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April 29, 2017

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Herd Sports Year-In-Review

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Saturday, April 29, 2017

Despite record, Herd made improvements in 2016

By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor

There were several factual similarities between the 2015 and 2016 football seasons for the Hereford Whitefaces.

Both seasons saw the team finish with 2-8 overall records.

Both seasons saw the team open 2-1 before closing on seven-game losing streaks.

Both seasons saw the team fail to win a District 3-5A game and finish in the league cellar.

However, outside of those numbers – and despite them – the 2016 season proved much, much different than its predecessor.

“A lot of times a record may not show it, but the team made great progress this season,” Hereford coach Don DeLozier said.

“Most of the time all people will see is your record. Sure,

Hereford Whitefaces Football 2016 statistics Player A. Hernandez S. Dixon D. DeLozier M. Garcia I. Uvalle S. Escamilla D. Badillo L. Nino Player L. Nino D. DeLozier J. Collier C. Martinez TEAM

comp.

71 48 0 0 108

Rushing

att. Yds. Avg. long TD 103 391 3.8 21 6 54 385 7.1 39 5 54 147 2.7 13 4 21 73 3.5 15 0 9 46 5.1 27 0 1 11 11.0 11 0 5 3 0.6 3 0 44 -31 -0.7 9 0

Passing

att.

145 144 2 1 262

Pct. 48.9 33.3 00.0 00.0 41.2

Yds. 888 753 0 0 1491

TD 4 5 0 0 8

Int 9 5 0 1 11

long 51 66 0 0 66

Receiving

Player C. Martinez R. Ponce C. Gallegos D. McGinty A. Hernandez S. Escamilla S. Dixon K. Suarez M. Herrera S. Cruz A. Grajeda D. Badillo M. Garcia A. Ayala D. Ramirez

rec. yds. Avg. long TD 31 463 14.9 40 3 27 237 8.8 47 1 20 331 16.5 66 3 12 226 18.8 51 2 5 96 19.2 51 0 5 43 8.6 16 0 4 56 14.0 27 0 4 51 12.8 33 0 2 43 21.5 30 0 2 24 12.0 14 0 2 13 6.5 12 0 2 -4 -2.0 -2 0 1 11 11.0 11 0 1 8 8.0 8 0 1 7 7.0 7 0

Player C. Gallegos A. Hernandez S. Dixon D. DeLozier C. Martinez R. Ponce D. McGinty

TD 2pt XP FG Total 3 1 19 4 51 6 0 0 0 36 5 0 0 0 30 4 0 0 0 24 3 0 0 0 18 2 0 0 0 12 2 0 0 0 12

Scoring

we would have liked to have done better, but there were improvements made that are going to pay dividends in the coming seasons.”

Proof of that can be seen by delving a little deeper in the numbers.

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Herd Sports Year-In-Review

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Diamond Herd finally heading in right direction

By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor

Looking at their third head coach in as many seasons, the Hereford baseball team again struggled through the season – if you want to only look at the record.

Beyond the wins and losses, it is safe to say the Herd diamond program has taken several steps in the right direction and arguably turned the corner.

In his first year at the helm, Bryan Moore wanted to bring purpose and fun back into the floundering program.

“I found a lot of hungry kids here who really want a winning program,” Moore said. “I found parents who want a winning program, and most importantly, I found an athletic director who wants a winning program. I know we have work to do.

“If the season is all about wins and losses, then it is not fun. It has to be fun. The whole idea is to know why you are playing and keeping focused on that.”

As the season was winding down – with the finale played Friday at Caprock – the Whitefaces can see positives and negatives to the year.

One thing the Herd can hang its hat on is an early record that saw them match 2016’s win total with an 8-3 start.

Perhaps the largest negative is that was immediately followed with the District 3-5A schedule that did not prove kind.

Since league play began, the team has fallen on a bit of hard times – losing eight in a row to start the district slate and 11 of the last 12 games played.

However, that lone district win – 11-4 over Palo Duro – did give the Herd the more victories than last season.

The similarity in record is about all that is the same for the Whitefaces between 2016 and 2017.

Although virtually all the names are the same from last season, there is a distinct difference in attitude, mood and tone to this year’s Herd.

“I can see things taking hold,” Moore said. “It had to be about more than just baseball. We’ve done all we could to teach that. Often times, that is not easy to do. It’s tough to change that mindset.

