Top 5 sports events of 2015-16
A key component of the Region II Championship team her freshman year, Thompson (#23) played heavy minutes in the Redhawks 2016 playoff run. Two years later, Thompson is having her minutes limited as she works her way back from two consecutive knee injuries.
With school coming to a close, Wingspan takes a look at the top five sporting moments of the year.
Falling to now 18-time state champion Canyon, the girls’ basketball team lifts the 5A runner-up trophy at midcourt in the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Girls’ Basketball Going To The State Final
Oh man, was this fun to watch. The girls’ basketball team was full of young faces, with five freshman making key contributions to the team. Suffering an early district loss to Wakeland, which snapped their 47 game district win streak, the girls’ did not let that rattle them. They won 18 straight games, including wins over playoff roadblock McKinney North, undefeated Mansfield Timberview, and a tough Cedar Park Vista Ridge team. The team lost to Canyon in the state final, but had won over the heart of the school and city. And by the way, they’re entire starting lineup is coming back for next season.
Seeded as the number 2 team in 5A, the boys’ wrestling team defeated Centennial 36-27 to claim the State Dual Championship.
Boys’ Wrestling Winning State Duals
The wrestling program at the school is constantly winning competitions and meets across the area. Led by head coach Jason Thurston, the program, girls’ and boys’ have reached new heights every year. They do not settle; they’re always pushing for a better result. The boys’ wrestling team marched into Bryan High School, with the eyes on the State Dual title, after falling to Centennial the year before to finish as runner-ups. They not only won the crown of best wrestling team in the state, they also avenged the loss over Centennial. Excellence is a tradition in wrestling, and that’s all credit to Thurston and his staff.
The boys’ basketball team plays Lancaster in the Region II semifinal Friday night in Garland. The team has already advanced farther than any other in school history.
Boys Basketball Advances to Regional Semi-Final
With the program at its all-time high in regards to the recent playoff success, head coach Marcus Eckert could’ve done the same things as the previous year, and win district but not achieve that much playoff success. Instead, Eckert had other plans. Assembling one of the toughest non-district schedules he possibly could, Eckert was aiming for post-season success. Playing three eventual state champions (Desoto, Lancaster, Dallas Lincoln), Eckert had his team ready to go. Cruising through district (except for the battles against Frisco), the team played some of its best basketball late, weathering tough breaks and bad runs to prevail to the regional tournament. Falling to state champion Lancaster in the semi-final, the boys’ left it all in the court, and should have no regrets at all on how they played.
Holding just a four stroke lead after the first day of play, the girls’ golf team pulled away for a 27 stroke win to claim the 5A Region II girls’ championship.
For the fourth time in five years, the girls’ golf team traveled down to the state golf meet, in hopes of continuing the team’s recent excellence. And they did. For the third straight year, the team finished with a top 10 score, finishing fifth. With many key golfers returning to the team next year, the golf team will look to make their now annual trip to state happen once again.
Many athletes are going to continue their athletic careers into college. Those include Noah Thompson, who will be pitching for Seton Hall, John Wynia, who will be playing soccer at Lipscomb, Seth Picasso and Carter Brown, who will both be going to Dallas Baptist University for soccer and basketball respectively, Rachel Rhoades, who’s going to play volleyball at West Texas A&M, and Madi Bryant, who will be playing softball at West Point. It’s a great moment for these athletes, and hopefully, they can continue what they did here over at their respective universities.
Arman Kafai was born in Plano, Texas, and has lived in the North Texas area for the last 18 years. When he’s not digging through his list of stories...
