December 2021

For the most part, the 2021 sports seasons were a refreshing change from the year prior where cancellations and postponements flooded the schedules at the onset of the pandemic. Although things are still not where they were pre-pandemic, this past year of Austin County’s high school sports seemed to start giving everyone a sense of normalcy again.

Clayton Fritsch, a member of Sealy High School’s Class of 2017 and a redshirt junior at Sam Houston State, took fourth place in the pole vault competition at the NCAA Outdoor National Championship meet in Oregon June 9.

The Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) announced award winners for the 2020-2021 school year and two Sealy High School coaches were among the honorees. Danielle Eschenburg was named the cross country sub-varsity coach of the year and Caroline Owen was tabbed as the basketball middle school coach of the year.

As only a freshman, Sealy High School alum Madeline Goad and her Blinn Junior College teammates competed in the program’s first appearance at the NJCAA Women’s Golf Championship in Daytona, Fla. in May. The team registered 13th place out of 19 teams at the four-day tournament played at PlantationBay Golf and Country Club.

The 2021 calendar year certainly provided its fair share of ups and downs but for the most part, seemed to get people closer to a sense of normalcy again. In the sports arenas, many Brazos Cougars excelled and represented their school at the regional and state levels and returned home with some hardware and records.

After toiling in education for 28 years, Scott Rogers finally landed his dream job of becoming a superintendent when the Brazos ISD Board of Trustees officially offered him the contract at June’s regular meeting.

Citizens packed into the Council Chambers and the Wallis City Hall Complex Wednesday, Dec. 15, to address rumors spread that the city council was looking to dismiss the Police Chief/Interim City Administrator, Police Lieutenant/Criminal Investigator, City Secretary and the City Attorney.

After appearing in only one game in 2020 and six in the early portion of the 2021 spring season, Sealy High alum and Texas redshirt freshman Justin Eckhardt saw his summer opportunity in California as both a redemption tour and a coming-out party.

After he qualified for the 2020 National Finals of Rodeo but was sent home following a positive COVID-19 test, Bellville native Caleb Smidt, and his horse Pockets, returned for the 2021 NFR in December and secured their third World Championship in tie-down roping in Las Vegas, NV.