“The whole thing is playing for a purpose that is not about wins, losses, hits and

RBI. They’ve gotten into their own purpose and giving not just for themselves. When you put it into that perspective, it changes attitudes.

Players are able to keep loose, let stuff go and realize how lucky they are just to be out there. They are understanding the big picture.”

Moore readily commends the team’s seniors for “buying into” his message, taking it to heart and making sure it spreads throughout the entire program.

“They fight through adversity,” Moore said. “They fight through bad calls every game. They just keep playing and want to get better.

“These kids are playing for their savior. They hear about the losing in school and brush it off. They are playing for a purpose. It’s a tribute to how they want to improve. These kids are amazing. They are more than a first-year coach deserves.

This is a special group.”

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Herd Sports Year-In-Review

After winning the first two meets of the season, Sabbatha Taylor’s cross country season was derailed by an injury that recurred during the track season.

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2016 Cross Country runs uneven course

By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor

A season that began with great promise took a turn for the worse, then looked to get back on course before eventual disappointment at the end pretty much sums up cross country 2016 for the Hereford Whitefaces and Lady Whitefaces.

The season opened Aug. 31 in Clovis, N.M., where Sabbatha Taylor started her sophomore season the way she ended her freshman one – on the run.

Crossing the line first in 19:43, Taylor paced a Lady Herd effort that included three other top-20 finishes (Keihlen Rodriguez 14th, Melanie Jacquez 18th and Anahi Duran 20th) and two more in the top 25 (Kiki Alonzo 23rd and Katie McCathern 24th) as the team placed third in the seven-team

field.

The Whitefaces had six score in the top 35 to finish fourth behind a 10th-place, 17:29 outing by Jaydon Garcia.

At the Plainview Invitational the following week, the Lady Herd flexed their collective muscle as Taylor again placed first to lead five runners among the top 14 to earn a first-place team finish.

Taylor shaved more than a minute off her winning time from the previous week (18:36) as McCathern, Jacquez, Rodriguez and Alonzo crossed the line fifth, ninth, 12th and 14th, respectively.

Garcia also carved more than a minute off his season-opening time to place third in 16:20 and was joined in the top 10 by JorPLEASE SEE CC | 7

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Saturday, April 29, 2017

Herd Sports Year-In-Review

Herd hoop season ‘fell short’

By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor

After making their deepest run into the postseason in 15 years last year, the Hereford Whiteface basketball team saw a late-season swoon take them out of playoff contention and the 2016-17 season ultimately end in some disappointment.

The Herd had their season and playoff hopes come to an end on Feb. 14 in a finale loss at Plainview.

“Our main goal is to make the playoffs,” Hereford coach C.J. Villegas said. “We fell short of that this year. It was disappointing. We had opportunities to control our fate. We just couldn’t get it done.

“I want to thank our seniors for what they have done for our program. We just fell short and didn’t come through like we wanted.”

In the thick of the District 3-5A playoff race throughout, the Whitefaces were in the rarified air of controlling their postseason destiny as the season turned down the homestretch.

Needing three wins in the final five games, then two in the final three, one in the last two and ultimately a win in the finale with some help, the Herd could have finished from as high as third in 3-5A to in a tie for fourth requiring play-in games to determine the berth.

They were unable to come up with a win on the road as they won only one of the final five – the home finale against district cellar-dweller Dumas – to finish the season 12-17 overall and 5-9 in district play.

Despite the admitted disappointment, the season could prove to serve the Herd well moving forward.

“We have nine [varsity] players coming back, and three of those had plenty of chances to start,” Villegas said. “I’m looking forward to next season.”

While only three seniors were on this year’s roster, their departure will leave some serious holes to fill.

Those seniors included backcourt starters Kaleb Suarez and Caleb Martinez, as well as 6-8 post Parker Lowrey, a 2016 All-District and All-Region se-

lection.

Lowrey and Martinez were the team’s leading scorers – averaging 15.8 and 6.7 points per game, respectively – on a squad that found points a commodity. The Whitefaces topped 50 points in only one game during the 2017 portion of the schedule, and that was in the Feb. 14 finale loss at Plainview.

“This year was invaluable for our players,” Villegas said.

“All nine returnees gained good varsity experience. That is going to be a huge asset next year.”

