2014.06.28 kilgore news herald blue moon special section: lone star cup (academics view)

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Lone Star CupSpecial Editionsaturday, JuNe 28, 2014

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By CHELSEA [email protected]

From football to computer ap-plications, the University Inter-scholastic League has each repre-sented, and most of those go into the Lone Star Cup.

The Lone Star Cup is a rank-ing system, based on performance in athletic and academic events throughout the school year. The only music event included in the cup is marching band.

Non-marching band, orchestra and choir are not included be-cause the groups cannot place in the competitions. Instead, they are just given ranks for their per-formances, so multiple schools can receive the same marks, UIL Media Coordinator Kate Hec-tor said. Only in the marching band contests are they placed

first through fifth following the competition.

“There’s no clear cut winner,” Hector said about the majority of the music contests.

All schools that participate in UIL activities are included in the Lone Star Cup system, and the top 10 – including ties – are listed on the UIL’s Lone Star Cup page.

Different stages in the compe-tition are awarded points based on the achievement. In academ-ics, district and regional champi-onships are awarded points, and then the top five state finishers earn points.

Each round of the playoffs a sports team reaches goes into cal-culating the number of points – if any – awarded to the school in that particular sport.

Throughout the six checkpoints during the school year, the UIL

inserts the points from the aspects of the Lone Star Cup, includ-ing marching band, team tennis, cross country, volleyball, football, swimming & diving, wrestling, girls basketball, boys basketball, soccer, golf, track & field, aca-demics, One Act Play, softball and baseball.

Only high school events are included in the calculations. The Lone Star Cup measures the aca-demic and athletic success of all eligible high schools in each con-ference – 1A through 5A.

The final update was June 13, putting Kilgore High School in a three-way tie for tenth place – tied with La Grange and Lubbock Coo-per high schools – in the 3A con-ference rankings. The standings will become official July 1 after the UIL confirms the points and makes any necessary corrections.

Even though academics are in-volved, the events are not consid-ered part of the regular curriculum, so the Lone Star Cup allows the state to measure the quality and the progress of each school’s extracurric-ular involvement in UIL activities.

The high point for KHS in the Lone Star Cup standings came af-ter the May 16 update, where the school was ranked at number 6 out of all the 3A schools in the state.

With the numbers changing with each update, KHS moved around as well, going from ninth in April to sixth in May and final-ly finishing in tenth.

The Lone Star Cup standings were first recorded by the UIL in the 1997-1998 school year. Dur-

ing its first year, the Lone Star Cup saw Aledo High School and Dripping Springs High School finish as co-champions in Con-ference 3A.

This year Argyle High School will hold the top spot in 3A with 102 points, a full 16 points over second place College Station High School. For winning the cup,

Argyle High School – if noth-ing changes before July 1 – will receive the UIL Lone Star Cup trophy and a $1,000 scholarship from the UIL.

KHS finished with 50 points. “I think it’s fantastic,” Kilgore ISD Su-perintendent Cara Cooke said. “I mean, we’re in the top 10 out of how many schools (in Conference 3A).”

LONE STAR CUP SPECIAL EDITIONACADEMICS 2 u KILGORE NEWS HERALD SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2014

Lone Star Cup serves as ranking for extracurricular success across state

Lone Star CupFinal Rankings as of June 13

1. Argyle ........................1022. College Station ............863. Kennedale ....................784. Abilene Wylie ...............665. Stephenville .................626. Decatur ........................597. Liberty Hill ..................588. Paris North Lamar .......569. La Vernia......................5210. Kilgore ........................50 La Grange ....................50 Lubbock Cooper ..........50

Results become official July 1

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LONE STAR CUP SPECIAL EDITION KILGORE NEWS HERALD u ACADEMICS 3SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2014


University Interscholastic League is thought to surround sports, but UIL activities can span many categories of academics as well – UIL Academic achievement is included in the league’s Lone Star Cup.

Kilgore High School had at least one representative in about 20 of those UIL academic contests, KHS

UIL Academic Coordinator Jerry Martin said.

Those 20 contests include topics such as math, science, accounting, headline writing, editorial writing, computer ap-plications, calculator applica-tions, speech and debate and literary criticism. Throughout

the fall semester students in each competition travel to invitational

meets around the area for practice. Sometimes the schools host the meets for fundraising as well, Martin said.

The meets usually have classes in addition to the competition to go over dif-ferent aspects of each sub-

ject. “The kids all have a good time,” he said.

District meets come in the spring, when each subject has

its own number of students to advance on to regional, area and state competitions.

“This year we did OK. It seemed the kids were re-ally busy this year, so we didn’t go to as many meets as last year,” said Martin, who is in his second year at the high

school as UIL academic coordinator and science teacher.

Students went to Bul-lard High School for the district competition, and

he said two students ad-vanced to the regional round

of competition. One advanced for the second time – as a sophomore – in headline writ-ing and one advanced in spell-

ing. Two KHS teams were also selected as alternates in spelling and computer applications.

“At the district (level) is where the points come,” he said. District is where points start being awarded and counting toward Lone Star Cup standings.

District and regional champion-ships are both worth four points to the school in Lone Star Cup, and then students finishing fifth through first place at state receive additional points for their school.

Most of the academic UIL contests are on the same day – usually a Sat-urday – at the same location. Speech and debate and One Act Play compe-titions, though, tend to be on their own because they both require more extensive competitions with multiple days sometimes, Martin said.

“These kids that are involved in this are in so many different things, and we’re probably the last extracurricular activity that gives up our Saturdays,” he said. Many sports that had Satur-day events have changed to other days.

