
1. La Feria 105
2. Zapata 115
3. Luling 117
3A Girls Individuals
1. Marlena Garcia, Zapata, 12:10.5
2. Janel Campbell, Ingram Tom Moore, 12:12.4
3. Kayla Castillo, Fredericksburg, 12:14.5
4. Maira Salinas, Luling, 12:21.7
5. Eryn Barosso, Wimberley, 12:25.8
6. Clarissa Hernandez, La Feria, 12:26.7
7. Alexis Torres, Bandera, 12:29.8
8. Maria Aguayo, Gonzales, 12:30.0
9. Haley Stransky, Needville, 12:30.6
10. Jaycee Kuykendall, Luling, 12:37.3
4A Girls Teams
1. Boerne Champion 113
2. New Braunfels Canyon 114
3. Gregory-Portland 114
4A Girls Individuals
1. Emily Perez, Juarez-Lincoln, 11:39.8
2. Michelle Jones, Medina Valley, 11:44.8
3. Alexandra Alvizo, New Braunfels Canyon, 11:55.4
4. Shelby Pesek, Corpus Christi Calallen, 11:56.3
5. Carolyn McClanahan, Gregory-Portland, 11:56.6
6. Courtney Lanfdon, Gregory-Portland, 12:00.3
7. Katlyn Savage, Boerne Champion, 12:01.7
8. Connie Lidiak, Kerrville Tivy, 12:02.4
9. Kasey Alphin, Corpus Christi Tuloso-Midway, 12:03.2
10. Kate Corcoran, Boerne Champion, 12:05.4
5A Girls Teams
1. Mission Sharyland 154
2. Del Rio 155
3. Corpus Christi Carroll 179
5A Girls Individuals
1. Gabriela Salazar, PSJA Memorial, 11:19.3
2. Rachel Baptista, Austin High, 11:19.4
3. Samantha Fish, Los Fresnos, 11:42.0
4. Lauren Hierholzer, Johnson, 11:42.6
5. Maria Segundo, McAllen Rowe, 11:46.2
6. Grace Kohler, Brandeis, 11:46.6
7. Rainy Castaneda, Laredo United South (no time reported)
8. Sarah Fritsche, Churchill, 11:47.8
9. Shantel Smith, Clark, 11:49.2
10. Jenyse Vasquez, Edinburg North, 11:54.4
1A Boys Teams
1. Mason 52
2. Zavala 134
3. Port Aransas 159
1A Boys Individuals
1. Jason Hamilton, Big Sandy, 16:28.2
2. Logan Foster, Slocum, 17:01.0
3. Tomas Callejas, Mason, 17:02.9
4. Emmanuelle Segura, Mason, 17:37.1
5. Austin Roberts, Latexo, 17:38.1
6. Travion Henderson, Goodrich, 17:38.9
7. George Vilasana, Santa Maria, 17:41.7
8. Christian Kelly, Abundant Life Christian School, 17:42.9
9. Ty Ramos, Moulton, 17:47.0
10. Garrett Wright, Zavala, 17:51.8
2A Boys Teams
1. East Bernard 35
2. Salado 79
3. San Diego 145
2A Boys Individuals
1. Nick Guerra, East Bernard, 16:35.4
2. Jace Peralta, Salado, 16:52.7
3. Connor McAfee, Little River Academy, 16:57.9
4. Patrick Pitts, East Bernard, 16:58.0
5. Emmanuel Villafranco, Jarrell, 17:02.3
6. Kevin Marek, Rogers, 17:03.2
7. Mosses Romo, Brazos Consolidated, 17:16.7
8. Justin Flores, San Diego, 17:18.1
9. Justin Gonzales, Dilley, 17:20.4
10. Zach Sprague, East Bernard, 17:26.3
3A Boys Teams
1. Progreso 88
2. Lytle 94
3. Luling 104
3A Boys Individuals
1. Brandon Lacy, Lytle, 16:04.9
2. Paul Hansel, Cuero, 16:27.0
3. Eduardo Cortez, Progreso, 16:29.7
4. Jose Reyes, Luling, 16:31.0
5. Victor Perez, Progreso, 16:32.3
6. Tony Jaramillo, Rio Hondo, 16:33.3
7. Ricardo Gallegos, Carrizo Springs, 16:34.2
8. Rey Castillo, Brookshire Royal, 16:34.7
9. Steven Russo, Carrizo Springs, 16:41.9
10. Hugo Flores, Rio Hondo, 16:44.0
4A Boys Teams
1. Boerne Champion 24
2. Mercedes 113
3. Juarez-Lincoln 128
4A Boys Individuals
1. Nathan Christianson, Boerne Champion, 15:30.3
2. Angel Banda, Juarez-Lincoln, 15:43.3
3. DreVan Anderson, Killeen, 15:45.2
4. Ryan Miller, Boerne Champion, 15:54.8
5. Josh Hernandez, Boerne Champion, 16:10.1
6. Moses Luevano, Boerne Champion, 16:13.4
7. Chase Lambert, Lake Travis, 16:14.0
8. Ricardo Reynoso, Valley View, 16:15.3
