AD wants to keep Warriors primed

Capitalizing on talent key for Bishop

Josh Bishop
Josh Bishop

Josh Bishop, in his second year as athletic director at Trinity, has been involved in Warrior sports for three years.

"Our athletic programs are good, considering the small talent pool that we have to choose from," Bishop said. "We don't have the public school-type of athlete pool. We don't have tryouts and we don't cut players, but we continue to put competitive teams out there."

The first sport on the calendar is boys and girls golf on July 30.

"This past golf season we had a first-it was the first time that a Class 1A golf tournament had been hosted here in Texarkana," Bishop said. "We put in a bid, and they gave us the state and conference tournaments."

The girls and boys won the conference championship this past season, which was played at New Haven Golf Club. The girls took home second in state, while the boys were third.

Greg Starr is the head golf coach, and he is assisted by Aaron Bray.

Basketball, cross country and track follow the golf season. The Warriors have won 11 state track and field championships that go along with three state cross country championships.

Adam Bruce, who graduated in 2018, was the staple for Trinity Christian's cross country team as he placed first and runner-up at many meets.

Rhett Nelson is ranked seventh in high school pole vaulting in the United States. He is ranked first in his class.

After those seasons finish, baseball and softball resume.

"We are rebuilding our baseball and softball teams." Bishop said. "Softball has been down for a while, but it's coming back up."

Grant Nolen, a senior, was the leader of the 2018 baseball team. Nolen had an incredible average of .656, which was the highest in the state of Arkansas in classes 1A-7A, posted a slugging percentage of .906. This standout multi-sport player also led the Warriors in RBI, hits, doubles and walks.

Nolen earned the team's Most Valuable Player award and had a grand slam. He also had a .989 fielding percentage while playing first base, third base and pitcher. Nolen played golf, basketball and threw the shot put and discus for Trinity Christian.

"There are several kids that play multiple sports for us," Bishop said. "At our athletic banquet, I had the students raise their hands if they played at least three sports. About 75 percent of the athletes raised their hands."

Trinity Christian hired Bianca Jones, formally of Arkansas High, as the cheerleading coach for the 2018-19 school year.

"We have several junior programs in place to ensure proper training and to instill a competitive nature," Bishop said. "We have off-season workout programs that push our athletes to new levels and help prevent injury.

"Our coaching staff is dedicated to developing talent at every grade and level in order to gain maximum effort."

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