Sports

SCAVENGING FOR GOLD: Hamilton’s cross country teams competed in the Crawford Pirate Invitational last Saturday. Both the high school Lady Bulldog and Bulldog sprint squads placed second overall behind 3A-Division I McGregor, and the junior high Bulldogs and Lady Dogs both earned team gold. The varsity boys finished ahead of West, Clifton, Crawford, Bruceville-Eddy, Axtell and Eagle Christian Academy respectively and were led by second overall finisher Caleb Lengefeld. Lengefeld was closely escorted by teammates Dawson Melde in sixth, Taylor Long 10th, John Polster 12th, Hayden Blackwell 18th, Caden Hopper 20th and Joseph Polster in 22nd. Ben Cooper, Jaydon Watson, Landon Thompson and Hunter Mize crossed the line in order, closely trailing Hamilton’s top seven. The HHS Lady Dogs completed the course ahead of West, Clifton, Crawford, Axtell and ECA respectively, and were led by top 10 finisher Campbell Lengefeld with a ninth overall finish. Madison Henkes crossed the line in 11th position and was shadowed by Fernanda Olalde in 12th, Grace Killian 15th, Grace Carson 16th, Kaatje Jarrell 17th, Cortland Mehaffey 18th, Ashtyn Hansard 19th and Mia Coker 28th. Leading the gold medalist junior high Dogs, Morgan Henkes earned a first place ribbon and was closely pursued by teammate and cousin Colter Johnson in third. Giving chase was Halston Haile in fifth, Ryder Coker eighth, Carson Roberts 10th, Judson Coalson 11th, Caleb Allen 24th and Tyler Bloomcamp 25th. For the gold winning junior high Lady Dogs, Kaitlyn Walton set the pace with a first overall finish. Walton was pursued by Presley Long in second, Emery Parrott fifth, Destini Ranaghan eighth, Kayla Tawater 10th, Addison Massingill 15th, Emma Thompson 24th, Clementine Cooper 25th and Jocelyn Johnson 26th. Hamilton’s high school cross country competitors will race next this Thursday in Jarrell with the varsity girls set to run at 9:15 am followed by the boys at 9:30. On Wednesday, October 7, all of Hamilton’s runners will compete in Hamilton’s Mona Gloff Invitational to be hosted at the Perry Country Club. Pictured (l-r), Lady Bulldogs Kaatje Jarrell, Grace Killian and Grace Carson dig deep on the front mile of the Crawford course. Bulldogs Dawson Melde (bib# 109) and Hayden Blackwell are pictured rounding the corner for the final stretch in Crawford.

AT ATTENTION: The varsity Lady Bulldog volleyball team moved to 9-7 on the season and 4-1 in district last week. After falling to Tolar at home in three sets, the Lady Dogs rallied to defeat Bluff Dale on the road in three sets by scores of 25-23, 25-7 and 25-12 on Saturday. Hamilton’s JV Black downed Tolar in two sets, 25-9 and 25-10, at home, and traveled to Tolar on Saturday to defeat the Lady Rattlers in three. After dropping the first set 16-25, the young Lady Bulldogs recoiled for 25-17 and 25-23 second and third set wins in Tolar to earn a 12-3 season record and a 4-0 district start. The JV Red defanged the Lady Rattlers in Hamilton on Tuesday of last week in two sets, 25-17 and 26-24, to improve to 9-2 on the year and 1-0 in district competition. Following a bye this Tuesday, the Lady Dogs are scheduled to host teams from both Meridian and Hico this Saturday. The JV Red will play Meridian beginning at 9 am trailed by the JV Black hosting Hico at 10. The varsity is set to play Hico beginning at 11. The Lady Bulldogs will stay home on Tuesday of next week to host Evant with the JV Black scheduled to play at 5 pm followed by the varsity at 6. Pictured, Hamilton’s varsity volleyball team, including (l-r) Kelton Wright, Averi Poe, Jaley Reich, Sawyer Wright, Morgan Mehaffey, Trinity Craig, Macie Parrish, Lexie Clark, Emiley Hale, Taylor Collett and line judge Jordyn Medina, honor the flag during the National Anthem before hosting district foe Tolar on Tuesday of last week. Also pictured, senior libero Taylor Collett delivers a pass from the backcourt. Staff photos

