Special to the Journal

Members of Belton ISD’s grounds crew are celebrating a national recognition for their work at Tidwell Field, the home of Belton High School’s baseball team.

Tidwell Field was recently named a 2021 Fields of Excellence winner, an honor that marks the field as one of the top 100 in the nation.

“Behind every great field is a great grounds crew,” said Keith Cook, executive director of operational services. “Our athletic grounds crew is a team of talented professionals who work hard to maintain the fields so our student-athletes are able to compete under the best conditions. This recognition is a testament to their expertise and dedication to our students.”

In addition to mowing, edging and trimming responsibilities, the crew uses proper agronomy practices to maintain the correct balance of nutrients through fertilization, irrigation and mowing practices to maintain a safe and playable natural turf surface.

And for fun this year, they painted Tiger eyes and the Belton “B” on the infield.

“It’s all about creating a safe and playable environment for our students, but this crew is also composed of Tiger fans,” Cook said. “They take pride in getting to use their talents to inject a little extra school spirit into the mix.”

The athletics grounds crew includes Jeremy Cavanaugh, Marcos Chico, Duamel Figueroa, Kenneth Wilson and James Glenn as well as former supervisor David Kirby.

The annual Fields of Excellence competition is sponsored by Pioneer Athletics. View all the 2021 winners at https://pioneerathletics.com/fields-of-excellence.

Courtesy Photo
BHS’ Tidwell Field was recently named one of the Top 100 fields in the nation, as one of the Fields of Excellence Winners.