Friday, Dec. 14, 2007

Sports Digest

Lowe Takes 4th at Foot Locker

Carroll senior Colby Lowe finished fourth overall at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships national race in San Diego on Dec. 8.

Lowe posted a time of 15 minutes, 12 seconds to take fourth in the race that pits the top 40 high school cross country runners from across the U.S. Lowe was 22 seconds behind first-place runner Michael Fout of LaPorte High School in Indiana, who finished with a time of 14:50.

Carroll teammate C.J. Brown competed in the national event as well, finishing 24th overall with a time of 15:51.

Lowe had competed in the Nike Team Nationals race in Portland, Ore., on Dec. 1 with four other members of the Carroll boys cross country team. Lowe finished second individually in the event that brings together the top high school cross country teams across the nation for competition. Carroll finished 15th overall at the Nike event.

It was Lowe’s best finish in three trips to the Foot Locker event. Lowe finished 29th as a sophomore and 10th as a junior at the San Diego-based event.

Alumni Watch

Makasini Receives Honor

Colleyville Heritage graduate and current Lousiana State University girls soccer star Michelle Makasini was recently named to the All-Louisiana Soccer Team by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

Makasini, a sophomore, made the first team for the second year in a row. Makasini was LSU’s top vote getter after scoring nine goals and adding three assists. Makasini was also named Top Drawer Soccer Honorable Mention All-American and first-team All-SEC selection for the first time.

LaMar Makes Big 12 List

Former Colleyville Covenant Christian football player Jake LaMar, a defensive back at Baylor University, was named honorable mention All-Big 12.

LaMar, a junior, was also given All-Academic Big 12 honors for the third consecutive year.

LaMar was a walk-on at Baylor after an impressive career at Covenant. He recorded eight tackles against national power Oklahoma this season, resulting in his being voted Defensive Player of the Game on Rivals.com. LaMar only started three games for the Bears this season but finished fourth on the team in tackles with 67, including five for losses. He also recorded an interception against Texas A&M.

Football

Dragons District Selections

Carroll led the way with first-team honors in District 5-5A, as quarterback Riley Dodge was named District MVP and running back Tré Newton was named Offensive Player of the Year.

Carroll receiver’s Blake Cantu and Chris Brainard, offensive tackle Sam Schwartzstein, center Jared Acton, guard Jake Jackson, defensive tackle Ben Carroll, linebackers David Stoltzman and Derek Tomli, defensive end Brayden Burnett and kicker Cade Foster all made first-team district.

Wide receivers Jared Freeman and Ethan Cunningham, guard Will McWhirter, defensive tackle Robert Prigmore, safety Luke Anderson and cornerback Josh Rake all received second-team honors.

First-year Dragons coach Hal Wasson was named Coach of the Year.

GCISD Football Honors

Eight Colleyville Heritage football players and three Grapevine football players were given first-team District 5-5A honors.

Colleyville Heritage junior linebacker Bobby Schneider was named Defensive Player of the Year, while offensive guard Chandler Martin, defensive tackles Lorenzo Martinez and Matt Hornbuckle, linebacker Tyler Crouch, safety Tayler Hightower and defensive end Chris Lyon were all Panthers named to the district’s first team.

Colleyville Heritage’s wide receivers Shane Hilliard and Joel Quintanilla, punter Ryan Owens and cornerback Marvin Desir received second-team honors.

Grapevine quarterback Matt Harbin, wide receiver Russell Watkins and punter Bryan Houk were the Mustangs first-team All-District selections.

Offensive tackle Ryan Botts, center Ryan Alvarado, running back Chance Cochran, wide receiver Bryan Houk, guard Evyn Perry, defensive tackle Chase Actkinson, linebackers Alex Klingbiel and Ethan Davis, safety Brad Padia and defensive end Shawn Anunaso were all Mustangs that made second-team All-District.

TAPPS Basketball

Cougars Crushed By Cistercian

The Colleyville Covenant boys struggled to an 82-42 loss to Irving Cistercian in private school action on Tuesday.

The Cougars trailed Cistercian 15-4 after the first quarter and could never catch up, falling behind 40-18 by halftime.

Covenant was led by Alex Laywell and Sammy Brodner, both of whom scored 11 points. Drew Albert led Cistercian with 14.

Country Day Humbles Covenant

The Lady Cougars basketball team could not find a way to score points against Country Day, as Covenant fell by a 55-16 final.

The Lady Cougars were outscored 16-2 in the first quarter and never got on track. Covenant could manage no more than six points in a quarter, that coming in the third, as Country Day improved to 6-7.

Hockey

Dragons Fall to Plano East

Carroll fell a little short on Dec. 6 in a close battle with Plano East, losing 4-3.

The Dragons (1-8) trailed 3-0 in the first period when David Bushong scored with 8:06 gone by in the first. Conner Lashus cut the score to 3-2 with a shot with 8:37 gone by in the second period.

Plano East (3-7-1) added to their lead to make it 4-2 in the third, as Connor Gildenblatt scored with 35 second remaining to make it 4-3. However, Carroll was unable to tie the score in the final seconds.

Plano East out-shot Carroll 31-9, as Dragons goalie Brock McDonald registered 27 saves.

Panthers Lose Shootout

Colleyville Heritage lost to Birdville, 2-1, in a game decided by a shootout on Dec. 6.

The Panthers (8-0-2) scored first to take a 1-0 lead on Zach Mayhill’s goal with 33 seconds gone by in the first. The goal was set up by Zach Pizzey.

Colleyville maintained the 1-0 lead until Birdville’s Sean Hickey scored with 2:33 gone by in the third period to tie the game. Neither team scored again in regulation or in overtime.

Birdville’s Josh Skinner scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Hawks (6-4) the victory.

The Panthers’ out-shot Birdville 24-16 in the contest, as Colleyville goalie Ryan Kontz recorded 15 saves.

Mustangs Can’t Catch Owls

Grapevine found itself in an early hole against Garland, as the Mustangs went on to lose 8-3.

After Garland (5-3-2) scored five goals in the first period, Grapevine’s Preston Wylie scored the first goal for the Mustangs (5-5) with 3:48 in the second period to cut the score to 5-1. Grapevine got a little closer with a goal by Dakota Azulay less than two minutes later to make it 5-2.

However, the Owls added two more scores to take a 7-2 lead before the Mustangs answered again. Azulay added his second goal, Grapevine’s final in the contest, with 4:47 gone by in the third.

— Zach Warner, Staff Writer