Mar 10, 2010
2009: Top 10 Sports Stories
December 28, 2009
PEARLAND — Each year - area student-athletes accomplish great achievements in the athletic arena - depending on what sport it might be. It could be in a football stadium, gymnasium, cross country or track venue, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, golf course, tennis court, soccer, wrestling, lacrosse, or swimming pool.
The year of 2009 provided many athletic highlights featuring scores of young men and women who performed at a level that earned them national and state-wide recognition. This included individual efforts as well as team achievements.
While there are dozens of outstanding athletes who could be recognized - here are the top 10 for 2009 that deserve attention.
No. 10
Pearland hasn't had that many swimmers qualify for the state meet in their young history. The Oilers have never had a gold medal winner in any event -- until 2009 when Sam Decker saw all of his hard work rewarded with a first place finish against the top 5A divers in the state.
Decker got close in 2008 when he won a silver medal at the state meet his junior year, but he was determined he was going to take the gold medal his senior year. Decker, who signed a letter-of-intent to dive for the Arizona Wildcats, scored 511.15 points to beat Hudson Rains of Cy-Fair who had 466.10 points to become the 2009 5A state diving champion.
No. 9
Pearland's Dallas (Whitney) Rose won the Class 5A Triple Jump her junior year at the UIL state track and field meet, but repeating against some of the top jumpers in the state is quite a challenge. But Rose accepted that challenge and became a repeat state champion with a leap of 42-00.50 for a gold medal to easily win over Melissa Mays of Killeen Harker Heights who placed second with a distance of 40-03.00.
No. 8The Friendswood football team entered the 2009 season as the defending Class 4A Region III Division I champions while advancing to the 2008 state semifinals. It was a first-ever region title for head coach Steve Van Meter who has been at the helm of the Mustangs for 18 years. Repeating is never easy in such a tough region - especially after losing three-year starting quarterback Jacob Karam and a stable of outstanding receivers.
Despite the odds - the Mustangs finished second in the tough District 24-4A and then made their way through the post-season with wins over Lamar Consolidated, Houston Waltrip, and Beaumont Central before falling to league foe Pearland Dawson in the Region III Division finals. Despite the loss, the Mustangs finished with a sparkling 11-4 mark.
No. 7The Friendswood boys cross country team captured the 4A Region III championship with 102 points to finish in front of Lockhart (109) and Magnolia West (114) sending them to the 4A state meet in Round Rock.
Friendswood won the region title for five consecutive years from 2002-2006 - although they have advanced to the state meet for nine consecutive years.
“With as many as six teams in the hunt for the top three places, it was really hard to gauge where we were,” Friendswood coach Steve Haffelder said. “So I think we were all a little surprised to hear our name called at the awards ceremony.”
Senior Brandon Swindler paced the Mustangs with a third-place finish at 15:23. He was just four seconds behind Brenham’s Will Antkowiak, who took first.
Ryan Teel was just behind Swindler and got fourth place. The freshman ran a 16:09. Fellow freshman Levi Kessler got 21 while James Gregory placed 37th and R.J. Lowery took 52nd.
Haffelder said every team member ran a personal best by 10 to 20 seconds.
“It was just a good team showing,” Haffelder said. “It was pretty incredible."
No. 6The Friendswood Lady Mustangs had one goal when they began the 2009 soccer season and that was to win their fourth straight regional title and return to the state soccer tournament for a fourth consectutive time.
Friendswood previously made three straight trips to the state tournament in 1999, 2000, and 2001. They won a silver medal, bronze medal and then brought home the state championship trophy in 2001 -- along with those gold medals.
The Lady 'Stangs beat Waco Midway for their fourth straight Region III crown and another trip to challenge for the 4A state title.
Since the UIL divided up Class 5A and Class 4A competition at the state tournament level in 1999 -- Friendswood has been the dominate team of any class having advanced to state seven of the past 11 years.
Friendswood beat Wichita Falls Rider 3-2 in the state semifinals and giving them a shot at winning the state championship against Richardson Pearce in the state finals.
Unfortunately, Richardson Pearce claimed the Class 4A state championship after defeating Friendswood, 1-0, at Georgetown ISD’s Birkelbach Field while Friendswood came up short for the fourth year in a row.