Although the 6-8 Lowrey will graduate, the Herd will not devoid of some size with the return of juniors Bo Baker (6-6) and 6-4, 245-pounder Sergio PLEASE SEE BASKETBALL | 9

Eventually working his way into the starting lineup, sophomore Dodge DeLozier is one of nine Whiteface returnees who gained invaluable varsity experience this season.

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Herd Sports Year-In-Review

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Light on the future For Lady Whitefaces

By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor

Following several years of the season extending into the playoffs and the past two where teams battled with one of the best in the state for district supremacy, the 2016-17 basketball campaign for the Hereford Lady Whitefaces could have seemed a disappointment.

A seven-game losing streak to end the season left the Lady Herd with an 11-19 overall mark and way out of District 3-5A playoff contention at 3-11.

However, despite that, the season was not the debacle that some may think.

“This season exceeded my expectations,” Hereford coach Christy Connally said in summing up the year. “We had to go through a lot – especially with injuries. We added some new faces and got them acclimated [to varsity].

“Hopefully, they realize now how physically and mentally tough they have to be to compete in our district.”

The Lady Whitefaces were facing a bit of an uphill battle when the season began with four-fifths of the team that led the way during the past two

seasons having moved on to college careers.

With only one starter returning and limited varsity experience on the remainder of the roster, the mantle of leadership fell upon the team’s two seniors – Lexi Escobal and Cierra Hernandez.

That took a blow before the season opened when Hernandez, who missed the 2015-16 season with a torn ACL, reinjured the knee and watched the season from the sidelines in street clothes.

That left Escobal and junior returnees Lindsey Carrillo, Liz Ramirez and Faith Castaneda to shoulder much of the team’s on-floor burden Subsequently, incorporating new players into the lineup and playing rotation became an even greater priority.

“Some of [the newcomers] adjusted their game more quickly than others,” Connally said. “Regardless, now having a season behind them is great to gain experience and know what is needed to play on varsity and in this district.”

Arguably one of the most notable newcomers was guard Haleigh Barba. A key player off

Guard Lindsey Castillo (12) is one of the bright spots for the future of Lady Herd basketball.

BRAND/John Carson

Lexi Escobal (3) capped her senior season with a second-team All-District 3-5A selection and scholarship signing with Clarendon College.BRAND/John Carson

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CC: FROM PAGE 4

dan Rodriguez, who finished ninth in 16:58, as the Whitefaces placed fourth as a team.

The turn for the Lady Whitefaces came during practice the next week when Taylor “felt a pop and some pain” in a hip, according to coach Jose Huerta.

With Taylor held out of that week’s Amarillo Invitational, freshman McCathern stepped up to finish sixth in 20:51.4 and pace a fourth-place team finish in the seven-team field.

Garcia and Rodriguez came in 11th and 12th, respectively in the boys meet as the Herd finished sixth in the eight-team field.

Rodriguez was one of only two Texas runners to crack the top 10 in the following week’s meet at Carlsbad, N.M., as he led the Whitefaces to eighth in the 12-team field.

With Taylor still nursing injury, Keihlin Rodriguez and McCathern led the Lady Whitefaces to a ninth-place finish in their 13-team field.

Both teams placed in the top 10 of the Lubbock ISD Invita-

Herd Sports Year-In-Review tional on Sept. 24 as McCathern placed 14th to lead the Lady Whitefaces and Rodriguez also came in 14th to pace the Whitefaces.

Returning for the postseason, defending champion Taylor was the lone Lady Whiteface to emerge from the District 3-5A meet – finishing fifth in her first competitive run in more than a month to qualify for the Region 1 meet.

Garcia placed seventh at district to advance to region.

With a goal of just finishing in the top 10 to qualify for state, Taylor did that with a seventh-place finish at the Region 1, while Garcia failed to advance.

After winning the District title, finishing second at region and fourth at state in 2015, Taylor was poised for another strong ending when course complications, weather and conditioning left her back in the pack at the Class 5A state meet.

Jordan Rodriguez showed improvement throughout the season to become one of the Herd’s top harriers.

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Wrestlers leave it all on the mat

By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor

With a trio of 2016 state bronze medalists returning, visions of silver and gold were dancing in the heads of the Hereford Whiteface and Lady Whiteface grapplers for the 2016-17 season.

Although the year ended with a bit of disappointment at the UIL Class 5A State Tournament, there were still plenty of laurels spread throughout the postseason.

Some of the disappointment came through attrition as two of last year’s bronze medalists moved up in weight and into much more competitive classes.

