GAMES
RANKINGS
WINTER WRAP: Spartans, Mustangs Earn District Titles
Stratford’s boys shared the District 17-6A title with Cypress Creek, going 12-2 in district play. Stratford finished 27-6 overall, falling to Mayde Creek in the Area playoffs.
Spring Woods was 15-15 overall, Memorial went 10-25 and Northbrook finished 3-25.
Stratford was buoyed by a breakout season from junior guard Keanu Dawes, who will be one of the top talents to keep an eye on in the Class of 2023. Senior forward Luke Hatcher also enjoyed a stellar season for the Spartans.
On the girls’ side, Memorial had an outstanding year, finishing with a program-best 27 wins. The Mustangs shared the 17-6A title with Cypress Creek, going 13-1 in district play.
The prolific-shooting Mustangs were led by premier talents like junior guard Riley McCloskey, junior forward Abigail Tomaski, sophomore forward Nicki Polocheck, and senior center Giana Vlahakos. Memorial reached the Area round.
Stratford joined Memorial in the playoffs. The Spartans went 14-17 overall, 8-6 in district play, to make the postseason for the first time in seven years.
Stratford finished as an Area playoff finalist after routing Bellaire in its BiDistrict playoff game.
Spring Woods went 7-21 overall and Northbrook finished 9-22.
SWIMMING
SPRING BRANCH ISD SENT A STRONG CONTINGENT OF COMPETITORS TO THE UIL CLASS 6A STATE SWIMMING MEET THIS SPRING.
The district’s stars in Austin were the Memorial boys 200-yard medley relay team and Memorial sophomore Kassidy Kitchel.
The Mustangs’ 200 medley relay finished ninth overall with a time of 1:35.32. The team consisted of senior Luca Burns, sophomore Reid Vandervoort, senior Amaury Jayr and junior Oliver Grossman.
Kitchel finished seventh in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:04.21. She also finished 14th in the 100-yard butterfly with a mark of 56.28 seconds.
Burns also finished 15th in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 50.91 seconds. Memorial’s 400- yard freestyle relay team of Jayr, Grossman, Burns and junior Romain Joubert finished 11th with a time of 3:08.20.
SOCCER
STARTFORD REPRESENTED SPRING BRANCH ISD WELL ON THE PITCH, WINNING THE DISTRICT 17-6A GIRLS TITLE IN DOMINANT FASHION.
Stratford went 13-1 in district play. The Spartans won six consecutive games entering the postseason. Once there, Stratford defeated Westside (12-0), Katy (5-0), Tompkins (3-2) and West Brook (1-1 (4-3 PKs) to advance to the Region III-6A Championship match. Stratford fell to Ridge Point and finished the season 20-4-4.
In 28 matches, the Spartans allowed 18 goals while scoring 77.
Memorial also booked a trip to the playoffs as the No. 3 seed out of 17-6A. The Mustangs went 11-3 in district. Memorial fell to Seven Lakes in the Area Round.
Spring Woods finished its season 8-14 overall, going 4-10 in district play and finished fifth in district. Northbrook went 8-11-3 overall.
On the boys side, Northbrook was the lone Spring Branch ISD representative in the playoffs. The Raiders finished fourth in district, going 6-5-3. They finished 8-10-4 overall.
Memorial, Spring Woods and Stratford all fell short of the playoffs. Memorial went 6-7-8 overall, Spring Woods went 7-10-5 overall and Stratford finished 6-11-4.
HITTING THE RESET BUTTON: Spring Woods Rebuilding After Successful Decade-Long Run
“We’ve had a pretty successful program,” said coach Wadey Yaya, head coach in 17 of his 18 years at Spring Woods, “all the way up until last year.”
And now Yaya finds himself in an unfamiliar circumstance, one his program IS a stranger to.
“We’re rebuilding versus reloading,” he said. The Tigers went 1-18-4 in 2021, easily the worst record posted in Yaya’s time there. This year, however, has produced a remarkable turnaround early on.
The Tigers are young again this year, but already surpassed last season’s win total with four in their first seven games, with wins over state semifinalist Allen, perennial regional contender Cinco Ranch, and playoff teams New Braunfels and Round Rock Westwood.
“I have a really good group of boys this year,” Yaya said. “They’re young, there’s some inexperience and youth. But I have good leadership. Leaders that speak for the team as a whole and are genuine. Chemistry is whole. Mentally, though, they’re still boys who are learning to play like men. We’re a good team.”
Spring Woods consists of 10 juniors and four sophomores.
Three sophomores start and four seniors start.
Senior goalkeeper Dario Pantoja is a second-year letterman who was a backup last year and is turning heads with his improved play. Senior playmaking midfielder Alex Banda is a four-year letterman who played as a freshman on the 2019 team that went to the regional final.
“He’s been a winner,” Yaya said of Banda. “He knows what it takes to get there. He truly is one of the best players on the team.”
Sophomore Oscar Martinez has become a voice in the locker room and respected leader.
Senior Uzziel Luna plays an outside midfielder role with a defensive emphasis. He’s a strong technical player and the one Tiger who holds others accountable, on and off the field.
“He’s a really hard worker and he’s taken on a leadership role,” Yaya said. “He’s the vocal one on our team right now. He’s a guy everyone respects because of his constructive demeanor.”
Chemistry and leadership are staples of this year’s Tigers.
Depth is impressive; Yaya can go 16 deep. The defense is a strength. The central midfield is a point of concern for Yaya, but is also the most talented group, largely due to precocious sophomore Gregory Tejada, a gritty, workman-like talent.
Yaya wants his players to find the solace and resolve in Spring Woods soccer that were once program cornerstones. They’re on their way. The Tigers are a team that pays attention, listens, takes admirably to coaching, and works well together.
“We have a lot to prove this year, and that’s something we’re trying to figure out,” Yaya said. “But even though we only one won game last year, there is still a target on our back. All the good teams want to play us. People still talk about us. They know they’re going to get the best from us.”
