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Cedar Park athlete on dean’s list
Allison Garrett, former softball catcher at Cedar Park, has been named to the 2009 dean’s list at Evangel University in Springfield, Mo.
A freshman majoring in accounting, she had to surpass a 3.6 grade point average on a 4.0 scale to be eligible.
On another note, Allison’s sister Jessie, a junior at Cedar Park went 3-for-3 in her varsity debut Tuesday night against Marble Falls.
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Three teams battle to play Killeen, Lake Travis
Much like District 16-5A, the final two playoff spots in District 26-4A will be decided by a play-in tournament. McCallum, Dripping Springs and Travis all finished the season with 6-6 records in district play.
On Thursday night, Dripping Springs will play Travis at the Burger Center with the winner advancing to a Friday showdown with McCallum.
If McCallum wins on Friday, the Knights would wrap up the district’s third seed and the loser of Friday’s game would be the fourth seed.
If McCallum loses on Friday, the winner of that game would be the third seed while McCallum would play the loser of Thursday’s game on Saturday to decide who would get the district’s final playoff berth.
Dripping Springs split its season series with Travis but swept McCallum. McCallum and Travis each won a game against each other this year.
District 26-4A’s third seed will earn a first-round date with Lake Travis while the fourth seed will play Killeen. LBJ, the District 26-4A champion, will play either Hutto or Marble Falls in the playoff’s opening round and Reagan will face Hendrickson.
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Westlake’s all-time scorer wins first title
Westlake senior guard Cody Doolin added another milestone to his resume on Tuesday, helping Westlake to its first district title in six years. A 72-63 victory over Pflugerville in which Doolin scored 18 points gave Westlake the outright district championship.
After the game, Doolin was recognized on his home court for scoring 2,000 career points, a feat he accomplished last week at Bowie. Doolin eclipsed former University of Texas star Bill Wendlandt earlier in the season to become Westlake’s all-time leading scorer.
Doolin has played on Westlake’s varsity team for four seasons and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee this season. A first-team All-Central Texas pick last year, Doolin has signed to play basketball at the University of San Francisco.
Westlake (27-5) will play either San Antonio Churchill or San Antonio Reagan next week in a bi-district playoff game.
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Two playoff spots up for grabs in 16-5A
District 16-5A will soon be hosting a play-in tournament. Again.
A week after the District 16-5A girls needed extra games to determine who would be going to the playoffs, the boys will also participate in a play-in tournament. After finishing the season with identical 8-6 records in district play, Stony Point, McNeil and Georgetown will battle it out for the final two postseason berths in District 16-5A, a district that is already sending Cedar Park and Vista Ridge to the playoffs.
Stony Point will play Georgetown at Rouse High on Thursday night with the winner taking one of the two available playoff spots. The loser of the Stony Point/Georgetown game will return to Rouse on Friday to play McNeil for the final playoff invitation.
After the Friday game, the coaches of the two playoff-bound teams will flip a coin to determine who will be the district’s third and fourth seeds.
The three teams split their season series with each other. Stony Point beat McNeil 33-31 on Tuesday to force the play-in tournament.
Last year, Georgetown won a play-in tournament for the district’s final playoff spot. The Eagles beat Vista Ridge and Stony Point to secure a postseason berth.
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Eads has career night against Marble Falls
Lake Travis’ David Eads was awfully generous over the weekend.
The senior point guard distributed 20 assists on Friday in a 72-46 win over Marble Falls. Lake Travis coach Jan Jernberg said in an e-mail to the American-Statesman that he has never had a player who delivered more than 13 assists in a game.
Eads, a third-team All-Central Texas selection last season, is averaging an area-high 9.5 assists per game for Lake Travis. He is also scoring 8.4 points per game this season, which ranks fourth on the Lake Travis roster.
Lake Travis (27-4) will close out its regular season tonight with a home game against Killeen (25-8). With both teams tied atop the District 25-4A standings, the winner will take home the district crown.
The Cavaliers beat Killeen 48-46 earlier this season, winning on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Robert Carlton.
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Manor hires new football coach
Manor High School hired a new head football coach. Sadd Jackson, an assistant at LBJ, will take the job, Manor principal Kevin Brackmeyer said Tuesday.
