Abilene ISD -

ABILENE—The Abilene ISD has another district champion. The baseball season is coming to a close, with both AISD teams having already clinched their post-season spots. The regional track and field championship meet is coming up at the end of the week. And Abilene High and Cooper golfers are competing this week for spots in the Class 5A state tournament.

This week’s Abilene ISD Athletics Roundup covers each story and previews upcoming events.

SOFTBALL
The Abilene High Lady Eagles clinched the program’s first district championship since 2019 last week with a 16-0 win over Wichita Falls Legacy last Friday night in Wichita Falls. The Lady Eagles are 15-7 overall and 7-0 in District 4-5A, which clinches the district title for AHS. The Lady Eagles’ softball district championship is Abilene High’s fourth district championship during the 2024-25 school year, joining a co-championship in football and outright titles in boys' and girls' cross country.

Freshman Bella Rocha was 3 for 4 with four RBI in the win and pitched two innings of one-hit softball, allowing one walk and striking out four batters. Mariah Estrada was 3 for 3 with three RBI, and Germanie Williams was 3 for 3 with two RBI and three stolen bases. The Lady Eagles pounded out 15 hits in the win, giving them a 1.5-game lead over second-place Wylie with one district game left to play for AHS and two for Wylie.

Abilene High will close the district portion of the schedule on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. when it hosts Wylie at Lady Eagle Softball Field. The Lady Eagles are scheduled to play two-time defending Class 3A state champion Coaoma at home on Thursday at 6 p.m. Coahoma features senior pitcher Hannah Wells, who has led her team to back-to-back Class 3A state championships and has them poised for another in 2025. Wells – the MaxPreps High School Player of the Year in Texas in 2024 – has already signed a letter of intent with the University of Texas.

At Cooper, the Lady Cougars edged Wichita Falls Memorial, 3-2, last Friday at Cougar Field to clinch a spot in the postseason, Cooper’s first trip since 2021. The Lady Cougars are third in the district at 14-12 overall and 4-3 in district play with one game left: at Wichita Falls Legacy (2-13 and 0-6) Friday at 6 p.m. A Cooper win and Wylie losses at Abilene High (Tuesday) and home against Memorial (Thursday) would push Cooper into the district runner-up spot and leave Wylie in third place.

BASEBALL
Abilene High and Cooper have clinched spots in the postseason, with the Eagles tied with Wylie for the top spot in District 4-5A and the Cougars in fourth place, but with a big chance to move up going into their final four games of the regular season.

Wylie (15-4-1) and Abilene High (17-6-1) are tied for first place in the district at 6-2, although Wylie holds the tiebreaker because it won the season series from the Eagles, 2-1. Wichita Falls Memorial is in third at 14-8 and 5-3, while Cooper is 17-6 and 4-4. Wichita Falls Legacy is 0-10 and has been eliminated from the chase for a playoff spot.

Abilene High will take on Memorial in Abilene on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before going to Wichita Falls to play the Mavericks at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Cooper has a chance to move up in the standings with games at Wylie on Tuesday and at home against the Bulldogs on Thursday.

Abilene High and Cooper will complete the season against each other next week before the Class 5A playoffs start near the end of April.

TRACK AND FIELD
The Abilene High and Cooper boys’ and girls’ track and field teams competed in the Area 3 and 4 championship meet last Friday in Lubbock. They will send a combined seven athletes to Lubbock for this weekend’s Region I-5A championship meet. In addition, the Abilene High girls qualified their 4x400 relay for the regional championship meet.

Amarillo High captured both team championships in dominating fashion, and the AHS girls finished fifth and the Cooper girls 12th. The Abilene High boys were 11th and Cooper 12th in the team standings.

Abilene High distance standouts Zoe Vann and Mason Murray each qualified for the regional meet in the 800 and 1600 meters and the 1600 and 3200 meters, respectively. Vann was third in the 800, setting a new school record of 2 minutes, 15.32 seconds. Murray was the runner-up in the 3200 meters in 11:58.85. The 4x400 relay team of Elizah Willis, Aubrey Duran, Abigail Johnson, and Vann, running the anchor leg, was fourth at 4:08.78.

Asharee Davis from Cooper finished third in the girls’ long jump. (17 feet, 2.0 inches) and triple jump (37-1.25) to earn a spot in the regional meet in both events.

On the boys’ side, John Alcantar from Abilene High finished second in the 1600 meters (4:34.44) and third in the 3200 meters (9:54.37), while Jaden Jackson was fourth in the long jump at 21-4.25 to qualify for regionals. Cooper’s Jeremiah Appel was fourth in the 400 meters (50.61), and Peyton Ewing third in the long jump (21-6.0) to qualify for the regional championship meet.

The regional championship meet is April 18-19 at Plains Capital Park/Lowrey Field in Lubbock. The top two finishers in each event at all four regional championship meets, and the best third-place finisher from each regional meet, will advance to the state championship meet in Austin in May.

GOLF
The Region I-5A girls’ golf tournament started Monday and will conclude Tuesday at the LakeRidge Country Club in Lubbock. The Abilene High girls are in the field, looking for a berth in the Class 5A girls’ state tournament, scheduled for April 28-29 at Legacy Hills Golf Club in Georgetown.

Two weeks ago, the AHS girls finished second at the District 4-5A championship tournament to qualify for the regional championship tournament. Abilene High’s Toni Faith also qualified for the tournament as a medalist.

The Abilene ISD duo of Grant Duwe from Abilene High and Branson King from Cooper will play in the Region I-5A boys’ golf tournament, April 16-27, at LakeRidge Country Club. Duwe won the District 4-5A title two weeks ago to qualify for the regional tournament. King also earned a medalist spot in the regional tournament field and will play on Wednesday and Thursday.

The boys’ Class 5A state tournament is May 5-6 at Legacy Hills Golf Club in Georgetown. The top three teams and the top three individual players at the regional tournaments will advance to the state championship tournament. If any of the top three individuals are also on a team that advances, the next-highest-ranked individuals not on an advancing team will move on to the state tournament.

GYMNASTICS
Two Abilene High standouts – Korban Jackson and Perielle Dalbert – advanced from last week's Region III-6A championship meet to the state championship meet, scheduled for April 25-26 in Odessa. Jackson will compete in the all-around competition, while Dalbert will compete on rings.

Jackson finished fifth in the all-around competition at the region championship meet with a score of 49.500, while Dalbert was ninth with a score of 41.550. Dalbert was seventh in the rings with a score of 8.000 to qualify for the state championship meet.

In the team standings, Odessa Permian won the boys' competition, followed by San Angelo Central and Abilene High, with Cooper in eighth. On the girls' side, five-time defending state champion San Angelo Central won the team title, with Abilene High finishing seventh.