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Abilene Sports Alliance Announces 2009-2010 Scholarship Recipients

debi — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 17:21:06 +0000

The Abilene Sports Alliance awards two students from Abilene High, Abilene Christian, Wylie and Cooper with a scholarship. Students involved with athletics and extra curricular activities apply. The well-rounded recipients this year deserve recognition for their accomplishments and awards.

Abilene High students Kasi Conners and Karsten Goodman were both scholarship winners. Kasi participated in volleyball, basketball and track. Outside of sports, she volunteers at the Boys and Girls Club, works at United Supermarket and participates in student council and NHS. Conners plans to attend McMurry University. Karsten Goodman played football, basketball and baseball for Abilene High. Goodman was awarded Academic All-District in all three varsity sports, First Team All-State Academic Team, Second Team All-District Safety 2007-08, First Team All-District Safety 2009, Second Team All-District Punter 2009 and football team captain 2009. Karsten has been accepted to both ACU and Harding.

Victoria Tindol and Austin Cole represent Abilene Christian in receiving the Sports Alliance Scholarship. Victoria Tindol participated in basketball, volleyball, golf and track. She received recognition for All-State Volleyball 2007, 2008 and 2010, All-District Basketball 2007, 2008 and 2010, Academic All-State Volleyball, Top 5 Scholar, National Honor Society, Breakfast Optimist Club and Offensive MVP for District Basketball 2010. Victoria has been accepted to Hardin-Simmons University.

Austin Cole played football, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis and track for Abilene Christian. Cole has been awarded Academic All-State Football his junior and senior years, Breakfast Optimist Club, All-District Football, All-Star Selected and FCA selected. Austin plans to attend ACU.

Madison Sandifer and Austin Riley Gray represent Wylie as recipients of the Sports Alliance Scholarship. Madison Sandifer participated in basketball, football training and track. Madison participated in a number of extra curricular activities including National Honor Society, Student Council, Peer Assistance and Leadership, Student Trainer, Treasurer of Tri-Hi-Y Service Club, Young Life and Southern Hills Church of Christ Youth Group. She plans to attend Abilene Christian University.

Austin Riley Gray played football, basketball, track and field and soccer at Wylie High. Austin has been involved with PAL, FCA, Young Life, Church Youth Group and NHS. He has numerous awards from his participation in athletics and was awarded 2009 Optimist Outstanding Youth Award. Gray has been accepted to ACU, Texas State and Baylor University.

Cooper students Elizabeth Railsback and Grayson Lee Bunnell were both Sports Alliance Scholarship recipients. Elizabeth Railsback participated in basketball and track and field. She has also been involved with student council, PALs, Physics Club, Spanish Club and Beltway Park Youth. Elizabeth plans to attend Texas Tech University.

Grayson Lee Bunnell participated in baseball and football at Cooper. Grayson was also involved in Student Leadership, Spanish Club, community service, mission work and National Honor Society. Bunnell has been accepted to Hardin-Simmons University, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

Congratulations to all of these deserving students and good luck to you in the fall!

The Sports Alliance Scholarship applications are available after January 1 and can be found in the counselor’s office and in the Athletic office on each high school campus.

Little Dribblers and Heavy Lifters blow into Abilene

debi — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:54:36 +0000

The month of March brings a whirlwind of sporting events to Abilene. March 13 brought the Regional Powerlifting meet to Abilene. The talented young men that progress will then return to Abilene on March 27. This will be the third year for Abilene to host the Boys Powerlifting State Championships. Over 400 strong young men will travel to compete in Abilene and show off their three best lifts. Friday, after the dreaded weigh-in, the guys, families and coaches will proceed to local restaurants to build up their strength for the competition on Saturday. The championship will be held at the Taylor County Expo Center, March 27 beginning at 9 a.m. It is open to the public. Admission is just $5 per person.

In other powerlifting news, the Abilene High Girls Powerlifting team qualified six members to compete in the state meet in Corpus Christi: Amanda Stephens, Shalin Martinez, Kelsey Jo Miller, Annie Newton, Romey Espareza, Mikayla Terrell. Good luck, girls!

The Players in Progress festival, also known as PIPs, will be bouncing back to Abilene this weekend (March 19-20). Over 400 young “pipsters” (K-6) and 50 PIP “old timers” (junior high to college) will be in town with their families. During the festival, the participants will be working on different skills, levels and ball handling tricks. PIPs will have a closing performance on Saturday evening at ACU’s Moody Coliseum, which is open to the public. It is a wonderful time to see very talented young boys and girls demonstrate their skills both individually and as a group! PIP performs regularly at basketball games, festivals and civic programs.

What a weekend for sports

debi — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:51:26 +0000

Wow! What a weekend for sports in Abilene, Texas. More specifically, girly sports! What do I exactly mean by ‘girly’? Softball and volleyball of course! This past Saturday, the weather was beautiful and I got to enjoy some excellent high school fast pitch games. There were actually 24 teams in all at Abilene’s own, Redbud Park.

On Sunday, a cold front began to sweep through Abilene providing me with the opportunity to catch some serious indoor volleyball. The USA Frontierfest Volleyball Tournament was held all over town! Five sites hosted club teams from around the state—these gals were some of the top players in Texas.

As the Sports Sales Director for the Abilene CVB, my passion is sports! I look forward to sharing that passion with you through upcoming events and tournaments. Play on!