Jackson is a 1990 graduate of Manor High and was an all-state linebacker for the Mustangs. Most recently he was defensive coordinator at LBJ
The former coach and athletic direct at Manor, Eric Carter, had been reassigned on Oct. 30.
Carter came to Manor about two months after the abrupt resignation of football coach Eugene Rogers in February 2008.
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McCallum to be honored for 2009 season
McCallum will be recognized later this month as the U.S. Army Strong Team of the Year for the 4A classification. The team will be honored on the afternoon of Feb. 26 in the school’s fieldhouse.
Last January, longtime Knight coach Pat Honeycutt suddenly passed away and McCallum alumni Todd Raymond was hired in March to lead the team. The Knights went 9-3 in Raymond’s first season and advanced to the third round of the playoffs for only the second time in school history.
Eight Central Texas team have been honored this season as Army Strong teams. Lake Travis (Class 4A, Week 16), Westlake (Class 5A, Week 15), La Grange (Class 3A, Week 14), Wimberley (Class 3A, Week 13), Pflugerville (Class 5A, Week 11), Cedar Park (Class 5A, Week 8), Fredericksburg Heritage (private schools, Week 2) all won weekly awards.
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Three teams to battle for one playoff spot
For some teams in District 16-5A, the playoffs are going to start a few days early.
After the conclusion of the regular season on Tuesday, Leander, Stony Point and Vista Ridge are tied for District 16-5A’s final spot in the 2009-10 girls basketball playoffs. The three teams will play in a tournament this weekend to decide who will be going to the playoffs.
On Friday night, Leander will play Stony Point at Rouse High. The winner of that game will play Vista Ridge on Saturday with the victor advancing to the playoffs. The seedings were determined by a coin toss.
The ladies may not be the only group in District 16-5A that will need a play-in tournament to clear up a muddled playoff picture.
With two games left in the season, Cedar Park has clinched its first-ever district title. But the district’s remaining three spots are within reach of six teams. McNeil and Vista Ridge are both 7-5 in district play while Leander, Georgetown and Stony Point are all 6-6. With a 4-8 record, Round Rock is mathematically alive.
Last year, Georgetown secured a playoff berth after winning a play-in tournament. The Eagles beat both Vista Ridge and Stony Point but then stumbled in the first round of the playoffs, losing 66-48 to Cypress Woods.
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Cortez signs with Hardin-Simmons
Del Valle quarterback Jozef Cortez has signed to play football at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene.
Cortez was the District 17-4A MVP in 2009 as he led Del Valle to its first district championship since 1967. Cortez was a three-year starter for the Cardinals.
Cortez is also on the Del Valle basketball team. The six-foot-three-inch senior is averaging 8.6 points per game for the Cardinals (22-5).
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Non-district schedules tentatively set
The 2010 football season doesn’t kick off for nearly seven months but local teams are busy finalizing their schedules. The 2010 schedules will become official in a few weeks but many teams have already tentatively set their schedule.
Listed after the jump are Central Texas teams’ tentative non-district opponents for the 2010 season. We will post more information as it becomes available.
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Isham and Russell sign on the dotted line
Vista Ridge’s dynamic duo is splitting into different time zones.
At an on-campus signing ceremony on Wednesday, Vista Ridge cross-country runner Ashley Isham signed to run at Arkansas. Teammate Amanda Russell signed with the University of Arizona.
“I think it’s pretty neat that we’re both getting scholarships,” Russell said. “Hopefully we’ll get to see each other at the NCAA Nationals.”
“It’s really cool because we’re both been working hard,” Isham said. “It’s kind is cool that it’s outside of Texas because you never know where your passion is going to take you.”
In four state cross-country meets, Isham has recorded three top five finishes. She also won gold medals in the 3,200 and 1,600-meter runs at the 2008 Class 4A track meet. Russell beat Isham at the last two state cross-country meets and finished third overall at this year’s race.
Both players will head into the spring with something to prove during track season. A stress fracture prematurely ended Russell’s 2009 track season and Isham, who battled mononucleosis throughout the fall, finished 14th at the 2009 cross-country meet.
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McDonald’s nominates five local players
Five Central Texas basketball players have been recognized as McDonald’s All-American candidates.
Dripping Springs forward Daniel Alexander, Marble Falls post Lindsay Ansley, LBJ point guard Donald Dallas, Westlake point guard Cody Doolin and Pflugerville forward Demetris Smith have all been nominated. The players were honored at Wednesday’s Austin Toros game.
