Argyle Athletics Booster Club, Argyle H.S. TX

FRISCO — Austin Aune had seen a decent amount from Prosper starting pitcher Dalton Pipken, and after nine pitches he was 0-for-1 with a walk.

But Argyle’s leading hitter this season only needed one pitch in his third at-bat to give his team a comfortable lead in a 7-1 win over Prosper to take a 1-0 lead in the teams’ best-of-three Class 3A Region II quarterfinal series.

Aune deposited the first offering from Pipken over the wall in right-center field in the top of the fourth inning to give Argyle (23-6) a 5-0 advantage.

“It gave us a little bit of a cushion,” Argyle head coach Ricky Griffin said. “But they are a quality team and we knew that. That’s why there was no celebrating after that [game]. We know it’s far from over. Our job is to come out tomorrow so we don’t have to play on Saturday [in a possible Game 3].”

That small cushion was more than enough offense for Argyle starting pitcher Drew Gooch, as the sophomore finished a stellar outing allowing just three hits and four walks with eight strikeouts in a complete-game effort.

Prosper (28-5) posed its most serious threat in the bottom half of the fourth inning when Tyler Webb led off with a triple to deep center and scored on a subsequent groundout from Brandon Gilson.

After Gilson’s groundout, Gooch walked Lance Brooks on four pitches and advanced him to second on a wild pitch after Argyle head coach Ricky Griffin had visited the mound in the middle of the at-bat.

Whatever Griffin said seemed to work, as Gooch struck out Zack Yazbeck and Dan Garza to end the inning and Prosper’s scoring opportunity.

“He had thrown about as good as he had all year through those first three innings,” Griffin said. “Then he gave up that triple and just forgot how good he is. I just told him that wasn’t the first triple that kid had hit and Prosper is here for a reason. He just had to get back in that mind-set of being the good pitcher that we all know he can be.”

It didn’t take long for Argyle to pounce on Pipken, who started the series opener for Prosper instead of Gilson, Prosper’s ace who has signed with TCU. Prosper’s No. 2 pitcher, Brian Green, was lost for the season last week with a shoulder injury.

Argyle scored two runs in the top of the first inning on RBI doubles from Dillon Harp and Seth Jones.

Argyle also did some late damage off Pipken in the top of the sixth after Aune was brought home on a two-run blast by Jay Gonzales over the 15-foot wall in left field, which gave Argyle a six-run lead.

The teams will return to the diamond tonight in Frisco for a 7:30 p.m. Game 2 that likely will pit Gilson against Argyle’s No. 2 starter Seth Jones, who is 8-1 on the season with a sub-3.00 ERA, with Argyle trying to advance to the regional semifinal round.

“They run-ruled us in Game 1 of our [area-round] series last year and we came back and won the last two games,” Griffin said. “I bet that’s what [Prosper head coach Rick Carpenter] is telling them after this game. We have to face [Gilson] tomorrow, so this thing is not over, but we have our good lefty going too in Seth Jones. We just don’t want to play Saturday.”

ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address isaboedeker@dentonrc.com .

ARGYLE 7, PROSPER 1

WP — Drew Gooch (6-1). LP — Dalton Pipken. 2B — A: Dillon Harp, Seth Jones, Matt Farris. 3B — P: Tyler Webb. HR — A: Austin Aune, Jay Gonzales. Records — Argyle (23-6). Prosper (28-5).

ARGYLE — Look no further than Jessie Johnson’s voicemail recording to see where her priorities lie.

“I’m probably out vaulting, or running,” the outgoing message says.

That’s the story of Johnson’s life, and the Argyle senior will close the latest chapter Saturday when she will go for her third gold medal in the Class 3A pole vault in Austin at the state track and field meet.

“I’m a little bit nervous just because I haven’t gotten my first jump in and haven’t been able to relax and do my thing,” said Johnson, who signed to pole vault at Auburn back in February. “I’m just ready to get down to Austin and show people I can keep getting better and I’m not going to level off. I just want to keep competing.”

Competing is something that has always come naturally to Johnson. She has competed in the pole vault since she was a sixth-grader, a rarity in the sport that relies just as much on repetition and precision as athleticism.