9. Mark Kazmierczak, Clemens, 16:16.4
10. Will Mack, Boerne Champion, 16:19.2
5A Boys Teams
1. La Joya Palmview 84
2. Corpus Christi Carroll 118
3. Edinburg North 121
5A Boys Individuals
1. Jacob Benn, Stevens, 15:22.7
2. Ivan Villanueva, La Joya Palmview, 15:31.3
3. Luis Serrano, Edinburg North, 15:44.8
4. Justin Adame, Corpus Christi Carroll, 15:46.3
5. Michael Medrano, Mission Sharyland, 15:48.7
6. Alan Sanchez, Smithson Valley, 15:49.4
7. Daniel Veritz, Reagan, 16:02.2
8. David Scorcelletti, Clark, 16:04.8
9. David Guillen, Los Fresnos, 16:12.4
10. Justin Garcia, Del Rio, 16:17.2
Posted by
Jay Tope on October 20, 2009 at 6:31 am
Congratulations to the Antonian boys and girls cross country teams; they both won TAPPS 5A state titles Saturday in Waco.
Antonian boys runners in the Top 25 included Matt and Andrew Gazda (2nd and 3rd), Anthony Gallardo (8th), D.J. Cortez (11th), Philip McBride (12th), Kenny Cortez (13th)m and Cesar Rodriguez (22nd).
Antonian girls runners in the Top 25 included Oliva Lopez (5th), Bridgette Kozar (6th), Laura Cortez (9th), Greta Porisch (13th), Angela Garza (15th), Angeli Phillips (16th), and Marcella Reyes (22nd).
In addition, the SA Christian girls took the state title in TAPPS 4A.
Posted by
Jay Tope on September 20, 2009 at 9:28 am
Photos by Antonio Morano
SAsports.com Senior Photographer
www.moranomemories.photoreflect.com
amorano@satx.rr.com
UTSA President Ricardo Romo, also the first Texan to run a sub-4-minute mile, was on hand to kick things off.
And with that, the second day of the UTSA Ricardo Romo Invitational was off, featuring nearly 100 high schools in action.
More photos are available for viewing:
www.moranomemories.photoreflect.com
amorano@satx.rr.com
Posted by
Jay Tope on August 31, 2009 at 10:36 am
(Thanks to Coach Paul Frost - ECHS)
Here’s the results for Saturday’s NISD Tourney… just sent in.
I know it’s a small read… thanks for bearing with us!
Posted by
Jay Tope on July 24, 2009 at 6:06 am
Taft and St. Edwards graduate Kari Wright is now the softball and cross-country head coach at Medina High School.
Wright, a standout Raider softball player during the late ‘90’s, has been a club coach in the area since graduating from St. Ed’s in 2004.
Posted by
Jay Tope on July 9, 2009 at 6:42 am
by Erik Thormaehlen
Special to SAsports.com
If Eric sounds like a homer, he is. Thormaehlen ran on the 2003 Boerne High School state championship cross country team.
The “experts” were wrong again.
Maybe the headline is unfair, seeing as how they don’t claim to be experts. However, they do conduct a poll and try to predict who the best cross country teams are in the state. While I haven’t done an in depth analysis on the rest of their predictions, one group that I can say they are consistently off on, is the 4A boys. For example, Boerne Champion was ranked as low as 8th this year in the CCCAT (Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas) poll and as high as second. However, the boys ended up winning state by a mere 52 points.
It was the most wind-filled day I’ve ever seen at Round Rock in the 8 years that I’ve made the trip. I went up particularly to watch the Boerne Champion boys because I knew what they were capable of. I knew that this would be one show that I wouldn’t want to miss especially after their regional performance, which put 4 runners in the top 5.
