Inaugural special section previews fast-pitch softball, cross country

My first creation as your new sports editor is ready to view in today’s edition.

As you recall, I mentioned how I wanted to change the landscape of how Your TIMES covered high school fastpitch softball and cross country.

One of those ways was to do something similar to my days at The Poteau Daily News, and that was a special section doing season-preview stories on the fast-pitch softball teams — which by the way was being done at PDN long before I arrived there in the last week of June 2010.

However, upon arriving here, and seeing how all the sports have a special preview section done on them, I thought the special section having season-preview stories on fast-pitch softball needed to include the other sport that had nothing done on it preseason wise — cross country.

So, in today’s edition, I present to you the first-ever Fall Preview on Fast-Pitch Softball and Cross Country. I hope you all enjoy it.

I want to thank the softball and cross country coaches for helping make today’s special section possible by allowing me to come out and get team shots to accompany their respective season-preview story, as well as letting me get headshot of the athletes so I can have some to accompany the stories on their games and meets. You got to see some of those headshots with some of the sports articles that were published in Wednesday’s edition.

That’s one special section down, one more to go for next Friday’s edition. That will be the 2023 high school football special season-preview sections. I spent each of the last three days getting the football team photographs, senior group photographs and individual headshots I needed — Wednesday morning at Roland, Thursday afternoon at Webbers Falls and this afternoon at Gans.

I appreciate all the football coaches working with me in scheduling their respective football tab photograph shoots, as well as having the opportunities to meet them, their coaching staff and the players as I slowly but surely get myself acquainted with them all.

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Tragedy struck the University of Arkansas athletic program once more earlier this week when it was announced Monday that former UofA running back Alex Collins lost his life in a motorcycle accident.

It was just about two months earlier that former Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett drowned in Florida.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Alex’s blood-related family, his UofA athletic family and friends.

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The 2023 Women’s World Cup is down to its last two teams as Spain and England will battle it out Sunday for the right to be able to make the claim it won the world title.

Spain knocked out the team that eliminated the United States about a week ago, Sweden, by a score of 2-1 on Tuesday, while England eliminated the host team, Australia, by a 3-1 score on Wednesday.

I want to wish both the Spaniards and Great Britains good luck on Sunday.

David Seeley is sports editor for Your TIMES. He can be reached by calling (918) 775-4433, Ext. 139 or email him at davids@cookson.news.