Sports

The third annual ‘Drive’ Out Hunger Food Drive Golf Tournament had a cold start, but those that sponsored and participated had warm hearts. All proceeds went to Manna, a non-profit volunteer food bank serving those in Van Zandt County. Nonperishables were part of the entry fee for the event and the boxes at the pro shop were filled to overflowing along with foods collected at Ol’ West Bean and Burger and Mill Creek Ranch & RV. Following the tournament those foods along with a check for $4,000 were presented to Manna’s director, Kathy Silver. Manna just broke ground for their new building in February and she stated that these funds would help provide more floor space to serve more of the residents in need.

The Wills Point Tigers wrapped up District 14-4A a little earlier than anticipated, with a district closing game against Canton originally scheduled to be played April 29 never materializing due to the area’s most recent bout of rain.

Without the game being played, final District 14-4A standings include Brownsboro in first with a 10-2 record overall, Wills Point in second with a 7-4 record, Canton in third with a 6-5 record, Van in the fourth and final playoff spot with a 5-7 record and Emory Rains in last with a 1-11 record. The Bears, Tigers, Eagles and Vandals will now all continue play into the bi-district round.

Wills Point High School will recognize the contributions of athletes involved in spring sports during the annual spring athletic banquet set for May 9 at 6 p.m. in the high school cafetorium.

Athletic programs recognizing athletes will be basketball, powerlifting, golf, track, tennis, baseball, softball and also student trainers.

Tickets can be purchased at the WPHS athletic office for $15, and event food will be catered by Pudgy’s.

The Wills Point Tigers tightened their grip on the second seed in District 14-4A play over the course of the past week, registering back-to-back wins over the rival Van Vandals and Emory Rains Wildcats.

The Tigers celebrated Senior Night April 22, recognizing the contributions and achievements of Jarred Sanford, Riley Ramsey, Logan Morris, Kolton Adams, Hosea Carroll and Christina Aubert prior to play against Van.

Despite an early 2-1 deficit, Wills Point delivered a 12-5 runaway victory over the Vandals.

The Wills Point Tiger tennis team will return to what has seemingly become their home away from home, qualifying five athletes to compete in the 4A State Tennis Tournament at Texas A&M in College Station.

En route to the State Tennis Tournament, Wills Point tennis players broke a school record by winning the Regional title in three separate divisions: Kolton Adams and Patrick Petzold in boys doubles, Chase Daniell and Kelsey James in mixed doubles and Cassidy Wilcoxson in girls singles.

All five players will now represent WPHS in College Station May 16-17.

The Wills Point Lady Tiger softball team will have a new tool at their disposal when they begin their 2017 season, courtesy of a donation of a Bushnell radar gun by Ken and Donna Byrd. Ken Byrd stated, “While the boys baseball team already had a radar gun, the softball team did not, so we were happy to make this donation. We acquired the radar gun when we lived in Garland, and used it as part of the Garland Police auxiliary to monitor traffic speeds.”

The three biggest school districts in Van Zandt County, Canton, Van and Wills Point, sent athletes to Emory Rains High School for the second consecutive week.

On April 13-14, that trio of schools all sent track teams to compete at the District 14-4A Meet. Qualifying athletes once again returned to Emory Rains April 21, competing against some of East Texas’ best athletes at the 4A District 13-14 Area Meet.

Varsity boys results included:

-100: Cooper Bledsoe, Van, sixth

Three Van Zandt County track teams, representing Canton, Van and Wills Point, all converged at Emory Rains High School April 13-14 to compete in the District 14-4A Track Meet. Other schools in attendance included event host Emory Rains, as well as Brownsboro.
Varsity boys results included:
-100: Cooper Bledsoe, Van, first; Tyreq Peterson, WP, sixth; Fernando Lopez, Canton, seventh
-200: Dylan Cox, Canton, first; Bradley Fitzgerald, Van, second; Kendrick Jones, Van, third; Joseph Paddock, WP, fourth; Bryce Wilkens, Canton, seventh; Nathan Johnson, WP, eighth
-400: Bryce Wilkens, Canton, first; Connor Houston, Van, fifth; Aidan Phillips, WP, sixth; Saul Rojo, Van, seventh; Tristan Ramos, Canton, eighth
-800: James Vogt, Canton, fifth; Cordale Harrison, Canton, sixth; Aidan Phillips, WP, seventh; Carter Day, Canton, eighth; Danny Campa, Van, ninth

The Wills Point Lady Tigers closed their 2016 season at home Tuesday night against Brownsboro, recognizing eight senior team members appearing for the final time prior to play during Senior Night festivities.
Brownsboro and Wills Point met once before in district play, with the Lady Tigers struggling for offense in a 5-0 loss back on April 1.
Despite some solid defense all over the field, especially in the early going, Wills Point couldn’t keep pace with the Bearettes on Tuesday night in what would turn into a 12-0 loss.
The loss moves the Lady Tigers record to 0-8 overall in District 14-4A play, behind Brownsboro, Emory Rains, Canton and Van.

Glenn McNeill, Jr. won the Texas Senior Games free throw and around the world competition at San Antonio April 14.
The win marked his 13th first place wins in the free throw competitions. He cannot advance past state championship because there are no free throw or around the world contests in the national championships - only 3 on 3 teams and games.
Glenn was shooting with the 80-year-olds since he will be 80 this year. This year, he made 21 out of 25 free throws. The second place competitor made 20 out of 25 shots. Glenn was not up to par because of having bronchitis for two weeks, which has made him very weak.
In around the world, in which there is no set number of shots, Glenn made 20 points in one minute. His closest competitor made 19 in and third place was 18.