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CC announces the addition of NJCAA men’s golf
Under the direction of newly appointed Athletic Director John Green, Clarendon College announces that the college will participate in NJCAA Men’s Golf starting the Fall 2011.
The Clarendon College Board of Regents has approved the new sports addition and the NJCAA has accepted the college’s request and approved Clarendon College for intercollegiate play starting immediately.
The team will be coached by John Green who has coached a highly successful junior college golf program. In four years, Coach Green had four nationally ranked squads qualifying for the NJCAA National Golf Tournament and finishing in the Top 20 in the nation all four years. The successes of the golfers under Green’s program have been recruited by many high profile programs across the United States.
The college has already started recruiting a team for this upcoming season.
Coach Green is known for recruiting the best talent around the world and has elevated and promoted numerous players to universities ranging from DI to NAIA level. Coach Green is busy recruiting and has verbal commitments from two golfers from United Kingdom.
Alex Palomeque and Jake Bond from England as well as Chris Fletcher, a transfer from California who also hails from England, are processing the paperwork to join the Bulldog golf squad.
Coach Green is eager to hear from any of the highly competitive golfers from across the Panhandle who would be interested in joining the team. Recruiting will continue throughout the summer until the 15 player squad is filled.
The Clarendon College golf team will compete in 10 of the most prestigious tournaments across the Texas/New Mexico area. Green expects the team to immediately step into the national spotlight and be ranked in the Top 20 in the nation.
“I am confident the team will be selected to compete in the NJCAA National Golf Tournament in the Fall 2012,” Green said.
The Bulldog golf program will be the 9th program featured at Clarendon College. The sports include Volleyball, Baseball, Softball, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, and Rodeo. Also under the athletic department competitive teams are the Livestock and Meats Judging Teams and the Ranch Horse Team.
Supporting the teams is a dynamic Cheerleader Squad.
Broncos end season with 19-3 record
A great year ended on a sorrowful note this past weekend, as the Bronco baseball team was defeated in the playoffs by a good Stamford team.
The first game of the possible three-game series was played Friday night in Lubbock at Westerner Field. Stamford won that game 18-8 and the Broncos ended their season at 19-3.
“(It was) not the way we wanted to go out, but we had an outstanding season,” said coach Brad Elam. “In both games we had a lead, but we were unable to hold it.
“We had some errors that hurt us but we also had some innings where we really played well. I thought it was fitting that Caleb (Mitchell) made the final three outs in game two.”
The Broncos lost the second game 3-8 after holding a two-run lead after four innings.
The fifth inning was torturous for the Broncos as Stamford put five runs on the board and then added two in the sixth.
Despite the exit from the playoffs, Elam has nothing but praise for his team as players and as young men.
“We had a great season and many contributed to the victories,” Elam said.
“But I was more proud of some of the things that the players did off the field. The team really came together after the death of Caleb’s dad and attended the funeral together as a team in support of Caleb and his family.
“The team also was able to help a couple of students in need at the school. These actions show you the quality and character of these players.
“I know we were looking for a different outcome in the playoffs, but these players and managers have been outstanding all season and should be able to hang their heads high on everything they have accomplished.”
Gaines brings home silver medals
Gaines qualified for the State Track Meet in Austin last weekend in three events, and even though Gaines missed out on the gold, by a combined two and three-fourths inches in the two events, his performance in the meet was stellar.
Gaines jumped to two silver medals and ran for a seventh-place finish in the 300-meter
hurdles.
Gaines jumped a distance of 22’2 ¾” in the long jump for second place, which was only three-fourths of an inch behind the gold medalist.
He then put together a fantastic leap in the triple jump at 45’4” to tie the longest distance at the meet in class 1A. Because of the tie, the winner was determined on the young men’s second longest mark and Gaines fell short again, and this time it was two
inches.
“Forty-five feet four inches was his personal best,” coach Johnny Nino said. “And achieved that jump on his last jump in the finals. He tied for first, but his next jump of 45’1” was less than the other jumper.”
Gaines ran a time of 40:33 in the 300-meter hurdles for a seventh-place finish. The winner of that race ran the distance in a time of 38.37.
“This was Johnny’s third trip to Austin, which is quite an accomplishment,” Nino said. “This year he received his first two medals. I was proud of the way he
competed. Johnny has always represented himself and Clarendon very well. This year was no different. I was very happy for him to finally get a medal at the state meet and I will surely miss his competitive spirit and leadership.”
The Lady Bronco 800-meter relay also competed in the state meet and finished the race in a time of 1:48.85, which was good enough for 8th place. The 1A team from Snook won the gold at a time of 1:43.28. Members of the relay are Amber Keelin, Sarah Luttrell, Marqueda Gaines, and Glory Bryley. Coach Alton Gaines was pleased with the ladies’ performance at the state level.