Each student gets a T-shirt, and he said all of the coaches try to make the experience more fun for the students participating in UIL Academics.

“The school has been very generous with budget for us,” Martin said. Stu-dents attend workshops in their sub-ject to better themselves and prepare for the competitions.

Invitational meets use UIL rules, but Martin said they are basically practice meets to get the students ready for district competition. There are med-als involved, but he said there are no points that connect the invitationals to official UIL competitions.

“This is a pretty dedicated group of kids to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning to get on a bus and ride a bus for an hour and sit,” he said. “So real good group of kids (and) real good group of coaches.”

Academics hold their place in Lone Star Cup

“These kids that are involved in this are in so many different things...” KHS UIL Academic Coordinator Jerry MartinMETRO IMAGE

LONE STAR CUP SPECIAL EDITIONACADEMICS 4 KILGORE NEWS HERALD SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2014


One of the main goals of Kilgore ISD Su-perintendent Cara Cooke and Kilgore High School Principal Greg Brown is to prepare KISD students for what comes next.

University Interscholastic League’s Lone Star Cup is a way to do that, they both said.

“All of these events have different char-acteristics and traits that enable us to [prepare these students for life after high school],” Brown said. “For the students, they don’t always realize lessons they’re learning as they go through the process, but they’ll have the memories forever.

“The more things that we can get kids involved in – activities – the more reason they have to strive to be successful. It just builds more school spirit, but it also builds each individual student to a better person.”

The many events included in UIL – some connected with Lone Star Cup, some not – help create well-rounded stu-dents inside and outside the classroom, Cooke said.

“They have an opportunity now to shine in those areas, and those are some of the most exciting memories from school – for all of us are those special events that we got to participate in and that teamwork.”

Lone Star Cup divides all schools into the five existing conferences – 1A to 5A – and each UIL-affiliated school is eligible for the cup, no matter what their desig-nated division.

Having the entire conference in one big ranking system allows Brown and Cooke to see how KHS measures up to other schools in general – some KHS has never competed against.

Until the Lone Star Cup system began in 1997, Brown said the students would play the same schools in academic and athletic events but not really know how they were doing in the context of the en-tire state.

“All of our students have really excelled this year; it’s just been in every area, Lone Star Cup or not,” Cooke said about end-ing up in the top 10 of the list. “They just

really have come out and done their very best and now the State of Texas knows what great kids we have here in Kilgore.”

Students’ desire to succeed is important to their success, but Cooke said the teach-ers and coaches are equally as key. She added that, as superintendent, she gets to see the overall progress at every campus and in every area of competition.

“There’s so much pride here – that’s one of the first things I noticed,” she said. “The Bulldog pride is very prevalent in our district and in our community, and it rises up. So for me to be a part of this now – to be a Bulldog – (I) know that we don’t settle. We strive to be the very best we can possibly be.”

Brown tries to attend as many UIL events as he can, and he said he enjoys watching the students compete in the different extracurricular activities UIL offers them. To be ranked in the Lone Star Cup, he said, is something that should make all the teachers, coaches and students proud.

“I know being in the top 10 is a great achievement for any school,” he said.

The bar has been set, and Brown said KHS will “get after it again next year.”

The events in which the students par-ticipate are some of the best moments for students to learn about teamwork, eth-ics and collaboration, Cooke said. All of those skills can be used after high school in any higher education or job environ-ment, she said.

“It’s been exciting to be able to come in and be a part of what this district has already been doing and continues to do,” she said, “and we’ll just keep building on that. We’ll keep taking it to the next level every time.”

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Competition prepares students for futures, creates lifelong memories

KILGORE NEWS HERALD ARCHIVE PHOTOS

(From left) Kilgore High School orchestra member Samantha

Williams performs the violin for Kilgore Rotary Club Feb. 26. A

member of the KHS Science Club helps a younger student perform a science experiment with dry ice

Nov. 16. KHS theater students rehearse spring’s “High School

Musical” April 28.

LONE STAR CUP SPECIAL EDITION KILGORE NEWS HERALD ACADEMICS 5SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2014


When it comes to UIL academics, One Act Play is separated out from much of the rest.

While the majority of the academic events are held on the same day and in the same location, One Act Play takes its own time with multiple days needed for the full competition. Just like the other academic events, though, One Act Play – the state meet – contributes to Kilgore High School’s Lone Star Cup standings.

The KHS thespians traveled to Bullard High School for the UIL One Act Play con-test to perform “Daddy’s Dyin’… Who’s Got the Will?”

Overall the group came in fourth place, and members of the cast and crew received awards in All-Star Cast, Honorable Men-tion All-Star Cast and Honor Crew Award.

Keith Proctor, KHS One Act Play direc-tor and theater teacher, ranks his theater students against any other school.

“Acting wise, I think ours stood toe-to-toe,” he said about this year’s production.

When it comes to preparing for One Act Play, Proctor said the process does not change from when he is preparing his stu-dents for a local play to be performed at the KHS Auditorium.

“I teach excellence, and they’re going to be their best regardless of what the com-petition is,” he said about whether UIL changes his teaching tactics.

When Proctor first took over the the-ater department, he said the students were writing plays that did not leave their desks. KHS was not competing in One Act Play, either, he said. Many of the theater students saw the class as a way to be in class and sim-ply watch videos and movies.

“We go on the stage now,” he said about what he told his students after taking over. In addition to One Act Play, the students put on multiple other productions, includ-ing a spring musical – “High School Musi-cal.”

At first, Proctor had two classes with a to-tal of 38 students. Some of them had stuck through the previous years hoping to get a teacher who put on productions, he said.

