Cross Country Finally Starts Season, Dragon Volleyball Remains Undefeated

Results from the week of September 4

VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY After Two Canceled Meets, Season Finally Starts!

9/9 Rosehill Christian Cross Country Challenge at Spring Creek Park, Tomball (recently added event)
Boys 5th (12 teams) • Girls 5th (13 teams)

What a great start the cross country season…finally! After their first two meets were cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey, Cooper was finally able to compete in the Rosehill Christian Cross Country Challenge held at Spring Creek Park in Tomball.

“Our kids have trained hard and we were in desperate need of a meet, if only for a payoff or purpose for all of their hard work,” said Coach George Dohner.

This meet was a telling meet for Cooper as they squared off against two of their Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) competitors–both St Johns’ and Kinkaid’s schedules were also affected by the hurricane, so it was the first meet for all. Cooper did well finishing in fifth place in a field of 12 boys’ teams. The Cooper girls also finished in 5th place in a field of 13 teams.

Cooper’s top boy finishers were Mitchell Shannon (12th), Eli Araya (14th), Will McDermott (23rd), Brian Ross (25th), Erik Burns (26th). Other finishers and running very well were, Cadan Hansen and Andrew Mahler, who finished in 32nd and 36th place.

“The girls’ side also showed promise for a good season, competing without two of their top three runners, so a fifth place finish is very satisfying,” said Dohner.

Cooper’s top finishers were Paige Cromley (12th), Madison Breaux (28th), Katie Drake (30th), Avriana Lisembee (32nd), Uche Oguchi (34th), and Shilpa Rumalla and Brooke DeMarco, who finished in 40 and 41st place.

“This was a great first meet for us. The race that was just short of a 3200-meter distance,” said Dohner. “I was really impressed with this team, as five of our seven runners were competing in their first high school meet ever. One as a freshmen and four who were completely new to the sport. We are excited to see where this young team goes this year.”

Cooper’s next meet will be this Thursday, September 14, at the Willis Wildkat Invitational. The meet will be run at the Misty Meadows Girls Scout Camp in Willis. High School times will begin at 5:30 pm, with the freshman race. Varsity races will begin at 6:45 pm.

Next up for Dragon Cross Country:
Sept. 14 at Willis Wildkat Invitational, Misty Meadows Girl Scout Camp in Willis, 6:45 p.m.
Sept. 29 at Nike South, Bear Branch Sports Park, 5 p.m.
Sept. 30 at Nike South, Bear Branch Sports Park, 7:30 a.m.


VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
Undefeated! 13-0 Season Record

9/7 at Lutheran South* 3-0 WIN
*The game was played at Pearland H.S. due to Hurricane Harvey damage at Lutheran South.

From Coach Ray Hedden: Varsity won in three straight sets. Abby Frazier led the offense with 30 assists. Kara O’Neal lead the hitting attack with 15 kills along with 5 kills each from Anna Claire Adam, Mia Salerno and Peyton Tague. Emily Albers had her best match with 4 blocks and 4 kills. Hannah Gooch and Lisa Alexander did a great job holding down the defense!

We play a very tough week starting with Monday at Concordia and Friday and against Conroe High School at home with a 3:30 start time. Two really good teams!

The real win came after the match. Our team brought pillows and blankets to a Lutheran South team, deeply affected by the floods. They lost their school, home gym for games and practices for the year. Pearland High School was gracious enough to loan them a court for the rest of the season. Our girls called Lutheran South to center court and the team, led by Mia Salerno, gave a touching speech that left most in tears as they presented the supplies. It was a great moment that showed true sportsmanship. At the end of the day this is a game. I am proud of the girls for showing character and support for our volleyball community!

Next up for Dragon Volleyball:
Sept. 11 at Concordia Lutheran, 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 15 vs. Conroe High School, 3:30 p.m.


VARSITY FOOTBALL


9/8 vs Cistercian Prep 26-39 LOSS first home game
Stats:
Irving Cistercian (season: 2-0) 39
John Cooper (season: 1-1) 26
Passing
Evan Minarovic was 26-57 for 310 yards passing with 1 TD passing
Rushing
Evan Minarovic rushed 10 times for 18 yards and scored 3 rushing TDs
Andrew Saibara rushed 7 times for 58 yards
Receiving
Logan Leax had 9 receptions for 91 yards and 1 TD
Thomas Elkhoury had 6 receptions for 63 yards
Joe Wilkins had 5 receptions for 30 yards
Matt Krehbiel had 4 receptions for 78 yards
Tackles
Matt Krehbiel had 10.5 tackles
Andrew Saibara had 8 tackles
Eric Grosser had 8 tackles

From Coach Brent Landrum:
I could not be prouder of this team. Last year, Cistercian beat us 35-0. This year, we held a 26-25 lead in the fourth quarter against them. Unfortunately, we could not hold the lead. We learned a lot about ourselves last night. Great things are in store for this group. We had great performances from many a player. It was truly a team effort. I am excited about homecoming this coming Friday vs. KIPP.

Next up for Dragon Football:

September 15 vs. Kipp Academy, 7 p.m. COOPER HOMECOMING


UPCOMING VARSITY SPORTS ACTION AT HOME:

Friday, September 15 HOMECOMING
3:30 p.m. Varsity Volleyball vs. Conroe High School
7 p.m. Varsity Football vs. Kipp Academy
Tuesday, September 19
5:30 p.m. Varsity Volleyball vs. HCYA
–9/10/17
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From Curiosity to Wisdom
The John Cooper School is an independent, non-sectarian, co-educational, college preparatory day school. Our mission is to provide a challenging education in a caring environment to a diverse group of select students, enabling them to become critical and creative thinkers, effective communicators, responsible citizens and leaders, and lifelong learners.

The John Cooper School seeks to attract qualified individuals of diverse backgrounds to its faculty, staff, and student body. The School does not discriminate against any individual in admissions, educational programs, personnel policies, general practices, or employment, on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, physical disability, or age.