Dragon Fall Teams Jump Into Competition

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
 
8/24 at Concordia Lutheran • 3-0 L

8/26 at St. Pius X  • 3-1 W

8/27-28 at Houston Open

Coach Jennifer Peyton: At the Houston Open we went 2-3 for the weekend. Ending the tournament with a 2-0 win over Woodlands Christian. 
Cooper Defense stood out this week through a lot of challenges and strong offensive opponents. The defense was led by senior libero Laura Weatherford and freshman Julianne Hon.
 
Next up for Dragon Volleyball:
August 31 vs Frassati, 5:30 p.m.
September 3-4 at POP Classic
September 7 vs. St. John XXXIII, 5:30 p.m.
September 9 vs. FBCHA, 5:30 p.m.
September 10-11 at FAST Tournament

VARSITY FOOTBALL  

8/27 at St. John’s   • 35-23 L 
Coach Erik DeHaven: The John Cooper School Team 11 started their season Friday night traveling to Skip Lee Field to take on the St. John’s Mavericks. The Dragons fought hard but came up short 35-23. Junior wide-receiver Kielar Sullivan had a big night with five receptions for 63 yards, one defensive interception and a punt return for a touchdown that was unfortunately called back. Junior Vaughn McKeever leads the Dragons at quarterback and was solid all night long.  McKeever showed great calm and patience in his first varsity start, completing 18 passes for 151 yards and running in two of the Dragon’s three touchdowns. Senior safety Ronnie Woodall stood tall defensively with nine tackles, six of those solo and two pass break-ups. Senior Blake Pitts was also around the ball all night with one interception and great effort on special teams. 

I am very proud of the team’s effort but we have to be more disciplined and capitalize on our redzone opportunities.  We will be a better football team next week. 

The Dragons return to Pugh Field Friday and will look to bounce back against the Pioneers of Lutheran South.  

Team MVP: Kielar Sullivan • 1 INT / Punt Return 53 Yards / 5 Rec – 63yards 
Offensive MVP: Vaughn McKeever • 18 Comp – 151 yards
Defensive MVP: Ronnie Woodall •  9 Tackles – 6 Solo – 2 PBU 
SPT MVP: Black Pitts                         
Scout Team Offense: David Sims 
Scout Team Defense: Cody Muizers 
IRON MAN: Gamble Reed

Next up for Dragon Football:
September 3 vs. Lutheran South, 7 p.m. (1st home game)
September 10 at Cypress Christian, 7 p.m.

VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY  

8/27 at Friday Night Lights at Bear Branch Sports Park
Boys  10th place • Girls 2nd place

The Cooper Cross Country teams opened their seasons here in The Woodlands at Friday Night Lights.  The meet hosts 15 teams from around the Houston area.  The field held two state-ranked boys teams as well as four state-ranked girls teams.  Cooper held their own in the talented fields of public school runners. 

The boys team finished in 10th place in the Varsity A race behind senior Vishnu Swaminathan’s 23rd place finish with an impressive 13:25 4K time. “Swaminathan is our leader both on and off the courses,” said head coach George Dohner. “He is one of the most dedicated athletes I have ever coached.”   

 The girls team finished in 2nd place in the Varsity B race. Junior Megan Day lead her Cooper team finishing in 4th place.  Although scoring separately, both Varsity A and B races were combined running at the same time.  Megan Day finished 41st among all varsity runners.  According to Dohner, “Megan is a very strategic runner and races very well, usually picking off runners late in races. She is fun to watch!”  Also running well was freshman Milla Signorelli and Junior Chloe Smith. Signorelli was the 6th fastest freshman amongst all varsity runners (A and B) in her high school debut, finishing 5th.  Smith was close behind finishing in 8th place. “We are very proud of the girls as our top five runners placed in the top 15 finishers,” said Dohner.

Cooper ran very well against some very tough competition which should have them primed to race next Saturday, September 4th as they host the Cooper Dragon Invitational.  Races begin at 8:05 at Burroughs Park in Tomball.
 
Boys – 10th place – Varsity A
Vishnu Swaminathan: 23rd • 13:25.6
Zach Visser: 56th • 13:58.0
Grey Mendenhall: 57th • 13:59.0
Nathan Seamans: 66th • 14:15.7
Andrew Wilkerson: 90th • 15:07.0
 
Girls – 2nd Place – Varsity B
Megan Day: 4th • 16:57.4
Milla Signorelli: 5th • 17:01.6
Chloe Smith: 8th • 17:18.1
Abby Mendenhall: 11th • 17:39.8

Amber Navarra: 13th • 17:49.6
Darcy Wright: 18th • 18:06.4
Ava Perugini: 20th • 18:08.4 

Next up for Dragon Cross Country
September 4 host Cooper Invitational at Burroughs Park, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
September 11 at Run The Dog Pound Invitational, Magnolia High School, 8 a.m.