BY KEVIN FARR For the Democrat In spite of just a 33-27 overall record to finish the season, the Southeastern softball exemplified the regular coach speak of getting hot at the right time a year ago on the way to a Great American Conference title and trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Head coach Mackenzie Sher hopes to duplicate that feat again in her second year at the Savage Storm softball helm with a solid blend of experience and talented newcomers for the season slate that opens Friday in Louisiana with the first of 20 consecutive road games.

Each February, millions of people come together to change the world, one random act of kindness at a time. First United Bank will be mobilizing their stakeholders once again this year with the goal to complete 350,000 acts of kindness in one day.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has partnered with Oklahoma State University (OSU) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to launch tickborne disease surveillance across the Choctaw Nation Reservation. Tick samples from each of 10 counties will be analyzed to identify community hotspots at risk for tickborne disease, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), a tickborne illness that has increased across the reservation in recent years.

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In their final tournament contests of the season, Durant’s girls and boys basketball teams each posted a pair of victories while bringing home trophies from the Bridge Creek Invitational. The Lady Lions claimed the third place award with a 48-44 win over Chickasha while the Lions used a late comeback to knock off the OKC Storm, 59-54, in the consolation finals.

For the first time since the start of Great American Conference play, Southeastern came through with a league sweep by winning both women’s and men’s games on Saturday at Ouachita Baptist. In the women’s contest, the Savage Storm women snapped a nine-game league losing skid with a 60-55 victory.

In the busiest stretch of the year, the Durant High School wrestling team posted three dual triumphs in five outings last week. The Lions blasted Ardmore, 63-18, at home on Senior Night before splitting four outings in the Annual District Duals at McAlester.

Calera snapped Caddo’s bid for a fourth straight Bryan County Tournament girls championship Saturday night at Bloomer Sullivan Arena with a 46-43 title game triumph. Making their first championship appearance since 2013, Calera led through most of the nip-and-tuck battle to run their winning streak to 13 while improving to 16-1 on the season.

Defending state champ Caddo survived a massive third quarter run by Rock Creek and posted its first Bryan County Tournament boys championship win since 2021 with a 48-41 win Saturday night at Bloomer Sullivan Arena.