I made the trip to state and jammed out in my Kia Rio to Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ to get me primed up for the race. When I got there, I wasn’t disappointed, and Boerne Champion was hardly ‘Livin’ on a Prayer.’ In fact they were able to put together the most dominating performance that I’ve ever seen in the 4A boys race, led by sophomore sensation Travis Barclay’s sixth place individual finish. Right behind him would be the trio of juniors - Colby McCune, Ethan Doherty, and Nathan Christianson - who finished 10th, 11th, and 15th, respectively.
Rounding out the group would be Ryan Miller in 33rd place. The sixth man for the team, Will Mack, finished with one of the gutsiest finishes I’ve seen in my nine years around the sport. Mack is the younger brother of Ryan Mack, the number six runner from the 2003 state championship Boerne Greyhound team, and he promised me at the beginning of the season that he would make me pay for not including him in the team preview. He did.
Speaking of that 2003 championship, it made head boys coach Dave Fulkerson the first coach in Boerne history to ever win a state title. Now that he has moved over to Boerne – Samuel V. Champion High School, he is the first coach in that school’s history to win a state title.
“It is pretty cool to be the first, and hopefully establish a tradition,” said Fulkerson. “There’s already a lot of school pride here and it’s nice to be involved at the beginning.”
This state title and the one in 2003 were both special to Fulkerson.
“They are always special,” said Fulkerson. “Believe me, it’s always fun. Each one comes with a different set of guys, different personalities, and different challenges. This time was a lot like 2003 because there was a group of guys who had worked literally for years to achieve their goal.”
He’s not kidding about this. I have known this group of juniors for a long time, and it has always been in their eyes. These kids are winners, and coach describes them as, “Hungry, focused, and unselfish.”
While I don’t get a vote in the CCCAT poll, I will lend some advice. Boerne is returning all seven of these guys and several reserves. It would seem to me as though a team that wins state by 52 points and returns all seven runners has a decent chance to repeat. I didn’t ask for them to be ranked number one, but I think I successfully dropped all the hints.
One final thing that I’ll say is that the last time Boerne won a state title; it was followed by another state title. That team only returned two of its runners from a team that won by 43 points.
Posted by
Jay Tope on July 7, 2009 at 7:12 am
By Michael Chartier
Special to SAsports.com
Maybe Randolph freshman Elena Gumbs isn’t that fond of running. But she sure is good at it.
“The truth is I don’t like to run,” said the 14-year-old Gumbs, who won the Class 2A State Championship in Cross Country this past year in Round Rock.
After placing first in District and second in Regionals, Elena ran the race of her life trimming off nearly thirty seconds en route to a gold medal and personal best time of 11:42 in the two-mile open course race.
Elena, whose first love is basketball, said she didn’t even know cross-country was a sport until this year. But she found out rather quickly.
“That’s what motivates me, just being competitive. If I can do well at something I’m going to do it. So that’s why I joined cross-country; that’s why I wanted to try it out. And I don’t quit so I just stuck with it,” Elena said about the sport.
Not familiar with the cross-country? According to Gumbs, it’s two miles of running. Over grass. And road. And dirt. And rocks. And mud. Up hills. Through wind. Through trees.
“It’s long distance running,” Gumbs said. “It’s madness.”
But don’t think Elena is unaware, she most certainly is not. The diminutive freshman with the radiant smile has a sniper’s focus and a competitor’s heart.
“The competition just helps push me. I don’t like to get beat.”
With a running regimen installed by Randolph cross country coach Edward Padilla, Gumbs steady improvement might have been surprising to everyone but her.
“He was more in shock,” Elena said of Padilla after her state-winning race. Others?
“I don’t want to speak for them, but I think people were in more disbelief, than in shock.”
Elena bested her times at every stop along the way.
District, 12:34. Regionals, 12:09. State, 11:42.
She said she still gets it. People just can’t believe it. But if you get to know Elena, you might find this astonishing accomplishment just the beginning. To say she’s driven, that’s an understatement.
“It’s just in me. God gave me that. It’s what I have,” Elena said about her competitive nature. “I don’t even like to get beat at board games.”
And that was part of Coach Padilla’s motivational strategy entering the state meet. Elena said part of the pre-race plan was to beat Courtney Hass, who beat Gumbs at Regionals.