“This year, starting on advanced produc-

tion, I have 42 in that one class,” he said. Through the UIL and One Act Play pro-

cess, Proctor said the students get to inter-act with other high school students inter-ested in theater.

“They get other people’s opinions, you know, the judges’ opinions about their work, too,” he said a few weeks after the March 25 competition.

Each year Proctor tries to select a One Act Play piece that balances the challenge and ease of performing it.

“I want something a little more challeng-ing, but not too challenging,” he said.

As the department grows, he added there will be an upcoming contests he is looking into for his students. It will be for student-written and student-directed plays.

One Act Play contest connects students with fellow thespians

KILGORE NEWS HERALD ARCHIVE PHOTO

Members of the Kilgore High School theater department rehearse the Act I finale for its spring play “High School Musical” April 28. The results of the UIL One Act Play competition are included in the Lone Star Cup standings.



While University Interscholastic League marching band competi-tion is included in the Lone Star Cup rankings, the band’s concert and sight-reading contests are not.

Though they’re not included in Lone Star Cup, the additional chal-lenges helped the Kilgore High School Varsity Band receive its third consecutive sweepstakes hon-or in UIL competitions.

After the fall and marching band finishes its season, the complete band that shared the gridiron at halftime splits into varsity and non-varsity groups.

When it comes to the non-marching competitions, only the varsity band has the opportunity to receive sweepstakes. The non-varsity band only competes as its own entity in two contests because it is included as part of the march-ing band in the fall.

With three judges in three com-petitions, the varsity band won sweepstakes with nine first division rankings. That means each judge that saw the varsity band perform on the field and on the stage gave the band the top score.

“You can hold your head up high and say, ‘We got straight ones,’” KHS Assistant Band Director Chris Murray said about the recognition.

Apart from marching band, con-cert and sight-reading bring their own difficulties.

“Concert band is a little more in-tricate,” Murray said, adding that there are many more “delicate” parts that depend on woodwinds – such as clarinets and flutes – in-stead of brass (trumpets and trom-bones, for example).

While Murray must find the dy-namics in each piece for marching band music, he said many times those dynamics are written into concert band pieces.

During marching season, Murray said each band is trying to “blow the other band out of the stands,” and he works with KHS band stu-dents on their breathing to be able

to have a loud, controlled sound.“When we get to concert season,

I want them to remember that,” he said of their breathing. Marching band has a bigger, louder and more “rough or unrefined” sound, and Murray said he wants the students to use the same amount of air dur-ing concert band, just with even more control.

Concert and sight-reading con-tests happen on the same day, go-ing straight from one to the next. Concert band is what people would see at the KHS Auditorium, but sight-reading allows directors to see just how good their band is, Murray said.

“You get seven minutes to teach

the music and then you get one shot at it,” he said.

During sight-reading competi-tions, the band is judged on the same criteria as their practiced con-cert pieces. In addition to showing the students’ natural abilities, Mur-ray said sight-reading also reflects the director’s skill.

The sight-reading selection for a band must be something never-before-seen by either the students or the director.

“Can they explain it in seven minutes, and can the students un-derstand it?” Murray said of the questions answered during sight-reading contests.

All the concepts a band knows

are put to the test when they re-hearse and perform their sight-reading piece.

While the varsity band received straight first divisions in both the concert and sight-reading contests, the non-varsity band received over-all first divisions as well, but not from all of the judges.

Four out of the six judges who saw the non-varsity band gave them a first division, so the band received two second divisions from judges.

For the varsity band’s straight first divisions, Murray said the result in sight-reading means a little more than the concert results because sight-reading shows how good the students are

as musicians.“It was a successful year,” he

said. “I enjoyed working with these kids this year. It was almost fun coming in to work every day.”

While the band saw a group of seniors graduate, Murray said he is excited for the group of eighth graders coming into high school for the 2014-2015 year. Overall, he said the band department has been growing in both quality and quantity – 135 enrolled in KHS, 110 in seventh grade band and 187 in sixth grade band.

“It seems like things at Kilgore are going to be making a turn for the better,” he said about the bands “exciting” progress.

Varsity band earns sweepstakes, faces ‘exciting’ future

COURTESY PHOTO

Kilgore High School’s Varsity Band performs on stage during the UIL Region IV Concert & Sight-reading contest at Mt. Pleasant High School April 10. The Varsity Band earned first division markings from all judges in all three areas of band competitions, awarding them sweepstakes for the third consecutive year. (On the cover) The Non-Varsity Band competes at the UIL Region IV Concert & Sight-reading contest at Mt. Pleasant High School April 10.



While the 2013 Kilgore High School Bulldogs made their run to the University Interscholastic League 3A Division I Cham-pionship Game, the soundtrack to the team’s season was the Bulldog Marching Band.

The band has its role in the games, but it also has its place in the Lone Star Cup – the UIL-wide competition that ranks high schools across the state on overall success.

While much of the ranking revolves around a field or court, the marching band is the only music competition to be included in the score. The reason is due to the fact that the majority of other schools across the state have a marching band to be included, UIL Media Coordinator Kate Hector said. Not enough schools across Texas boast or-chestra or choir programs.

This year is the first for the Bulldog Band to receive first division rankings from all three judges during the marching band com-petition.

With a background of military style marching, Assistant Band Director Chris Murray brought that precision to Kilgore.

“You don’t want to be able to do it right out of the box,” he said about the drill. “You want it to be something that they have to work toward and feel accomplished after.”

Even though the judges know just about every march and drill the bands bring to competition, he said there is a fine balance between getting something that is tough enough to be competitive but not too dif-ficult for the band.

