Panola College
March 1, 2016 - An outstanding effort by Austin Sojka, (Huntington Beach, CA) hoisted Panola College to a 13-3 win in seven innings over Mountain View College on Tuesday night in Dallas.
Sojka blasted two home runs for the Ponies, went 3-3 in the game with four RBIs and two runs scored. He homered in the second and seventh innings.
Seven runs in the first three innings helped Panola blow out Mountain View . A wild pitch, an RBI single by Sojka, a groundout by Chandler Morris (College Park, TX), an RBI double by Jansen McCurdy (White Oak, TX), and an RBI single by Chad McKinney (Hughes Springs, TX) in the first inning and a two-run home run by Sojka during the second inning helped Panola put some runs on the board early.
Six relief pitchers made sure the win didn't fall through the cracks for Panola. Colton Brasher (Hallsville, Tx) faced three batters in relief, while Miguel Ausua (Penueals, PR) managed to record three outs to aid the victory.
Panola tacked on another four runs in the fifth. McKinney kicked things off with a single, plating Jordan Gore (Silsbee, TX). That was followed up by Colby Price's (Nederland, TX) double, bringing home McKinney.
Panola scored one run in the sixth inning, and then followed it up with one more in the seventh. In the sixth, Panola scored on an RBI single by McKinney, scoring Gore.
With the win Panola now extends there record to 14-3 on the season. They will be on the road once again this Thursday as they travel to Bossier Parrish Community College to take on the Cavilers to open the lid on this seasons Region-IV conference play.
Click the link below to view box score:
http://njcaaregion14.com/sports/bsb/2015-16/boxscores/20160301_5yzi.xml
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March 2, 2016 - Panola College Foundation recently held its second annual Gala fundraiser at the Frances B. Ross Ballroom, on Saturday, February 27, 2016. The event theme,titled the Mad Hatter Tea Party, was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The evening brought in $34,000, which will be used towards student scholarships, faculty and staff grants, and other special projects.
Guests attending the party entered Wonderland through an eight foot long rabbit tunnel wearing their fanciest, silliest, and craziest hats and were greeted by characters from the book played by the Panola College volleyball team. The master of ceremony for the evening was Joshua Carter, and he led the guests through the highlights of the evening.
Those highlights included fanciful hors d’oeuvres, jazz music played by Swinghouse jazz band, and several different games for guests to enjoy including a life size chess set that was placed in front of vintage couches. Guests were also entertained by a caricature artist who drew whimsical sketches of the attendees, which produced immediate souvenirs.
In addition to the caricature artist, guests could be found throughout the evening in the mock casino engaging in games of blackjack, roulette, and craps. Casino winnings could be traded in throughout the evening for raffle tickets towards one of several prizes. Raffle tickets could also be purchased outright to help towards the fundraising goal.
Throughout the evening Somer Page Photography, took numerous photos of the event and guests to capture the memorable night. Guests also enjoyed a silent auction of more than 40 items that held one-of-a-kind pieces, such as a painting commissioned specially for this event by Vanicka Newell, owner of Kings Antiques in Shreveport and 4 field box tickets to a Houston Astros baseball game.
Sponsors of the event included the Premier sponsor - Corgan Inc., the Mad Hatter sponsor - XTO Energy, the invitation sponsor – First State Bank, the Wonderland sponsor – Hunt Construction, and the Alice sponsor – Lewis H. Pool Foundation. Other sponsors included the Queen of Hearts sponsors – Carthage Title Company, Farmers State Bank in Center, and Lewis H. Pool Foundation. The Cheshire Cat sponsors included Hal’s AC & Electrical, Brookshire Brothers, General Shelters, Tyson, Smith Equipment, Ace Hardware, and the City of Carthage.
March 1, 2016 - Panola College rodeo team traveled to Robstown for the 7th Southern Region rodeo February 26-27.
Kole Chandler, a freshman from Mississippi, started the action off in the bareback riding. Kole scored 63 points on his long go horse good enough to win a spot in the top ten. The top ten in each event come back and then compete on a second head of stock for average points. Chandler short go horse was good enough to earn him a 69 point ride and land him in 5th place.
Caleb Cogbill, the iron man, showed the big men how to do it in the steer wrestling. Caleb was very fast on his long go steer, knocking him down in just 4.6 seconds. That time was good enough for 2nd place. Caleb came back in the short round with another good time of 7.8 seconds. The combined time of 12.4 seconds was fast enough for a 4th place average finish. Caleb is a sophomore that is working on his petroleum technologies degree and has been a huge asset to the team. Caleb is a four event cowboy that works both ends of the arena recently adding saddle bronco riding to his list of events.
Cody Wright continued his winning ways stopping the clock in just 6.4 seconds in the team roping event. The time was as fast as it got all weekend finishing the long go with a 1st place split. Cody, the heeler, along with partner Matt Morian finished the weekend in 5th and 6th in the average. Cody, like Caleb, will finish up his petroleum technologies degree this spring.