But you can bet that the Lady Mustangs will be aiming for a fifth straight region title and another shot at gold at the state meet in 2010.
No. 5The Friendswood Lady Mustangs continued their dominance at the Region VI swim meet as head coach John Little saw his girls win their seventh straight title.
The Lady 'Stangs scored 174 points to easily finish in front of second place Lamar Consolidated who scored 102 points while Foster finished third with 74 points.
The Friendswood boys, who had won six straight regional championships, finished in third place with 99 points as Foster took first place with 115 points while Lamar Consolidated was second with 106.5 points.
Caroline McElhany won three gold medals to help the Lady Mustangs to make it seven in a row. McElhany won the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly for the second time at a regional meet.
Another UT signee, Cole Cragin, is the most decorated male swimmer in Friendswood HS history. Cragin set two new state records in the 100 backstroke and the 100 butterfly after capturing both events at regionals for the fourth year in a row. He also helped the medley relay win a place at the state meet.
Melissa Watson won the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard freestyle. She also swam on the winning medley relay and the winning 400 freestyle relay.
Cragin and Jared Maloy joined Alec Maloy and Daniel Rockey on the victorious medley relay.
Alexandria Taylor was the only other Friendswood girl to win an individual event. She did it in the 500 freestyle.
No. 4
Friendswood's Cole Cragin finished his high school career with a standing ovation after winning the 100 backstroke with a national-record time of 46.75. The previous mark of 46.82 was set in 1999 by Alex Lim of Jacksonville Bolles HS in Jacksonville, Florida.
Cragin also broke his own state 4A record in winning the 100 butterfly in 48.46 prior to the backstroke event.
The Texas signee enjoyed record-setting performances throughout his career, but it was the national mark that earned him a standing ovation from the full house at the Jamail Swim Center.
“I decided I would go out and give it all I could,” Cragin said. “I was going to be happy with 47. When I saw 46, I knew it was a national record.”
"This is an experience that had to be seen," head coach John Little said with a big smile. "Cole's performance would be very difficult to describe, but it is something that all of us will never forget."
There was someone else who didn't forget Cragin's performance in 2009 as the National High School Coaches Association named him the national boys "Swimmer of the Year" which is one of the highest honors that any high school athlete can receive.
"I don't know what could get much bigger than winning a national award like this," Cragin said. "It's pretty cool."
Because of his two record-setting performances at state -- Cragin was named the UIL Class 4A Boys "Swimmer of the Year" for a second straight year. The winsome Cragin set 4A records in both events last year as a junior and received the top swimmer award.
No Class 4A swimmer from Texas had ever set a national swimming mark prior to Cragin's phenomenal performance. Cragin won six individual gold medals and one silver during his high school career. Cragin earned All-American honors for the fourth straight year.
Also sharing the No. 4 spot with Cragin is Friendswood's Caroline McElhany (UT) who was also named as an All-American after setting the 4A state records in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly while also winning a silver medal in the 200 medley relay and a bronze in the 200 freestyle relay. McElhany won two gold medals as a freshman while being named Class 4A Girls "Swimmer of the Year."
No. 3
The Pearland Oilers baseball team wasn't mentioned as one of the top 20 teams in the Houston area in the pre-season rankings. However, the Oilers proved it isn't how you start the season, but how you finish. And the Oilers finished as the Class 5A Region III champions before losing a tough game 4-2 to Lufkin in the 11th inning in the 5A state semifinals to finish 30-5.
The Oilers were under the radar among area teams when the playoffs began, but it didn't take long for head coach Ben Pardo and his diamondmen to start making some noise when they knocked off Baytown Sterling, Clear Brook, Channelview, Katy, and Brazoswood for the Region III crown.
Pearland battled a very talented Lufkin team in the state semifinals before being eliminated by the Panthers.
Pearland had their greatest season in 25 years and there were three players who were honored for their outstanding season by the Texas Sports Writers Association.
Josh Gonzales was named to the TSWA All-State second-team at second base. Kevin Miller was named third-team at shortstop and Matt Rhodes was named third-team as a pitcher.
