Cove track, wrestling qualify athletes for Regional II-6A contests

By TJ MAXWELL

Cove Leader-Press

Three Copperas Cove track and field athletes punched their ticket to the Region II-6A Track and Field Championships set for Friday and Saturday at Midway High School in Waco.

Copperas Cove senior Justin Raines was the lone qualifier for the boys with a second-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.78 seconds. Michael Murray of Mansfield High edged out Raines with a mark of 14.60 to take the top spot.

Qualifying for the Lady Dawgs were senior Jaylyn Ayala with a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 60.07 behind DeSoto sophomore Amelliah Birdow (58.65) and DeSoto junior Caitlin Shaw (59.29). Also snagging a spot at regionals was Jasmine Davis who tied for third with Shoemaker’s Angelique Gonzales with a leap of 5-feet even. Senior Bethany Kelly of Harker Heights won the event with a mark of 5-feet, 4-inches and Mansfield sophomore Hannah Farnan cleared 5-feet, 2-inches for second place.

The girls’ 4x200m relay team and boys’ 4x200m relay team each qualified for the Area Meet but were unable to get out to the regional meet with eighth- and seventh-place finishes, respectively.

Ayala and fellow senior Breonna McCarthy-Reese also qualified for Area in the 800m run and finished seventh and eighth, respectively with marks of 2:32.88 and 2:35.59.

Bulldawg Wrestling send 9 to regionals

The boys’ squad managed to advance five wrestlers to the regionals after a third-place finish at the District 7-6A tournament held in Hutto.

Advancing to the Region II-6A Meet held over the weekend for the boys at Allen High School were: Frankie Limon and Ryan Bithorn both finished first to earn a spot while Jayden Copeland finished second with James Vandiver and Damian Martinez both finishing third in their weight class and punching their tickets. Tyler Morrow, Christian Boling, and Caleb Emberton finished 4th and represented Cove as alternates.

 Sage Osborn, Jonah Gordon, Kadir Cox, and Joe Carpenter also scored points for the team.

The Lady Dawgs advanced four athletes with Michaela Grimm and Mya Watson both winning their brackets and Amelia Baker also competing in the championship match with a second-place finish. First year wrestler Leeann Edmond was also able to win her third-place match to qualify. Janel Golderos, Aaloni Cook, and Abby Kennerson all finished 4th and served as alternates for Regionals. Samantha Dunlap also scored points for the team.

Results of the regional tournament held over the weekend were not available as of press time Monday.

Bulldawg Baseball splits games with Killeen, Ellison

Cove junior Travis Sanders went 3 for 4 with three runs and four RBIs while senior Russel Cochran was 4 for 5 with a run and four RBIs in a 13-3 mercy-rule win over Killeen on Friday before losing a 6-4 heartbreaker to Ellison on Saturday after surrendering three runs in the top of the seventh inning. Senior Jace Johnson led the Bulldawgs’ nine-hit night going 3 for 4 with two RBIs.

The Bulldawgs (6-5 in District 12-6A) hold a half-game lead over Bryan (5-6) for the fourth and final playoff spot with Belton (10-1) leading the pack with Harker Heights (8-3) and Ellison (7-4) holding down the top three spots.

The Bulldawgs travel to Bryan to face the Vikings tonight.

Lady Dawg Softball shutout in Bryan

The Lady Dawgs could only muster two hits against Bryan ace Jessica Adams with senior Brooke Schmidt and freshman Larissa Perez each going 1 for 3.

The Lady Vikings (12-0 in District 12-6A) managed five runs on eight hits to secure the 5-0 win and get one step closer to locking up the District 12-6A title. Alexis Rodriguez was 2 for 3 with a run and two RBIs to lead the Bryan bats.

The Lady Dawgs (10-2 in 12-6A) with close out the season at home tonight against Harker Heights (6-5) before finishing the regular season at Temple (5-6) on Friday.