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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas

Sports

Monday, April 20, 1998

Eagles sending nine to Region I-4A track


PECOS, Apr. 20 -- It was a 2-for-1 day at San Angelo Friday
for four Pecos Eagle seniors, as they earned regional berths
in a pair of events at the District 4-4A track and field
meet.

Seniors Jake Fowler, Jeff Brownlee and Billy Rodriguez on
the boys' side, and senior Marisol Arenivas for the girls
will be going back to San Angelo on May 1-2 in two events
apiece, and Arenivas will be joined by three other seniors
-- Penny Armstrong, Erica Orona and Annette Marquez -- along
with Arenivas' sister, Maricela, and junior Shay Lara, who
qualified as members of Pecos' 800 meter relay team.

Orona and Marquez were the other 800 team members who won
second, as did Armstrong earlier in the day in the discus,
while Marisol Arenivas captured both the 3200 and 1600 meter
runs, as part of a 75-point finish for the girls, good
enough for fourth place in the final standings.

Pecos' boys also placed fourth, finishing with 88 points.
That's a little lower than the second place and 100-point
goal coach Mike Ferrell had hoped for, but it was still the
Eagles' highest point total at the district track meet in
two decades.

San Angelo Lake View won the meet with 144 points, but that
was well below what the Chiefs had hoped for. Sweetwater
edged out Andrews for second by a 103_-100_ margin. Fort
Stockton and Big Spring followed with 58 and 57 points.

"If Lake View's hurdlers had done what they should of, we
would have gotten second," Ferrell said. "But I'm still
proud of the job our young men did."

Fowler's double-win came after a series of second and third
place finishes most of the season, and came thanks to his
best throws of the year in both the discus and shot put. He
threw 159-feet-7 to win the discus and 51-6 to take the shot
put gold.

"Jake kind of did what he had to do," Ferrell said. "He came
out on his first throw in the shot put and threw 51-6 and
took the meet with that, and I think he threw the 159 on his
second throw."

Brownlee, who was second to his brother Bryan in both events
a year ago, again earned the regional runner-up spots, going
49-9 in the shot to beat San Angelo's Luis Hernandez by two
feet, and 145-9 in the discus, 6½ feet better than the
Chiefs' Ernie Reynolds.

"Jeff came back and threw and also made it out, which is
what you want to do, to have another shot to regionals,"
Ferrell said.

Rodriguez was just edged out by Sweetwater's Jason Sepeda in
the 800 meters, going 1:58.43 to Sepeda's 1:58.04, as both
pulled away from Lake View's Jason Daniel in the final lap.
Later, Rodriguez would beat out Daniels' teammate Justin
Haby for second in the 1600, going 4:47.28 for a four second
margin. Big Spring's Marco Torres won the race with a
4:30.84 time.

"After the first lap (in the 800) Billy took the lead like
he's done all year long and Justin just wasn't able to go
with Billy," Ferrell said. "Sepeda went with Billy and then
outkicked him. He's got a little more leg speed, which is
something we have to work on this week."

Arenivas, who advanced to regionals in 1997 as the runner-up
in the 3200, beat out Lake View's Brandie Powell to win both
her races. She took the 3200 meters Friday morning with a
12:19.66 time to 12:30.70 for Powell, while winning the 1600
in 5:46.58, five seconds ahead of the Maidens' runner.

"She had her best times," said coach Lily Talamantez. "I
think she cut 22 seconds off her time in the two mile."

Armstrong had qualified last year for regional in the high
jump, but was beaten out this time by Big Spring's Krissi
McWheter and Fort Stockton's Elisa Espino, who went 5-4 and
5-3 to Armstrong's third place 5-2 effort. But she did edge
out Andrews' Amanda Lowe for second in the discus by 10
inches, with a throw of 104-8. Gina Valdez of Big Spring won
with a 109-8 effort.

"She was happy with her jump. She had a personal best 5-2,"
Talamantez said, adding that Armstrong had to compete in
both events at the same time. "I think that kind of threw
her off having to go to the discus, then having to go back."

In the 800 meter relay, Pecos passed Lake View on the final
lap to finish second behind Big Spring with a 1:50.94 time.
It gave all four girls their first-ever trip to regionals,
along with Fowler and Rodriguez. Three of the four also
picked up a third place medal in the 1600 meter relay, as
Arenivas, Orona, Lara and Crystal Garcia finished with a
4:25.50 time to edge Andrews for the regional alternate spot.