“You want to make sure you don’t overplay your band,” he said. “You don’t want to pick music that’s too hard.”

The dynamic of the band influences the marches and the music. If a year brings a strong trumpet section, the music will high-light that, he said.

“We select the marches based on the strengths and weaknesses of the band,” Mur-ray said.

When the music and the drill matches and comes together, he said the judges appreciate that and dole out first divisions.

“Overall the competitions with march-ing bands have gotten to the point to where you have to march incredibly well,” Murray

said, adding that the students’ playing must match their marching.

One of the difficulties Murray found with Astroturf fields, compared to the grass fields he was used to, is not being able to feel the yard lines etched into the field.

To help his band combat this, he said his musicians practice in the indoor practice facility on turf, more than on the practice field, on grass.

The band also takes part in invitational competitions, and Murray said he tries to get his band as much practice time on the Mt. Pleasant High School field – where the com-petition takes place – as he can.

Through UIL marching band, Murray said the students learn the importance of work as they are on the field.

“I hope they learn that there’s a time for play and there’s a time for work,” he said.

With the time students must devote to marching band in the fall, Murray said he continuously checks the the musicians’ grades to ensure sure they maintain certain standards for both band and academics.

The 2013 marching season saw the Bull-dog Band advance to the area competition for only the second time in school history. Last time was in 2012, when the ’Dogs fin-ished 11th in the area competition.

Even with the band qualifying for area and receiving straight first divisions, the Bulldogs could not advance on to state. The way the competitions are set up, Murray said each classification – 1A through 5A, currently – is grouped and each of the two groups has a year to continue to state competition. Even though there were no 3A schools allowed to advance, next year will be the 3A bands’ year.

For Murray, the change in Kilgore’s marching band results came when the marching skill level consistently matched the playing. As Murray writes the drills, he said one of the most important aspects is where the band faces during different sec-tions of the music.

“It’s absolutely a ‘proud papa’ moment,” Murray said about when the band receives superior marks at marching competitions.

He hides the results from the students un-til they are all announced over the public ad-dress system.

“It always puts a big grin on my face, and how much they appreciate it,” he said

about seeing the students’ faces at the an-nouncement.

When he goes into the press box to see the results, though, he said there is that “sink-ing feeling” when it is not three straight first divisions.

“Here lately at Kilgore, it’s been a lot more of the happy times,” he said.

Marching band holds its own in competition, Cup


Members of the KHS Marching Band perform along the parade route during Kilgore’s Christmas parade Dec. 3. The marching band received first division ratings from all three of the judges during its competition in the fall. Marching Band is the only musical group that contributes to the Lone Star Cup.

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While high school orchestra is not part of the University Interscholastic League’s Lone Star Cup, Kilgore ISD Director of Orchestras Tristan Roberts prides himself on the district’s orches-tra department.

With director changes during the 2013-2014 school year, he said he com-plimented the students on their ability “to be able to work under such changes.”

Curtis Hansen stepped in halfway through the year, Roberts said, to pre-pare the group for UIL competition – concert and sight-reading. Roberts’ wife Shannon, who was in her first year away from the director’s podium, took the or-chestra to the April competition.

“Obviously they had been prepared well (under Hansen’s direction) and did well under Shannon’s direction,” Rob-erts said.

Both the varsity (high school) and non-varsity (middle school) orchestras

ended up receiving sweepstakes for the past school year.

“That is a good thing to achieve that, and it just kind of is a reflection that you’ve got your alignment going in your program,” Roberts said about the honors.

Similarly to band, the concert and sight-reading contests occur on the same day. The orchestra’s concert is one that it has prepared, while the sight-reading is a piece that is new for the students.

The director has seven minutes to teach the students the piece, and then

they must perform it for the first time in front of the judges. Each judge looks at everything they normally would in a well-rehearsed concert piece.

Although the accolades are nice, Rob-erts said the “base line” for him comes in three aspects: good musical experience for students, fine arts credit and respon-sibility for their behavior.

The students can play and practice their parts constantly, but Roberts said

Orchestra earns sweepstakes in ’13-14 UIL, contributes to community culture

See JUMPLINE, Page X

Director Tristan

Roberts leads KHS orchestra

members in rehearsal April 22,

prepping for the group’s

spring concert.

See ORCHESTRA, Page 7ARCHIVE PHOTO



In her first year Kilgore High School choir director has been getting to know her students and her new academic home, while her students have been making their own judgments.

It took a little bit of time to get the program off the ground with the director change, but Becky Sullivan got it in the air in time for the annual UIL solo and ensem-

ble contest.“I think I took 13 (to) solo and ensemble,

and 12 of them earned a superior rating,” she said. “Out of those 13, six of them ad-vanced to state.”

In addition to going to the contests, Sul-livan said the choir students participated in the school’s black history program and two concerts of their own.

“Next year I’m looking to go to contest and try to maybe get a few more [for an auxiliary show choir],” she said.

Choir director sees success in first year at KHS, eyes program growth

the students have to have their own motivation and ask for advice to reach a higher level of skill.

“We can’t just cram in all the information and go on our way,” he said about di-recting students.

Music is a constant pro-cess of learning how to learn, Roberts said. While the practice is done indi-vidually, he said the music that is created gets shown to the public.

“It’s music, but I think it’s all about relationships,” he said. “I think that’s the bottom line of everything in education.”

It is important, though, for his students to remem-ber that he does not expect them to be perfect because no one can truly be perfect.

“We want that unique spin or take or interpreta-

tion, but you have to get to that level to have that,” he said about students improv-ing their craft.

With six KHS seniors who played for college scholar-ships to continue their mu-sic education, Roberts said, “I’m most proud that they responded to the gifts that were given to them.”

