Athletics News
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Volunteers at State Track Meet Critical to Success
By Traci Neely, Assistant Athletic Director | Friday, June 10, 2011 12:24 PM
Hutto High School students rake the sand pits before state competitors begin the long jump competition at the 2011 State Track and Field Meet.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
Hosting the State Track and Field Meet with 1,900 participants in 34 total events is no easy task, and the UIL could not accomplish such a task without the help of hundreds of volunteers.
Each year at the State Track Meet, more than 275 students and 30 coaches from 15 different schools across the state volunteer to help make the meet smooth and successful.
The students and coaches do everything from setting the starting blocks and hurdles for races to raking the sand for long and triple jumpers. They also escort the athletes to the track from the warm-up area, and they escort the winners to the medal stands.
State Baseball Tournament Held at Premier Stadiums
By Chris Schmidt, Communications Officer | Friday, June 10, 2011 11:07 AM
Wichita Falls Rider first baseman Ben Smith attempts to tag Jesse Baker from Brenham High School in the 4A semifinal game at the UIL State Baseball Tournament at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock. The Rider Raiders won the game 3-1. Last year at the State Tournament, the Brenham Cubs defeated the Raiders in the semifinal game and went on to win the 2010 4A Championship.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
In Texas, baseball is played on many types of surfaces. Whether it’s grass, turf or dirt, as long as there is a diamond on the field there will be a game. At the UIL Baseball State Tournament, teams have the opportunity to play in two of the premier stadiums in the state while they compete for the right to be called champion.
One of the sites for the 2011 baseball state championships is UFCU Disch-Falk Field on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. The field, named after two legendary University of Texas coaches Billy Disch and Bibb Falk, has been host to the UIL Baseball State Tournament since it’s opening in 1975. Only once in 36 years has the field not been host to a state final – in 2007 due to renovation projects on the stadium.
“Disch-Falk is one of the top venues in the country because you have one of the top collegiate teams in the country playing there,” said Darryl Beasley, UIL Assistant Athletic Director and Baseball Tournament Director. “The renovations have made the park one of the best in the country.“
Softball Continues to Heat Up as UIL Sport
By Stephanie Ramirez, Communications Officer | Thursday, June 02, 2011 3:06 PM
The Celina Bobcats celebrate as shortstop Shelby Carter runs home after hitting a game-winning homerun at the bottom of the 11th inning. The Bobcats beat the Huntington Devilettes 4-3 in the semifinal game at the UIL State Softball Tournament. Carter's homerun was the first of the 2011 State Tournament.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
In the UIL’s 101-year history, an activity that’s been around for less than 20 years is relatively young. For an event that has only been around since the 1993 season, softball has had several noteworthy changes throughout its history, including which conferences have participated at the state championship level, significant increases in participation numbers, and most recently, an additional three feet in distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate.
When Softball began as a UIL event in 1993, the only conference to participate in the UIL State Softball Tournament was 5A, where Pasadena Dobie High School beat Tomball High School 1-0 in the state championship game. By 1995, conference 2A-5A schools were participating at the state level. Conference 1A was added to the State Softball Tournament in 2001.
The rationale for conferences being added to the State Tournament at different times is connected to participation numbers. At its inception, there were only 188 schools and just over 3,800 students participating in softball. Almost 20 years later, the number of schools participating has increased by almost 500 percent with more than 1,000 schools. The number of student participants has increased by almost 750 percent with more than 31,000 students now participating.
Ninth Qualifier at State Track Meet Marked a Success
By Sheila Henderson, Assistant Athletic Director | Tuesday, May 31, 2011 2:36 PM
Michael Patterson from Palo Duro HS in Amarillo jumps at the 2011 State Track and Field Meet. Patterson was a ninth qualifier this year and earned a bronze medal in the long jump.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
In the 100-year history of the State Track and Field Meet, UIL has allowed no more than eight qualifiers from each conference to participate in each event. Traditionally, the State Meet advanced the top two finishers from each of the regional qualifying meets.
Beginning with the 2011 State Track and Field Meet, the UIL staff added a ninth qualifier — a rule change approved by the Legislative Council at the 2009 October meeting.
The ninth qualifier, also known as the “wildcard,” is defined as the individual and/or relay team with the best overall time, mark or height from all regional meets per classification that did not finish first or second.
The implementation process went off without a hitch this year. All qualifiers, including the ninth, were posted on the UIL website within 72 hours of receiving all regional meet results. This posting gave everyone across the state final information regarding who qualified to the State Track and Field Meet in all events.
Mark Cousins Promoted to Athletic Director
By Julianne Coyne | Tuesday, May 17, 2011 2:07 PM
Mark talks with UIL staff at the 2010 Track and Field State Meet.
Dr. Mark Cousins started his career with the UIL in 1994 as an intern while he was pursuing his master’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin. From there, he’s held a variety of positions at the League: He’s been an administrative assistant, the assistant to the athletic director, an assistant athletic director and policy director.
