The Hays Highway
The year in sports for the local high schools reached its high point in May, when Hays High School pole vaulter Jessica Doyle won the state championship in Class 4A with a vault of 12 feet, nine inches.
Doyle became the second Hays girls pole vaulter to win a state title, following Britni Lawrence in 2003. The Hays 800-meter boys relay team finished fourth in the state.
As Lehman continued building its athletic program in only its third year of existence, Hays and San Marcos teams often fought their way into the playoffs.
Behind Lindie Kimbro's heroics, the Hays girls basketball team advanced through two rounds of the postseason, but bowed out one game short of the Sweet 16 last spring. Shortly after, Kimbro suffered a knee injury. Then, just when she recovered, the knee went bad again, putting her out of action for the rest of this season.
The Hays baseball team enjoyed a fine season, winning District 26-4A, then advancing through three rounds of the playoffs before finally succumbing to top-ranked Corpus Christi Moody, which went on to win the state title.
Fall rolled around with Hays football coach Bob Shelton getting ready for his 40th season and Steve Davis preparing for his second year at Lehman. Shelton's team figured to be in for a fight to make the playoffs, but made it interesting with dramatic victories against Del Valle and Schertz Clemens. In the end, though, the Rebels finished short of a playoff bid with a loss to Cibolo Steele in the season’s last game.
Meanwhile, San Marcos clinched football playoff berth with two weeks left in the season. But the Rattlers fell in the first round to San Antonio Madison, which advanced all the way to the Class 5A semifinals.
The Hays volleyball team fought through injuries to make the playoffs, but exited with a first-round loss to Pflugerville Connally.
As winter kicked in, the Hays girls basketball team ran into trouble without Kimbro, though it still captured head coach Donny McDonald's 600th career victory. The Hays boys team, coming off an 8-23 campaign, returned this year with a new, full-throttle style, and fashioned it into a 2-0 start in District 26-4A.
