By Tony Adams The Belton Journal The Lake Belton Broncos volleyball squad continued to work their way toward the end of their non-district this week, as they played home matches against the Rudder Rangers and Smithville Tigers. On Friday, Lake stormed into Bronco Gymnasium and blitzed Rangers from first serve to last as they swept Rudder in three games. Scores of the match were 25-7, 25- 14, and 25-16. Lake improved their record to 15- 11, while Rudder dropped to 13-17.

By Clay Whittington The Belton Journal The Lady Broncos are traveling to Grand Prairie on Friday for the annual Ken Gaston Race at the Lake, where they will look to build on last week’s showing. Racing along a three-mile course at Waco’s Heart of Texas Soccer Complex, Lake Belton placed two in the top 10 en route to finishing third at the Midway Hewitt Kiwanis Invitational. Thanks in part to freshman Keira Dzenowski, who was fifth overall with a time of 20 minutes, 24.9 seconds, and sophomore Lucy Loa (7th, 20:32.9), the Lady Broncos amassed 62 points to situate themselves behind champion Cleburne (42) and runner-up Temple (46) in the Class 5A-6A division. The junior tandem of Sarah Gray (13th, 21:03.6) and Jenna Benedick (16th, 21:06.9) and sophomore Alayna Fulton (22nd, 21:31.5) also generated points for Lake Belton. Lady Broncos junior Madelyn Rivas (25th, 21:35.4), sophomore Emyle Love (26th, 21:47.8), sophomore Elizabeth Sandlin (34th, 22:16.3), senior Clara Hill (42nd, 23:06.0) and sophomore Claire Henn (50th, 23:33.9) also competed, but their times did not count toward the team total. In the boys division, the Broncos scored 191 points to place seventh. Wyatt Potts, a junior, had Lake Belton’s top time, crossing the finish line in 17:51.4 to place 25th, while all four of his scoring teammates — sophomore Cooper Schels (38th, 18:16.6), junior Josiah Briggs (40th, 18:17.8), sophomore Tyler Adkins-Beltran (46th, 18:29.1) and freshman Drew Houston (50th, 18:39.8) — were among the top 50. Rounding out the Broncos’ squad was junior Jack McCullagh (53rd, 19:03.3), sophomore Efren Romero-Meza (56th, 19:13.8), sophomore Kyan Whitmire (62nd, 19:45.5) and senior Leonardo Piedra (67th, 20:35.9). Killeen Ellison (1st, 39), Killeen Harker Heights (2nd, 41), Temple (3rd, 82) and Killeen Chaparral (4th, 89) occupied the top spots in the standings. New Tech was also in attendance, running in the Class 1A-4A junior varsity division, but neither the Dragons nor Lady Dragons fielded a full team. David Martinez, a freshman, had the best outing, placing 16th with a time of 20:35.1, while junior Desmond Long (37th, 22:12.6) and freshman Zorian Hajduk (85th, 27:05.3) followed. The Lady Dragons were paced by senior Claire Thomas (9th, 14:40.0) and freshman Ellie Megoulloa (12th, 14:53.7). Daniella Idumebor, a sophomore, was 46th (17:30.1) in the two-mile race. Unlike the Broncos and Lady Broncos, New Tech will take part in today’s Salado Tenroc Invitational, but Belton will join Lake Belton at Grand Prairie, making the trip for a second consecutive week. The Tigers and Lady Tigers participated in last week’s Gerald Richey Invitational hosted by UT-Arlington. The event also served as the University Interscholastic League Region II Preview Meet. Both of Belton’s teams landed among the top 10 with multiple runners placing in the top 50. The Lady Tigers were eighth among the Varsity, Division II field with 167 points. Isabella Warner, a sophomore, was the team’s first member to cross the finish line, posting a 22nd-place time of 23:38.0, while sophomore Ai Kirkland (30th, 23:34.3), senior Destiny Schutz (45th, 25:18.4), junior Roxanna Delgado (47th, 25:24.3) and junior Fancy Jamie (53rd, 25:35.8) rounded out the team total. Additionally, junior Nataly Valdez (54th, 25:37.3), freshman Ayla Wakershauser (55th, 25:40.3), sophomore Lilian Baggett (57th, 25:51.0) and sophomore Madyson Hartnett (69th, 26:54.7) also competed for Belton. Occupying the top three spots were Frisco Wakeland (1st, 20), Frisco Liberty (2nd, 88) and Rockwall-Heath (3rd, 96). In the boys Division II race, senior Paul Maringathuparambil (33rd, 18:41.9) led the Tigers to a ninth-place showing with 249 points. He was complemented by juniors Ezra Kahler (40th, 18:55.7), Alexander Castelan (69th, 20:07.6) and Hayden Brown (72nd, 20:11.6) and sophomore Harrison Booher (78th, 20:32.7). All finishing within 40 seconds of each other, sophomores Nelson Funez (80th, 20:47.3) and Marcus Hernandez (81st, 20:51.1), senior Rosario Parra (82nd, 20:53.6), junior Jose Perez-Diaz (85th, 21:03.8) and freshman Luke Roberts (88th, 21:26.1) also competed for Belton.  Dallas Highland Park earned the team title with 53 points, beating out Frisco Wakeland (2nd, 58) and Cypress Springs (3rd, 60).