Third-place state finishers at 113 and 138 pounds, respectively, last year, Whitefaces Adrian Ayala and Seth Dixon faced fiercer state competition at 132 and 152 pounds this year.

Lady Whiteface Ashley Hernandez took state bronze at 215 pounds last year and remained in that class this season.

With the regular season effectively a competition for experience and records, which set seeding in district tournaments, the wrestling gets down to business in the postseason for both teams and individuals.

Unable to field a complete roster all season, PLEASE SEE WRESTLING | 14

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FOOTBALL: FROM PAGE 2

For the most part in 2015, the Herd was not competitive in district play – getting blown out by Randall (49-0), Canyon (55-7), Dumas (5616) and winless Palo Duro (56-35) to end the season.

The only close game was a 31-28 home loss to Caprock.

The 2016 season saw the district add Amarillo, which dropped down from Class 6A, and perennial District 4 playoff contender Plainview.

While the overall result was an 0-7 league record and last-place finish, the Whitefaces were not handed their collective hats as they were so often in 2015.

In fact, in most of the games, the Herd was in the contest in some way, shape or form.

They trailed 21-6 at the half of a 35-13 loss to Canyon to open district play;

Herd Sports Year-In-Review were only down 14-9 at the break in a 35-9 loss to Plainview; played district champion Amarillo tough to a 2810 final; fell behind 17-0 at the half of a 37-21 loss to Randall; were tied 14-14 at the break in a 33-21 loss to Palo Duro; and trailed just 13-7 at the half of a 33-7 loss to Dumas.

The only blowout was in the season finale against Caprock, 62-13, where two interception returns for touchdowns in the opening 96 seconds and a 95-yard TD pass on the Longhorns first offensive play put the Whitefaces in a 21-0 hole that stretched to 41-0 at intermission.

Therein lies the focus for current spring practice and preseason drills for the 2017 campaign.

“We have to get more consistency with our offense,” DeLozier said. “We weren’t as efficient as would like with our fundamental offense last season.

“We have to see growth

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Sophomore Dodger DeLozier gained valuable experience in 2016 and returns as starting quarterback for the Whitefaces.

Photo by Bryan Hedrick/HISD and improvement at quarterback, and we should with the experience gained. We should also see better decision making. Plus, we need more consistency in our running game.”

Most of the improvement DeLozier saw in the 2016 season came with the incorporation of new players into the varsity level.

The most notable of those were under center – where sophomore Dodge DeLozier split starts and playing time with senior Luke Nino – and in the backfield, where sophomore Seth Dixon showed flashes and “made a mark” before missing almost five full games because of an ankle injury.

A shifty, speedy back, Dixon – who is a state-class wrestler – showed his ability right out of the gate – gaining 263 of his 385 rushing yards in the first three games before being slowed and eventually sidelined by injury.

His start included one of the only two 100-yard rushing games turned in by

Thanks to a 100-yard game in his last as a Whiteface, Adrian Hernandez led the team in rushing last season. Photo by Bryan Hedrick/HISD

PLEASE SEE FOOTBALL | 9

Senior wide receiver Caleb Martinez led the team in receptions (31), receiving yards (463) and receiving TDs (3) last season.

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Herd Sports Year-In-Review

Bar-G Feedyard “Cattle Feeding At Its Finest!”

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FROM PAGE 8

FROM PAGE 5

Herd backs for the season – 104 yards on 16 carries against Borger in Game 2 – also featured an 11-carry, 90-yard outing in a Game 3 win over Pampa.

The season also saw sophomore speedster Raymundo Ponce emerge as a receiving threat.

Ponce finished second on the team in receptions (27) for 237 yards and a touchdown.

DeLozier only completed 48-of-144 passes (33.3 percent), but did so for 753 yards with 5 TDs and 5 interceptions. He was also the team’s thirdleading rusher with 147 yards on 54 carries with 4 scores.

Cruz.

Also picking up extensive playing time and starting experience was 6-4 sophomore Dodge DeLozier. Fellow 6-4 sophomore Jade Collier also saw considerable playing time.

Offsetting the loss of Suarez and Martinez are a bevy of returning guards – Matt Herrera, Henry Cervantez, Isian Escobal, Haz Castaneda and Uriel Villarreal – who more than got their varsity feet wet this season.

“I really believe you will see how valuable the experience this year was for those guys when next season rolls around,” Villegas said.