The McDonald’s All-American teams will be announced on February 11. The all-star showcase will be held in Columbus, Ohio on March 31.
Only two Central Texas players have ever earned McDonald’s All-American accolades. Anderson’s Kris Clack was honored in 1995 and Westlake’s Brad Buckman was a 2002 All-American.
Ansley will look to become the Central Texas area’s first-ever female All-American.
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Swope to join brother at Texas A&M
A day before signing day, Westlake’s Louie Swope has had a change of heart.
Swope, a senior defensive back, decommitted from SMU on Tuesday and will instead go to Texas A&M as a preferred walk-on. Swope’s older brother Ryan was a freshman wide receiver for the Aggies last season.
Swope’s father confirmed the news to the American-Statesman’s Kirk Bohls.
“The idea (of grayshirting Louie) is not horrible, but we were not totally comfortable hearing that 10 days before signing day,” Paul Swope told Bohls. “They’re (SMU) concerned about his knee injury, which I can respect. But I didn’t think that was right telling us so late, especially since he committed to them in April.”
In the fourth game of the 2009 season, Swope suffered an ACL injury in his left knee. This week he was cleared to begin jogging.
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Aossey to sign with Harvard
Connally senior linebacker Zak Aossey will sign with Harvard on Wednesday.
An all-state and All-Central Texas honoree, Aossey forced five fumbles and grabbed three interceptions in 2009. Aossey also plays for the Connally basketball team.
In other Connally news, former Connally star Chase Harper will sign with Nebraska on Wednesday. Harper, a former All-Central Texas tight end who originally signed with Iowa State in high school, has spent the last two seasons at Navarro Junior College.
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LBJ wins swimming, diving meet
LBJ was dominant in winning the District 26-4A swimming and diving meet.
The Lady Jaguars continued their district domination by winning their six district title in a row while the boys team got back on track by taking the title back after losing it last year to Dripping Springs.
The Jaguars dominated the district meet by winning three out of six relay events and 10 out of 18 individual events. The Jags had 30 individual lifetime best performances out of 63 attempts. Individual District Champions were: David Wolfson (100 butterfly), Lara Slesnick (200 IM, 500 free), Kevin Ku (200 IM, 500 free), McCrae Kempf (50 free), Kara McCormack (1 meter diving) and Lauren Germain (100 breaststroke).
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Giddings baseball player signs
Giddings senior Rush Plumlee had already signed his NJCAA national letter of intent on January 15, the first day of early signing, but formalized it Monday with a reception at the school Library.
Plumlee will catch and be a designated for the Howard College Hawks in Big Spring.
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Anderson athletes to sign
National signing day for fall sports is Wednesday, and Anderson High has six athletes who will sign scholarships.
Stanley Kurunwune, a two-time All-District tight end for the Trojans, will sign with Midwestern State University. Ryan DeNucci, a kicker who is also a two-time All-District player, will sign with TCU.
Football players Ty Neal and Nathan Shaw will sign with Mary-Hardin Baylor and Lloyd Black will go to Eastern New Mexico University.
Also, Emily Hayes will sign her letter of intent to attend Hope College and play volleyball. Emily was a two-time All-District volleyball player for the Trojans.
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Marquee match-ups on the horizon
As the dust settled on the UIL’s biennial realignment, much focus shifted from the placement of schools to the teams’ upcoming seasons.
On Monday, the UIL shied away from constructing big districts. Only one of the nine upper-classification districts that will house Central Texas teams over the next two years will have eight schools. During the past two years, five of the eight area districts had at least eight teams.
The smaller districts surprised some coaches and sent many teams scrambling to find additional opponents to fill out their non-district schedules.
“I did anticipate a few more teams in the district,” said Del Valle coach Courtney Wash. Wash’s Cardinals were placed in the six-team District 15-5A.
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Another Chaparral commits to college
Tomorrow’s signing day ceremony at Westlake may last a bit longer than some of the other ceremonies in town.
The family of Charlie Copa has confirmed that the Westlake tight end verbally committed to Syracuse on Monday. Copa was a first team all-district and third team All-Central Texas honoree for the 2009 season.
Copa becomes the sixth Chaparral to commit to a college football program. He follows in the footsteps of quarterback Tanner Price (Wake Forest), defensive back Louie Swope (SMU), kicker Cody Rademacher (Air Force) and linebackers Bryce Hager (Baylor) and Ellis Glaw (Dartmouth).
