Sports

The boys golf team had another successful day on the golf course at our CHS Invitational at VZCC March 14. The event included 24 participating schools, with 116 boys in attendance.

After Spring Break and few practices due to weather, the boys finished in second place with a season team low 305. Texarkana Pleasant Grove placed first overall, and Bullard finished third overall at the tournament.

Logan Willeford finished as third place medalist with a career low 3-under par, 69. Patrick Malouf followed with a 73, Matthew Allen shot a career low, 78, and Will Huddle and Travis Perkins improved as well with an 85 and 91, respectively.

The boys were scheduled to play again March 21 at VZCC before starting district at VZCC March 28 and Garden Valley April 4.

Canton’s varsity and JV track programs made their way to Rains High School March 17 to compete in the annual Avon Rice Relays. The teams performed well overall, with the varsity boys finishing third out of 11 teams, the varsity girls finishing second out of 11 teams, the JV boys finishing third out of 11 teams, and the JV girls finishing fourth out of 11 teams. 

Individual Canton results included:

Varsity Boys

-100: Tristan Ramos, second place, 11.34

-200: Bryce Wilkens, sixth place, 23.86

-400: Bryce Wilkens, third place, 52.94

-300 Hurdles: Hayden Wilson, third place, 44.56; Chris Goodson, fifth place, 44.80

-4x100 Relay: Tristan Ramos, Dalton Williams, Dylan Cox and Tre Fitzgerald, first place, 44.20

-4x200 Relay: John Cade, Dalton Williams, Dylan Cox and Tre Fitzgerald, first place, 1:31.72

-4x400 Relay: Carter Day, John Cade, Bryce Wilkens and Tre Fitzgerald, third place, 3:34.05

The Canton Eaglettes crossed the threshold from non-district to district play last week, taking on Gladewater in their non-district finale March 15 before tangling with state-ranked Emory Rains to begin District 14-4A play March 18.

Canton won against Gladewater in thrilling fashion, scoring a late run in a back and forth pitcher’s duel to pick up a 3-2 win.

The Eaglettes scored single runs in both the first and second innings to take an early 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Kylie Floyd came home to score as Sam Neal reached base via an error. In the second, Floyd found herself on the other end of the equation by bringing in teammate Mattie Tullos with an RBI single to left.

Gladewater did all of its damage on the night against Canton in the top of the third inning, scoring two runs on an error and an RBI single to tie things at 2-2.

The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the seventh, when Canton scored the game-winning run.

The Canton Eagles continued District 14-4A play over the past week, hosting rival Van and traveling to Emory Rains. The Eagles nearly made it 2/2 in their quest for wins, allowing a late flurry of runs against Van in a loss before holding on for a win over Rains.

The Van Vandals scored seven runs in the final three innings of play against Canton March 15, overcoming deficits of 2-0 and 4-1 to pull out a 7-4 win over one of their biggest rivals.

Canton staked itself to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, turning two walks and a triple by Zach Brown to an early lead.

Van struggled offensively until the top of the fifth, finally scoring a run to get on the board and cut into the Eagle advantage. Jax Tobias picked up the RBI, plating Brett Doring on an RBI groundout.

With another Texas high school basketball season in the books, District 14-4A coaches recently issued their list of Superlative and All-District honorees. The district includes 2015-’16 District Champion Brownsboro, playoff qualifiers Canton, Van and Wills Point as well as Rains.

Superlative winners included:

-MVP: Tamrick Pace, Brownsboro

-Offensive Player of the Year: Doug Sheldon, Wills Point

-Defensive Player of the Year: Tre Fitzgerald, Canton

-Newcomer of the Year: Holden Myers, Van

-Coach of the Year: Brent Smith, Brownsboro

First Team All-District recipients included: Logan Nace, Canton; Jackson Malone, Canton; Logan Lockwood, Van; Tanner Wallace, Wills Point; Chance Cobb, Rains; Kenneth Woods, Brownsboro; Xavier Richardson, Brownsboro; and Kevon Thompson, Brownsboro.

