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Top Celina sports moments from 2007
BY ANDREW MAY, Staff Writer
No official measuring stick exists to determine such things, but a strong case can be made for calling 2007 the most successful year in Celina sports history.
Several individuals qualified for their season’s biggest meet, a pair of teams advanced one stop short of state, and another notched a feat the likes of which had never before been seen. Some careers began for all to see and others were defined on the biggest of stages. So without further ado, here are the top sports moments turned in by Bobcat athletes, coaches and teams in 2007:
5. Big stage mainstay
Glendenning qualified for the cross country state meet for the third-straight season in November and also made the trip down I-35 as a freshman on the Lady Cat track team, where she finished fourth in the 400-meter dash and medaled on the 1,600 relay team.
Glendenning was the sole runner from Celina to make the journey in 2007, and though she placed 69th in a time of 13:27.60, the trip only bolstered her standing as one of the school’s most versatile and successful athletes. In addition to running track and cross country, she competes on the varsity basketball and softball teams, and is a member of the cheerleading squad.
Making her success in ’07 that much more noteworthy is the fact that Glendenning suffered a severe head injury in February after losing a fly ball in the sun. The accident on the first day of softball practice resulted in a fractured right eye socket, nose and frontal sinus bone. The ensuing surgery six days later involved removing a piece of her skull to help reconstruct her face.
Despite being sidelined for numerous surgeries, which took away her stamina and conditioning, Glendenning returned to the big stage and bright lights of the state meet, the only destination she knows in November and May when the best runners in Texas descend on Austin.
4. Mat Cats grapple at state
The wrestling team turned in its most successful season to date in 2007, qualifying 11 individuals for the state tournament, including two that were named state champions.
The season concluded March 11 with both Dylan Leos and Blake Owens sporting championship medals after outlasting all competitors put before them. Leos won his championship in the rookie division, while Owens accomplished the feat as a novice. Preston Watson and Jake Lacey each placed third in the rookie tournament. Matt Turnell, Trent Owens and Casey Woodman finished in the top four of the novice division, which includes first and second-year wrestlers.
Mitchell Roca finished fifth, and Jesse Franklin and Erik Freeman took sixth in the top notch division of the open state tournament.
3. Diamond dominance
Riding the right arm of Georgia signee Sarah McCloud, the softball team advanced to the regional championship for the second year in a row. But unlike 2006, the team wasn’t able to get over the hump and fell to West in a two-game sweep in the Class 3A Region II final at Saginaw Boswell in May.
After qualifying for the state tournament a year before in 2A, the Lady Cats’ appearance in the higher classification marked the furthest any Celina softball team has advanced in 3A. Combined with a perfect district record en route to the program’s first outright district championship, it could easily be argued 2007 was the most successful season in team history.
“Each year they accomplish new things,” head coach Billy Coleman said. “We’re getting the tradition started and setting the tone for Celina softball. We expect to win every year.”
Seven players garnered All-District 9-3A honors, led by McCloud, who was recognized as the district’s Most Valuable Player. Freshman Jasmine San Miguel, who could have very easily scooped up Newcomer of the Year, split the Catcher of the Year award with Prosper’s Blair Mayhard. Coleman rounded out the superlatives for Celina as Coach of the Year.
Sophomore Joey Cronin and senior outfielder Anna Pyburn earned first team all-district honors for helping Celina amass a 28-6-2 record in 2007, while senior Courtney Lavey and sophomore Brittanie Knowles completed the accolades with their second-team appearances.
2. Postseason powerhouse
Outside of perhaps the football team, no other program has sustained success like Bobcat baseball. Celina won it all earlier in the decade, got back to the state tournament in 2006 before being swept by Brock, and came within a series of state in 2007.
The Bobcats were dropped in the Class 3A Region II finals by Texarkana Liberty-Eylau and its flame-throwing major league prospect Will Middlebrooks. Liberty-Eylau, which claimed the crown in 2006, eventually lost to Jasper in the title game.
Celina, which won the District 13-2A title in 2006 by posting a 27-7 record, bettered that in 2007 by registering a 28-7 record. The reigning district champs made their ninth-straight postseason appearance and return a young bunch that is capable of even more in ’08.
The Bobcats will be without the services of Jacob Bidelman, Chase Willard and Josh Green, who left a lasting imprint on head coach James Evans.
“It is one of the best, if not the best, teams I’ve ever coached,” Evans said. “I didn’t want it to come to an end.”
1. Great eight
For the top Celina sports moment from 2007, just check the record books. It is there that the winningest football team in Texas high school history resides.
The Bobcats beat China Spring, 21-14, on Dec. 22 to break a three-way tie with Plano, Southlake Carroll and Brownwood to become the only program in the Lone Star State with eight state championships. Celina was denied in its historic bid in 2006 by Liberty Hill, but soon after adopted the motto “Finish It” to provide the impetus for the ’07 run.
Celina’s fifth perfect season provided head coach Butch Ford with his second championship, the school’s fourth this decade.
“Celina has done something no one else has done now,” Ford said. “I think that’s pretty cool.”
During the flawless campaign, the Bobcats outscored opponents 723-159, scored 50 or more points seven times, pitched three shutouts and gained enough yards to cover 4.17 miles.
Fourteen players garnered all-district first or second team recognition and three others picked up superlative awards. The Bobcats also had five first or second teamers on the all-state list, in addition to a pair of honorable mention selections.
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