By Tony Adams The Belton Journal The Lake Belton Broncos are on the mend after a physical matchup against A&M Consolidated last Friday. The Broncos had several opportunities in the first half of their 44-17 loss to the Tigers. “We had our chances in the first half and needed to capitalize,” Lake Belton head coach Brian Cope said. “Between the turnovers and getting stopped on first down, that put us behind. On defense, we allowed too many big plays because we did not execute what was called. We have to get back to not pressing and doing our job to the best of our ability. The special teams were good all night. We have areas to improve but we won that which was a positive out of the night.” 

By Tony Adams The Belton Journal The 2025 Volleypalooza Tournament in Round Rock was a challenging three days that Lake Belton volleyball head coach Allison Waits knew was going to be a tough time no matter how she and the Broncos looked at it. “There were teams from all over the nation at the tournament,” Waits said. “We had played 5A and 6A teams from all over the state coming in. But it was an entirely different level altogether. In the tournament’s opening day, Lake Belton was pooled together with Mount St. Mary out of Oklahoma City, Katy Tompkins, and Liberty Hill. MSM defeated the Broncos in the opener, 25-21 and 25-19. Tompkins nipped the Broncos in the second match, 25-19 and 25-22. Liberty Hill handed Lake Belton their third pool loss of the day, 25-19 and 25-14. Day two of pool play was no easier. Rockwall swept the Broncos, 25-15 and 25-21. Lake battled Clear Springs hard but was swept 25-21 and 25-22. The Broncos ended pool play in the win column against Lago Vista, 25-15 and 25-22. The Broncos led off play on Saturday with a matchup against the Stony Point Tigers. Lake bounced back from a rough start to trip the Tigers 2-1, by scores of 11-25, 25-20, and 25-21. Lake Belton faced Westwood to finish the tournament and finished the match with a sweep by scores of 25-15 and 25-22. Madison Bingham logged her 2,000th career assist on Friday. The Broncos finished Volleypalooza with a 3-5 record, and a three-game winning streak. It set them up well for a matchup against the Robinson Rockets on the road. The Rockets had come off a 5-2 mark at the Little River Academy Tournament, with the Belton Tigers handing Robinson both losses. The Tigers won on Thursday 25-17 and 25-21, and in the tournament semifinal on Saturday, 25-15 and 27-25. The Broncos jumped out to big leads in all three games, fought off Rocket rallies in the final two games, and pulled off the road sweep, 3-0. Scores of the match were 25-14, 25-19, and 25-23. Lake led 13-6 in game one, with Kaitlyn Hutchins and Ava Wood earning a handful of kills and Bingham and Natalia Partida picking up key assists. The Broncos overpowered the Rockets, as they lead by as many as 13 points. Game two was much of the same, although Robinson sliced away at a 16-9 margin with six straight points. It was 20-19 when Abbi Jones’ kill highlighted a 5-0 run to give Lake a six-point win in game two. The Rockets never led by more than one point over the course of the three games, and it happened just three times: at the beginning of the match, the beginning of game three, and 23-22 in the third game. Lake closed out the game with three straight points to seal the sweep. “We got a little bit slow in our game, in our pace of game,” Waits said. “We got to use some players in different positions that we wanted to see them in. With that, we lost some of our team chemistry. But we finished it out. I would have loved to have finished it out in a little different way.” Lake Belton is now 14-11 in the season following their win at Robinson. 