“My goal was for her to beat the one who beat her at Regionals, her along with another from the area,” Padilla said about the plan. “Of course by beating those two, I knew she would come in the top five. But I didn’t know she’d pick it up that much to win the whole race.”
The freshman was in an elite pack as the race closed to the quarter-mile mark. And that’s when Elena took control.
“My opinion is at the end, I like to pick it up and once I see the finish line that’s when I go all out sprinting,” Elena said about the close. “It’s just motivation, once I felt like it was time to pass her, I did”
“It was actually during the race that I thought I could (win it). Coaches are screaming at their players and stuff,” Elena described that home stretch. “I don’t know. I just passed her. I just wanted to keep that lead and thought I could win state and I was just running for my life.”
“When I heard people say she’s coming behind me I had already come in the mode of sprinting. My brother was screaming stay in first, everybody screaming she’s coming behind me but I didn’t turn around,” she added. “I didn’t really hear her or feel her. I just heard everybody screaming.”
Elena surprised everyone with her one second victory over last year’s cross country runner-up. But will the girl who doesn’t like to run be back to defend her crown?
“Everybody wants me to do it, so I guess so. Everybody expects it,” Elena said.
“Coach won’t let me not do it,” she said with a laugh. “He always has this philosophy, mental toughness. Just keeping that through the whole year helped me. Not thinking about what’s hurting or how long you have left.”
And with three more years of high school laying in wait, Elena has even bigger plans.
“I think after high school, I’m done with cross country and track too,” Elena said about her future in running. “But I plan on playing basketball in college, hopefully at a Division I and I want to go to the WNBA.”
Elena starts at the point for the Randolph girls’ basketball team and for her, the perspective is completely different than cross-country.
“In basketball, even though it’s a lot of running, that’s what I like to do,” Elena said comparing the two sports. “In basketball, I mean, its part of it. In Cross Country, that’s all it is.”
Elena talked about the difficulties being a freshman playing a leadership role on a team sport. But she says it won’t deter her. Her motivation is too strong. Her spirit is too undaunted.
“All my abilities come from God, it’s a good thing,” Elena said about her make-up.
Raised in a military family, Elena and her family moved to San Antonio about four years ago from Las Vegas. With her father, Philip, stationed in Korea at the time, her mother, Tina, took a job in the Alamo City.
Philip, since retired from the Air Force, still travels for business. But he doesn’t like to miss a thing when it comes to his family.
“My dad just got in from Hawaii. He landed in San Antonio at 8:30 and the race in Round Rock started at 10:30,” Elena talked about her dad making it back for the big race. “It was all probability because what if something was delayed? We had ten different plans to come up with to see if he could make it.”
After his plane touched down, Philip left his bags to chance, caught his ride and didn’t miss a single stride.
“It was funny my dad was trying to record the race and it was just pointing at the ground,” Elena said. “We just wanted him to make it. My dad was there and I was really happy to see him.”
Elena is anything but typical. Besides her spirituality, don’t expect to catch her sitting in front of the tube watching The Hills.
“None of that,” she smiled. “I don’t even know what it is.”
Elena did cite some of her favorite viewing habits though.
“I love 24. That is my show. Then the Unit,” she continued.
“All the violent shows,” she laughed.
As for music?
“Gospel, that’s all I listen to. Other people listen to rap and all that bad stuff but I don’t,” Elena said. “It’s just dirty and you don’t need to be getting into that.”
Regardless of entertainment choices, her first love is competition. It even spills over to the classroom and that’s a good thing, too.
“Even better, I’ve been having high A’s,” the straight A student said about academics.
Still, it’s on the fields of play that gets Elena truly excited.
“You know, sports are my life. Basketball, that’s it. I go to church and all that stuff. But basketball…I love it and hope to succeed in that.”
And for those who might be watching this young rising star?
“That’s the motivation, everybody else,” Elena said. “It’s always fun to know that people are watching you.”
And according to Coach Padilla, you’ll get your money’s worth.
“She’s just a competitor. She just gets after it. She wants to compete and win. And she’s been successful at that,” Padilla said.
Padilla described Elena as dedicated, hard working, punctual, someone who will meet the expectation and exceed the expectations.
“She’s not only an athlete, but a student first,” Padilla went on to describe her character, “and she carries that onto any sport that she is in.”
Tennessee, UConn? If you’re listening, there’s someone waiting for you.
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