Sports

The Buckaroos’ baseball season came to an end last week in Graham. They were swept 2-0 by Jacksboro in their bi-district playoff series in Graham.

Tigers 6, Bucks 1
Late defensive miscues and a struggle to get runners across home plate have put the Buckaroos’ backs against the wall in their bi-district playoff against Jacksboro.

Errors in the fifth and sixth allowed the Tigers to score five unearned runs Wednesday, May 1 and defeat the Bucks 6-1.

Six Breckenridge High School athletes represented the community Thursday, May 2 at the 2024 UIL Track & Field State Meet.

Braye Cantrell, Sawyer Wimberley, Karsyn Smalley, Ruthie Valdez, Lane Bartoskowitz and Haylie Mendoza each competed in the 3A portion of the meet at Mike A. Myers Track & Soccer Stadium.

Cantrell earned his trip to the meet with a second-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles at the 3A Region I-3A Track & Field Championships in the rain-delayed final Monday, April 22. He finished the state meet in ninth place with a time of 39.56.

The Buckaroos completed the district schedule Friday, April 26 with a 6-0 loss to the Eagles at Brock. The loss sets them up with a bi-district playoff with Jacksboro, the third-place finisher in District 7-3A.

Going into last week’s game, the Buckaroos were hoping to earn a share of the district championship and force the Eagles into a seeding game to determine the top two seeds. Facing a difficult pitching duo in the Eagles’ Jesse Rusinek and Cole Stanley the Buckaroos were held to two hits.

The Lady Bucks’ season came to an end Friday, April 26 following a two-game sweep in the bi-district playoff against Iowa Park in Graham.

The season ends with the Lady Bucks holding a 23-13-1 (12-2 district) record and the District 8-3A championship.

Lady Hawks 2, Lady Bucks 1
Game one was a marathon nine-inning game that ended in walk-off fashion with the Lady Hawks takes a 1-0 lead in the series.

The Buckaroos celebrated their seniors Tuesday, April 23 with their fifth shutout in a row and a 7-0 victory over Millsap. The win was senior-led with a complete game thrown by a senior pitcher and four of seven runs batted in by seniors.

The Bucks entered the game as a team that could finish no worse than second place in District 8-3A. The team looking to remain in a position to split a share of the district championship with Brock and having their best season since 2019 where the Bucks won 31 games while earning a trip to the regional semi-finals.

While the Lady Buckaroos earned a feat not achieved in 23 years, Breckenridge High School is recognizing pitcher Chloe Whitmire as the all-time strikeout leader in softball.

Defense has been the key for the Buckaroos baseball late in their district schedule. It was that defense and a clutch hit that led the Bucks to a 1-0 win Friday, April 19 over Peaster.

Buckaroos coach Jeremy West has said throughout the season that he believes that there are several players he can find a good pitcher for any game. Friday night that pitcher was Camden Escalon. He threw 6 1/3 innings and struck out 10 batters.

The Breckenridge Lady Bucks celebrated their seniors in a big way Friday, April 19.

After honoring their six seniors, the team earned a district championship with a 10-0 win over the Lady Greyhounds. The championship sets the Lady Bucks up with a bi-district meeting with Iowa Park.

The bi-district playoff will take place with games one and two taking place April 25-26 at Hogan Field in Graham. Both games will start at 5 p.m. If necessary, game three will take place Saturday, April 27 at Hogan Field with a time to be determined.

The Breckenridge American announces Junior Duran and Charlie Salazar as this week’s athletes of the week. This week’s athletes are recognized for performances April 15-20.

Junior Duran
Duran is a four-year player on the Buckaroos baseball team, playing this year in center field.
In the Bucks’ win at Early, Duran recorded two hits including a triple. He had five putouts in center field during their win against Peaster.

Breckenridge High School was represented at the 3A Region I track meet that took place April 19 and 22 at Abilene Christian University. When the meet was complete Sawyer Wimberley and Braye Cantrell emerged as two Buckaroos that will represent BHS in the state meet taking place with 3A's events taking place Thursday, May 2. The girls' 4x400-meter relay team of Ruthie Valdez, Haylie Mendoza, Lane Bartoskewitz, Karsyn Smalley and alternate Sayler Townson will represent the Lady Bucks after advancing as a "wild card."