“Pole vault is such a unique event because you have to go upside down and get used to that feeling,” said Argyle girls track coach Kathi Olson, who is in her eighth year at Argyle. “It’s usually an ex-cheerleader or ex-gymnast. She’s been doing it for so long that, aside from her god-given physical ability, she has that ahead of all of her competitors.

“It’s one of those things where everything has to be exactly right for you every single time. It’s just repetition and work ethic.”

Johnson has been one of the most decorated athletes in Argyle history, and a gold on Saturday would vault her right up to the top along with greats like Kristie Krueger, who is now a senior at Georgia. Krueger won seven medals in her years at the state meet, including three gold medals, but never won three straight titles in one event.

Johnson has excelled for Argyle in the pole vault but has also been the program’s best hurdler and sprinter and a key member of the relays, making it to regionals every year in all events but never breaking through to the state level.

As a freshman, Johnson finished third at the regional meet in the pole vault with a height of 11 feet, missing out on a trip to Austin as the top two in each region earn spots.

Last year, the UIL began taking a ninth competitor in each event based on the best, non-qualifying athlete in each event. That would have been Johnson as a freshman had the rule been in place then. But she isn’t bitter.

“I think it kind of made it sweeter,” Johnson said. “Maybe I went and hurt myself or maybe I didn’t jump as well as I wanted and I got frustrated. You never know. Winning state hopefully a third time and not going my freshman year, yeah I think that’s OK. I know I wouldn’t have won my freshman year.”

She has not lost since. In fact, she enters Saturday as the top seed in the event by more than a foot. Her winning height at regionals two weeks ago was 13-6. The next best qualifier is Needville’s Shelby Poncik, who is seeded at 12-1, and is probably the only real threat standing between Johnson and her historic three-peat.

Johnson set the Conference 3A state record in Austin last year, winning the event with a height of 12-9, breaking the previous record of 12-6. The state record, regardless of classification, is 13-7, set by Mansfield’s Shade Weygandt back in 2007. The national record, set the same year, is 14-1 by Tori Anthony of Palo Alto (Calif.) Castillerja.

Those marks motivate Johnson, who has her sights set on more than winning a third gold medal.

“I definitely want to win,” Johnson said. “But me and my coaches take it bar by bar. We try not to think win, we just want to get to the next height. But yeah, I definitely would be disappointed if I didn’t get up to my [personal best of 13-6] or try to [beat it] again. You can’t complain when you win state for a third time though.”

There’s also one more mark out there that Johnson has in the back of her mind — 14 feet, 1 inch.

That is the B-standard for Olympic qualifying. If Johnson can clear that height, she would have the opportunity to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 21 to July 1 in Eugene, Ore., with a spot on the 2012 U.S. team that will compete in the London games this summer on the line.

It’s not a huge concern for Johnson, but she thinks it’s a realistic goal.

“To even be able to go for that as an attempt would be really cool,” she said. “I try not to think too much about that because I’d definitely have at least two other shots in the future, maybe three. That would definitely be cool though.”

No matter what happens in Austin, it is a safe bet Johnson will be back at it soon after, training hard for her collegiate debut in the fall during indoor season.

“I feel like other girls don’t understand the depth you have to work at this,” Johnson said. “It’s not just running. You have to work on technique, swing, arm strength, core strength, everything. You can’t be slow either. There’s so much detail. If you love it, you love it, and you’ll work for it.”

And it isn’t until after her event ends on Saturday that Olson said she will know her time coaching Johnson, and her seemingly trademarked look, has come to an end.

“It won’t set in until after the weekend,” Olson said. “I think when we sit down and look back at everything she’s accomplished, it’ll set in that this is her final high school event and she’s now a collegiate athlete. It’s then that it’ll set in. That that big blond braid [in Johnson’s hair] isn’t with me anymore.”

ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address isaboedeker@dentonrc.com .