In defeating Dublin by 68 points in a 74-6 victory, the 1976 Bulldogs hold the record for the widest margin of victory by a Bulldog football team. They are matched only by the 2006 Bulldogs in scoring 74 points in a single ballgame. The 1976 Bulldogs are (l-r) front row, Charles Rader, Jay Leeth, Rudy Galindo, Dale Yates, David Seipert, T.J. Wilson, Marvin Henkes, Reggie Garner. Middle row, Loyd Holley, Stan Morgan, Gordon Dungan, Darrell Thomas, Ronnie Wulf, Karl Mize, Joe Pafford, Danny Hardin, Boyd Holley, Garland Coalson. Back row: coach Tommy Morrison, coach Don Neilson, Bill Taylor, Douglas Schrank, Charles Bottlinger, John Paul Herzog, Vennie Gardner, Don Thomas, Lance Hermansen, Tim Cooper, coach Lou Bradshaw and head coach F.T. “Red” Martin. Not pictured: Kendall Seidensticker.

Leonel Cardenas, pictured rushing for one of his five carries for 54 yards in his varsity debut two weeks ago versus Hico, again made an impact last Friday in Riesel versus Jewett Leon. The freshman recorded 12 tackles, trailing only Caleb Lengefeld with 20 stops and Taylor Long with 14.

2020 HAMILTON BULLDOGS: Back row (l-r)- Caleb Lengefeld, CJ DeLeon, Carson Marquess, Ethan LeGrande, Erich Eilers, Jakob Walton, Denver Poe, Ben Bruce, Austin Clark. Middle- Coach Aaron Emeyabbi, Coach Sonny DeLaGarza, Head Coach Casey Jones, Coach Ryan Marwitz, Cooper LeGrande, Cash Kneuper, Jaydon Watson, Colby Bailey, Keegan Votaw, Dawson Armstrong, Alex Thiele, Coach Brandon Pierce, Coach Clayton Stuart, Coach Brennan Whitaker. Front row- Taylor Long, Austin Anderson, Xander Ceresini, Jose Najera, Luis Najera.

OUT OF THE GATES: Hamilton’s Bulldog and Lady Bulldog cross country teams both earned team gold in Lipan on Wednesday of last week. Later in the day, Hamilton’s junior high Lady Dogs placed first in Lipan, and the middle school Bulldogs earned bronze. HHS Lady Bulldogs pictured (l-r) firing off the starting line in Lipan include Grace Killian, Kaatje Jarrell, Ashtyn Hansard, Campbell Lengefeld, Madison Henkes, Mia Coker, Cortland Mehaffey, Grace Carson, Kelton Wright and Fernanda Olalde. Bulldogs pictured (l-r) at the starting line include Jaydon Watson, Dawson Melde, John Polster, Caden Hopper, Caleb Lengefeld, Landon Thompson, Taylor Long, Hayden Blackwell, Hunter Mize, Ben Cooper and Joseph Polster. Not pictured: Garrison Blackwell.

TAKING FLIGHT: Orville and Wilbur have nothing on Hamilton’s Wright sisters, Sawyer (left) and Kelton (right), pictured at left elevating to reject a Hico volley over the net. Above, Morgan Mehaffey delivers a deafening spike in Hico as Emiley Hale, Jaley Reich, Taylor Collett and Macie Parrish provide backcourt protection. The Lady Bulldogs improved to 8-6 on the season and 3-0 in district with wins on Tuesday and Saturday over Three Way and Hico respectively. Hamilton’s varsity defeated Three Way at home by scores of 25-14, 25-11 and 25-14. On Saturday in Hico, Reich served Hamilton’s first 17 points in a 25-2 first game victory. The Lady Dogs cruised to 25-20 and 25-17 wins in the final two to remain unbeaten in district competition. Hamilton’s JV Black also won decisively over Hico in two sets, 25-10 and 25-10, to move to 10-3 on the season and 2-0 in district, and the 8-2 JV Red dropped just their second match of the season in De Leon on Saturday in competitive 22-25 and 23- 25 sets. All three of Hamilton’s high school teams were scheduled to host Tolar on Tuesday, and the varsity will travel to Bluff Dale on Saturday for a 10 am match.

Evant’s Lady Elk cross country team is off and running. Competing in Brownwood on September 2, the Lady Elks were led by first overall finisher Amy Pritchard. Pritchard was closely trailed by Katie Galloway in ninth and Zulma Obiedo in 10th. In Waco last week, Pritchard again raced to a gold medal finish, and Obiedo placed eighth overall. Lady Elks pictured (l-r) include Katie McGilvray, Cheyenne Ford, Obiedo, Pritchard, Galloway and Caeleigh Burkham.