Laramie Johnson continued to chase a great shot at the C.N.F.R. in the women’s breakaway roping. Laramie’s time of 2.5 seconds landed her in the 3rd place spot in the long go round. She earned a very important 35 points in the standings for the entire southern region. The top three in each event move on the National Finals, Laramie is currently in 3rd place. Laramie is just a freshman who is expected to be a threat in the college rodeo world for the next four years.
The bull riding event has proven to be a great deal of points for the rodeo team, and athlete Braden Richardson just keeps doing his part well. Braden started the weekend off right with an 83 point bull ride. The score was good enough to win second place in the long go round. The individual points that he received moved Braden in to 6th place in the overall standings, and with three rodeos left, Braden has a very realistic shot for a C.N.F.R. qualification. Braden is also going to finish his petroleum technologies degree this spring.
The rodeo team will be in action next in College Station for the Texas A&M rodeo March 18-19.
February 29, 2016 - Bossier City, LA – The Panola College men’s basketball team defeated Bossier Parish Community College here Saturday night, 89-73. With the win the Ponies finish the regular season with a 22-8 record and 13-6 record in Region XIV play. Panola earned the number three overall seed and a first round bye in next week’s Region XIV conference tournament. “Our guys just found a way to finish today.” Head Coach Grant McMillan stated. “It was good to see a variety of guys fly.” He added.
Panola used a steady first half attack to build a 42-33 lead. The Ponies gradually extended their lead to 19 points in the second half before taking the 16 point victory.
Five separate Ponies scored in double figures led by Devyn Wilson (Brooklyn, New York) with 21 points. Wilson came off the bench and netted four, three pointers in the first half. Chan Williams-Bey (Hartford, Connecticut) Charles Tucker (Lansing, Michigan) and Tope Arikawe (Nigeria) all netted 11 points. Jonathan Wiley recorded a double-double with 11 points and chasing down 14 rebounds. As a team, Panola shot 49 percent from the field.
Panola will next be in action at the Region XIV conference tournament. After earning a first round bye, Panola will play at 8:00 PM this upcoming Thursday, March 3rd at Angelina College. The Ponies will play the winner of the Jacksonville College and Tyler Junior College matchup which will take place this upcoming Tuesday.
February 29, 2016 - Although Freshman Charlynn Perry put 20 points on the scoreboard, Panola College fell to Bossier Parish Community College 99-87. Bossier Parish Community College clinched their lead in the fourth quarter on a three-pointer.
Perry led the way for the Fillies's offense, scoring 20 points for the game, with eight points coming in the second quarter. She also managed to contribute four rebounds and two steals.
After sitting out the first half of the game due to illness, Sophomore J'Lene Martinez achieved double digit scoring going (5-for-5) from behind the arc and (1-for-2) from the free throw line scoring 16 points for Panola College. Also chipping in for Panola College were Amanda Cruz (11 points, 6 assist, 1 steal), Destiney Johnson (9 points,7 rebounds), Kia Fisker (7 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 6 assist), Laura Chavez (7 points, 1 rebound), R'Trevia Randolph (7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steal, 5 assist), Teanna Frances Henderson (6 points), Denasia Watson (3 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal) and Raemeisha Claxton (1 point,1 steal).
February 26, 2016 - The first concert of 2016 by the Instrumental Music department will be on March 8 at 7:00 PM in the Murphy-Payne Room of the M.P. Baker Library at Panola College. It will be a performance of Chamber Music with the performers all being members of the Panola College Band. Chamber Music is music performed by small and medium sized ensembles. There will be woodwind, brass and percussion ensembles as well as a trio with clarinet, voice and piano.
The compositions are from many styles and periods. There will be the ragtime sounds of Scott Joplin performed by a saxophone quartet and music of Mozart performed by a clarinet choir. Guests will hear excerpts from the opera, Carmen and folk tunes from Appalachia. Enjoy a tuba quartet playing jazz and a trombone quartet playing the music of Haydn.
“Come out for an enjoyable night of music presented by our fabulous student musicians here at Panola College,” says Dwaine Hubbard, Professor of Instrumental Music.
February 25, 2016 - Carthage, Texas – The Panola College men’s basketball team defeated Navarro College here Wednesday night, 82-77. The victory propels the Ponies record to 21-8 and 12-6 in Region XIV. “This was a tremendous overall effort.” Said Head Coach Grant McMillan. “This was such a back and forth battle and our guys just flew around and made countless plays.” He added.
In a seesaw battle, Panola found themselves with the lead 37-29 at halftime. Both teams traded buckets to start the second half, before Navarro clawed their way to take a seven point second half lead with under 10:00 minutes remaining in the game. Panola tied the ball game on a Charles Tucker (Lansing, Michigan) three pointer with just under four minutes remaining. The Ponies didn’t trail the rest of the way.
Tucker led the way offensively for Panola netting 20 points. Jonathan Wiley (Houston, Texas) came off the bench and scored 18 points. Chan Williams-Bey (Hartford, Connecticut) tallied 14 points in the victory. Tope Arikawe (Nigeria) and James Suber (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) combined for 17 rebounds. For the game, the Ponies netted 10 three pointers.
Panola will head to Bossier Parish Community College for their final regular season game this upcoming Saturday, February 27th. Tip-off is set for 4:00 PM.
