The only thing standing between the 1992-’93 Woodrow Wilson sports program and the best all-around record in District 12-4A is Hillcrest High School, which will have the best all-around record if it wins the state baseball championship.
Here’s a wrap-up of the spring season:
BASEBALL
The Wildcats finished fourth in the district with a 5-5 record, 10-14 overall. Coach Mike Wallace says that his team lost a number of one-run games that could have made a big difference in the season. Highlights of the spring campaign were a third-place finish in a 16-team Terrell tournament, and a second-place showing in a Naaman Forest Tournament. “Consistency was the problem for us,” says Wallace, who started four sophomores. “We’d win a few, then lose a few.”
Individual leaders include sophomore pitcher Robert Padilla who led the staff with a 2.29 earned run average, five victories, and 58 innings pitched. Padilla also struck out 62 while Jose Perez led the team with a .571 winning percentage. Overall, the team compiled 2.11 ERA in District 12-4A play, but their team batting average of .258 was a weak spot.
Offensively, Brian Bessner, sophomore of the year in 1991, made first-team all-district for the third year in a row and was team MVP. He batted .382 stole 13 bases. Wallace also cited G.P. Theriot for his fine season.
TENNIS
Several Wildcats gave performances worth noting at the district meet. Beth Knox, only a junior, took the girls singles title when she defeated Paige Plausche from W.T. White. Knox went undefeated all season until the regional tournament. Team wise, the girls finished second, only one point behind White.
In doubles, Kelley Theriot and Tate Henderson placed second and advanced to regional play.
On the boys side, the Wildcats also took second place to W.T. White. Travis Ewart took second place in singles, and the team of Daniel Densworth and Matt Waddill claimed second place in doubles. Coach Gayla Collingsworth calls this year’s team a hard-working bunch and looks forward to next year when the team will have its own resurfaced courts for practice.
BOYS’ GOLF
Coach Paul Bozarth took his young and talented team to the regional golf tournament at Trophy Club in Roanoke and Oakmont Country Club in Denton on April 27 and 28. Although the team finished in the middle of the pack, Bozarth calls it a good learning experience.
“With two freshman and three sophomores coming back next year and with another year of experience behind them, we should be real strong next spring,” says Bozarth, who also credits Lakewood Club pro Jeff Fletcher for helping his players refine their games this season.
GIRLS’ TRACK
For erstwhile track coach Steve Wulf, Woodrow Wilson’s second-place finish in the district tournament was a pleasant surprise. Several athletes qualified for the regional track meet at North Texas State.
Mavis Webb captured the district title in the discus with a toss of nearly 107 feet, just three feet short of the district record. The sophomore placed eighth in the regional meet. Erin Murray took the mile with a time of 5:53.6 to break the district record. She also finished second in the 800 and ran on the mile relay team that placed second. A leg injury kept her out of regional competition.
Junior Leslie Barnes, who finished third in district competition in the long jump, got to go to the regional competition because of a default. She took advantage of the opportunity to jump a season long 15-7. Not bad considering that Wulf set a pre-season goal for her of 14 feet.
Other notable district accomplishments include Webb, Kelly Ewart, Yvette Sterling, and Murray who took second in the mile relay, and bettered their time in the regionals. Steady Michele Stackhouse placed third in the two-mile race with a time of 13:13 and placed 10th in regional competition.