“The state meet was a real reward on the year for coaches and girls,” Gaines said. “They really worked hard this year to get to that point in the season. I am so honored to be their coach. They put another clip on my highlight reel. Ladies, thank you.”
Gaines knows the girls that ran at state are young and the experience they gained in Austin was huge.
“The meet was pretty intimidating,” Gaines said. “They were able to see what it is going to take to get back to the state meet next year and the hard work they are going to have to invest in, in order to run with that type of competition. They ran really well and we got the experience we needed to repeat next year. Again, thanks for a heck of a year ladies.”
Broncos defeat Nazareth for Area Championship
The Clarendon Bronco baseball team stifled Nazareth 8-2 in the Area round of the playoffs and earned the right to advance in post-season play. They were solid in their win and are looking to a trip to the state baseball game in June.
The Broncos began the game on a good note and scored all their runs in the first four innings. Nazareth’s pitcher came alive in the last half of the game to shut down the
Broncos’ offense.
“I was thinking we would break it open at any time, but we were not able to do that,” coach Brad Elam said.
“Naz’s pitcher kept us off balance and we were not able to score the runs we have the past couple of games.”
Elam is proud for the wins but knows the last few games have been good for the Broncos’ hitting. “These last three games have been good because we have seen quality pitching and that will get us better,” Elam said.
In the first inning of play, Brayden Phillips doubled, Johnny Gaines tripled Phillips in and Troy Chambless drove in Gaines. In the next inning, Diego Santos scored when Justin Shillings hit a triple and Phillips drove in Shillings.
The other four runs came from Gaines, Chambless, Trevor Cobb, and Dusty Rice. Phillips finished three for four with two runs scored and an RBI.
“Defensively, we did make some mistakes that we are going to have to clean up as we advance,” Elam said.
“Pitching, Johnny Gaines did an outstanding job limiting them to four hits, while striking out 16,” Elam said.
The Broncos will take on Stamford in the Regional Quarterfinals Friday and Saturday, May 20-21, in Lubbock, Texas at Westerner Field. The Friday game will begin at 6:00 pm and the Saturday game will be played at 1:00 p.m. If a game three is needed it will begin thirty minutes after the end of the second game.
They are looking for revenge, as Stamford was the team that knocked them out of the play offs last year. The Bronco team is also very appre ciative of the great fan support and packed stands at all of their games.
Broncos slam Follett, 19-4
The District Champion Broncos took on Follett last week in a regular season game that had no bearing on the District standings or the playoff race. It was, however, a great hitting game for the Broncos as they won 19-4.
“It was our best hitting game of the year pounding out 19 hits against a decent Follett team,” coach Brad Elam said.
Offensively, the Broncos flexed their muscles in the rout. Bradley Watson and Brayden Phillips combined for seven hits, six runs, and 10 RBI, according to Elam.
“Watson opened the game with a double and Phillips added his fourth homerun of the year,” Elam said. “Johnny Gaines had a couple of hits and Troy Chambless drove in three runs.” Cole Ward added to the scoring frenzy with four runs scored and Dusty Rice had two hits, three runs scored and four RBI. Caleb Mitchell was able to slam two hits and score three runs.
“The bottom of the lineup delivered seven hits and 10 runs,” Elam said. “Defensively, we didn’t fare so well making six errors.”
Phillips (four innings) and Watson got the call from the mound and together threw a four-hitter. They struck out six batters and did not walk any players. “Both (guys) pitched extremely well,” Elam added. The Broncos will take on Nazareth in one game on Wednesday, May 11, at 6:00 p.m. on the West Texas A&M campus.
Lady Broncos riding high with win
The Lockney Lady Horns won the first game of the best two out of three series, but the Lady Broncos were determined and stormed back to win the next two.
Playing at home Friday, April 28, the ladies struggled to hit Lockney’s pitcher and fell behind by three runs in the third inning.
The game went seven innings and despite putting two runs on the board, the Lady Broncos could never regroup to get the win and took a 2-4 loss.
Errors plagued the ladies in the loss, which gave Lockney the three unearned runs in the third.
“We made a couple of mistakes,” head coach Gary Jack said. “That led to three runs for them. We played okay, but those mistakes hurt us.”
But Saturday was a new day for the Lady Broncos; and after taking control of the first game 21-6, they won the Bi-District title in the tiebreaker at 13-11.
The second game began slowly for the ladies as they were down by three runs in the first.
“This was the start of a long day,” Jack said.
“But a good day for us. We were down three runs right away, but battled back. Danielle hit a three-run homer in the third inning that got us going.”
The ladies began to hit their pitcher and were able to add more runs to the board. A huge fifth and sixth inning for the Lady Broncos sealed the deal for Clarendon, which squared the series.
The Lady Broncos won the third game 13-11 to earn the right to advance to the Area game with Petrolia. Danielle Ford was on the mound once again and did another good job according to Jack.