By Tony Adams The Belton Journal It did not happen until late in the match. To the Lake Belton Volleyball program and its fans, they were excited to see the milestone at Bronco Gymnasium. Senior Kaitlyn Hutchins’ 16th kill of the match came at a clutch time: a cannonading blast onto the Leander Glenn side of the court to cut off a Grizzly rally and gave the Broncos match point. Lake slammed the door on the match on the next point to pick a hard-earned sweep against a talented Glenn squad.

By Tony Adams The Belton Journal Starting their sixth year of play, the Lake Belton Broncos have steadily played better in scrimmage games. Thursday night at Bulldawg Stadium was one of their best yet. The Broncos took on Copperas Cove, coached by former Belton head coach Rodney Southern. 

By Tony Adams The Belton Journal The Lake Belton Broncos football team will take its first test of the 2025 campaign Thursday evening, as they will take on Copperas Cove on Thursday. The freshmen teams will take the field at 4:30 pm. The junior varsity teams will play at 5:30 pm. The varsity squads will wrap the scrimmage session with a 6:30 pm contest. Lake Belton has had a solid opening to their 2025 fall season to date. “We are very proud of how hard they have been working,” Lake Belton head coach Brian Cope said. “They had a great summer, and it has paid off. We will always work extra on the blocking and tackling part but from the scheme part the retention on both sides has been outstanding.” Asked what units or players have stood out in camp so far, Cope pointed out some familiar standouts, several from the 2024 edition of the Broncos. “I am proud of the running backs so far on offense,” Cope said. “Zyien Dupree, AJ Alexander, and Braxtan Cope all have done a good job. On defense, our defensive line is getting after it. We have had some players step up too, but it has been fun to watch Evan Lazott and Caleb Chandler.” The Bulldawgs will be the Broncos’ first test of the season, with going on the road to Copperas Cove. “This will be Coach (Rodney) Southern’s first year there and know they have always done a great job on defense wherever he is at,” Cope said. “They are a 4-2-5 front, so our line will have to work together to get to the second level. They have talented defensive line and secondary kids. So that will be a big test for us.” Cope stated that while the Broncos’ defense will have a task on their plate against the Cove offense, Lake Belton will have a higher worry. “This week, we must worry about us,” Cope said. “They have a good running back and some outstanding receivers. So, we must be able to wrap up on tackling and make them snap it one more play. They are looking forward to the challenge.” Bulldawg Stadium is always an interesting venue to play in and with scattered thunderstorms in the forecast anything can happen. With new head coach Rodney Southern in town, the Bulldawgs will have an interesting stamp of Southern’s on it, being a disciple of Jack Welch’s. “Between coaching at A&M Consolidated and Belton, I have some great memories of Bulldawg Stadium and have the utmost respect for Coach Southern,” Cope said. “They will be well-coached and discipline so that is exactly what you are looking for when you scrimmage a quality opponent. It will be a good test."