STATE MEET QUALIFIERS

Ryan

Boys 800 relay (second seed), 7:37 p.m. today

Boys 1,600 relay (second seed), 6:10 p.m. today

Argyle

Ben Woolums, 3,200 meters (second seed), 8 a.m. today

Girls 1,600 relay (third seed), 3:05 p.m. Saturday

Spencer McCloud, high jump (second seed), 10 a.m. Saturday

Jessie Johnson, pole vault (first seed), 9 a.m. Saturday

Reese Thompson, pole vault (first seed), noon Saturday

Dalton Ledford, pole vault (second seed), noon Saturday)

Aubrey

Charlie Radford, 300 hurdles (fifth seed), 2:15 p.m. Saturday

Sanger

Aubrey Malone, 200 (fifth seed), 2:25 p.m. Saturday

Brandon Bernal, 1,600 (sixth seed), 2:55 p.m. Saturday

Madi Wilson, discus (ninth seed), 10:30 a.m. Saturday

Krum

Sydney Shelstead, discus (eighth seed), 10:30 a.m. today

Julia Schmaltz, high jump (eighth seed), 12:10 p.m. today

Kyle Mankin, high jump (third seed), 10 a.m. today

Kimberly Robinson, shot put (third seed), 5 p.m. today

ARGYLE — Everyone involved in the Argyle boys golf program is prepared to enter uncharted territory today.

The Eagles will tee off today at the Jimmy Clay Golf Course in Austin for the first time in school history at the Class 3A state tournament.

“I think it’ll be a really good thing for everyone,” said junior Hunter Thompson. “From what we’ve heard, it’s big nerves — like 300 people on the first tee box. None of us have felt anything like that. Just getting the experience down there will be huge. It’s the same course every year, so we’ll get to see the course for the first time.”

The Eagles guaranteed themselves a spot in the state tournament for the first time in school history by finishing second to defending state champion Prosper at the Class 3A Region II championship two weeks ago.

And the scary thing for other 3A teams in the state is that Argyle’s run of success might be just starting.

The Eagles are led, in regards to experience, by Thompson and fellow junior Blake Lyle, who has been on the varsity “A” team since he was a freshman. The other three players on the “A” team — sophomores Colton Katzen and Nick Louy, and freshman Lance Roden — don’t have the same experience.

But what makes Argyle’s team special is that, in regards to talent, there really are no leaders.

In team golf, a school has five players and gets to drop the lowest single-round score after each round, meaning only the top four count. Some teams run into problems when one of their top four golfers has a bad day, and the fifth golfer is forced to count his higher score.

That’s not the case with Argyle.

“A good thing about our team is we have five really solid golfers,” said head coach Brady Bell.

He used the regional tournament as a prime example. Prosper shot a remarkable 290 on the first day of the tournament, while Argyle was comfortably in second place with a first-day score of 305. But if the schools would have counted all five golfers, Argyle would have sat three strokes ahead of the defending state champions heading into the final day.

“We have five golfers that are really consistent and can shoot from 70 to 79 on any given day,” Bell said. “It’s definitely an advantage because if you’re relying on the top four and one has a bad day, it leaves us an opportunity to slip in there.”

Lyle said the top-to-bottom talent and the fact their order has been changed throughout the season, depending on the day, adds an element of comfort and peace of mind that many other teams don’t enjoy.

“I think it plays to our advantage because it’s not like we just have four guys and if one of those has a bad day, the fifth guy has no chance,” Lyle said. “We have five guys that are really consistent and about the same score, so if someone has a bad day someone else is there to step up for us.”

For Argyle to have a chance at taking down Prosper, which has its entire team back from its championship run a year ago, Bell knows his team’s depth will have to play a factor.

“If they’re not lights out, and we’re playing well we can play right with them,” Bell said. “We’re just going to go down and play as well as we can and let things fall where they may.”

Coming out of the same region as Prosper and 2010 state champion Texarkana Pleasant Grove, which finished second in 2011, has prepared Argyle for the stiff competition it will see in Austin, including golf powerhouse Andrews out of Region I.

But Bell stopped short of saying he and his players are satisfied with getting out of the tough Region II bracket.

“We don’t want to be satisfied with just making it even though it’s the first time down,” Bell said. “All the kids feel that if we’re playing our best, we’re as good as anyone down there. We don’t want to be satisfied with just going. We want to go down there and try to place.”

If the Eagles can do that in their first trip to Austin, the future will be even more promising with all of this year’s squad set to return, plus the addition of some capable middle-schoolers.

“We have two or three eighth-graders that play quite a bit and are good, and then we have a seventh-grader that’s already really good and will be here in a couple of years,” Bell said. “The future looks bright.”

ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address isaboedeker@dentonrc.com .