McLennan Community College women’s golfer Mia Clarke tied for the individual title at the Southwest District Championship at the Canyon West Golf Club in Weatherford on Wednesday.
Trailing by three strokes entering the third and final round, Clarke carded a 71, which gave her a share of the championship with golfers from New Mexico Junior College and Odessa. She had previously shot rounds of 72 and 78.
By virtue of that title, Clarke earned a trip to nationals as no less than a medalist.
As a team, the Highlanders shot 305-316-303 — 924. They finished in third place behind Odessa and New Mexico. The top two teams automatically advance to the NJCAA Division I Golf Tournament.
The oh-so-close finish could have been frustrating for first-year head coach Katie Kent, but she had plenty of reason to be happy, as the 303 was their best team round of the year.
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“They played their heart out, so it’s hard to be mad about that,” Kent said. “I think we came out and did what we needed to do. We just need to wait now.”
Other McLennan scores included: Carmen Gonzalez Lo-A-Njoe, tied for 12th, 77-76-79 — 232; Rebecca Rodriguez, tied for 21st, 75-90-74 — 239; Shanna Sandoval, 24th, 81-80-80 — 241; and Andra Anderson, 25th, 81-82-79 — 242.
MCC should find out this weekend if it secured one of the at-large spots for nationals.
Highlander men's golf seeks at-large bid
After finishing in fourth place at the NJCAA Regional at the Quicksand Golf Club in San Angelo Tuesday, the MCC men find themselves in a similar position — hoping for an at-large berth into the NJCAA Division I National Championship in Hobbs, New Mexico.
The scores from the regional tournament are combined with scores earlier in April at the previous tournament, the Southwest District championship in Kingsland. Adding it all together, MCC’s 1,726 (859 in San Angelo and an 867 in Kingsland) puts them in sixth place in qualifier standings.
At-large bids go to the four highest-ranked teams that did not automatically qualify.
Carter Patterson shot 69-69-73 — 211 to lead the Highlanders, finishing in ninth place to earn All-Region honors.
Other McLennan scores: Harvey Denham, 72-70-72 — 214; Davis Miller, 71-71-73 — 215; Cason Ayers, 73-69-75 — 217; Nik Blalock, 70-77-73 — 220; and Harry Flynn, 71-77-73 — 221.
Head coach Vince Clark was very happy with how his team made up ground between the two national qualifying tournaments.
“I’m just so proud of our guys,” he said. “They threw everything they had out there (Tuesday). They closed what seemed like an insurmountable gap to something very doable. They have worked really hard. I hope we get the invitation and the opportunity to do it one more time.”
Back to 0-0 for McLennan softball
As has been well documented, the top-ranked MCC softball team’s record has been written on a dry-erase board in the locker room all season, with the words “who cares” scribbled underneath. Heading into the Region V North Tournament, though, head coach Chris Berry erased the current record, 54-2, and replaced it with 0-0.
“I told the team the biggest thing for me is it is your time now,” he said. “The coaching is kind-of over at this point. Now, it is trust your preparation and go have the most fun you can have in the pursuit of something that would be really cool to win, whether that is a regional tournament or a national tournament.
“At this point it is about the players. The plan is to turn them loose and let them go have fun.”
The regional tournament begins Thursday at Grayson College in Denison. The Highlanders, as the top seed, received a first-round bye and will play either North Central or Weatherford at 4 p.m.
After a string of eight games in April where they won by an average of 18-1, the Highlanders stubbed their toe a bit in a doubleheader at Blinn last Wednesday. They lost the first game, 4-1, and needed nine innings to win the second game, 11-2.
Berry, however, was pleased with the way the team dealt with the small bit of adversity.
“I don’t know that we really lost, because we learned,” he said. “We learned when the other team is playing really well, you sometimes can’t overcome small mistakes.
“We huddled in the dugout when the second game went to extras, and I said, ‘You are risking a No. 1-overall national seed, and you are risking a No. 1 ranking, which opens the door for not being an at-large. You guys not being here today, there are implications.’”
“Then they turn around and score nine in an inning,” he continued. “We came back and practiced the next day, and it was the most energetic, locked-in practice we’ve probably had in two to three weeks. The attention to detail was really, really good. As long as you learn, you don’t lose.”
Loads of all-conference honors
As one would expect following such an outstanding season, the Highlanders dominated the 2024 North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference awards.
Berry was named the Coach of the Year after leading the Highlanders to a conference championship with a 31-1 record. This is Berry's second time earning the accolade since taking over the program prior to the 2019 season.
Pitcher/shortstop Katia Reyes was named the Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Pitcher. In 31 conference games, the sophomore from Weslaco had a .468 batting average with eight doubles, three triples, 19 home runs and 62 RBIs. She went 8-0 for conference games in the circle, with a 0.84 ERA, allowing 22 hits and seven runs in 50.0 innings with 66 strikeouts.
“The same player winning pitcher of the year and MVP has never happened before in our conference,” Berry said. “That is a really cool deal, and she is more than deserving. I am really proud of her and really proud of all our kids.”
Freshman first baseman Trinity Allen was named the Co-Offensive Player of the Year. The Cypress native had a .630 batting average in conference play with 18 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs and 62 RBIs.
Allen and Reyes were both first-team all-conference selections along with sophomore pitcher Taryn Batterton, sophomore pitcher Makenzi Jenkins, sophomore outfielder Taylor Meier, freshman outfielder Madison Garcia and freshman designated player/utility Ellie Loveless. Batterton, from Latta, Oklahoma, was 6-1 with two saves during conference play, allowing 37 hits and 16 runs in 43.1 innings while striking out 31.
Jenkins, from Cypress, was 8-0 in the circle, allowing 37 hits and 20 runs in 43.2 innings while striking out 44. Meier, a Lake Jackson native, had a .500 batting average in conference play with six doubles, three triples, one home run, 19 RBIs and 28 stole bases. Garcia, from Crosby, boasted a .512 conference batting average with four doubles, eight triples, one home run, 30 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Loveless, a Washington, Okla. native, appeared in 25 conference games with a .500 batting average, five doubles, nine home runs, 28 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.
Second-team all-conference honors went to sophomore pitcher Brinly Maples, sophomore catcher Chesnee Faile, sophomore infielder Madison Hornback and freshman outfielder Mickayla Tosch. Maples, from Oklahoma City, also had an 8-0 conference record, allowing 42 hits and 24 runs in 44.0 innings while striking out 39. Faile, from Mont Belvieu, had a .400 batting average with six doubles, five triples, two home runs, 23 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.
Hornback, a West Columbia native, appeared in 27 conference games with a .366 batting average, four doubles, two triples, three home runs, 20 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Tosch, from Rosenberg, has a .386 conference batting average with four doubles, four triples, five home runs, 22 RBIs and 13 stolen bases