Even as students earn different accomplish-ments, such as UIL sweep-stakes, Roberts said, “It’s about learning – never stop learning.”

Preparing with the or-chestra for a concert allows students to practice for the sight-reading contest, and that contest helps prepare them for future auditions.

“They learn how to han-dle a live performance that you can’t stop and you can’t have a start-over,” he said

about concert and UIL competition circumstances. “You have to adjust as it’s going. You just have to live in that moment and rely on your training and make sound decisions.”

Roberts knows some stu-dents have chosen to attend KISD schools over their des-ignated school districts due to the orchestra department.

“They wanted to go to a school that offered that,” he said. “You would hope that it would be a huge point of pride for Kilgore, not just the [school district].”

Roberts believes the city is starting to embrace its or-chestra programs at the dis-trict and at Kilgore College.

“I think it takes the whole thing because we’re not Dal-las,” he said. “We don’t want to be Dallas. It’s Kilgore, but it’s really good.”


Members of the Kilgore High School choir perform a version of Del-ta Rae’s song “Bottom of the River” during the campus’ Black History Month program Feb. 28 in the KHS gym.

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LONE STAR CUP SPECIAL EDITION10-11 u KILGORE NEWS HERALD SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2014

COURTESY PHOTOStudents participating in select Kilgore High School extracurricular programs con-tribute to the district’s University Interscholastic League’s Lone Star Cup point to-tals, from track and field, football, baskeball and tennis (above) to marching band and One Act Play in addition to numerous non-ranked activities. For the 2013-2014 school year, Kilgore High School finished in the Lone Star Cup Top 10 among 3A schools in the State of Texas, tying for 10th place with 50 points.

Student scholars, athletes, musiciansput KHS in Lone Star Cup Top 10 in 3A

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BRINGING THE TRADITION BACK -- Kilgore senior Annie Mehringer (front) goes for a lay-up in a district game against Chapel Hill. The Lady Bulldogs basketball program won their district’s championship for the first time in nine years in the 2013-14 season, and went three rounds deep into the playoffs. Mehringer, a senior, signed a scholarship to play softball at Stephen F. Austin University.

Kilgore’s tennis team had in the spring sea-son was capping it by taking two doubles teams to the state Class 3A tournament at Texas A&M University on April 28-29 in College Station. Lanka and Thomas finished second, losing in the finals, and Barnfield and Autria Compton finished third.

But coaches Jason Maroney and Rhonda Fletcher will also make a point to note that Kilgore ruled the District 16-3A tourna-ment, winning both boys and girls team tro-phies. The trip in the fall to Abilene set the bar high, but the team was up to the chal-lenge in the spring.

TRACK & FIELDKilgore’s history in track and field goes

back many years, particularly under coaches John Heffner and Nina Mata.

But there’s been a track revival of late at KHS, and coach Phillip Lane has led the charge. Lane was joined this year by Amy Dehdari, who coached the girls, and togeth-er, the Bulldogs sent four to the state meet at the University of Texas in Austin, a regular

destination for Kilgore track athletes.Lane’s boys won their second District 16-

3A championship in three years, as several athletes made it out of district and on to the area meet. Tony Burks, a graduating se-nior who will continue her track career at the University of Houston this fall, won five events at the district meet.

At area, Burks was equally impressive, advancing to regionals at Texas A&M-Commerce in all five events. Several Kilgore athletes made the regional round, and from that, Burks, Ladarrin Anthony, DaQuellan Scott and Katy Raby all qualified for state.

Burks won two medals at state: a gold in the long jump and a bronze in the triple jump, and Raby, only a freshman, got valu-able experience and finished ninth. Anthony and Scott, both senior football signees (at Kilgore College and Henderson State in Arkansas, respectively), finished 1-2 in the 3A boys shot put. Anthony, who went to the state meet in 2013, won gold this time around, and Scott, who had accompanied him, competed this year and won silver.

LONE STAR CUP SPECIAL EDITION SPORTS 8 KILGORE NEWS HERALDSATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2014

2013-14Continued from Page 7

File photo by CINDA MAXWELL

ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIPSEASON -- Kilgore’sAndrew Espinoza (7) controls the ball against Spring Hill. The soccer Bulldogs managed anamazing feat in 2013-14, winning their district’schampionship for the fourth consecutive season.The program will have toretool a bit in theupcoming school year, with a new coach following the departure of AaronErickson, but Kilgore changed coaches mid-stream before and kept on rolling. The Bulldogs had made the regionaltournament in each of the four seasons prior to lastschool year, and also had an appearance in the state championship game a few years ago, losing to Boerne Champion.

See KILGORE, Page 9

After wrapping up district, the Lady Bulldogs eliminated Ma-bank, then Paris, but finally fell to Crandall, 52-48, in Eustace. The Lady Bulldogs wrapped up the ’13-’14 season with a 23-9 record.

GOLFKilgore’s golf team, now coached

by Thomas Holson, held its own in the District 16-3A tournament at Wood Hollow in Longview. Two players – Courtney Ganus and Drew Hampton – to make it through the tournament with re-gional qualifying scores.

SOFTBALLCoach Cheyenne Savony Kirk-

patrick’s Lady Bulldogs were emo-tionally off kilter for the course of the season, having to play without teammate Lynzee Ford. Ford, who is battling a form of leukemia, missed the entire season, but did come back and was recognized in front of a large crowd for the Lady Bulldogs’ home finale.

The softball program had only a few seniors, and while they were in numerous close games over the course of the season, they did miss the playoffs. Kirkpatrick plans to

make amends for that in the up-coming school year.