Like the boys, the girls' 74 points was also their best
finish at district since the 1970s. Their other points came
from Lorie Marquez, who was fourth in the discus with a 98-7
throw; Juilie Lujan, sixth in the shot put with a 30-7¼
toss; Maricela Arenivas, fifth in the long jump at 14-10½;
Liz Parent, fifth in the 800 meter run at 2:38.96 and sixth
in the 1600, at 6:19.37; and from the 400 meter relay team,
which was sixth, in 52.92 seconds.

The boys' other points included third and fourth place
finishes by Chris Reyes and Roy Marta in the pole vault, at
11-feet and 10-6; a sixth by Robert Cravey in the shot put
(43-3); fourths by Oscar Medrano in the 3200 meters
(10:33.04), Lucio Florez in the 300 meter hurdles (41.50)
and Orlando Matta in the 800 (2:06.90); along with a fourth
from the 1600 meter relay team, with a 3:39.37 time.

Matta also picked up a sixth in the 400 meter dash (54.28),
and the Eagles were still able to pick up four points in the
400 meter relay despite dropping their baton, as Big Spring
did the same and failed to pick it up.

Ferrell also said junior varsity runners Oscar Luna, Jason
Payne and Daniel Terrazas did well in their division. Luna
ran an 11.51 in the 100, while Payne and Terrazas finished
1-2 in the 400 meter dash.

Big Spring's Tori Mitchell and Andrews' Shaud Williams set
records on the boys' side in the 100 meter dash (10.01) and
110 hurdles (13.53). No new marks were set in the girls'
division, which was easily won by Big Spring with 211 points
to 119 for Lake View. Andrews placed in front of Pecos with
74 points, while Fort Stockton had 63 and Sweetwater 35
points.

Eagles survive errors to get 6-5 win


By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Apr. 20 -- With realignment moving the Pecos Eagles
west to an El Paso area district next year, Saturday was not
only the last District 4-4A baseball matchup between the
Eagles and San Angelo Lake View Chiefs for a while. It was
also the opening day for Little League season, which was an
appropriate combination, because the teams turned in a game
a lot like the ones they used to play during their summer
Little League tournaments.

That was good news for Pecos, because in their
traditionally-weak Little League and Senior League District
4, they could almost always make as many mistakes as they
liked against Lake View, or anyone else, and still win,
since the other teams would always make more. And in the
end, that's what happened, as the Eagles committed seven
errors, including four in the seventh inning that cost them
a 5-2 lead, but still pulled out a 6-5 victory.

Errors at the high school level usually are killers, and
have been critical in three of the Eagles' five district
losses, including last month's 16-8 defeat in San Angelo,
when Pecos blew an 8-5 lead in the final two innings.
Saturday's mistakes almost ended the Eagles' playoff hopes,
and did cost pitcher Louis Valencia his chance for a fourth
victory this season.

"Louis did pitch a good game, but the defense just fell
apart," Eagles' coach Bubba Williams said. "Josh (Casillas)
did a good job coming in and Louis did a good job, but we've
got to make the plays."

Pecos' outfielders actually did make the plays, having their
best game defensively this season. Joseph Contreras made a
running catch toward the left field line on Chris Martinez
to open the game, while Oscar Luna ran down two balls in the
gap -- the second off Colby Sykes ended the seventh inning
and came after he went to the fence in center to pull in
what looked like a grand slam home run by Gus Velez off
Casillas.

It was a good weekend all around for Luna, who spent Friday
in San Angelo competing for the Eagles' junior varsity track
team. He hit his third home run of the season in the first
off starter Bruce McDonald, scoring Jason Abila, who reached
on Andy King's error at third base, then reached in the
third on another King error and scored when Abelardo
Santillan let Richard Gutierrez' single to right field go
through his legs.

Then in the seventh, Luna would get the game winning hit off
reliever Scooter LeFevre, a fly ball single to right-center
field with the outfield pulled in. It came after Cody Ashley
opened the bottom of the inning by walking Ricky Herrera.
Abila then singled down the line in left off LeFevre before
the Chiefs' reliever moved both runners into scoring
position on a wild pitch.

