Dragon volleyball sweeps last conference games; cross country performs well at South Zone

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Here's an update on John Cooper School Dragon athletics.

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

• Season record: 20-5
• SPC Zone Play: 4-2

10/27 vs. St. Andrew’s*

• 3-0 WIN
• 25-20, 25-18, 25-15

10/28 vs St. Stephen’s*

• 3-0 WIN
• Senior Recognition
• 25-21, 25-20, 26-24

"The girls won their last two SPC games," said Coach Ray Hedden. "We swept both St. Andrews and St Stephens. Haley Huetell saw her first action and contributed immediately with kills and blocks. Kara O’Neal led the offense with key contributions from every hitter. Hannah Gooch led the back row with good ball control and communication. The St. Stephen’s game was bitter sweet! I was very happy with how the girls played but it was tough to see the seniors for the last time on the home court. I am so proud of who they have become and how well they have led this team this year. Senior Recognition was special and they played great. Our goal now is to carry over to SPC tournament."

Next up for Dragon Volleyball

• November 2-3 SPC Championships in Fort Worth

VARSITY FOOTBALL

10/27 at Fort Worth Country Day*

• 7-34 LOSS
• Season Record: 4-4
• SPC 3A Conference Record: 2-4

STATS

Passing:

• Evan Minarovic was 17 for 47 for 168 yards, 1 TD, and 2 INT

Rushing:

• Andrew Saibara rushed 8 times for 22 yards

Receiving:

• Thomas Elkhoury had 5 catches for 55 yards and 1 TD
• Andrew Saibara had 5 catches for 22 yards
• Matt Krehbiel had 2 catches for 33 yards
• Logan Leax had 2 catches for 23 yards

Tackles:

• Matt Krehbiel had 9 tackles
• Andrew Saibara had 7 tackles
• Eric Grosser had 7 tackles
• Mason Chimenti had 6 tackles

"We ran into a buzz saw Friday night," said Coach Brent Landrum. "Country Day was fired up to play on their homecoming. Things didn’t go our way. We have to find a way to get back on track this week at Dallas Greenhill. Greenhill will be in the SPC 3A championship game in two weeks so we have our work cut out for us. I am proud of this team and I look forward to seeing how they respond."

Next up for Dragon Football

November 3 at Greenhill*, 7 p.m.

VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY

10/28 at SPC South Zone, St. Andrew’s Episcopal

• Boys’ Team 5th place
• Girls’ Team 3rd place
• ALL SOUTH ZONE HONORS

Boys

• Mitchell Shannon – 9th
• Eli Araya – 13th

Girls

• Uche Oguchi – 9th
• Madison Breaux – 12th
• Avriana Lisembee – 17th
• Katie Drake – 19th

Cooper Cross Country teams competed at the SPC South Zone meet in Austin, TX this weekend. The meet, run at St. Andrews Episcopal, was accompanied by great weather which provided an opportunity to run personal bests for several Cooper team members. The girls finished in third place while the boys finished in fifth, only two points out of third place.

“This was a great meet for us,” said George Dohner, head cross country coach for Cooper. We are certainly hopeful that we can make a good showing from both teams at out SPC Championship meet on November 11.”

The Cooper girls’ team finished in 3rd place without their top runner, senior Sidney Cartwright. Stepping up was junior Uche Oguchi, who led the team with a ninth place finish. Oguchi ran 20:41, a personal best by over 60 seconds. She was followed by Madison Breaux (12th), Avriana Lisembee (17th) , Katie Drake (19th) and Paige Cromley (29th). Also running well were, Mary Bannon, Shilpa Rumalla, Ava Minarovic, and Caroline Courtney, who all ran personal or season bests.

“We had some girls run really well when a couple of our top runners were struggling,” Dohner said. “We have had four girls lead the team at various meets this year. This is the sign that we have solid team with a lot of potential.”

“On the boys' side, we finished only two points behind the third and fourth place teams that tied, which gives us hope as well,” said Dohner. “We were only a few seconds away from finishing in third place.”

The entire boys team took advantage of the cool temperatures and ran personal bests. The team was led by Mitchell Shannon’s ninth place finish and Eli Araya’s 13th place finish. Cooper’s third runner was Brian Ross who knocked nearly 40 seconds off his personal best, finishing in 26th place.

Others scoring for Cooper were Will McDermott in 28th place. McDermott is a freshman, who continues to make great strides, improving his time to 17:38. Cadan Hanson and Erik Burns also ran personal bests finishing in 32nd and 35th place.

“We are completely satisfied with the team’s progress,” Dohner. “They have far exceeded our early expectations and continue to surprise us at each meet. We are excited to see how they perform at our SPC Championship meet.”

Next up for Dragon Cross Country

• Nov. 11 SPC Championships in Fort Worth

WINTER SPORTS BEGIN

VARSITY BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Next up for Dragon Boys’ Basketball:

• November 3 at Awty International, 7 p.m.
• November 7 vs. Fort Bend Christian Academy, 7:30 p.m.
• November 10 vs. Northland Christian Academy, 7 p.m.

VARSITY GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

• November 3 at Awty International, 4 p.m.
• November 7 vs. Fort Bend Christian Academy, 6 p.m.
• November 9 at Northland Christian Academy, 5:30 p.m.

VARSITY BOYS’ SOCCER

• November 7 vs. Lutheran South, 6:30 p.m.
• November 10 at Awty International, 5 p.m.
• November 14 vs. St. Thomas High School, 7 p.m.

VARSITY GIRLS’ SOCCER

• November 7 at Emery Weiner, 5:30 p.m.
• November 14 at Awty International, 7 p.m.
• November 16 vs. St. John XXIII, 5 p.m.

VARSITY SWIMMING

• November 17 TISCA-GULF CHAMPIONSHIPS, 5:30 p.m.