Sports

hen you’ve done your best and it still isn’t good enough, it can be a disheartening experience.

Kaylea Maples knows the feeling, setting a personal record in the triple jump at the Region II-3A Meet April 29 with a 36’6 3/4”. That, however, was still only good enough for third place in the region, putting Maples on the outside looking in.

If only temporarily.

Maples found out the next evening she had the best leap of all four 3rd-place finishes, moving her into the wild card role and allowing her to compete at the State Track and Field Meet today in Austin.

BRYSON — It’s been said that the third time is the charm. For Caleigh Forbus, it was the 5th.

Forbus was looking for a bid to the State Track and Field Meet but was on the outside looking in heading into her 5th jump, sitting in 3rd spot. Forbus began a little clap which the fans around her picked up and began doing.

Her coach Hunter Hayes says with a bit of luck he thinks she can go 17’ at State. Her event at the State Meet in Austin is set for Friday, May 13 at 10 a.m.

PERRIN — Zach Tucker and Derek Ray will be gunning for a State Track title later this week.

Tucker, a junior, will be competing in the 1,600-meter run after winning the event at the Region III-A Meet two weeks ago in Stephenville, breaking his old mark by about 12 seconds in the process. He still has about “four or five” seconds to go before breaking the school record in the event but after having such a strong showing in regionals, anything is possible.

PARADISE — Friday night’s 7-6 win over the host Panthers only solidified a question that many Jacksboro baseball followers had been asking all year:

What if?

What if the squad had been able to get a key base hit or two in a District 9-3A first round game where the Tigers lost four games by a run or two? What if some questionable calls which led to opponent comebacks had been reversed?

STEPHENVILLE — Perrin-Whitt will have a pair of representatives and Bryson one at the Class A State Track Meet next weekend in Austin by virtue of top two showings at the Region III-A Meet last weekend at Tarleton State University/

Senior Derek Ray won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.29 and was 2nd in the 300-meter hurdles with a 42.19 clocking. 

Zach Tucker qualified by winning the 1,600-meter event in 4:48.57. 

KENNEDALE — You couldn’t blame Perrin Softball Coach Ben Staggs for being optimistic heading into Saturday night’s playoff game with Valley View. Despite his Pirates losing 6-2 in Game 1 of the best-of-three series, Staggs saw his squad slam the door in the final five innings of the opener, lending hope of a comeback in the series.

That hope would be short-lived, however.

A busy weekend of sports was highlighted by a number of area athletes qualifying for the State Track Meet.

Perrin-Whitt had Derek Ray and Zach Tucker qualify in their events while Bryson’s Caleigh Forbus qualified for State as well after top two showings at the Region III-A Meet. Jacksboro’s Kaylea Maples finished 3rd in the triple jump in the Region II-3A Meet in Whitehouse.