Looking at 2007

Bailey

From local athletes honored at the state and national level to coaching changes in Badger sports such as football and volleyball to a boys' basketball team poised to make a playoff run, 2007 offered local sports fans plenty to cheer about.

While space prohibits recognizing every athlete who made an impact in 2007, here are some of the year's highlights with sincere apologies for any oversights.

January

Brains and Brawn

Lampasas High School proved its athletes weren't just in school to compete on the field of play when five football players were selected to the Texas High School Coaches Association All-State Academic Team. Will Mezger, Kolby Gill, Carter Carpenter and Peter Michelbook earned all-state honors, and Matt Smith was one of just 20 players in Class 4A named to the THSCA's Elite Team.

Big Hire

Lampasas ISD Superintendent Brant Myers made one of the biggest hires of his tenure here, selecting Smithville Athletic Director Joey McQueen to fill the vacant AD spot for the LISD.

Big fish In July, Hunter Nall, 15, grandson of Max and Wanda Berry of Lampasas, caught this 8 1/2 foot Marlin near Los Cabos, Mexico.

Burnet Gold

Three LHS powerlifters brought back gold medals from the Burnet Meet. On the boys' side, Kolby Gill topped his weight division, while Patrice Collins and Stephanie Smith matched him at their respective weights among the female competitors.

February

New Grid Boss

Joey McQueen didn't get to ease into his new post as athletic director.

His first major order of business was finding a replacement for Billy Cook, who departed the head football coaching position to become the offensive coordinator at Burnet.

McQueen decided to stay in-house for the hire, promoting Cook's offensive coordinator Ryan Bailey to the top spot. Show of Strength

Both powerlifting teams picked up in February right where they left off in January, proving the Badgers and Lady Badgers have some of the region's top lifters.

For the boys, Kolby Gill struck gold at the Hewitt- Midway Meet, winning the 132-pound weight division, and Brandon Skelton helped lead the Badgers to a first-place team finish at the Taylor Meet with an individual gold.

Heath Hopson was named to the All-District 25-4A Second Team as a sophomore.

Katie Riddle highlighted the Lady Badgers' February slate by setting a squat record at the Llano Meet and leading the team to a first-place finish.

National Signing Day

LHS grid standouts Will Mezger and Wade Langley made their college commitments. Mezger, who was one of the top quarterbacks in the state as a senior, inked to play at Angelo State University in San Angelo. Langley, a running back who also was a track standout, signed to play at West Texas A&M in Canyon. LHS cross country athlete Wes Fisher pledged to continue his running career at Western Texas College in Snyder.

March

Between Lampasas and Lometa, 13 basketball players were selected to all-district rosters.

For the Lampasas girls, Jennifer Howard and Latoscha Sherman were named to the All-District 25- 4A second team, while Casey O'Connor and Michelle Benton were tabbed as honorable mentions.

Spivey

For the Lampasas boys, Heath Hopson was named to the 25-4A second team, and Clay Tyner and Heath Cofield received honorable mentions.

For the Lometa boys, Frank Torres, Brandon Faubion, Kramer Valles, Toby Davis, Blayne Alaniz and Joe Michael Rivera were all chosen for the all-district roster. Powerful Crescendo

Stephanie Smith and Katie Riddle finished their powerlifting seasons in style. Both girls captured regional titles and finished fourth at the state meet.

Kolby Gill, Chris Cummings, Brandon Skelton, Chant Clark, Melvin Batiste and Taylor Thompson all advanced to the regional meet on the boys' side, with Gill advancing to state, where he finished seventh.

All-Star QB

Although already committed to Angelo State, Will Mezger wasn't done representing the Blue and White on the football field. The senior QB was selected to play in the Lone Star Arena Football Classic All-Star Game in Austin.

Fast Start

The Lampasas girls' track team didn't waste any time making its mark, capturing the team title at the Bangs Meet.

Hirst

Crusading Netter

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's tennis player Eric White, a former Lampasas High standout, turned in a performance that earned him American Southwest Conference Player of the Week honors.

April

Regional Track

Lampasas was well represented at the Region IV-4A Track Meet in San Antonio. Eight individuals and a relay team qualified for the meet.

