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January 27, 1997

Eagle boys reclaim title,

girls edged out at finish


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By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Jan. 27 -- It was a return to the top for the Pecos Eagle boys'
swimming team, while the girls came close to staying there, before
seeing their string of District 4 titles come to an end Saturday night
in Fort Stockton.

The boys, who had won six straight district championships until being
dethroned by Big Spring last year, took the title back from the Steers
in convincing fashion, as they outscored Big Spring by a 114-87 margin
to claim the District 4 trophy.

Pecos' girls had placed behind Monahans and Big Spring in most of this
season's meets, but trailed the Loboes by only one point going into the
final race of the day. However, the Eagles were unable to pull out a
victory in the 400 freestyle relay, winding up third in the race and
second to the Loboes in the standings, by an 84-77 margin.

"It was a lot better relay than we started off with this morning. We did
a lot better in the finals," said Eagles' coach Terri Morse. "Some
things went our way as far as the way we swam and with what happened
with some of the other teams."

The girls stayed in the race for the title by winning the 200 freestyle
relay, after placing fourth behind Monahans, Big Spring and Abilene
Wylie in the morning prelims.

Randi Key, Dionnie Munoz, Christy Whitworth and Liz Parent took the race
in 1:53.14, after Monahans had set a new district record in the prelims.
It came after Megan Freeman, Key and Munoz finished 1-2-3 in the 100
yard butterfly and Whitworth captured the 500 freestyle to briefly give
the Eagles the points lead.

Freeman swam a 1:08.95 to take the 100 fly, while Whitworth won the 500
with a 6:22.93 time. Earlier, she finished fourth in the 200 free, while
freeman was third in the 100 breaststroke near the end of the meet.

The 400 freestyle team of Whitworth, Munoz, Freeman and Key got the
second bronze medal in the relays, after Freeman, Key, Jaime Corson and
Kellee Bagley did the same in the 200 medley relay to open the swimming
finals.

The girls also got medals from Liz Parent, who was second in the 200
medley and third in the 100 freestyle. Others qualifying in the Top 6
for regionals were Key and Munoz, fourth and sixth in the 100
backstroke; Corson, fifth in the 200 medley and sixth in the 100
breaststroke, and Leslie Armbruster, sixth in the 500 freestyle.

The boys used the strength of their relay squads to earn their victory.
Pecos swept all three relays, with Kevin Bates, Al Tillman, Kenneth
Friar and Dennis Harris taking the 200 medley in 1:47.25; Seth
Whitworth, Matt Ivy, William Kiefer and Harris winning the 200 free in
1:36.80; and Whitworth, Friar, Kiefer and Bates taking the 400 free with
a 3:32.95 time.

"We felt we could win it if our relays came through and we did well in
our individual events," said Morse.

Big Spring sophomore Slate Broyles did earn outstanding swimmer honors
on the boys' side, as he won the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke,
beating out Bates both times. The freshman did break the school record
in the 100 back, going 58.01 despite the second place finish.

The Eagles did get individual firsts from Kiefer, who won the 200
freestlye in 2:01.94; Whitworth, who took the 200 medley in 2:05.07;
Scott Pounds, winner of Saturday afternoon's 1-meter diving with a
300.65 point total; and Friar, who won the 500 free in 5:25.11.

He also placed third in the 200 medley, while Whitworth was second in
the 100 breaststroke, Kiefer was fifth in the 100 free; Harris was
second in the 500 free and third in the 50 free; Ivy was second in the
200 free and fifth in the 100 backstroke; and Tillman placed third in
the 100 fly and fourth in the 100 breaststroke.

"Some of the kids surprised me with the way they finished," Morse said,
"Especially since some of them were sick last week. You never know how
they're going to do because of that, but they got hyped up for the
finals and really came through for us."

Monahans' senior Sandra Meeks repeated as outstanding swimmer on the
girls' side, as she won both of her events, the 100 and 200 freestyles,
setting new district records in the process. Morse was named boys' Coach
of the Year, while Monahans' Ben White, who had won seven straight
girls' titles before Pecos began its six-year streak, took the coaching
honors on that side.

The girls ended up six points ahead of Big Spring, which finished with
71 points. Andrews was fourth, with 58, followed by Wylie with 16, Fort
Stockton with 10 and Seminole with four points. In the boys' division,
Andrews picked up the third place trophy, finishing with 52 points. Fort
Stockton was next with 34, followed by Monahans with 29, and Seminole
with eight. Wylie failed to qualify any of its boys for Saturday's
finals.

