Dragon Cross Country Measures Up At St. John’s Ramble, Football Adds Another Away Win

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- THE JOHN COOPER SCHOOL - The Woodlands - Results from the week of October 7.

Dragon Cross Country Measures Up In St. John’s Ramble, Football Adds Another Away Win

VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY

10/12 at St. John’s Ramble Invitational, Spring Creek Park, Tomball

Boys 4th place • Girls 5th place

The Cooper Cross Country teams ran at the St. John’s Ramble at Spring Creek Park on Saturday. Both teams ran well on The SPC preview course in Tomball. “We finally got to run in good conditions as the weather provided a cool 58 degrees at the start of the first race” said Head Coach George Dohner. “The times show that we are making progress and proves to our kids, that they are indeed fit and ready to race.” Spring Creek Park will host this year’s SPC Championship meet on November 9. The 5K course runs fast and several Cooper runners recorded personal records (PR) at this distance.

Cooper finished 4th on the boys’ side and 5th on the girls’. “This was a good day for us as we got to see how we match up with many of our SPC competitors,” Dohner said. “With a few athletes mending some injuries, we are in a good spot. We are improving with every meet and every workout and hope to peak in November.”

The boys’ team was led by junior Will McDermott and senior Cadan Hanson, who finished in 8th and 9th place respectively. McDermott ran in 16:25 (PR), followed closely by Hanson’s 16:34 (PR). Junior Zac Winton finished in 25th place at 17:30 knocking 48 seconds off his previous personal best. Senior Andrew Mahler and sophomore Carson Hanson rounded out the team scoring in 26th and 39th place.

Will McDermott – (8th) 16:25 pr

Cadan Hanson – (9th) 16-34 pr

Zac Winton – (25th) 17:30 pr

Andrew Mahler – (36th) 18:07 sr

Carson Hanson – (39th) 18:13 pr

Kase Melodick – (44th) 18:20 pr

Alex Everson – (46th) 18:25 pr

Brian Mekelburg – (51st) 18:31 pr

Nick Cartwright – (58th) 18:40 pr

Nathan Seamans – (60th) 18:42 pr

The girls’ team competed well amongst six of their SPC rivals. Led by junior Katie Drake who finished in 17th place with a time of 20:39. “Katie continues to be our rock,” Dohner said. “Katie has embraced her role as the team leader and sets a good example for our team, in both meets and practice.” Drake was followed by freshman Chloe Smith in 19th place with a 20:42 (PR). Cooper’s next finishers senior Madison Breaux, freshman Megan Day, and sophomore Abby Mendenhall packed up to finish 23rd, 24th, and 26th place. “These girls ran well and helped each other run a good race,” Dohner said. “We are happy with their performance and will use this confidence booster to move forward. We now know how we compare and what we have do to improve before November 9.”



Katie Drake – 17th – 20:39 sr

Chloe Smith – 19th – 20:42 pr

Madison Breaux – 23rd – 20:54 sr

Megan Day – 24th – 20:55 pr

Abby Mendenhall – 26th – 21:07 pr

Amber Navarra – 39th – 21:55 sr

Bailey Leavitt – 40th – 22:00 pr

Keira Van der Linden – 43rd – 22:12 pr

Avriana Lisembee – 50th – 22:32 pr

Carline Muhith – 54th – 23:06 pr

Next up for Cooper will be the SPC South Zone Championship meet in Austin on Oct. 26, followed by their final meet at the SPC Championships on Nov. 9 in Tomball, TX

Next up for Dragon Cross Country:
Oct. 26 at SPC South Zone Championship, St. Andrew’s Episcopal

VARSITY FOOTBALL

10/11 vs. Casady* • 38-25 WIN
at University of North Texas’ Apogee Stadium

The Dragons won 38-25 on Friday to go 5-2 on the season. The Dragon offense had 61 plays for 403 yards with 383 yards on the ground. Thomas Elkhoury had 12 rushes for 198 yards averaging 16.5 yards per carry. Jake Peterson had 29 rushes for 119 yards averaging 4.3 yards per carry. The Dragon defense was led by Jaxson Pierce who had 9 tackles and a game-winning sack under 30 seconds of play. Thomas Elkhoury and Ben DeLoit both had big interceptions in the first half that helped the Dragons secure lead at half time.

Coach Erik DeHaven: Our offensive line had another great week creating large running lanes for our backs. On the defensive side, we need to eliminate the big plays and make teams earn every yard. We will continue to focus on us and improving every week. Once again, I am proud of the way our team fights through adversity. Dragons never stop fighting and we displayed that again this Friday night. We will have a 1-0 mentality like we do every week facing a physical Trinity Valley team on Senior Night.

Players of the Week:

Team MVP: Thomas Elkhoury • 12 rushes / 198 yards / 2 TD’s / 1 INT

Offensive MVP: Joe Wilkins • graded at 85% with 3 knock downs

Defensive MVP: Jaxson Pierce • 9 tackles / 1 sack / 1 tackle for a loss – (game-winning sack)

Special Team MVP: William Bisso • perfect snaps all night

Scout Team Offense: Owen Baadsgaard

Scout Team Defense: Evan Harrison

Next up for Dragon Football:

Oct. 18 vs Trinity Valley*, 7 p.m. • SENIOR NIGHT

Nov. 1 at Austin Saints*, 7 p.m.

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

10/8 at Episcopal High School* • 3-1 LOSS

2-1 in conference play

Next up for Dragon Volleyball:
Oct. 17 vs. Kinkaid*, 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 22 at Awty International*, 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 24 at Houston Christian*, 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 29 at St. John’s*, 5:30 p.m.

UPCOMING VARSITY SPORTS ACTION AT HOME:

Thursday, October 17

5:30 p.m. Varsity Volleyball vs. Kinkaid*

Friday, October 18

7 p.m. Varsity Football vs. Trinity Valley* • SENIOR NIGHT

*Conference game

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