Local baseball and softball teams have been no strangers to changing schedules during recent seasons, routinely switching game times and locations to accommodate the fickle Texas weather.

Last week provided yet another example of that situation, with Canton and Brownsboro electing to shift their District 14-4A opener from March 8 to March 12.

The Bears got the better of Canton in a low scoring affair, keeping the Eagles to just one hit and one run in a 4-1 win.

Brownsboro got on the board early, capitalizing on a single, hit by pitch, single and fielder’s choice and a fielding error for a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

The Eagles got their lone run in the top of the second, beginning things with a walk by Zach Brown. Cade Shaw reached on an error, putting runners on first and second. Two batters later, Brown came home to score on another Brownsboro runner to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Some of the best female powerlifters in the Area, including representatives from Canton, Van and Wills Point, made their way to Fairfield March 5 to compete in the Region 3 Division 2 Meet.

Emory Rains won the meet overall, scoring 30 points total amongst its lifters. Canton finished 14th overall, while both Van and Wills Point finished in a six way tie for 22nd place.

Results from Van Zandt County lifters included:

-123 lb. weight class: Abbie Phillips, Wills Point, sixth place, 590 lbs. lifted

-132 lb. weight class: Maddi Bass, Canton, second place, 755 lbs. lifted; Megan Ellis, Canton, sixth place, 660 lbs. lifted.

-148 lb. weight class: Julia Duke, Canton, 10th place, 715 lbs. lifted

-165 lb. weight class: Gwenesynn Mitchell, Van, scratched; Morgan Medley, Canton, bombed out

-220 lb. weight class: Haly Hernandez, Canton, eighth place, 680 lbs. lifted

The Eaglette softball team got to enjoy the comforts of playing in front of the home fans March 3-5, hosting a contingent of teams including Brownsboro, Sunnyvale, Alba-Golden, Prairieland, Peaster, Troup and Caddo Mills as part of the 2016 Canton Softball Tournament.

Canton endured both ups and downs at their home tournament, winning three out of five total games played over the course of the three-day event.

Tournament play for Canton began March 4 with a pool play contest against Caddo Mills. Canton more than held its own in the contest, overcoming three errors for a 5-1 win.

Jenna Stanley was a major reason for the Eaglettes’ success in the game, allowing no earned runs in six innings of work on the mound. Offensively, Kylie Floyd, Brooke Arnold, Brylee Melton and Grace Chavez each recorded two hits and Mattie Tullos tallied one. Additionally, both Shelby Vestal and Chavez picked up an RBI each.

The boys and girls golf teams competed in the Eustace Invitational at Cedar Creek Country Club Feb. 29-March 1, finishing first overall in the boys division and 11^th in the girls division.

Coach Paige Peace James stated, “The boys team had an excellent day. It was our first tournament to compete with a full team and the boys played excellent and finished in first Place.

Patrick Malouf carded a season low 72 with a round with an impressive 6 birdies. He also had the tournament low score and finished as first individual.

Logan Willeford finished with a 78 and Travis Perkins a 94. Willeford and Perkins had each just returned to golfing action after being members of Canton’s bi-district winning basketball team.

Matthew Allen also shot a season low 82 and Will Huddle improved from his last two tournaments with an 87. 

The Canton Eagles made themselves at home in Grand Saline over the March 3-5 baseball weekend, nearly running the table by finishing with a 4-1 record overall and a loss in the championship game.

Play for Canton in the tournament, which also included host Grand Saline, Eustace, Malakoff, Sunnyvale, Martins Mill, Jacksonville and Arlington Pantego, began with an early morning contest against Eustace March 3.

Despite trailing most of the game against the Bulldogs, Canton’s bats came alive late to carry the Eagles to a 5-2 come from behind win.

The Eagles returned to the diamond the following morning, to take on Jacksonville. Canton batters had little trouble in teeing up the Indians’ rotation, exploding for an easy 11-5 win to improve to 2-0 in the tournament.

The good times continued for Canton March 4 with the Eagles outlasting the Pantego Christian Panthers 10-9 in an offensive slugfest.