Gonzales signed with Houston Baptist University and proved to be one of Pearland's power hitters -- especially at the end of the regular season and throughout the post-season. Gonzales was the team's leading hitter with a .438 batting average. He had 10 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, and 45 RBIs.
Miller was one of the more versatile players with a .431 batting average including 12 doubles, one triple, and five home runs. Miller signed to play football and baseball for Sam Houston State. He was also effective on the mound with 39.67 innings pitched and a 4-2 record and two saves. He posted a stingy 1.59 ERA while striking out 42.
Matt Rhodes will return for his senior season in 2010 after pitching 73 innings and a 10-3 mark including a salty 1.15 ERA with a team-high 51 strikeouts. Rhodes will also be on the 2009 PHS football squad.
Drew DeKerlegand was an All-State honorable mention after hitting .394 with a team-high 15 doubles, one triple, four home runs, and 43 RBIs
No. 2
The Pearland Lady Oilers celebrated their greatest year under head coach Laneigh Clark as they won the District 22-5A title and then went on to capture the Class 5A Region III championship to advance to the 5A state softball tournament.
The Lady O's had a young team with only three seniors and most area experts knew that Pearland would be competitive, but didn't figure them in to be a major contender to make a deep run to the state title game.
However, someone forgot to tell coach Clark and her girls as they played with a never-say-die mindset. After cruising past Baytown Lee in the first round - Pearland found themselves staring at state-ranked Brazoswood, who was one of the favorites to win the Region III title and contend for the state championship.
With a lot of hustle and some good luck -- the Lady Oilers knocked off the Lady buccaneers that sent shockwaves throughout the Houston area.
The road to state continued as Pearland knocked off Deer Park and Bellaire before sweeping Clear Creek in the 5A Region III finals to earn their place at the state softball tournament in Austin.
Pearland blanked Cedar Park Vista Ridge 3-0 in the state semifinals to advance to the finals to face Smithson Valley for the 5A state championship.
The Lady Oilers gave up a single run to Smithson Valley which was enough for the Lady Rangers to claim the 2009 state title.
Pearland finished with a sparkling 37-7-1 season mark. The Lady O's won the District 22-5A title and the 2009 5A Region III championship while claiming the silver medal as the state runner-up.
One of the most prestigious honors is being selected to the Texas Sports Writers Association All-State teams. The state writers, who cover high school sports across Texas, released their annual All-State teams.
Pearland senior centerfielder Jensen Tydelski and junior first baseman Megan Coronado were both named to the Class 5A first-team while sophomore pitcher Jessica Bowden and junior catcher Brittany Marcet were named to the second-team.
The Lady O's return eight starters for the 2010 campaign and should make another deep run if they stay hungry. If they enter the season overconfident - then someone else will knock off the defending Region III champions.
No. 1
The Dawson Eagles football program just concluded one of the greatest seasons by a young school in Texas history. Dawson entered the 2009 football campaign with only eight games of experience at the varsity level. Dawson began with a freshman and sophomore class in 2007 while competing at the Junior Varsity level.
New head coach Eric Wells led his young squad to a 9-1 JV record that first season to lay a winning foundation in their inaugural year.
In 2008, the Eagles finished 4-4 overall with two games canceled because of Hurricane Ike.
With the first senior class in place and having been together for two seasons - Wells was confident that his team could compete for a playoff spot. The Eagles not only finished in a tie for second in one of the toughest districts in the state - they ran the table for a first-ever 2009 Class 4A Region III Division I crown to advance to the 4A Division I state semifinals - one game away from playing for the state championship.
While there are some legitimate arguments as to who deserves to be the No. 1 top story - certainly other individual or team accomplishments could make a case for the top spot.
However - the element that pushed Pearland Dawson to the top of the ladder was accomplishing so much in such a short period of time.
Dawson (12-3) beat some area powers on their way to the regional crown including wins over Richmond Foster, Houston Westbury, Crosby, and district rival Friendswood for the region title.
The Eagles lost to Lake Travis who went on to win their third straight state title and finished the season with a 46-game winning streak still intact.
The 2009 season will be one that will be remembered for many years to come - particularly by the first graduating Senior Class of 2010.