Lampasas male qualifiers were Nathan Hooper (discus), Brode DuBose (shot put), Wes Fisher (1600 meters and 3200m) and the 800m relay team (Angelo Hardy, Aaron Reyna, Wade Langley, Tyler Phelan). Hooper finished fifth at the regional meet to pace the Badgers.

Lampasas female qualifiers were Andrea White (shot put), Alma Sandoval (discus), Ashley Lowery (100m hurdles), Courtney Capenter (100m hurdles and 300m hurdles) and Patricia Roberts (300m hurdles). White was the Lady Badgers' top finisher, placing fifth in San Antonio.

For Lometa, Toby Davis qualified for the Region IV-1A Meet in the boys' discus.

On the girls' side, Nayla Rosales qualified in the 800m, the 800m relay and the 1600m relay. Rosales was joined in the relays by Maria Jasso, Aurora Reyes, Taylor Bradley and alternate Maribel Reyes.

Bowen

All-District Soccer

Nine Lampasas High School athletes were named to the All-District 8-4A teams.

For the LHS girls, Katie Riddle was chosen the district's defensive MVP; Angel Waters and Bonnie Wallace were selected to the first team; and Ashley Thompson was tabbed to the second team.

For the LHS boys, Jesse Martinez was a first-team selection; Josh McDaniel made the second team; and Larry Wilson, J.D. Arms and Ross Weems were named honorable mentions.

All-District Golf

Three LHS golfers were recognized as all-district golfers. On the girls' side, Cassandra Wilkins was a second-teamer after a ninth-place finish at the district meet, and Katie Brooks was an honorable-mention selection after finishing 15th. For the boys, Jonathan Watson finished 10th at the district meet to earn an honorable mention.

May

Baseball All-District

Nine LHS baseball players earned spots on the All- District 25-4A team. Will Mezger and Josh Cantu garnered first-team honors, and Kolby Gill was selected to the second team. Carter Carpenter, Jake Hail, Ryan Abbott, Kyle Landry, Coleton Lucas and Cody Bailey earned an honorable mention.

Narrow Miss

The Lady Badger softball team was in the playoff race until the very end but fell short despite some impressive individual efforts. Pitcher Kirby Crow was one of the region's finest hurlers, and the efforts of Rachel Urness and Jessica Valles gained them opportunities to play college ball. Urness signed at Hill College in Hillsboro, and Valles signed with Frank Phillips College in Borger.

June

All-Star Gridders

Two more LHS football players earned opportunities to represent their school beyond the regular season when Chris Cummings and Chant Clark were selected to play in the NationalAllStars.com Bowl in Austin.

August

Bump, Set, Spike

Under the tutelage of new head coach Tracey Myers, the LHS volleyball team opened its season. The Lady Badgers -- behind All-District 25- 4A selections Davina Hirst, Allie Spivey, Sarah Bishop and Erin Laney -- would go on to win nine games. Their district win at Marble Falls was the program's first in three years.

September

Tough Season

Under first-year head coach Ryan Bailey, the Badger football team opened an 0-10 campaign. LHS lost a heartbreaker to Gatesville in overtime and almost rallied to beat Dripping Springs in the season finale.

Senior wide receiver Jarrod Bowen, who also played quarterback, running back and safety, was named to the All-District 25-4A first team, and John Beavers, Zach Hlavaty, Frank James, Jonathan VanLiew, Justin Henderson, Brandon Kirkpatrick, Seth Fry, Ryan Abbott, Adrian Castillo and Jeremy Brown received an honorable mention.

October

Regional X-Country

The LHS boys' cross country team of Ryan Tedford, Todd Young, Michael Fisher, David Bloomfield, Brandon Willie, Andrew Griffin and Johnathan Lohmann finished second in the District 25-4A Meet to advance to the regional meet. The girls finished four points shy of qualifying.

November

Tough Draw

After advancing to the Six-Man Division I playoffs for the second straight season, the Lometa Hornets got matched up against the best six-man player in the state in the first round of the playoffs. Richland Springs, led by quarterback Tyler Ethridge, ended the Hornets' season with a 54-6 loss.

December

Strong Showings

The LHS boys' basketball team opened the season hot, and the girls' squad started to find its stride late in the year.

In the first week of December, the Badgers captured the title at the Mitchell-Timmons Memorial Tournament in Lorena, and the following week the Lady Badgers finished second at the Llano Tourney.