February 23, 2016 -Panola College hosted the spring Texas Junior College Student Government Association (TJCSGA) Region III meeting on Friday, Feb. 19. Held each semester, the region meetings bring together student government associations from all the East Texas community colleges for a time of fellowship and discussion of current educational issues in the State. The colleges in attendance on Friday included Panola, Tyler, Paris, Texarkana, Navarro, and Trinity Valley. More than 100 students and advisors were present. This was the first time that Panola College has ever hosted a Region III meeting, according to Brian Naples, faculty advisor for the Panola College SGA.
The meeting began at 11 a.m. with opening remarks by Panola President Dr. Greg Powell. Dr. Powell welcomed the East Texas colleges and invited the students to tour the campus. TJCSGA state president Rameez Sohail also gave opening remarks. Rameez, who has visited several regional meetings across the State, said he was amazed by the spirit of the Region III students and expressed his desire to see that spirit carried to the State convention.
Texas State Representative Chris Paddie was the keynote luncheon speaker. He discussed the importance of civic participation in government. He spoke on his personal history of political involvement and urged the students to carry over their SGA enthusiasm into their daily lives. Representative Paddie answered several questions from the students and remained behind for several hours after his talk to speak with the students one-on-one and in small group conversations.
The afternoon sessions featured several talks concerning campus safety. Retired campus Police Chief Ernie Davis spoke to the students on how they can prepare their campuses for the new “carry on campus” law that takes effect in August of 2017. CPR trainer and Panola College graduate Jodie Lightfoot provided several students with a crash course on how to perform CPR in an emergency situation. Campus criminal justice instructor Mark Dickerson addressed students on the problems colleges face when drinking muddies the waters of consensual or nonconsensual contact. “The sessions were well attended and received high praise from the students,” Naples said.
While the students attended the sessions, several Panola College faculty and staff members spent their afternoons reviewing nominations for Region III awards. Each year, the Region III colleges present awards for student of the year, chapter of the year, and advisor of the year. Award proposals are created by the students and the host school is responsible for providing the judges at the region meeting. Panola College employees Sharon Peace, Don Cocklin, Tryphena Bledsoe, Charlene Johnson, Jennifer Coon, Jose Vargas, and Bill Offer, spent several hours sifting through the nominations. Panola College abstained from the competitions to remove undue favoritism in the judging.
The evening was concluded with a general student government session. During this session, the awards were presented, outstanding business for the last session was discussed, and several announcements were made in preparation for the State convention in April. Panola College will be sending five students to the convention.
“Panola’s SGA would like to extend a warm thank you to Sodexo for catering the lunch and dinner,” Naples said. We would also like to thank Joe Thomas for helping set up the event, and all the faculty and staff who helped make this event a success.”
February 22, 2016 - Panola College fell to Tyler Junior College on Saturday, 90-70, despite Amanda Cruz putting 25 points on the scoreboard.
Even though Fillies added 26 points in the final quarter, it wasn't enough to overcome their opponent. Racking up 28 fouls in total, Panola College played a physical game.
Cruz broke away to lead Panola College's offense with 25 points, including 11 during the fourth period.
Laura Chavez sank three three-pointers and scored 15 points total. One other player also racked up double digit scores for Panola College. Genesis Rivera scored 11 points. Also contributing for Panola College were Destiney Johnson (7 points), Teanna Frances Henderson (4 points), R'Trevia Randolph (2 points), Kia Fisker ( 4 points), and Kabreshia Orange (2 points).
The fillies will take action again Wednesday, February 24th against San Jacinto-North in Houston, TX. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
February 21, 2016 Tyler, Texas – The Panola College men’s basketball team picked up a victory over Tyler Junior College here Saturday afternoon, 73-64. The win raises Panola’s record to 20-8 and 11-6 in Region XIV play. “Other than the last four minutes of the first half our guys did a tremendous job executing our game plan.” Head Coach Grant McMillan said. “Our guys were really locked in defensively in the second half.” He added.
Panola found themselves down 28-27 with 3:31 remaining in the first half, when Tyler went on a 14-4 run to take a 42-31 halftime lead. The Ponies gradually cut into Tyler’s lead in the second half when Charles Tucker (Lansing, Michigan) nailed a three pointer to tie the game at 56 with 7:06 remain. Again, Tyonte Robertson (Cincinnati, Ohio) drilled a three pointer to tie the ball game 61 with 4:48 remaining. Two possessions later, Panola finally took their first lead when Jonathan Wiley (Houston, Texas) chased down an offensive rebound and put back the miss to take a 63-61 lead. Panola never trailed the rest of the way.
Tucker led the offensive charge with 18 points. Chan Williams-Bey (Hartford, Connecticut) netted 14 points and Devyn Wilson (Brooklyn, New York) tallied 12 points in the win. Wiley and Robertson scored 11 points each. Tope Arikawe (Nigeria) chased down 10 rebounds and swatted away six shots. As a team, Panola held TJC to just 22 second half points.
Panola will next be in action this upcoming Wednesday February, 24th when the host their final home game of the season again Navarro College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM on the campus of Panola College.
Submitted by Adam Blaylock
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