Sports and Outdoors

 Lake Info

Normal Lake Level is 322.00 feet above Mean Sea Level.
Current level for Cedar Creek Lake is: 322.00
Water Temperature:
62 degrees - top
62 degrees - bottom

Loop coaches name softball team
Monitor Staff Reports
CEDAR CREEK LAKE–Ferris and Kaufman dominated the superlatives for the All-District team announced by District 13-3A coaches recently.
Mabank Lady Panther sophomore Lauren Norwood was named the co-Utility Player of the Year, along with Kaufman senior Catlyn Bradley.
Four Mabank players were named to the 15-player first team, while Eustace and Kemp each had one player named to the first team.
Ferris junior catcher Maggie Sands was named the district’s Most Valuable Player, while the Lady Yellowjackets’ senior pitcher Lauren Biffle was named the Defensive Player of the Year and freshman outfielder Kaytlin Griffith was named one of the co-Newcomers of the Year.
Kaufman freshman outfielder Sarah Rawson was the other Newcomer of the Year, and Crandall’s junior pitcher Ashley Halbert was named the Offensive Player of the Year.
Mabank sophomore Brandie Lander was named the only first-team pitcher, while coaches named two catchers, Mabank senior Erin Mason and Crandall senior Koree Prewitt.
Seven infielders were named, including Mabank senior first baseman Melody “Mo” Lander and senior shortstop Katie Cross.
Kemp senior third baseman Sarah Smith was also named to the first-team infield.
Crandall placed two players on the first-team infield, junior Crystal Spain and sophomore Jessica Moore, while Ferris also had two players, junior Marlissa Koetting and senior Cassey Savell.
Five outfielders were named to the first team, including Eustace senior Jennifer Whitlock.
Also named were Ferris’ Magan Markgraf and Samantha Duran, Kaufman’s Ashley Oliveras and Crandall’s Shelby Sanders.
Eustace junior Nicole McNeel was named the second-team catcher, while Kaufman freshman Chainey Wray was the second-team pitcher.
Coaches named eight players to the second-team infield, including Mabank sophomores Alison Castle and Ashley Hammack, Eustace sophomore Jenny McConathy and Kemp senior Paige Moore.
Also named were Crandall’s Brittany Duplissey and Erin Jones, Ferris’ Carol Galindo and Kaufman’s Morgan Robertson.
Coaches named six players to the second-team outfield, including Eustace junior Cassie Freeman, Kemp sophomore Kylie Goswick and Mabank sophomore Hayley Spurgeon.
Also named were Crandall’s Shelby Hughes and Jenae Miller, along with Kaufman’s Allison Strempke.

Smith, Lane named top Kemp High School athletes
Monitor Staff Reports
KEMP–Seniors Sarah Smith and Nick Lane were named the Female and Male “Athletes of the Year” at the Kemp High School Spring Sports Banquet Monday.
Both seniors are multi-sport standouts, the gathering at the high school cafetorium heard.
Smith was Kemp’s only first-team all-district selection for both girls basketball and softball, while Lane was a regional qualifier for both powerlifting and track.
“We had a very exciting second half of the year,” athletic director and head football coach Greg Anderson told the audience.
In many ways, the track team provided the high points for the Yellowjacket athletic program this year, as hurdler Sharda Bettis competed in two events at the state track meet in Austin May 9.
Track head coach Peggy Swierc said four new school records were set this year.
Bettis set new school records in both the 100 hurdles (14.72) and 300 hurdles (45.02), while Jeremy Quick set a new boys record in the 110 high hurdles (15.5), while the girls 400 meter relay set a new record with a 50.46 time, Swierc reported.
The golf team finished in the top 10 in all but one tournament, and senior Chase Traughber advanced to the Region II tournament after winning the District 13-3A meet, finishing 14th out of 108 golfers.
Athletic Booster Club president Dr. Robert Emfinger announced the club was presenting $1,000 scholarships to four seniors this year – Sarah Smith, Paige Moore, Cody Kuehn and Keleigh Collinsworth.
Award winners named for each spring sport are listed below.
Girls Basketball – Highest free throw percentage Sarah Smith; Sportsmanship Award Chelsey Mulvany; Heart and Hustle Award Michelle Ritterbach; Offensive Player Amanda Lawrence; Defensive Player Meagan Lacy; MVP Sarah Smith.
Boys Basketball – Leadership Award Wesley Kerr; Longevity/Endurance Award Chas Gipson; MVP Chase Traughber.
Softball – Offensive Player Sarah Smith; Defensive Player Paige Moore; Lady Jacket Award Brittany Henderson; Most Improved Brittany Cullifer.
Baseball – Offensive Player Matt Carr; Defensive Player Josh Carr; Rookie of the Year Zach Allison; Leadership Award Nick Sallings; MVP Mikie Scruggs.
Powerlifting – Boys Outstanding Lifter Cris Murray; Girls Outstanding Lifter Christin Cantrell; Best All Around Lifter Nick Lane.
Golf – Golfer of the Year Chase Traughber (Male) and Ashley Easterly (Female); Most Improved Jeff Goldman and Ashley Easterly.
Track – Outstanding Jumpers Kimmie Gorka and Wesley Kerr; Outstanding Throwers Shannon Shipp and Terrence Sistrunk; Outstanding Distance Runners Briana McCarty and Anthony Elkins; Outstanding Sprinter Michelle Ritterbach and Nick Lane; Outstanding Hurdlers Sharda Bettis and Jeremy Quick; Heart Award Meagan Lacy and Joseph Weeks; Leadership Award Amanda Lawrence and Matt Howard.


Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Individual sport award winners gather for a photo following the annual Kemp
High School Spring Sports Banquet at the KHS cafetorium Monday.

Hunter safety classes set
Monitor Staff Reports
ATHENS–Hunter Safety classes will be held four times at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) in Athens in the upcoming months.
The traditional two-day classes are mandatory for any Texas hunter born after Sept. 2, 1971. You must have passed the class before legally shooting ducks, deer and other game animals.
Classes will be held at the Richard M. Hart and Johnny Morris Conservation Center building, with Friday classes set from 6-10 p.m. and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
The first classes are set for May 30-31, with additional classes set Aug. 15-16, Sept. 19-20 and Oct. 17-18.
Fee for the class is $15 and class size is limited to 40. Reservations are required; no walk-ins will be allowed to register.
For those taking the home study or on-line courses, there will be one-day field classes offered five Saturdays, May 31, July 19, Aug. 16, Sept. 20 and Oct. 18.
Fee for the field courses is also $15 per person, with space also limited to 40 people. Reservations are required; call (903) 676-2277.
The TFFC is located on Lake Athens, off Farm-to-Market 2495, about four miles east of Athens.