The top six finishers in each race will advance to the Region I swim
meet, set for Feb. 7-8 at the Texas Tech Aquatic Center in Lubbock.

Warbird boxers split Saturday night bouts


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PECOS, Jan. 27 -- The Pecos-Barstow Warbirds collected wins in three of
the six matches they got in Saturday night, in a 17-fight card at the
Reeves County Civic Center.

Jaime Montano, Paul Juarez and Gilbert Plasencia picked up the
Warbirds' victories, in the final fights for the team before the West of
the Pecos Golden Gloves on Feb. 7-8 at the Civic Center.

Juarez, fighting at 90 pounds, defeated Juan Aguirre of Odessa Woodson,
while Montano defeated Keenan Stringer of the Twin City Tigers in a
140-pound bout, and Plasencia, fighting at 119 pounds, outpointed
Fernando Almanza of Odessa Top in the final fight of the night.

"Paul did an excellent job. If we had a best fighter (trophy), he would
have won that," Warbirds' manager Fred Martin said. "Jaime was making
his boxing debut, and he looked good. He's still got a lot to learn, but
he got the victory."

Plasencia controlled the early going of his fight, then held on to get
the decision, Martin said. "Gilbert got a little wild at times, but he
looked good. He got a little tired at the end, but he was still able to
pull it out."

For the other three Pecos-Barstow fighters, Isiah Juarez lost to Andrew
Heredia of the Twin City Tigers, Ricky Rubio lost to Eric Garcia of San
Angelo Luna, and Jesus Marruffo's fight against Chris Lewallen of
Andrews was stopped early in the third round.

"I don't know what Jesus' problem was, but he hasn't been working out
the way he should, and that may have had something to do with it,"
Martin said. "Isiah got outboxed, but it was his first fight of the
year, and Ricky's opponent was just way too tall. He tried, but he just
couldn't reach him."

Saturday's bouts were a warm-up for the Golden Gloves, will feature
several more teams than made the trip to Pecos on Saturday. Martin said
a couple which had been scheduled to participate didn't show, but added
"Even without them, we still had some good fights.

"It looked like we had a darn good crowd, and we had some helatious
fights for the fans," he added.

Saturday's Boxing Results:

Andrew Heredia, Twin City Tigers, def. Isiah Juarez, Pecos-Barstow
Warbirds.
Robert Cantu, San Angelo Luna, def. Luis Mogule, Hobbs.
James Bushing, Colorado City, def. Victor Nunez, Andrews.
Andres Galarza, San Angelo Luna, def. Ray Campoya, Socorro.
Jaime Montano, Pecos-Barstow Warbirds, def. Keenan Stringer, Twin City
Tigers.
Heriberto Sanchez, Odessa Top, def. Chris Ellenburg, San Angelo.
Francisco Villa, Odessa Top, def. Jose Moreno, El Paso.
Ray Gutierrez, Hobbs, def. Johnny Garcia, Jr., Andrews.
Paul Juarez, Pecos-Barstow Warbirds, def. Juan Aguirre, Odessa Woodson.
Jesse Luna, San Angelo Luna, def. Raul Hernandez, Socorro.
Eric Garcia, San Angelo Luna, def. Ricky Rubio, Pecos-Barstow Warbirds.
Ronald Rodriguez, Socorro, def. Sergio Rios, Odessa Top.
Chris Molina, Unattached, def. Chris Rodriquez, Rankin.
Chris Lewallen, Andrews, def. Jesus Marruffo, Pecos-Barstow Warbirds.
Plufareo Sanchez, Hobbs., def. Andres Matta, Twin City Tigers.
Gilbert Plasencia, Pecos-Barstow Warbirds, def. Fernando Almanza, Twin
City Tigers.

Eagle cagers endure ugly night in Andrews


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By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Jan. 27 -- Andrews has never been a favorite place for the Pecos
Eagles to play, on either the boys or girls sides.

Friday night, their troubles in Andrews continued, as the girls fell to
the Mustangs, 74-39, while the boys were on the short end of a 91-49
final score.

The girls' loss was their seventh straight in district, and continued a
painful January for Pecos. They came into the game down to just seven
players on their varsity roster again, after guard Erica Orona suffered
a concussion in practice on Thursday when she was elbowed in the head.

Andrews' girls clinched a playoff berth with their victory, using a
series of runs in the first three periods to build up their 30 point
margin. After Annette Marquez scored off a steal to give Pecos their
only lead of the night, Andrews scored the next 12 points, with all five
starters getting on the scoreboard.