BASEBALLLike football, Kilgore’s baseball

program has a rich history of suc-cess. But the Diamond ‘Dogs had missed the playoffs for the last two seasons prior to 2014.

Coach Wood, the athletic direc-tor, brought coach Charles Fos-hee on staff to replace the very-good Charles Presley, and Foshee, along with assistant Joey Pippen, set about to retool the Diamond ‘Dogs.

An up-and-down season fol-lowed, but trended up. Foshee guided the Bulldogs back to the playoffs for the first time since 2011, and upended Mabank in the first round.

Kilgore lost the first game of a best-of-three series in Pittsburg to start round two, then defeated the Pirates, 9-3, here at Driller Park to take the series to its full three games.

Pittsburg bounced back, how-ever, and won the third and decid-ing game at Driller, 6-5.

Foshee and company finished

the season 14-15, and lost a few key seniors to graduation, such as Jake Brantley and Joseph Shep-herd. But in the process, the Bulldogs found a gem in soon-to-be sophomore pitcher Michael Hampton, and lots of other tal-ented players will also return, like Trent Ward, Mason Shelton, Wil-liam Colbert and Zack Dent.

SPRING TENNISThe biggest achievement that


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Learning. Winning. Serving.Our Bulldogs Do It!

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Learning. Winning. Serving.

Our Bulldogs Do It!

BULLDOGSContinued from Page 5

as the favorite by many to win the District 16-3A championship, and while it wasn’t easy, the Bulldogs did accomplish that feat. Kilgore, which had a 30-year playoff ab-sence from 1982-2012, was now suddenly a basketball power, flexing its muscle with that district title, and then playoff wins over Van, Paris and heavily-favored Athens. It was Kilgore who should’ve been heavily-fa-vored; the Bulldogs pounded the Hornets, 69-44.

Kilgore reached the UIL Class 3A Re-gion II tournament, played at Texas A&M-Commerce, needing to win two games to get to the 3A state tournament in Austin. But it was not to be. Defending 3A state champ Dallas Madison was Kilgore’s first opponent at Commerce, and Madison was ready, up to the task in defeating the Bull-dogs, 68-47.

Still, Kilgore basketball was back on the map after appearing in the regional tour-nament for the first time since the 1966 Bulldogs went past regionals into the state tournament. Kilgore finished the 2013-14

season with a 25-8 overall record and the school’s first district championship in boys basketball since 1980.

GIRLS BASKETBALLSuccess for the Lady Bulldogs was not as

far into the past as for Kilgore’s boys. Plenty of fans will remember the Lady Bulldogs’ basketball squads of the mid 2000’s, when players like twins Penny and Katy Clark, Monique Shackleford, and Hope Walker led the Lady ‘Dogs to the Class 4A sweet sixteen.

But wins and playoff appearances had been hard to come by since the 2005 sea-son, and Jacquetta Brown arrived in Kilgore hoping to change the culture.

She did that, turning Kilgore into a de-fensive nightmare of a match-up for oppos-ing teams. Kilgore dashed and cut its way to an 11-1 record in District 16-3A and a district title, Kilgore’s first one in girls bas-ketball in about nine years.

File photo courtesy of AMY DEHDARI

ON THE RIGHT TRACK -- Recently-graduated Kilgore High senior Tony Burks (left) and freshman Katy Raby (right) competed in the state track meet in May, both in the triple jump, and Burks in the long jump, as well. Burks won the gold in the long jump and the bronze in the triple, and Raby finished ninth, but hopefully a tune-up for a future state meet appearance. Ladarrin Anthony and DaQuellan Scott also made the trip, with Anthony winning gold in the 3A boys shot put and Scott taking silver. Kilgore’s boys track team also won the district championship for the second time in three years.

See 2013-14, Page 8

Arguably the game of the year in the regular season in the en-tire state in 3A, according to the build-up, was Kilgore hosting 3A’s top-ranked team, Gilmer, on Nov. 8, 2013, literally in front of a standing-room-only crowd here at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium.

In this case, the build-up lived up to the hype, as Kilgore got in front, 34-29, then, perhaps fit-tingly, won the game with defense, as the Buckeyes last gasp fell short. Kilgore had secured the crown of champion of the so-called “Dis-trict of Doom.”

The playoff road wouldn’t test Kilgore again for a couple of weeks. The Bulldogs drubbed Van, 49-7, but then ran into a scrappy Kaufman team in a rainy night at Rose Stadium in Tyler. Kaufman did just enough to stay in the contest, getting a few fortu-nate bounces – literally – to stick with the Ragin’ Red down to the final moments, when Kilgore’s Benny Colbert slapped down a pass to save the game.

Kilgore conquered Lone Star in Forney, then whipped district rival Chapel Hill again in Tyler to earn a rematch with Stephenville, who had defeated KHS a year earlier in the state semifinals when a Kilgo-re comeback fell short.

This time, Kilgore would need no comeback, taking a comfort-able lead and dominating the de-fending 3A DI champs from start to finish in Corsicana, stamping a ticket to the state title game and a matchup with Carthage.

That game, played in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, didn’t fin-ish like Kilgore fans hoped, al-though the Ragin’ Red did fight back. Carthage held on for a 34-23 win.

In all, the Bulldogs finished 14-1 in 2013, the second-best record in the history of the KHS football program (16-0 in 2004 remaining the best).

CROSS-COUNTRYKilgore’s cross-country run-

ners, girls and boys, braved chilly temperatures and an occasional muddy course over the run of the season, but capped it with a trip to the UIL Class 3A Region II meet in Grand Prairie.

