Second Time Around
Being one of the best is challenging. You have high expectations to live up to because you've been so successful. But, most of all, you have the bullseye. That target on your back makes your opponent play it's very best against you. Welcome to that world, Westbrook Lady Wildcats.
Westbrook, coached by Jeff Bontrager, has been outstanding the last three years. Last season they reached the big stage - a berth in the Final Four in the Class A state playoffs. The Lady Wildcats went 26-5, losing to Nazareth in the semifinals. It was an excellent experience for Westbrook, who was on untreated waters.
Enter this season. Westbrook lost vital players like Bailey Connell, Zoe Matlock, and Shay Payne. However, it returns a few key ingredients like Reagan Hale, Madison Munoz, and Kylee Mantos. Tess Murphee and Hazel Lord also return to the mix.
Boy, how the competition has stepped up. Don't get me wrong; the Lady Wildcats are still a force to be reckoned with. They are ranked with the top teams in the state, sporting a 23-8 record. But to tell how tough the competition is - they are in third place in District 14-A, trailing Hermleigh and Roscoe Highland, also ranked high in the state.
Coach Bontrager has a strong basketball background. He's a native of Indiana; what more do you need to say? He came to Texas in 1981 and has never left. "I grew up knowing a little bit about basketball," he chuckled. I went to SMU (Southern Methodist University) and was a grad assistant there. Since then, I've stayed here (Texas). My boys were born in Lubbock. So we're all Texas, and we like it here." He came to Westbrook three years ago after coaching boys basketball at Levelland.
Bontrager said his team is not overwhelmed about the task facing. "They (team) have done a good job of getting better. The kids have brought into the things we're trying to do. I feel like this team is capable of making a run in the playoffs. We win our first couple of games, and I think we'll meet one of our district teams again, maybe in the quarterfinals."
It sounds like a team and a coach who isn't afraid of the bullseye.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
New Howard college softball coach Ashley Lopez broke even in her debut. Howard lost a doubleheader to Temple and took a double hitter from Hill. Lopez took over for Kelly Raines, now at Galveston College, Incidentally. Raines' team at Galveston is off to a 1-3 start.
Last week's Big Spring Steers-snyder basketball game had chills running down your spine. Never seen a 39-37 filled with so much excitement and intensity. Good job, Big Spring crowd. You were instrumental in that win. Your constant enthusiasm, especially at the end, definitely rattled Snyder. I hope that the crowd shows up against Lubbock Estacado on Feb. 11.
GIVING THANKS TO THE RIGHT ONE
Kudos to Coahoma athlete Vance Ott on signing a letter of intent with the University of Arizona to participate in track and field. Ott is the defending state champ in the 100 and 400 meters wheelchair races.
Of all of his previous successes, Ott put it simply. "All of the glory goes to God. That was not me."