Wild pitches and passed balls also helped Pecos in the first
and third innings. Gutierrez singled following Luna's homer,
stole second and then came around to score on a passed ball
by Michael Gonzales and a wild pitch by McDonald. In the
third, Gutierrez went all the way to third on Santillan's
error, from where he again was able to score when the ball
got by Gonzales to the backstop.

That came after the Eagles had some problems of their own in
the top of the third, when the Chiefs cut Pecos' 3-0 deficit
to 3-2.

Valencia walked LeFevre to lead things off, and after he was
moved to second on a Martinez bunt, second baseman Ricky
Herrera couldn't hold onto Santillan's pop up in short right
field for an error. Valencia then fanned Velez for the
second out, but the Chiefs then got help from the Eagles and
the field umpire.

A passed ball by Cisco Rodriguez moved the runners to second
and third, and then the umpire got in Abila's way as he
tried to throw out King on a grounder to short. Abila was
forced to hurry his throw when the ump finally got out of
the way and it was in the dirt, allowing LaFevre to score.

Gonzales then singled home Santillan before Sykes lined out
to Kevin Bates in right field.

Sykes began a string of 10 out of the next 11 batters
Valencia would retire before running into trouble in the
seventh. It looked like he got an out on Larry Hill, when he
swung at a pitch that ended up hitting him in the arm and
rolled back to the mound. But Chiefs' coach Rene Cordova was
able to get the call changed to a foul ball, and one pitch
later Hill's slow infield bouncer was fielded by Gutierrez,
who threw low to Casillas at first for an error.

Valencia then walked Martinez to load the bases, and was
replaced on the mound by Casillas. He did no better at the
start, walking Santillan to score Hill and then seeing
Velez' deep fly to Luna score LaFevre to make it 5-4. But
the sophomore was able to overcome his teammates next two
mistakes to strike out King, after new first baseman Moses
Martinez and Rodriguez both missed catching King's foul pop
ups.

Casillas then got to within one strike of a save when
Gonzales bounced one to shortstop that Abila went back on
and then booted for an error, tying the game. Luna's catch
in the right-center field gap on Sykes the kept Lake View
from taking the lead.

"Six errors by our seniors is not going to win too many ball
games," said Williams, whose team still needs two wins this
week and two losses by either Lake View or Big Spring to
stay in the playoff race. The Eagles, 12-8 on the season and
3-5 in district go to Big Spring on Tuesday and then close
regular season play at home on Friday against Fort Stockton.
The Steers eliminated the Panthers from the playoff race
Saturday with an 11-10 win and tied Lake View for second
place, both with 5-3 records.

Pecos loses season-ending softball game


PECOS, Apr. 20 -- The first high school softball season was
a rough one for the Pecos Eagles to endure, but they got out
of it alive enough to celebrate by hosing down coach Tammy
Walls Saturday afternoon, after getting showered with runs
in their final regular season game by the Andrews Mustangs.

Andrews scored 11 times before Pecos could get an out, then
worked on their bunting and gave freshman Alexa Marquez a
chance to work on her fielding the rest of the way, in
Andrews' five-inning, 22-0 victory.

"I was hoping we'd score some runs. We had a couple of
runners in scoring position. But we made it through" Walls
said. "I can't say enough about Alexa. She's just a freshman
and has been playing softball for just two months, and she
was playing against kids today who have been playing for 10
years."

Andrews definitely had the experience advantage over Pecos,
whose youth softball program was two hours old when the
teams took the field Saturday. The Mustangs played two years
of club softball in the early 1990s and are in their fourth
season of varsity play, along with Big Spring. Andrews is
trying to get back to the state tournament this Spring,
after finishing second in District 4-4A thanks to a pair of
one-run losses to the Steers.

The Eagles, meanwhile, looked like a first year team
Saturday. They had chances to get outs on four of the first
five batters but were unable to do so, as Yuka Kosuda
blooped a double in front of left fielder Amy Chabarria,
Holly Fields beat out a throw by third baseman Nicole Payne,
Leesa Lopez tripled over center fielder Heather Uptergrove's
head and Ali Bane reached on a error by Payne.

The Mustangs started working on their bunting by the time
No. 9 hitter Crystal Tidwell got up, and it did give Marquez
and her first baseman a workout. The Eagles' pitcher threw
across the baseline on her first few throws and Monica Meza
had problems gloving the ball at the outset, though she and
Julie Lujan got things down by the final three innings.