In boys competition, coach Phillip Lane’s Kilgore squad had seven runners in a field of 150. Kilgore’s Sergio Rubalcava was 34th overall. Teammate Clayton Fletcher was 36th, and Octavio Venegas was 37th. Clinton Roun-savall was 39th.

Also for Kilgore, Jose Galvan was 63rd, Juan Silva 75th and Angel Martinez 103rd. As a team, Kilgore had a total of 209 points, averaged finishing the course in 18 minutes, 24.10 seconds, and

finished sixth out of 33 teams.Coach Jacquetta Brown had one

runner for the KHS girls: Karsen Davis, who was 97th in a girls field of 160.

VOLLEYBALLKilgore didn’t make the play-

offs in volleyball, one of just two sports in Kilgore’s 2013-14 school year that didn’t have a postseason finish of any kind.

But coach Amy Dehdari’s Lady Bulldogs did play much better and improved, going 14-18 over-all and 3-9 in District 16-3A.

FALL TENNISTennis is the only sport in the

KHS athletic department that has two seasons per school year: a team-based fall season that be-gins in August and wraps up in November, and a spring season, geared more to individual and doubles competition, that starts in January and continues until al-most the end of the school year.

Kilgore’s netters did the school proud in both of them. In fall, though, specifically, Kilgore got all the way to the finals of the region-al tournament in Rockwall, los-ing in those finals to Frisco Lone Star. But the top two teams from each region move on to state, so Kilgore qualified for the 3A state tournament in Abilene.

They competed there the week-

end of Nov. 8-10, finishing sev-enth in the event. A few players – Sabrina Barnfield in girls singles and Takashi Thomas and Sanjit Lanka in boys doubles – went un-defeated while in Abilene.

BOYS BASKETBALLJust a few years ago, Kilgore bas-

ketball was known by some as a brief interlude between football season and baseball and softball season.

That’s not the case anymore, for either basketball program.

The Bulldogs, coached then by Jeff Coleman, were looked at as


DOMINATINGContinued from Page 5

See BULLDOGS, Page 7

File photo by KATHY BOWDEN

NUMBER ONE WITH A BULLET -- Kilgore junior Trey Conrod (24) takes the ball away from a Chapel Hill player dur-ing a District 16-3A game here at KHS. Conrod and the Bulldogs won the program’s first district title since 1980 last season, and then won three playoff games, reaching the regional tournament at Texas A&M-Commerce.


Simply dominating From beginning to end, football to track, Kilgore athletics made their mark in 2013-14By MITCH LUCAS

[email protected]

When the points are counted and the scores are final, only a handful of Class 3A schools in the entire state will be able to say they’re on a par or better than Kilgore High School, in both academics and athletics.

The University Interscholastic League’s Lone Star Cup, which since 1997 has rec-ognized schools that excel in both, will in all likelihood be awarded to Argyle this week. But Kilgore was in the conversation, so to speak, and will finish in the top 10, a tribute not only to the efforts of students, both ath-letes and scholars (and in some cases both), but to the commitment to excellence of the Kilgore Independent School District.

FOOTBALLAthletically, the school year began with

football, and coach Mike Wood’s Bulldogs set the tone for the remainder of the school year with their determined march to the Class 3A Division I state championship game.

The Ragin’ Red ran without stubbing a toe through its non-district schedule, beat-ing down Marshall, Pine Tree and Mount Pleasant by the combined score of 146-34. The District 16-3A schedule began after that, and Kilgore’s defense clamped down on the competition, allowing more than 20 points in just two games (25 vs. Chapel Hill and 29 against Gilmer).

File photo by DR. JEFF DAVIS

MOWING DOWN THE COMPETITION -- Kilgore tight end Jarod Wood (81) breaks free from a tackle against Henderson. The Bulldogs went 14-1 in 2013, and 11-2 the year before that. In that time span, Kilgore is 11-1 against district competition, and 9-2 in playoff games.

See DOMINATING, Page 6

welcometokilgore.com


LUCASContinued from Page 3

Burks brought home two medals: a gold in the 3A girls long jump and a bronze in the triple jump. Freshman Katy Raby gave us a glimpse of the future: she reached state as well, finishing ninth in the triple jump.

All kinds of individual honors were racked up along the way, including lots and lots of scholarships to perform on the next level while earning a degree. And two Kilgore ath-letes – seniors Annie Mehringer and Jake Brantley – were named the Rotary Club’s scholars for KHS.

All of this ranks the 2013-14 school year near, if not at, the top in the history of Kilgore athletics. There have been so many accomplishments by various Bulldogs’ athletic programs over the years – the baseball and track success of the 1970s, basketball success over the years, including

the Lady Bulldogs’ success in the mid 2000’s, the baseball revival back in 2003 and 2004, and of course, the Ragin’ Red bringing home the 4A Division II state football cham-pionship in 2004.

All of those teams and performances are legendary in Kilgore sports lore. But as far as a single, solitary school year, the 2013-14 season might take the cake as the No. 1 athletic year in school history.

In this section, and in the academic portion with it, we celebrate with Kilgore fans the accomplishments of 2013-14, as evident by the UIL’s Lone Star Cup standings. The final standings are still a few days away, but Kilgore looks to finish comfortably in the top 10 – as in, the top 10 in the entire state among schools in Class 3A.

And so many people are responsible – many of you won’t find your names here. Parents who spent hours driving their children to practices, both athletic and otherwise; grandparents who came to every game or concert; brothers and sisters who helped students study for their UIL compe-titions; and even those who made that extra effort to get to a game or performance to cheer on their friends.