By Tony Adams The Belton Journal The Lake Belton Broncos volleyball team, fresh off their sweep of Harker Heights, hit the road for a major test at the Duncanville Tournament this past weekend. On Friday, the Broncos faced District 21-6A Fort Bend Clements to start the tournament. The Broncos were sound systematically and cruised to a two-game win over the Rangers. Scores of the match were 25-13 and 25-17. Lake’s next pool matchup was against the District 7-6A Irving MacArthur Cardinals. The Broncos continued to move the ball with ease around the offensive side and leveled charges around the opposite side as they allowed just 15 total points in a sweep of the Cardinals. Scores of the match were 25-8 and 25-7. With Pool 7’s top seed on the line, the Broncos took on the District 6-5A Coppell Cowgirls. In the Broncos’ toughest match of the season, Lake played Coppell tough through all three games. The Cowgirls took two of three games to notch top seed in Pool 7. Scores of the match were 15-25, 25-22, and 25- 21. Kaitlyn Hutchins notched kills and Haylee Kasner collected an ace to give the Broncos an early lead. Madi Bingham set up a series of kills by Hutchins, Abbi Jones, Morgan Kukulski, Ava Wood and Madi Jackman. Solid service by Hutchins, Kruz Smith, and Keileigh Krueger throughout the match kept the Broncos in the game. Having clinched the second seed in Pool 7, the Broncos took on the District 10-6A Longview Lobos in the opening round of Gold Bracket play. Lake endured three grueling games, which included an extended game two, to down Longview 2-1. Scores of the match were 23-25, 32-30, and 25- 21. The momentum went back and forth at a phrenetic pace. The first two games had margins that did not exceed four points. The Lobos were able to hold the lead late in the first game despite kills from Hutchins, Jones, and Kukulski that helped keep the Broncos from letting the game escape. Continued stellar service by Hutchins, Kruz Smith, and Keileigh Krueger throughout the match kept the Broncos in the game. The Broncos endured the second game with a high degree of grit and determination, having gone point-for-point with the athletic Lobos. Lake went beyond the 25-point mark, as the Broncos would take a one-point lead that was promptly answered by the Lobos. Lake took five one-point leads that were equaled before the Broncos scored the final two points for the thrilling 32-30 finish. The Broncos opened a five-point lead in game three before winning the final match by six points. Lake entered the Gold Bracket semifinal against District 3-6A North Crowley with an opportunity at a bracket championship on the line. The Broncos erased a five-point deficit to take game one. But the Panthers’ consistent attack took steam out of Lake in games two and three as North Crowley won the match, 2-1. Scores of the match were 23-25, 25-17, and 25-14. The Panthers went on to win the Gold Bracket with a 3-0 win over Socorro. “It was a great weekend against high-level talent,” Lake Belton head coach Allison Waits said. “I was proud of the team, and it gave us a great deal of confidence in ourselves.”The Lake Belton Broncos volleyball team, fresh off their sweep of Harker Heights, hit the road for a major test at the Duncanville Tournament this past weekend. On Friday, the Broncos faced District 21-6A Fort Bend Clements to start the tournament. The Broncos were sound systematically and cruised to a two-game win over the Rangers. Scores of the match were 25-13 and 25-17. Lake’s next pool matchup was against the District 7-6A Irving MacArthur Cardinals. The Broncos continued to move the ball with ease around the offensive side and leveled charges around the opposite side as they allowed just 15 total points in a sweep of the Cardinals. Scores of the match were 25-8 and 25-7. With Pool 7’s top seed on the line, the Broncos took on the District 6-5A Coppell Cowgirls. In the Broncos’ toughest match of the season, Lake played Coppell tough through all three games. The Cowgirls took two of three games to notch top seed in Pool 7. Scores of the match were 15-25, 25-22, and 25- 21. Kaitlyn Hutchins notched kills and Haylee Kasner collected an ace to give the Broncos an early lead. Madi Bingham set up a series of kills by Hutchins, Abbi Jones, Morgan Kukulski, Ava Wood and Madi Jackman. Solid service by Hutchins, Kruz Smith, and Keileigh Krueger throughout the match kept the Broncos in the game. Having clinched the second seed in Pool 7, the Broncos took on the District 10-6A Longview Lobos in the opening round of Gold Bracket play. Lake endured three grueling games, which included an extended game two, to down Longview 2-1. Scores of the match were 23-25, 32-30, and 25- 21. The momentum went back and forth at a phrenetic pace. The first two games had margins that did not exceed four points.

The Lady Broncos hold volleyball tryouts at Lake Belton. Join them as they build a strong team for the upcoming season!