David Durham, a former Chaparral who moved to North Carolina during the summer, committed to Ohio State while attending Westlake.
Westlake went 13-3 last season and reached the Class 5A, Division I title game.
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High School Football Chat: Realignment
Please join the American-Statesman’s Danny Davis this afternoon as he chats realignment with sportswriters from across the state.
The chat will start on the Varsity News blog at noon and will last roughly 90 minutes.
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Realignment sends area teams to Region II
Thirteen local athletic programs have been sent to Region II after the UIL released its biennial realignment package on Monday. Once the home of just the Williamson County teams, Region II now hosts both of Central Texas’ main Class 5A districts and a Class 4A district.
The placement of Del Valle, Westlake and the AISD schools in a Region II district should make several Central Texas football fans happy when next season’s playoffs roll around. The playoff’s opening round will pit four teams from the Westlake-led District 15-5A against four teams from District 16-5A, which is headlined by Stony Point.
Listed below are the 18 district that will house Central Texas teams over the next two years.
- District 12-5A: A&M Consolidated/Belton/Bryan/Copperas Cove/Ellison/Harker Heights/Shoemaker/Temple
- District 15-5A: Akins/Anderson/Austin High/Bowie/Del Valle/Westlake
- District 16-5A: Georgetown/Leander/McNeil/Pflugerville/Round Rock/Stony Point/Westwood
- District 25-5A: Cibolo Steele/Converse Judson/New Braunfels/SA Wagner/San Marcos/Seguin
- District 8-4A: Killeen/San Angelo Lake View/Stephenville/Waco/Waco Midway/Waco University
- District 16-4A: Bastrop/Bryan Rudder/Connally/Elgin/Hendrickson/Hutto/Manor
- District 25-4A: Cedar Park/Dripping Springs/Lake Travis/Marble Falls/Rouse/Vandegrift/Vista Ridge
- District 26-4A: Crockett/Eastside/LBJ/Lanier/McCallum/Reagan/Travis
- District 27-4A: Hays/Lehman/Lockhart/NB Canyon/SA Alamo Heights/Schertz Clemens/Spring Branch Smithson Valley
- District 23-3A: Caldwell/Giddings/La Grange/Navasota/Rockdale/Smithville
- District 25-3A: Burnet/Lampasas/Liberty Hill/Llano/Salado/Taylor
- District 26-3A: Bandera/Boerne/Canyon Lake/Fredericksburg/Geronimo Navarro/SA Hawkins/Wimberley
- District 12-2A, Division I: Academy/Cameron Yoe/Florence/Hearne/Marlin/McGregor/Troy
- District 13-2A, Division I: Blanco/Comfort/Ingram Moore/Lago Vista/Luling/Marion
- District 12-2A, Division II: Bruceville-Eddy/Franklin/Jarrell/Lexington/Rogers/Rosebud-Lott/Thorndale
- District 12-A, Division I: Iola/Moody/Normangee/Somerville/Thrall
- District 14-A, Division I: Brackettville Brackett/Center Point/Johnson City/La Pryor
- District 13-A, Division II: Bartlett/Burton/Granger/Holland/Milano/Snook
Latest comments
My family and I have known Cody for over ten years. Not only is he an outstanding athlete, he is a great citizen, wonderful friend and strong student. But most important, he makes those around him better.
But having to live in SF to go to college?
... read the full comment by Dragon dad | Comment on Westlake's all-time scorer wins first title Read Westlake's all-time scorer wins first title
Congrats coach Jackson we are all proud of you. It has been a long time coming working at two universities and three high schools prior to this assignment. “Hold up good standards and make us all proud”. Win lots of games but most of all show
... read the full comment by Sylvester Dixon | Comment on Manor hires new football coach Read Manor hires new football coach
We’ve enjoyed watching Cody for the last 4 years. His desire to win and his high adrenaline hustle at both ends of the court make him a real headache for the opposition.
... read the full comment by Pat | Comment on Westlake's all-time scorer wins first title Read Westlake's all-time scorer wins first title
CONGRADULATION !!!! Manor has been waiting along time for this. Friday Night Football Games are back again.
... read the full comment by Akers Family | Comment on Manor hires new football coach Read Manor hires new football coach
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