After gaining 385 yards in an injury-shortened season, Seth Dixon is being looked upon to bring new life into the Herd rushing attack.

Photo by Bryan Hedrick/HISD

Senior Parker Lowrey led the team in scoring and rebounding and earned unanimous first-team AllDistrict 3-5A honors this season. BRAND/John Carson

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Herd Sports Year-In-Review

Lady Herd still on diamond

By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor

A season review is definitely a tad premature for the Lady Whiteface softball team because it takes a look back at a season that is still in progress.

The Lady Herd opened their second straight foray into the postseason on Thursday when they started a best-of-three, Bi-District series against Lubbock Cooper at Levelland High School.

Game 2 of the series is set for Saturday at 1 p.m., with a deciding third game, if needed, to follow.

Although they are still playing, the Lady Whitefaces have seen the 2017 season continue their maturation process into a perennial playoff contender.

After securing a third-

place finish in a six-team district in 2016, they repeated that feat in a now eight-team District 3-5A this year.

Winning more games than last season – sporting a 19-11 mark entering the postseason – the Lady Herd finished 9-5 in district play and were only swept by league champion Canyon.

They swept Dumas, Palo Duro and Plainview, while splitting with district runner-up Randall, former Class 6-A Amarillo and Caprock – losing the regular-season finale, 1-0, with the Lady Longhorns playing for their postseason lives while the Lady Whitefaces already had the third seed sewed up.

Much of last year’s success was centered around a corps of juniors and other

Sophomore outfielder Danielle Pena worked her way up the batting order this season to the No. 2 spot.

BRAND/John Carson

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Herd Sports Year-In-Review

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Tennis team fills holes, has success

By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor

All-District singles selection Erin Jesko is one of a talented group of players returning to the court for the Whitefaces.

BRAND/John Carson

Coming into the 2016-17 school year, Hereford tennis coach Cody Crouch was in a reasonably unenviable position with a number of major holes to fill in his boys and girls rosters.

However, answers were found, and the fall and spring seasons proved to have more success than failures.

“I thought the fall season went way better than anyone expected,” Crouch said. “We finished fourth [in District 3-5A] behind three teams ranked in the top 25, finished with a winning record, avenged a non-district loss to Plainview and did all that after losing 90 percent of the core from last fall’s team.”

Fall tennis competition features team play with teams putting six boys and girls singles on the court, three boys and girls doubles and a mixed doubles

tandem. Play is recorded on a 19-point basis with standings and playoffs determined as in other team sports.

Competition is altered in the spring, where it is more individually based with only two singles and doubles qualifying from each district for the postseason.

“The spring had a lot of ups and downs,” Crouch said. “We won the Hereford Open by a point over Lubbock Cooper, which was a big up for us, but at the end of the year, we had no region qualifiers.

“With only two kids going in each division and having to beat Canyon, Randall and Amarillo, it’s tough to get out of this district. We had an opportunity, but it slipped away.

It was the postseason that proved to be both the most

positive and negative for the team.

The biggest positive was advancing to the fall Area round for a fourth consecutive season.

“Another year of improvement on a good girls team with only one senior and a lot of underclassmen ready to fight for that one open spot next year,” Crouch said.

“With Tom Keeling being the only returner from the varsity core last year, the way the six new boys played – es-

pecially at the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 positions – helped us win a lot of team matches.”

The biggest negative to the year Crouch cited was failing to qualify any individuals for region in the spring.

Hopes are high for next year with top girls singles and No. 1 doubles team Kara Esquivel and Addi Ferris returning along with AllDistrict singles performers Erin Jesko and Ally Hubbard.

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Herd Sports Year-In-Review

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Track teams ride 2017 rollercoaster

By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor

With some things within their control and others beyond it, the track season had plenty of ups and downs for the Hereford Whitefaces and Lady Whitefaces.

“The season was a bit of a rollercoaster with weather playing a factor in not reaching expected times in some events,” Whiteface coach Charlie Garza said.

“The positives were winning the Wichita Falls meet and the potential shown by a small, but talented freshman class.”

The biggest negative to the Herd season was a dearth of postseason participants after only two advanced out of the District 3-5A meet – none in running events.

The lone Whiteface representatives in the Area meet were triple jumper Caleb Martinez, who took bronze at the 3-5A meet, and high Triple jumper Caleb Martinez finished third at the District 3-5A meet and was one of only two Whitefaces to qualify for the Area meet.

