This Week in Eagles’ Varsity Athletics: Looking Back at Merrier Times in April

Now roughly one month into having no sports because of the COVID-19 situation, I decided to dig into our Watonga Republican newspaper archives and take a look back at happier times in the 1990s in Watonga High School varsity athletics.

April 5, 1990: Piccirillo Hired as Eagles’ Varsity Football Head Coach

Watonga High School varsity football got itself a fantastic signing when the school named Frank Piccirillo as the team’s next head coach and school’s athletic director.

In 10 seasons at the helm of Eagles’ varsity football, Piccirillo compiled a stellar 124-24 during his tenure at Watonga that included backto-back Class 2A state championship titles in 1993 and 1994.

Piccirillo would later leave Watonga when he accepted the job as head coach of Class 6A Ponca City High School for the 2000 football season.

April 6 and 12, 1991: Eagles and Lady Eagles’ Track Dazzle at Meets

In hopes of defending their Class 2A state championship title in 1990, the Watonga boys’ varsity track and field team looked superb to place first at the Perry High School Invitational meet while the Lady Eagles’ hosted and won the Watonga Invitational one week later.

At Perry, leading the way for the Eagles were the likes of LeeRoy Solomon placing first in the shot put and discus, as well as Sean Cupp winning the pole vault. Travis Hartfield, Derek Swann, Laren Hightower, and Chevin Hampton placed second in the boys’ 4x100-meter relay race.

While hosting the Watonga Invitational, the Lady Eagles’ varsity track team was dominant as a team to place in first with a whopping 140 points compared to second-place Beaver High School’s 112 and Kingfisher High School’s 56.

The Lady Eagles had several girls place first in their respective events: Nicole Dobbins in the long jump, Kelli Cupp in the 100-meter hurdles, Tametra Cole in the 100-meter dash, and Tyeisha Butler in the 200-meter dash. Watonga also placed first as a team in the girls’ 4x100-meter relay and 4x200-meter relay.

April 11, 1992: Watonga Track Teams Sweep Third Straight Meet

Both the Eagles’ and Lady Eagles’ varsity track and field teams were on a streak of dominance as both squads won their third consecutive meets at the 1992 Alva Invitational. The Watonga girls placed first with 281 points over Chisholm High School’s 222, while the boys had 200 points for a victory over host Alva’s 149.

The following month, the Lady Eagles would eventually go on to win a Class 2A state championship title.

April 9, 1993: Boys Place First, Girls Second at Thomas Invitational

Watonga track and field made a lot of noise during the 1990s and this trend continued in 1993 when the Eagles placed first and Lady Eagles placed second at the Thomas High School Invitational track meet.

The boys’ 129.5 points were able to edge rival Fairview High School’s 117, while the Watonga girls came in a close second with 123.5 points to Beaver High School’s 137.

Adrian Fisher placed first in the 400-meter dash and Cody Daukei was victorious in the 3200-meter run for the boys. For the Lady Eagles, winners in their respective events were Sara McCoy in the high jump, Julie Roach in the 400-meter dash, and Lori Schenk in the 100-meter hurdles.

April 8, 1995: Eagles’ Varsity Baseball Wins Thomas Tournament

This particular weekend, the Watonga High School varsity baseball team came up clutch with three victories to win the annual Thomas High School baseball tournament.

The Eagles shut out Arapaho High School 8-0 in the first round, beat Hammon 4-1 in the semifinals, and outslugged Seiling High School in the finals for a 9-4 victory behind a grand slam home run from Scott Taylor.

April 10, 1995: Lori Schenk Honored for Watonga Basketball Excellence

Watonga High School girls’ varsity basketball standout Lori Schenk was honored by being selected to two all-star teams: The Daily Oklahoman Class 2A 5-on-5 All-State Team and The Enid News and Eagle All-Northwest Basketball Team.

April 12, 1996: Watonga Track Impresses Against Tough Competition

Although the Lady Eagles placed second and the Eagles placed fourth at the annual Watonga Invitational meet, both squads did very well against some very good competition from higher Class 3A and Class 4A schools.

The likes of Nichelle Wilson, Jennifer Olive, Kacy Duffy, and Beverly Olive won the girls’ 4x100-meter relay race for the Lady Eagles.

April 9, 1997: Eagles’ Varsity Baseball Holds Off Lomega for First Win

The Watonga High School varsity baseball team picked up its first victory of the 1997 season when the Eagles held on for a 12-9 win over Lomega High School.

After the Eagles took a commanding 9-0 lead after the second inning, the Raiders were eventually able to get back in the game when they tied things up at 9-9 in the sixth inning. However, Watonga didn’t flinch and scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning and held on for the win.

April 12, 1998: Watonga Baseball Trounces Seiling 11-3

In the second game of a doubleheader against Seiling High School, the Watonga varsity baseball squad used clutch pitching from Dustin Broderick and great hitting from Nick House as the Eagles cruised to an 11-3 victory over the Wildcats.

April 9, 1999: Watonga’s Jim Bob Coleman Breaks 800-Meter Record

As we wrap up the 1990s, Watonga High School standout and current track and field head coach Jim Bob Coleman dazzled at a meet held at the University of Oklahoma when he set the meet record at the time with a blistering time of 1:59.67 to win the boys’ 800-meter dash.

The following day at the annual Alva Invitational, the eventual 1999 Class 2A individual state champion set a personal best for the season in the boys’ 1600-meter run when he was victorious with an impressive time of 4:36.26.

As far as current Watonga High School sports and what the OSSAA announces, more updates regarding Eagles’ and Lady Eagles’ varsity athletics will come in near future issues of the Watonga Republican.

Although it is very frustrating right now not to have sports, I always love to learn new things about the history of Watonga athletics.

Andrew Salmi can be reached at Sports@WatongaRepublican.com