This section is for all of you, a commemorative edition that celebrates a year’s worth of extra hard work and effort with a simple nod of respect for a job well done.

Congratulations, class of 2014. You can hold your head high at every single class reunion and get-together.

The 2013-14 school year is going to be a tough act to follow. But I think we’re going to have a lot of fun trying.


BENNY’S NUMBER SAYS IT ALL -- Kilgore High School quarterback Benny Colbert (above, 1) runs through a hole against Kaufman, after teammate Clay Wiley (78) made a block. The football program ran through most of its competition this year, losing only to Carthage in the Class 3A Division I state championship game. That was a significant achievement, followed by a lot more; district championships in tennis, boys basketball, girls bas-ketball, boys soccer and boys track were all placed in the Bulldogs’ trophy case, as well. Boys basketball had its best playoff run since the 1960s, and the girls had their longest since 2005. Tennis made the fall state tournament in Abilene as a team, and sent four players to the state tourney in College Station in spring. Baseball got back to the postseason and went two rounds deep; golf qualified two for regionals; cross-country sent four runners to regionals; both soccer teams went three rounds deep; and four Kilgore athletes went to the state track meet at the University of Texas in Austin. In all, it was perhaps Kilgore High School’s greatest athletic school year ever, writes News Herald sports editor Mitch Lucas.

From the perspective of a Kilgore High School sports fan, there were really only two bad numbers in the entire 2013-14 athletic portion of the school year: 34 and 23.

As in, 34-23, the final score of the Uni-versity Interscholastic League’s Class 3A Di-vision I state championship game.

Kilgore’s football team lost that game to old rival Carthage that day in a pretty-full AT&T Stadium in Arlington. But that sea-son, in which the Bulldogs lost only once, set the tone, as it turned out for the rest of the school year.

The fall sports – football, fall tennis, cross-country and volleyball – had quite an impressive 2013.

The Ragin Red’s biggest regular-season win, the one in front of 11,000-plus fans here against Gilmer, wrapped up a District 16-3A championship. The tennis program, as a team, qualified for the 3A state tour-nament in Abilene, and the cross-country team was well-represented at the regional

meet in Grand Prairie.Volleyball didn’t make the postseason,

but did push its district opponents and played much, much better than in previous seasons.

The second half of the school year picked up nicely where the first left off. Both bas-ketball teams were fa-vored to do very well once again, and more than surpassed expec-tations. The Bulldogs made it to the regional tournament in Commerce, its farthest play-off trip in 40 years, before losing to even-tual state champion Madison, and the Lady Bulldogs got three rounds deep, the best postseason run their program had made in about a decade.

Both soccer teams were anticipating great

seasons and didn’t disappoint. The boys won their district’s championship for the fourth consecutive season, and the girls had their best playoff performance since the late 1990s, going three rounds in.

The softball team was forced into an emotional season through no one’s fault when one of their teammates, Lynzee Ford, was diagnosed with a form of leukemia. Ford’s medical condition took its toll on the team, who missed the playoffs, but by the end of the season, Ford was out on the field as an honorary team captain and coach for the final game.

The baseball program was jump-started with the arrival of Charles Foshee as head coach. Foshee led the Diamond ‘Dogs back to the playoffs after a short absence, and they were able to beat Mabank in a first-round series before falling to Pittsburg in a very close second round best-of-three.

Courtney Ganus and Drew Hampton both played well enough at the District 16-

3A golf tournament at Wood Hollow in Longview that they each earned a trip to the regional tournament in Pottsboto.

Spring tennis is more individually-ori-ented, but that didn’t matter: four Bulldogs still got all the way to the state tournament at Texas A&M University in College Sta-tion. Kilgore’s boys doubles team of Takashi Thomas and Sanjit Lanka made it to the Class 3A boys finals before losing, winding up with a second-place finish, and the team of Autria Compton and Sabrina Barnfield finished third in the 3A girls doubles tour-nament.

Kilgore’s track team has consistently wrapped up athletic school years by get-ting athletes to the state tournament at the University of Texas in Austin, and did so again. Teammates Ladarrin Anthony and DaQuellan Scott finished gold-silver in the Class 3A boys shot put, and Tony


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Congratulations to all Our KISD

Academic Students

BY MITCH LUCAS, SPORTS EDITOR

2013-14, we’re going to miss you -- but you’re going out on top

File photo courtesy of KILGORE HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER PROGRAM

HAT TRICK -- After several years of not getting past the first round of the playoffs, the Kilgore High School girls soccer team (above) made it to round three of the postseason this year, one of many success stories for KHS this school year. The combined success of academics and athletics allowed Kilgore to have a top 10 finish in the University Interscholastic League’s Lone Star Cup.

LUCAS

See LUCAS, Page 4


The Year of the Bulldog

Football set the pace, and then KHS athletics rose to the occasion, perhaps the best athletic school year ever


Kilgore’s Kevrin Justice (7, above) finds a gaping hole in the Carthage defense during the UIL Class 3A Division I state championship game, Dec. 20, 2013 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Ragin’ Red came up short in that championship game, finishing their season 14-1. That was a tough day for Kilgore High School sports fans, but there were other great days in that football season, and many more great days to come. The school’s athletic programs won seven district titles in the course of the school year, and almost every program under the athletic umbrella went to the playoffs, or a postseason equivalent. Tennis had four competitors in the state tournament, and boys basketball had its best season in four decades.

ABOUT THE COVER: Kilgore wide receiver Aaron Foy fights for yards against Carthage, as head coach Mike Wood looks on from the sideline (File photo by Dr. Jeff Davis).

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KILGORE NEWS HERALD

Lone Star CupSpecial EditionSATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2014

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