BRAND/John Carson

jumper Dodge DeLozier, who was fourth in district.

Although Martinez and all-around running performer Carlos Gallegos – who manned spots in all the relays and added the 800 meters late in the season – are seniors and “will be missed,” according to Garza, a bulk of the team will be back next year.

Among those top returnees are Logan Butler in the shot put and discus, DeLozier in the high jump and triple jump and Jordan Rodriguez in the distance races.

Also returning in the relays and sprints will be Raymundo Ponce, Henry Cervantez and Seth Dixon.

Garza is also excited about freshman Gilberto Ramos, who spent most of the year running varsity, and fellow ninth-graders Cesar Ortega, Cesar Vasques, Luis Ledesma-Huerta and Sebastian Grajeda.

Showing promise from the JV squad were Jake Garza

and Ajay Ricebaw, as well as throwers Kevin Gonzales and Eric Baca.

“They are being counted on to step up and contribute on varsity next year,” Garza said. “They were not happy with the way the season ended overall and will work to correct that next year.”

For the Lady Whitefaces, the season “was just not good enough,” according to coach Jose Huerta.

Much of the Lady Herd’s postseason hopes were dashed when Sabbatha Taylor, who had already established herself as a force in the 3,200 and 1,600 meters before adding the 800 to the list this season, suffered a season-ending injury during the Hereford Invitational on April 1.

Despite several runners showing promise throughout the season, the Lady Whitefaces failed to advance anyone out of the District 3-5A meet.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Herd Sports Year-In-Review

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Success again the volleyball norm

By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor

It is beginning to look a lot like the 1990s and early 2000s again as Lady Whiteface volleyball is making success a matter of fact.

For the second straight season, the Lady Herd closed the regular season on a roll to secure a playoff spot, then surprised more than a few with a postseason run that eventually ended in the Region 1 quarterfinals.

“Overall, the season was pretty successful,” coach Catherine Foerster said. “We accomplished some things we haven’t in the past four years – we beat Canyon and Dumas both times in district.

“We are in a very competitive district, which makes it hard for a lot of reasons – rest, playing time for younger players – to have continued success. I think this year’s team did a good job overcoming some of those things.”

Closing the regular season with three straight wins and victories in eight of the last 10 matches, the Lady Whitefaces secured District 3-5A’s third playoff seed with a 10-4 record (26-15 overall).

They extended their win streak by taking out District 4-5A runnerup Coronado, 3-1, in the Bi-District

round.

Coming up on the short end of a coin flip for time and location of the Area match, the Lady Herd made a grueling road trip to Artesia, N.M., to meet El Paso High.

The road trip turned into a strenuous 25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 19-25, 15-10 match to earn a trip to the Region 1 quarterfinals and showdown with district-foe and state-ranked Randall at Caprock High in Amarillo.

Although swept – 24-26, 25-27, 1725 – the Lady Herd went down swinging and made more than their coach proud.

“These kids showed a lot of grit and played hard,” Foerster said.

“They made people around the state and our community sit up and watch them.

“The last playoff match was a testament to that and our seniors’ hard work. When you have a community support you like it did, it shows you that the hard work has not gone unnoticed.”

Aside from that, Foerster added the season was filled with additional positives of defeating teams the Lady Whitefaces have not defeating in a while and seeing younger players step up and take on larger roles – and very few negatives.

One of the biggest roles

someone will have to step into next season is filling the shoes of twotime All-District outside hitter and team leading scorer Meagan Ellis, as well as those of setter Chandler Vogel.

Both signed letters of intent to continue their playing careers in college – Ellis at Southern Nazarene University and Vogel with West Texas A&M. “Our seniors were all key players for us this year, will be greatly missed and have left some very big shoes to fill,” Foerster said. “That being said, I think the future is very bright for some of the younger players.

“Jenna Lowrey has had a great offseason, and I’m very excited to see what she will accomplish next season. Alyssa Vallejo is a very promising freshman and had put in a lot of work. She will be fun to watch.”

With Lowrey and Vallejo the heirs apparent to fill the roles of Ellis and Vogel, Foerster is also expecting big things from Carmen Flood, Darcy Dodd, Danielle Pena, Ferrin Yosten, Faith Castenada and Abrie Castillo.

