Featured Athlete: Escape plan: Cordell athlete returns from Texas for senior year

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  • Escape plan: Cordell athlete returns from Texas for senior year
    Escape plan: Cordell athlete returns from Texas for senior year
  • Escape plan: Cordell athlete returns from Texas for senior year
    Escape plan: Cordell athlete returns from Texas for senior year
  • ABOVE: McKenzy Isbell winds back before passing a ball to Javorsky in the Lady Devil’s game against the Hobart Lady Wildcats. TOP RIGHT: Sisters McKenzy and Kylee Isbell, stand in front of an octopus mural. RIGHT: McKenzy and friend Jade Gonzales pose for a quick selfie. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS AND BY FLORA WALTERS
    ABOVE: McKenzy Isbell winds back before passing a ball to Javorsky in the Lady Devil’s game against the Hobart Lady Wildcats. TOP RIGHT: Sisters McKenzy and Kylee Isbell, stand in front of an octopus mural. RIGHT: McKenzy and friend Jade Gonzales pose for a quick selfie. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS AND BY FLORA WALTERS
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Senior Mckenzy Isbell moved mountains to escape from Beeville, Texas.

Isbell spent her entire childhood living in small-town Cordell with her family, which made a sudden move to Beeville in her freshman year hard to stomach.

Beeville was the destination Isbell’s parents chose, and it was vastly different from what she was used to.

“I don’t like that big of a change, and the girls in Texas were pretty mean, so it was hard for me to make friends. I had to go to a 4A school, too, which is pretty big,” McKenzy said.

The three years Isbell spent in Beeville wore her down, taking both an emotional and a physical toll.

“I missed my family and my hometown. I didn’t know anyone in Beeville through all of the years I lived there. I never went out or anything I was just a homebody,” McKenzy said.

Though her classmates tried their hardest to help, it just wasn’t enough to fill the void in her heart.

“I couldn’t handle it, Beeville just wasn’t where I was meant to be. I realized that I needed to come home and be around my family,” Mckenzy said.

Isbell did whatever was necessary to come home, which meant leaving behind her father, stepmother, and siblings.

“I miss my dad, (step-mother) Rhiannon and my siblings, but I just had to come home,” McKenzy said.

Isbell now lives with her aunt and uncle, Becky and John Phillips, both of whom she is pleased to have in her life.

“I’m so thankful for what they’ve done for me and how they help me. They’ve taught me so much,” McKenzy said.

Isbell is back in action now, playing basketball for the Lady Devils.

Her big sister, and former Blue Devil, Kylee Isbell, inspired McKenzy to play basketball for Cordell.

“From the first time I saw her play, I knew I wanted to do it, too. She was just so good at it, I wanted to be like that,” McKenzy said.

Isbell’s sister does what she can to help McKenzy with basketball and stress, but because she lives in Texas, Isbell relies heavily on her best friend, Jade Gonzales.

“Jade has gotten me through a lot, she’s definitely helped me get out of some dark places. Jade will come work out or shoot with me; She’s always there for me no matter what. We are really close,” McKenzy said.

The pair are far closer than friends; they are like sisters.

“She was going through a really hard time when she moved here with family and personal stuff and I helped her get through it. We just kind of clicked and started hanging out more,” Jade said.

“We’ve been friends since second grade, but we became sisters the summer of 2020. We both help each other through the hard times and have a blast doing it. There’s never a dull moment in our lives. We are like one soul in two bodies always doing the same things and saying the same stuff,” Jade said

The pair are inseparable and help each other through whatever challenges they face, no matter what.

“She’s my rock and I’m hers,” Jade said.

THE ISBELL FILE

YEAR: Senior

SPORTS: Basketball, Soccer

Family: Kyle Isbell, Becky and John Phillips, Anna and Levi Feltman

HOBBIES: Shopping in Oklahoma City, Spending time with family, Hanging out with Nieces and Nephews, Eating, Sleeping

BESTIE: Jade Gonzales