Weekly Newspaper and Tourism Guide for Ward County Trans Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

Sports

Thursday, January 8, 1998

That's Rich

I have to admit living in Odessa keeps me from some of the issues concerning Monahans sports. However, recently it came to my attention there have been many questions in the department of whether the Monahans Loboes will move back up to 4A or remain in 3A next football season.

As everyone in Monahans probably knows, Monahans High School is quickly approaching the end of it's two year sentence to the ranks of 3A.

In these two years, I have heard arguments that Monahans is better off in 3A because the the schools we play are similar in size to ours; therefore, the level of competition is more on a level playing field. This belief is so strong the 3A district that Monahans was supposed to be in refused to let them in and left us with no alternative but to drive four hours just to play basketball twice a week.

The other side of the coin is Monahans is easily capable of competing in 4A. A valid fact, Monahans has a good record against the 4A schools they face in non-district play.

To help put some rumors to rest, I have asked around to determine all the options possible when UIL realignment comes in February:

If the number of students stay in the general area of where they were last year, Monahans will be big enough to return to 4A.

However, I want to make it very clear that this is based entirely on last years numbers; there is simply no telling with the UIL.

If the numbers happen to swing against Monahans and we remain in 3A, parents of athletes may not spend as much gas money as they did last year. There is a strong possibility two of our beloved El Paso area schools will join the ranks of 4A. If this happens, District 3-3A would be broken down and surviving teams sent to other districts.

On the flip side of the gas card issue, we have come to find there is a very VERY good chance El Paso will have enough to support another 4A district which means Monahans would fall right back into the spot they were in two years ago.

Yet another possibility is Monahans may be a 4A school by a mile. The UIL has started the three school football playoff system which gives smaller schools a chance to be competitive in the playoffs. By adopting this system the UIL can allow more teams in 4A.

To make a long story short, there is a strong possibility Monahans will go up to 4A. However, as most of us remember, there was only a slim chance the Loboes would fall to 3A two years ago.

No one will know for sure until Feb. 2 when the UIL releases it's report on the school classifications.

Then all the questions will be answered and half the folks will say, "I told you so," while the other side will say, "I can't believe they did that.

Lobo powerlifters look to raise event

With the Spring semester coming up, a relatively new sport is buzzing in Monahans. Not many l have heard or even know what powerlifting is, but it's catching Monahans High Loboes by storm.

The sport involves weight-lifting in three disciplines: bench press, squat, and dead lift. The students compete in a variety of tournaments, hoping to make the "Top 10" in the region in their weight class. Competitors qualifying in the Top 10 advance to the Region tournament, where the top three advance to state.

Last year, the Loboes sent several members to the Regional tournament. Angel Orona, Garrett Williams, Lucas Jaquez, Luciano Hinojos, Scott Lackey, and Aaron Swartzfager all made the trip to Lubbock for Regionals. Unfortunately, no Lobo qualified for state.

This year, the Green's hopes for placing members at state are highly improved. The Loboes are returning lettermen to the team: Scott Lackey, Angel Orona, Aaron Swartzfager, Quint Melius, Lanny Hayes, T.J. Bustos, Anthony Aguilar, and Lucas Jaquez.

Monahans basketball look to district

Most people begin to feel down and out whenever the holiday season ends. It becomes time for many people to go back to work or school and take time to focus on the new tasks at hand. However, the boys and girls basketball teams lack the element of time.

The men's team faces much uncertainty as they head into
district play. The Loboes have only seen one district foe in play thus far. That opponent, the Mountain View Lobos, defeated Monahans in a double-overtime thriller. The Loboes are defending district champions, and plan on continuing that streak. The Green has played well recently, despite failing to garner a win in the Reagan County tournament, which took place Dec. 29-31.

The ladies team has shown steady improvement despite winning only one game on the season. The girls, unlike the boys, have not played a district foe. The Loboes made the playoffs for the first time in over 15 years last season, and won their first playoff game ever. The ladies played only one game over the Christmas holidays, a decision they dropped to 4A Andrews, 51-40.

Local fisherman hooks a big one

Imagine you have decided to pull out some trout from Perch Pond for a fish fry. There you are, standing around minding your own business when all of a sudden you have a monstrous tug on your line which kicks off a fifteen minute fight with a fearsome 18 pound, 30 inch carp.

As hard as it may be to believe this story was a reality for fisherman Jack Bawcom who, with a size 12 trout hook on eight pound test line pulled in a monstrous 18 pound carp.

It is not the first time a fish of that size has been pulled out of the pond, however it is how Bawcom caught the fish that is unusual.

"I was surprised to get a big tug," said Bawcom. It took 15 minutes to get it close enough to tell what it was.

Witnesses to the event where shocked that the massive fish lived in the shallow waters for Perch Pond.

"There were three kids and a few other men around", said Bawcom. "They couldn't believe it. I caught two last year but nether was near as big as this one."

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