“It will take all of us working exMuch of the Lady Herd success funneled through twotremely hard to follow this past seatime All-District outside hitter Meagan Ellis. son’s success,” Foerster said.

BRAND/John Carson

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WRESTLING: FROM PAGE 7

Herd coach Rachael Gutierrez expected the boys team to nail down the District 3-5A crown if the weight classes turned to

Herd Sports Year-In-Review its favor. Unfortunately, they did not as the Whitefaces failed to mat wrestlers in most of the heavier classes all season.

However, the Herd still qualified seven wrestlers and one alternate to the Region 1 tournament.

Dixon claimed the 152-pound 3-5A crown, while Israel Herrera lost his first match of the season in the 160-pound final to finish second.

Taking third at district were Jossue Garcia (106 pounds), Ruben Galvan (120), Prici Ruelas (126) and Ayala (132). Garcia, a junior, entered the district tourney with a 28-0 season record.

Victor Gutierrez finished fourth to advance at 145 pounds.

Angelica Carrillo claimed the

Saturday, April 29, 2017

district girls title at 102 pounds after Hernandez could not defend her 2016 215-pound crown.

Hernandez did take second to join teammates Janessa Cervantez (95 pounds), Vanity Diaz (138) and Jennifer Villarreal (185) as district runners-up.

Cynthia Sanchez (119) and Navaeh Alejandre (128) were third, and 148-pounder Desiree Sanchez finished fourth to qualify for region.

The field was pared at the Re-

gion 1 tourney in El Paso, but still brought hardware as Herrera, a senior, captured gold at 160 pounds and Dixon, a sophomore, suffered just his second loss of the season in the region final to take silver at 152.

“Seth is unique and gives a lot of heat to the team,” Rachel Gutierrez said. “I honestly feel he will be successful at any weight class.

“Seth is a natural athlete who uses his talent for the best. The same can be said for Israel.”

1306 West Park Avenue Hereford, TX 79045

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Hereford’s Israel Herrera shows off the bracket and gold medal after winning the Region 1 championship at 160 pounds. Contributed photo

LEWIS RICHBURG Agency Manager 806.228.5557 lrichburg@txfb-ins.com

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Saturday, April 29, 2017

SOFTBALL: FROM PAGE 7

underclassmen, who were a year older, more experienced and wiser this season.

As with any good softball team, success begins in the circle, and the Lady Herd have their own leader in junior Abrie Castillo.

One of the best hurlers in the district, she is also the team’s best bat and leads the team in batting average, hits, home runs, doubles and RBI. This season has also seen emergence of third baseman Erica Ramirez and catcher Haylie Valdez as solid offensive threats, as well as outfielders Daniella Pena and Haleigh Barba.

The result is an offense that can make pitching a

GIRLS: FROM PAGE 6

the bench to start the season, the sophomore was thrust into the starting lineup after injury derailed Ramirez’s season in mid-January.

Also gaining invaluable playing experience this season were sophomores Sam Lookingbill at guard and post players Lori Arias, Andrea Valenzuela and Michelle Villalobos.

“Losing so many good players from last year left us with big holes to fill,” Connally said.

“They may have been too hard to replace, and players put too

Herd Sports Year-In-Review breeze.

However, the Achilles heel for the Lady Whitefaces has been a lack of consistency at the plate and in the field.

“We need to work on being more consistent with our offense and defense,” coach Ashley Marquez said.

“There have been times where we go strong for a couple of games, then fall off track because of consistency issues.

“One thing we started off this year telling the girls was we needed to work on communicating, being quick on everything and consistency. That is what we need to focus on moving forward.”

While consistency is arguably the lone negative to the season, it is something the team will have time to perfect with Castillo, Valdez, Pena and Barba all returning next season. much pressure on themselves – especially when Ramirez got hurt.”

While hope springs eternal, Connally was quick to add that the 2016-17 season was not a failure.

In fact, there were many indications that it may have been just a blip on the radar.

“I see a bright future,” Connally said. “We were able to hold our own in most games against some state-ranked opponents, and it was another year of them playing together.

“The returnees are definitely something to build on, but they all have a clean slate – starting now.”

Hereford golf coach Chris Sims did not respond to a questionnaire about his teams’ seasons for a story to be included in this section.

Hereford BRAND | 15

Herd Sports Year-In-Review

16 | Hereford BRAND

Saturday, April 29, 2017

d u o r P f o r e t r o s e p t p e l su h t A d r o f e r e

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