“We started off good,” Jack said. “We thought we would blow them out of the water.”
But the Lady Longhorns came back to take the lead away in the sixth inning and left Clarendon battling back once again.
“We came back and made some good plays on defense and started hitting the ball well to retake the lead,” Jack said.
“Trevela (Dronzek) made a great catch in the field to end the game.”
Offensively, Ford and Jency Burton each had a home run in the game and Trevela, Jency, and Camra Smith hit the ball well and because of that the ladies would score four runs in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win.
Clarendon’s win over Lockney allowed them the opportunity to continue in post-season play.
They will take on number nine-ranked Petrolia in another best two-out-of-three series to be played Friday and Saturday, May 6-7 at Abilene Cooper.
“Petrolia is a good team,” Jack said. “They were defeated in the Regional Finals last year by Forsan, who went on to win a state championship.
We will have to step up and rise to the occasion.”
Lady Broncos move into post-season
The Lady Broncos slid past West Texas High at 9-7 at home Tuesday afternoon.
After a slow first half, the ladies came alive and put together three innings of three runs each to earn the advantage.
WT struck first with two runs in the third, but were scoreless in the fourth. The Lady Broncos then took control of the game gaining the upper hand and was able to ride the momentum to the end.
“It was a good game,” head coach Gary Jack said.
Jack cited Emily Clark as hitting two doubles and a triple in the game and noted that Audrey Shelton had some big hits. Also mentioned for their good offensive play were Trevela Dronzek and Erin Moore.
On Friday, the ladies took on McLean at home and were defeated 1-5. The loss put the Lady Broncos second in District play behind McLean. The ladies slammed four hits against the Lady Tigers’ pitcher but struggled to open up the game.
“We played a good defensive game overall,” Jack said. “But we made an error in the third inning that allowed them to score three runs.”
Danielle Ford (13-5) was on the mound and Audrey Shelton was behind the plate.
“We threw eleven strike outs, and they only struck us out seven times.”
The Lady Broncos are 7-2 in district play and earned the right to post-season play. They will play Lockney this Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30. Friday’s game will be at 5:30 p.m. in Clarendon. Saturday’s game will be at noon in Lockney, and game three, if needed, will be 30 minutes after Saturday’s game.
Video: Broncos advance to Regionals in track
Broncos grab another win, shut out Quanah
The Bronco baseball team continues to rack up win after win in their perfect 9-0 season and shut out Quanah in their last addition to the great overall record they are posting this season.
The win also put the Broncos at an impressive 5-0 in the District race.
The Broncos stormed Quanah and defeated them 10-0 with Johnny Gaines on the mound and Brayden Phillips behind the plate. After two scoreless innings, the Broncos eased in one run in the third and added another in the fifth.
But the sixth inning was the magic the Broncos needed to get the big win.
“Their pitcher was good, but we were able to get to him in the sixth,” Brad Elam said.
“It was a tight game until then. We didn’t score until the third inning when Dusty Rice singled and then was able to advance to third on a groundout by Justin Shillings. He then scored on a passed ball.”
The next Bronco score came in the fifth inning when Bradley Watson singled in Rice, and that made it 2-0.
The Broncos’ got a hold of the momentum when Gaines struck out at the plate but was able to go to first base on a wild pitch. He then scored on a David Roberts single.
After John Levario was hit at bat by a pitch, Diego Santos laid down a perfect bunt, and two players walked.
“Gaines hit a shot the third baseman could not handle to drive in two more runs before Chambless was able to end the game on a hot shot past the first baseman,” Elam said.
“Gaines allowed only one hit and one walk, and we played error free ball on defense.”
Quanah tried to rally at the end, but the Broncos were sharp and picked of the base runners and threw out those trying to steal to end the game.
Earlier in the week, the Broncos destroyed Paducah on the road 27-0. Offense was key in the blowout as the Broncos were steady at the plate.
“It was a big offensive day for us,” Elam said. “We scored 14 runs in the third (inning), and the first 10 batters reached base and scored.” Bradley Watson, Gaines, and Cole Ward each hit doubles and Chambless hit a bases loaded triple. David Roberts hit his first homerun of the year, and Gaines added a pair with eight RBI.
The overall pitching was on target as well; and, according to Elam, Chambless and Phillips joined forces for the five-inning shutout. Defensively, the Broncos were unmatched.
“We turned a triple play in the fourth inning,” Elam said.
Ward caught a fly ball in left field and threw to Mitchell Parry on second for the second out, and then Parry went to Chambless on first to complete the triad.
Elam knows they have a couple of tough games coming up and is grateful for the crowds that cheer the Broncos on.
“Thanks for all the fan support,” Elam said.
The Broncos will play Childress at home Saturday, April 9, at 1:00 p.m. and travel to Memphis April 12 to take on the Cyclones at 4:30 p.m.
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