Another Marquez basket broke that streak, and the Eagles cut the lead
to as little as 14-9. But Kayla Kimberlain scored on a rebound lay-up at
the buzzer and was fouled by Monique Levario. Her three-point play gave
Andrews an eight-point lead, and she scored the first two baskets of the
second period to up the margin to 12 points.

Andrews' next streak came with the score 21-13. They put in 15 straight
points, several off steals to widen their lead to 23. It got as high as
26 before two Lori Marquez baskets cut the margin to 41-19 at the half.

"We had more turnovers tonight than at any time since the beginning of
the year," Eagles' coach Patty Hall said. "We've got a good group of
kids, we're just lacking in some fundamentals."

Andrews' lead would grow to as much as 40 in fourth period. Kacee
Connally had eight of her 15 points in the third period, before the
Eagles got several baskets in the closing minutes off Mustang turnovers.

Lori Marquez tied Connally and Keitha Ramsey for high-point with 15,
while Annette Marquez finished with eight for the Eagles, who fell to
6-15 on the season, 1-7 in District 4-4A. Andrews improved to 18-7 and
6-2.

Andrews' boys broke out of their last-place tie with Pecos in a big
way. Post Michael Moore had 19 points, as did guard Shaud Williams,
whose quickness the Eagles' guards had as much trouble with dealing with
as Pecos' defense did during football season.

Williams, along with Jacob Lopez and Waylon Mayfield, scored off a
series of steals, most of those in the second half. Andrews jumped out
to an early 14-7 lead, but the margin was still just 10 with 90 seconds
left before halftime, when Chris Helbig hit a 3-pointer, and the he and
Moore both scored off Pecos turnovers to up the lead to 19.

Along with the turnovers, the Eagles failed to capitalize on early
chances from the foul line. They were 10-for-21 from the line in the
game, with six of the misses coming in the first half, when things were
still close.

Omar Hinojos put in 18 points despite 6-for-12 foul shooting, while
Eric Abila led Pecos with 16 points, even though he fouled out late in
the third period.

By that time, the lead had grown to 64-32, and Andrews margin would get
bigger in the final period, mostly from the foul line.

"We were just lackadaisical tonight," said Eagles' coach Mike Sadler.
"I don't know why Andrews brings out the worst in us."

The loss left Pecos at 1-5 in district, 8-12 overall, while Andrews is
2-4 and 6-21. Even with the loss, the Eagles stayed in the playoff
chase, but they'll need to win at least three of their last four games
to stay alive, starting on Tuesday night at San Angelo Lake View, which
upset Fort Stockton on Friday, 61-52.

Pecos' boys did get their second win of the season over Andrews in
junior varsity play, 53-48, as John Gutierrez scored 17 points, while
Andrews' girls defeated the Eagles' JV by a 72-10 final score.

Friday, girls
PECOS (39)
Carrasco 3 1-2 7; A. Marquez 4 0-0 8; Armstrong 2 1-2 5; L. Marquez 5
5-6 15; Thorp 0 0-2 0; Levario 0 0-0 0; Bell 2 0-0 4. Totals 16 7-12 39.

ANDREWS (74)
Sutton 4 0-0 8; Ramsey 6 2-2 15; Fields 6 0-0 13; Connally 7 1-4 15;
Kimberlain 6 1-1 13; McKinney 0 0-0 0; Lopez 0 0-0 0; Esquivel 4 0-0 10.
Totals 33 4-7 74.

Pecos 9 10 7 13 -39
Andrews 17 24 20 13 -74

Three-point goals: Andrews 4 (Esquivel 2, Ramsey, Fields). Fouled out:
None. Total fouls: Pecos 15, Andrews 13.

Friday, boys
PECOS (49)
Herrera 1 0-0 2; E. Abila 5 2-4 16; J. Abila 0 0-0 0; Luna 0 1-3 1;
Martinez 1 1-2 4; Hinojos 6 6-12 18; Garcia 0 0-0 0; Adame 3 0-0 6;
Marquez 1 0-0 2; Navarrete 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 10-21 47.

ANDREWS (91)
Moore 7 4-7 19; Williams 6 5-7 19; Lopez 4 3-3 11; Mayfield 5 2-4 12;
Helbig 4 1-1 13; Pitkin 3 3-4 9; Finley 1 2-4 4; Farris 2 0-0 4. Totals
32 20-30 91.

Pecos 12 8 14 15 -49
Andrews 20 17 29 25 -91
Three-point goals: Pecos 5 (E. Abila 4, Martinez), Andrews 7 (Helbig 4,
Williams 2, Moore). Fouled out: None. Total fouls: Pecos 23, Andrews 21.
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State and Regional Sports Pages--San Angelo Standard-Times


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