Author: admin

District 29-4A Track & Field Schedule of Events in Somerset

Devine Arabian Kylie Monreal. Photo by Moose Lopez.

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Devine, Carrizo Springs, Floresville, Pearsall, Pleasanton, Somerset, and Uvalde Track and Field athletes will put out their best effort this Wednesday and Thursday (April 8-9) in Somerset as all varsity athletes are looking to make their way to Area while JV competitors are looking to end their year as a District 29-4A Champion.
Area for qualifying Warhorses and Arabians is Thursday, April 16 in Cuero.
The dates below are firm, but the following times may be adjusted accordingly depending on the finish time of the previous event.
There are three preliminary jumps or throws for varsity in order to advance to finals while JV competitors will have four total jumps or throws. High Jump and Pole Vault will follow normal procedures.
Wednesday, April 8
Finals Running Event 10:00am VG, VB, JVG, JVB 3200 Meter Run Field Events: 10:00am VG Long Jump, JVG Triple Jump, VG Discus, VB Shot Put, JVB High Jump, VB Pole Vault 11:30am VB Long Jump, JVB Triple Jump, VB Discus, VG Shot Put, JVG High Jump, VG Pole Vault 1:00pm JVG Long Jump, VG Triple Jump, JVG Discus, JVB Shot Put, VB High Jump, JVB Pole Vault 2:30pm JVB Long Jump, VB Triple Jump, JVB Discus, JVG Shot Put, VG High Jump, JVG Pole Vault.
Preliminary Running Events
*5:00pm 100m Hurdles (JVG, VG)
*5:10pm 110m Hurdles (JVB, VB)
*5:20pm 100m Dash
*5:35pm 400m Dash
*5:50pm 300m Hurdles
*6:05pm 200m Dash
Thursday, April 9
Running Finals
*4:00pm 400m Relay
*4:15pm 800m Run
*4:35pm 100m Hurdles (JVG, VG)
*4:45pm 110m Hurdles (JVB, VB)
*5:00pm 100m Dash
*5:15pm 800m Relay
*5:35pm 400m Dash
*5:50pm 300m Hurdles
*6:10pm 200m Dash
*6:25pm 1600m Run
*7:00pm 1600m Relay
**Team Awards to follow

8th Colts win 29-4A District Championship!

8th grade Colt Cade Gould won 2nd place at District in the triple jump.

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The 8th grade Colts track and field team won the District Championship for 29-4A on April 2 as they scored 164 points against the remaining four teams. Bandera placed runner-up with 140 points.
The Colts won 8 gold medals in all led by three-time winner Tatum Hebert (110m Hurdles, 300m Hurdles, 4x200m) and two-time winners Sean Thompson (200m Dash, 4x200m) and Brandon Fancher (High Jump, 4x200m).
Gionni Perez was the second leg of the winning 4x200m Relay foursome.
Silver medal winners included Herbert, Thompson, Fancher, Ronnie Ortiz, Cade Gould, and three-time winner Rafael Rodriguez.
Josiah Pena won the team’s only bronze medal.
Congratulations to all Colts and coaches on their District 29-4A Championship!
Team rankings
1st Devine 164, 2nd Bandera 140, 3rd Pearsall 127, 4th Carrizo Springs 103, 5th Morales-Uvalde 80.
Colts results
Running Events 100m Dash—6th Ronnie Ortiz 12.65, 9th Gionni Perez 12.78, 10th Cade Gould 12.81 200m Dash—1st Sean Thompson 24.24, 12th James Morrison 27.71 400m Dash—8th Cole Maxwell 1:03.18, 9th J. Morrison 1:04.04, 10th Ty Stehle 1:04.53 800m Run—2nd Rafael Rodriguez 2:20.51, 5th Maxwell 2:30.13 1600m Run—2nd Rodriguez 5:34.94, 7th Mikey Guemes 6:09.29, 11th Zachery Morrison 6:15.02 2400m Run—2nd Rodriguez 8:27.18, 5th Guemes 9:09.03, 8th Z. Morrison 9:36.11 110m Hurdles—1st Tatum Herbert 19.06, 2nd Gould 20.43 300m Hurdles—1st Herbert 46.94, 2nd Ortiz 48.06, 4th Gould 49.48.
Relays 4x100m—2nd Herbert, Brandon Fancher, Ortiz, Thompson 48.11 4x200m—1st Herbert, Perez, Fancher, Thompson 1:41.15 4x400m—5th Perez, Stehle, Maxwell, Fancher.
Field Events Shot Put (4kg)—6th Coltyn LaFond 34’4.5, 7th Casen Briscoe 34’4 Discus (1kg)—6th LaFond 103’10, 7th Marcus Cervantes 102’7.5 High Jump—1st Fancher 5’2, 3rd Josiah Pena 4’10 Pole Vault—4th Maxwell 7’6, 5th Stehle 7’6, 7th Jayln Perez 6’6 Long Jump—2nd Hebert 17’1, 4th Gould 16’11.75, 10th Ortiz 15’8 Triple Jump—2nd Gould 35’9, 6th Stehle 32’7.5, 7th J. Morrison 32’5.

Devine looks to finish strong in home stretch of the season

Arabians Maddy Hester and Karsyn Deleon both had a homerun during Devine’s win over Uvalde. Photo from Devine Arabian softball page.

Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Sports editor
With two weeks left in the season, the Arabians are poised to make run back to the Area championship game. The Arabians are currently third in the district standings but are tied record wise with Pleasanton at 6-3. Devine has four more games left before the post season begins.
Vs Floresville
Despite the late surge in the fourth inning, Devine fell to Floresville 3-4. The Tigers scored one run per inning, even when Devine held them scoreless after the…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Warhorse baseball looks to finish strong

Warhorse Gerardo Villasenor sets up his stance during Devine’s win over Pearsall. Photo by Moose Lopez.

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
The UIL Playoffs are not out of reach for Devine, but they need to go on a good run to end their 29-4A campaign. The Horses played Carrizo Springs on April 7 and next go against the Eagles in Pleasanton on April 10 and at home versus Somerset on April 17.
The Horses were on a tear earlier in district but hit somewhat of a rough patch by dropping their two previous contests prior to their Wildcat encounter on Tuesday night.
Devine lost 7-3 to Uvalde on April 1 after briefly holding a 1-0 advantage in the top of the second inning.
Things quickly turned for the worst on the bottom of the second as the…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Devine to continue with “hybrid”school calendar for 2026-2027

By Anton Riecher
The Devine school board voted unanimously Thursday (March 26) to continue with a hybrid class calendar for the 2026-2027 school year walking the the line between the traditional five-day school week and the amended four-day week found in many Texas rural systems.
Also, in another unanimous action, the board voted to continue its current plan to purchase two new school buses annually to comply with new legislation requiring all school buses in Texas be equipped with three-point seat belt restraints by September 2029.
Regarding the school calendar, district superintendent Todd Grandjean reported during the March 26 meeting that board members originally adopted a shortened school calendar in January 2025. Although the board chose not to resort to a four-day week calendar, the decision called for no less than 177 teaching days, each at least 450 minutes long.
The Texas Education Agency requires that school…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Devine actors Area Bound!

Devine High School One Act play cast and crew will be advancing to the Area round after a standout performance at the Bi-district contest in Navarro on March 24. This will be the first time the troupe has progressed this far in nine years and will take the stage April 7 in New Braunfels. Pictured above: Director: Mr. Jose Guardiola Cast/Crew: Maverick Beaty, Nolan Beaty, Melenie Cardenas, Jacelyn Delaney, Gwyn Deleon, Isabella Duron, Miranda Guerrero, Payton Hester, Manuel Leal, Dakota Nighswander, Emma Martinez, Nathan Sanchez, Griffin Blouin, Angelica Castillo, Zach Martinez, Natalie Gutierrez, Briana Balderrama, Jessica Ballesteros, Deidre Bishop, Kayla Dzierzanowski, Kassandra Fajardo, Taylor Garcia, VeraLee Martinez. Not pictured Mia Gonzales and Isaac Medina. STORY INSIDE

Local airman deployed overseas

E-4 Aerospace Propulsion Specialist Hildenbrand is serving at an undisclosed location overseas. Earlier this year, the local airman gave a base tour to the Hellums family who is so proud of his service.

By Kayleen Holder
Editor
Aidan Hildenbrand, son of Will and Miranda Hellums, recently deployed overseas as part of Operation Epic Fury. He is a part of the 9th SMOAX squadron and left for his deployment on March 18th.
Hildenbrand graduated from Devine High School with the Class of 2022, and enlisted in the Air Force his senior year.
He completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base. Hildenbrand finished his training on aircraft maintenance for the C1-30 at Shepherd Air Force Base in Wichita Falls before…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Smith opens Devine Counseling & Wellness

Vonna Jo Smith, of Devine, offers counseling at her practice here in Devine, as well as tele-health and home visits for elderly/ homebound residents.

By Kayleen Holder
Editor
We had a short visit with Vonna Jo Smith, of Devine this week, who is thrilled to announce she is bringing her practice to Devine, where she has lived for about 20 years now. Smith received her Bachelor’s from A&M and Master’s from UTSA, and began practicing about 4 years ago in San Antonio, before deciding to launch her own business–Devine Counseling & Wellness right here at home.
“I love helping people solve problems!” Smith said with a welcome smile. “I love seeing people become empowered to feel better when they realize they don’t have to stay in mental pain.”
Her motto is a John Wayne quote, “Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.”
Smith is especially passionate about working with grandparents and caregivers as well. Smith has a Master’s in Psychology and a minor in special education, which she feels is very helpful in understanding the complexity of being a caregiver, as well as those facing disabilities.
“It’s a passion for me. I understand the stresses, lack of support and long hours being a caregiver entails,” Smith said. “They are a population that is often misunderstood…Very few people understand the complexity of the situation.”
She lends…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Driver ejected, 2 injured in I-35 wreck

Reports indicate a “mechanical failure” possibly resulted in this terrible rollover accident on I-35. Photo by Lauren Maleske.

Authorities responded to a serious rollover on I-35 around 8:20 pm this past 3/25 near mile marker 124 in Medina County.
According to a DPS report, “Preliminary information indicates that a 2003 Brown GMC Yukon was traveling north on IH 35, experienced a mechanical failure, and rolled over into the center cables.”
A total of 5 people were occupying the vehicle (3 adults and 2 juveniles).
“A 45-year-old female driver was ejected and transported to a hospital with serious injuries. A 21-year-old male passenger was also transported with serious injuries. The other occupants were not transported. This investigation is ongoing, and no more details are available at the time of this release,” DPS Sgt De Luna Jr. stated.
Crews on site hours…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!