Recently, he got one more position to add to that list: athletic director.
Track and Field Participation Continues to Grow
By Chris Schmidt, Communications Officer | Friday, May 13, 2011 2:21 PM
Blair Severson of Holland High School clears the pole vault bar at the 2011 UIL State Track Meet on the University of Texas at Austin campus. Severson won the 1A championship with a best vault of 15 feet, 6 inches.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
The UIL Track and Field State Meet has completed 100 years of competition and begins its second century of crowning champions this May. As the oldest sanctioned UIL athletic event, track and field has risen from its humble beginnings into one of the largest sports in Texas.
Ninety student-athletes from 11 schools attended the inaugural track and field state meet in 1911. Competitors participated in 14 events at Clark Field on the University of Texas at Austin campus. By comparison, the 2010 UIL Track and Field State Meet hosted more than 500 schools and 1,800 student-athletes competing in 34 total events for boys and girls.
“The passion the whole state has for the sport is amazing,” said Sheila Henderson, UIL Assistant Athletic Director.
State Tennis Tournament Showcases Top Talent
By Stephanie Ramirez, Communications Officer | Monday, May 09, 2011 1:59 PM
Lindsey Bennett from Frisco Liberty High School returns a serve from Leanne Cantalupo from Dripping Springs High School in the Girls' Singles quarterfinals at the 2011 State Tennis Tournament. Bennet won the quarterfinal game. The 4A tournament was held at the Penick-Alison Tennis Center on the University of Texas campus.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
As the second oldest UIL-sanctioned sport, tennis has a long list of former UIL State Champions. Tennis was officially added as a boys’ sport in 1914 and as a girls’ sport in 1920. The only UIL sport that has been in existence longer than tennis is track and field, one of the founding events of the UIL in 1910.
Between boys’ and girls’ competitors, the UIL has crowned 625 Singles’ State Champions since its inception. Of all those state champions, eight boys and nine girls have earned four state titles in a row. Similarly, eight boys and 11 girls have earned three state titles in a row.
Assistant Athletic Director and Tennis State Tournament Director Darryl Beasley said earning repeat titles is not an easy challenge.
“Texas is one of the states that has the most participants in tennis, so you’d expect to see some very dominant talent,” Beasley said. “Every year, new talent comes on the scene. As a junior or senior returning to the state tournament, you’re not necessarily getting matched up against the same people you did in previous years. All of these things make it very difficult to win the state title in consecutive years.”
HS Soccer Continues to Grow in Texas
By Stephanie Ramirez and Chris Scmidt, Communication Officers | Tuesday, April 19, 2011 8:17 AM
At the Soccer State Championship tournament, senior midfielder Camice Karing, a Colleyville Heritage Panther, moves to control the ball as senior defender Erin McLemore, a Clear Lake Falcon, approaches. The Panthers won the semifinal game 1-0. The Panthers lost the championship game to the Boyd Broncos 0-1 in overtime.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
While soccer has not been around as long as some of the other UIL athletic activities, it has seen its fair share of changes over the last several years. Since its inception as a UIL-sanctioned sport in 1983, soccer has consistently increased in both school and student participation, changed its classification process and seen five different State Tournament locations.
Over the last 20 years, soccer has more than doubled in the number of schools participating in both boys’ and girls’ soccer. The number of student participants in soccer has increased by more than 200% since the 1991 season.
There are several possible reasons for the significant increase in these statistics, according to UIL Assistant Athletic Director and Soccer Tournament Director Peter Contreras.
UIL Honors All-Time Winningest Coach
By Sheila Henderson, Assistant Athletic Director | Monday, March 21, 2011 3:36 PM
After she is honored at the Girls' State Basketball Tournament, Leta Andrews (with her husband in the background) stands with Assistant Athletic Director Sheila Henderson and Interim Athletic Director Mark Cousins.
Photo by Darryl Beasley, Assistant Athletic Director
The first day of the 2011 Girls’ State Basketball tournament was a special day for the UIL staff and for myself. On that day, we had the privilege to honor basketball legend and the Granbury High School head girls’ basketball coach, Leta Andrews.
Andrews is the all-time winningest high school basketball coach with a record 1,346 wins.
Andrew’s broke the record on Dec. 7, 2010 with her 1,334th win when her Lady Pirates defeated visiting Midlothian Lady Panthers 64-45. That win allowed Coach Andrews to surpass the former record holder and retired legendary Forth Worth Dunbar boys’ basketball coach, Robert Hughes.
FAQ for upcoming track and field season
By Sheila Henderson and Traci Neely, Assistant Athletic Directors | Friday, March 18, 2011 9:22 AM
March marks the beginning of yet another track and field season for our Texas coaches and athletes. To prepare for the upcoming track season, we thought would answer some of our most frequently asked questions.
How many track meets can an individual or school participate in each season?
A student representing a participant school shall enter a maximum of eight (8) school meets prior to the district meet. Additionally, if a school chooses to participate in a regional qualifiers meet, it does not count toward one of the allowable eight for the season.