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08 Apr

Posted at 23:20h in Baseball, FRONT PAGE
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By MIKE MONTFORT    --- LUFKIN -- Navarro baseball scored a dramatic, extra-inning victory in Game 1 Sunday, settled for a doubleheader split with Angelina and the East Zone leaders continued their rhythmic best-of-three weekend series wins -- this time, from the Roadrunners. Coach Matt Podjenski's Bulldogs (23-17/13-5) maintained their two-game spread over Northeast Texas and Panola as the rain-delayed first series of the second half concluded Sunday.  NC now has won all six of its conference series this season -- the last four in 2-of-3 fashion (BPCC, Panola, NTCC and Angelina, for a second time since March 1). Navarro posted a 3-0, 10-inning win over the Roadrunners in Game 1 as pitchers Paul Dickens and Pepper Jones combined on a four-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts.  Derek Mueller's two-run double off AC reliever Hagan Hartman broke a scoreless pitching duel, and Scott Hastings later added an insurance run by hoisting his team-high 11th sacrifice fly that plated Mueller. Dickens and righthander Lance Lusk locked up in a superb pitching duel -- the league's longest double shutout of the season -- but neither figured in the decision.  Dickens, the southpaw who will play at Baylor next season, threw 96 pitches, allowed three hits and...

07 Apr

Posted at 00:48h in Cheerleading, FRONT PAGE
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By MIKE MONTFORT  -- DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Navarro Cheer scored a 98.13 in Coed Junior College Division Finals, and secured its 13th NCA/NDA National Collegiate Championship since 2000. Navarro's 98.13 score Friday was the highest-point total achieved by a squad in any division of competition, so coach Monica Aldama's Bulldogs also claimed their fifth NCA Grand National Championship since 2012 -- the only junior college program to win multiple NCA Grand National titles. The Bulldogs finished second in Thursday's preliminary competition and performed first in Friday's Finals. Needless to say, the only squad to score 98 or more in its performance Friday nailed it precisely. That put the pressure on rival Trinity Valley, which also had to wait through a fourth-place Division II Coed Cheer Final performance by Columbus State University before the Cardinals took The Band Shell stage. TVCC's performance earned a 96.87 raw score Friday -- slightly above its prelim mark.  Judges, however, deducted 1.50 points and the Cardinals settled for a 95.37 total. Navarro's NCA Championship was its first since 2015. Only a handful of qualifying finalists Friday scored a 97; most division winners topped out between 94 and 95 in the subjective scoring. Coed Division I winner Weber State came closest to...

06 Apr

Posted at 23:19h in FRONT PAGE, Softball
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By MIKE MONTFORT   --- Navarro Softball rides a wave of momentum from significant doubleheader splits with nationally ranked Bossier Parish and Tyler -- the kind of wave that may put other Region XIV teams on a tsunami alert. The Bulldogs (19-13/8-4) secured a second doubleheader split with East Zone leaders in a five-day span on Sunday here at Cummings Field -- again scoring a confidence-building, second-game win behind the pitching of freshman righthander Chelsea Vandiver. Navarro came back from a 9-3 first-game loss Sunday to beat the third-ranked Apache Ladies, 4-3. The Bulldogs broke Tyler's nine-game winning streak, and sliced a game off TJC's lead in the East Zone race. Vandiver threw 127 pitches in the seven-inning, complete-game victory, scattered 10 hits (9 singles), and stranded 10 baserunners against a TJC squad that ranks among NJCAA Division I statistics' Top 15 in batting average (.388), hits (437), runs scored (368), runs-batted-in (331), home runs (43), and slugging percentage (.599). In contrast, the Bulldogs managed only nine hits during 14 innings Sunday -- only four in the Game 2 win, but none after the third inning. In Game 2, Tyler stranded two runners in each of the first three innings and one in each of...

05 Apr

Posted at 21:36h in Cheerleading, FRONT PAGE
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Navarro Cheer qualified for Friday's Coed Junior College Division Finals at The NCA/NDA Cheer and Dance Championships. Navarro's Finals performance will be at 3:03 pm CDT at The Band Shell, where it will battle TVCC for the championship in the two-team division. Navarro recorded a 96.27 score during Friday preliminaries at The Ocean Center.  TVCC scored a 96.53.  ...

05 Apr

Posted at 08:51h in Cheerleading, FRONT PAGE
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla -- The NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship Preliminaries are set today. Navarro will be one of two schools competing for a national title in the Coed Junior College Division at The Ocean Center.  According to the event's performance order, the Bulldogs will perform at 1:42 Eastern Time (12:42 Central). NC's performance in Friday's Finals will be shortly after 4 pm ET (3 pm CT) at The Band Shell. Navarro and TVCC are the only teams competing in the Coed Junior College Division this weekend. LINKS: For full event coverage, go to   varsity.com/Daytona18...