Sports

ABILENE – All three schools in Colorado County had representatives in the UIL State Championship Meet for powerlifting last weekend. Jesse Reip represented Columbus, John Mendoza for the Raiders and Dakota Ford for the Wildcats as they each advanced following strong performances in their respective regional meets.

The Rice Raiders’ baseball team has been falling victim to some of the same issues as they traverse a difficult season. Many of their problems are found on the defensive side of the ball as they struggle to find enough consistency to keep their opponents from having huge games offensively. Several opponents have scored into the double digits against Rice’s pitching and defense. On the other side of the ball, the Raiders have shown difficulties in getting on base and putting themselves into scoring positions on the base path. Many of these factors showed up once again during the Raiders’ last week of competition as they fell in two straight games after allowing over 20 runs in each.

HALLETTSVILLE – The Rice varsity softball team has struggled to score runs all season as they attempt to create some consistency in their offense. They have been engaging in a similar crusade on the defensive end as they often struggle to slow down their opponents’ offenses. The first place Brahmettes recognized and took advantage of the Lady Raiders’ deficiencies from the open as the Lady Raiders fell in a big 22-0 defeat.

BELLVILLE – The Columbus Lady Cards’ golf team got another strong performance early last week as every golfer who competed in the meet came in with a score of 110 or lower. With a team score of 422, the Lady Cards claimed second place while being led by a golfer who finished in the top three of the overall standings.

FLATONIA – The Columbus varsity track team found great levels of success in last week’s regular season meet as both the boys and girls took top team placements. The Lady Cards had an outstanding eight gold medals from their events as they finished in second place overall with 176 points. The Cards finished the meet in third place as a team after securing a few gold medals of their own. Columbus will be looking to continue their momentum throughout the rest of the season as their performances have improved at each sequential meet.

The Weimar varsity baseball team had a nearly perfect game to start off last weeks’ competition. Everything came easy for the Wildcats as they did whatever they liked on the offensive end, as well as stifled their opponents with an impressive defensive effort. After a complete effort, the Wildcats finished off their first opponents with a mercy-rule defeat. Weimar’s fortunes changed somewhat at the end of the week against Flatonia as they fell just behind in a competitive game.

The Weimar Ladycats’ impressive run this season continued with another pair of blowout victories last week against district opponents. The Ladycats showed their dominance as they not only scored into double digits in both outings, but they also did not allow a single run from either opponent as they ran out to huge wins. Weimar got strong performances from Taylor Smith and Reagan Wick on the mound as the Ladycats had one of their best weeks of the season so far.

The Cardinals’ varsity baseball team has had some long stretches of ups and downs throughout the season so far. After starting the season with a six-game winning streak, they followed with a streak of seven-straight losses to fall below a .500 winning percentage on the year. However, the Cards have changed their fortunes in recent weeks, finding another win streak in district that extended to four straight after their games last week. Columbus handled TIdehaven to begin the week and then followed with their best offensive performance of the season in a big blowout over Palacios.

The Columbus varsity softball team got to show off just how potent their offensive attack can be during their action in district play last week. In two games, the Lady Cards combined for 24 total runs and held their opponents to just 3 combined runs. They first handled business against Tidehaven to begin the week with their second district victory. They followed that win with a dominating performance against Palacios that included a big shot by senior Madyson Carter to add to the lopsided score.

WACO – The Red River Athletic Conference named Columbus native Hayden Leopald the Player of the Week on Monday for the week of March 6-12.

FRISCO – The Lady Raiders powerlifting team’s strong season found its big payoff with a trio of lady lifters qualifying for the UIL State Championship Meet. Bradi Freeman, Vanessa Marquez and Reagan Nelson represented for Rice as the team’s state-level athletes. The highest placement the Lady Raiders claimed was a sixthplace finish by Nelson.

Rice High School played host to the special needs track and field event in the first week of March that provided fun and the spirit of competition to the special needs students who participated. Everyone who attended went home as winners as they witnessed the joy that comes along with sports and activity. The event promotes outdoor activity and a healthy lifestyle in an enjoyable way. The competitors competed in Rice’s Memorial stadium as they ran races, did throwing events and received medals for their performances.

The Rice Lady Raiders’ varsity softball team has been finding ways to make progress at the plate and on the offensive side of the ball. They scored multiple runs in each of their games last week over the spring break vacation as they picked up momentum offensively. However, they could not support their improved hitting with enough defense to provide a win as they fell in both games for a winless week.

The Rice varsity baseball team still has plenty of room to grow in regards to both their offensive and defensive production. Their struggles in both phases of the game have made it difficult for the Raiders to keep games close as they have suffered several double-digit defeats. This trend continued for Rice last week as they faced two tough opponents over spring break.

The Ladycats’ varsity softball team has been putting up impressive performances all season led by effective hitting down the lineup and solid fielding with elite pitching. Each of these elements came together well for Weimar over the spring break holiday as they took a pair of relatively stressfree victories against district opponents. With strong outings from starting pitcher Reagan Wick who pitched two complete games over the break, the Ladycats allowed only one run from the two games combined.

Both the boys’ and the girls’ varsity soccer teams for Columbus are gearing up for the first round of postseason competition after their strong runs through the regular season. Each team will be facing some stiff competition as the Lady Cards take on Brazosport in Bay City on Thursday, March 23 and the Cards take on Needville Saturday, March 25 on the Bluejay’s home field.

The Weimar varsity baseball team gutted out a pair of high-pressure victories to get out to a perfect district start. In both games, the Wildcats relied on their defensive efforts in the field and on the mound to lead them to some hard-fought wins. Weimar created an early lead and used their defense to hold on to win for their first district victory. They followed with an intense, 11-inning game against Ganado where Weimar once again used its stellar defense to hold off their opponents as the Wildcats found enough timely hits to claim their second district win.

The Weimar Ladycats’ softball team has been turning out some big wins as they try to continue off the momentum from their deep postseason run last year. Their most recent feats over the week include a few no-hitters, blowout wins and double-digit scoring games as they took just one loss over the week that started with a big win over Schulenburg and ended with a dominant tournament run in San Marcos.

WEST HARDIN – The Columbus boys’ powerlifting team turned their season full of solid performances into a few appearances at the regional meet on Friday, March 10. The Cards notched yet another strong performance as Clay Kohleffel, Hunter Mangum and Jesse Reip represented the Cardinals at the regional meet. After a top performance at regionals, Reip qualified to move on to the next level and represent Columbus at the state championship meet in Abilene after finishing in first place for his weight class.

The Columbus Lady Cards are officially in the postseason after winning in eight of their final ten games to end the season. Their hard work paid off as their second-place finish to Bay City marked the highest spot in the district rankings Columbus has ever reached by the end of the regular season. After suffering their second loss to Bay City on March 3, the Lady Cards handled business against Calhoun and then again against Wharton as they secured the history-making mark and shifted their focus to the state playoffs.