After a 13-run first, Andrews would score six more times in
the second inning, then added a couple of runs in the third
and a single run in the fifth. Pecos, meanwhile, got Katrina
Quiroz to third base in both her at-bats against Lopez, the
first time off catcher's interference when Melissa Tarango's
glove hit her bat and the second off a line single to left
field that cost Mustangs' pitcher Lopez her no-hitter. After
that, Courtney Pool came on to pitch the final 1_ innings
for Andrews.

The loss ended Pecos' season with an 0-10 district mark and
a 1-15 season record. However, things figure to be a lot
better in 1999, due to both a year's more experience by
seven of Pecos' nine starters (only infielders Gabi Bafidis
and Erica Orona are seniors) and the move to the new
District 2-4A, where all the Eagles' rivals will also be in
just their second year of varsity softball.

"Alexa's going to be good next year, and Katrina and some of
the others are going to be good. We'll be a whole lot better
then," Walls said.

Cowboys fill non-receiver holes


IRVING, Texas, Apr. 20 (AP) -- The Dallas Cowboys finished
the NFL Draft without having selected a receiver to play
opposite Michael Irvin.

Coach Chan Gailey says there's no problem with the Cowboys'
receiving corps as it stands, but he's not ruling out other
offseason moves to bring in another wideout.

``Some people see some kind of void, but I like our
receivers,'' Gailey said Sunday. ``That doesn't mean we
won't look to upgrade because we're always looking to
upgrade our football team.

``We did not draft what you call skill positions because we
feel very confident in the skill level of our team.''

Dallas took North Carolina defensive end Greg Ellis with the
eighth overall pick Saturday and then selected Michigan
State tackle Flozell Adams in the second round to help an
offensive line that was battered last year.

On Sunday, the Cowboys added a defensive tackle, a
linebacker, an offensive tackle, a defensive back, a running
back, a guard and a tight end.

Gailey said the team filled needs on Saturday and went for
the best athletes available on Sunday.

``Obviously we needed a defensive end and we wanted to
bolster the offensive line and we did that with the first
two picks,'' he said. ``After that, we were going to take
the best player available. Whether that helps the offense or
the defense more didn't matter, we were going to take him.''

With the 100th overall pick in the fourth round, Dallas was
pleased to find Alabama's Michael Myers still available.

Myers, a 6-foot-2, 286-pound defensive lineman, was an
All-American in 1996 but played only one game last year
after being suspended for contact with an agent. Myers' past
was a concern for the image conscious Cowboys, but his speed
and agility were too much to pass up.

``We are very pleased to be able to get him at this level,''
said owner Jerry Jones. ``We've looked into the cirumstances
and investigated them and, as an example, I know he won't
have those circumstances again.''

In the fifth round, with the 130th overall pick, Dallas
again went for a player who didn't play much last season.

South Carolina linebacker Darren Hambrick missed seven games
with a fractured fibula in his left ankle, but did return in
time to play in the Senior Bowl.

The Cowboys traded their sixth- and seventh-round picks
(162nd and 197th overall) to Seattle for a fifth-round pick
they used on Iowa State offensive lineman Oliver Ross.

Gailey said speed -- under 5 seconds in the 40 -- and
ability to play more than one position were the key factors
in drafting the 6-4, 300-pound Ross.

With their final four picks, all compensatory picks, the
Cowboys went searching for ``something special.''

``When you get in the late rounds, you look for that one
quality that separates a guy from all the other guys hanging
around,'' Gailey said. ``Late in the draft, you're looking
for that guy with something special.''

With Alabama-Briminham's Izell Reese in the sixth round
(188th overall), the Cowboys got a big safety (6-2, 193
pounds) with speed.

At the 223rd pick overall in the seventh round, Dallas
selected Cal running back Tarik Smith for his potential.
Smith, (5-10, 200 pounds) missed eight games in 1996 due to
knee surgery.

Georgia guard Antonio Fleming was taken in the seventh round
(227th overall) because he is 6-3, 309 pounds and was
clocked at 4.9 in the 40.

Dallas took Cincinnati tight end Rod Monroe with its last
pick (237th overall) because of his athletic ability.

Jones said he expects many of this year's picks to hang
around after the season starts.

``I really think these guys have a chance to make the team
and get on the field,'' Jones said. ``More than any time in
the last five years, I feel like the players we're bringing
in have a chance to make the roster.''



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