Eagle Sports Roundup: Year Review

Neena Sidhu, Sports Editor|May 19, 2022

Neena Sidhu

In a digitally-constructed image, photos from different sports are displayed. Prosper Independent School District’s Athletic Director is Valerie Little. The campus coordinators for Prosper High School are Brandon Schmidt and Erin Kauffman.

Over the past school year, the Prosper Eagles athletic teams have accomplished achievements in each sport. Below are some highlights.

Archery

The Prosper High School Archery team, led by Becky and Todd Hedges, had a successful season, competing in 11 different tournaments throughout the November through April season. In each tournament, the team placed at least in the top four.

A notable tournament included the first of the season – Grand Prairie: Reagan Knights Fall Tournament, where the team placed first out of six teams, with freshman John Dyer placing second out of 200 male archers, sophomore Colin Sweeney placing third out of 200 male archers and sophomore Maiya Oyakawa placing three out of 148 female archers.

At the last two tournaments — the 2022 Texas NASP State Tournament and 2022 NASP Western Nationals — the team placed second at state and third at nationals. At the state tournament, junior Andrew Hedges placed sixth out of 1,651 in overall boys, and at nationals, Hedges placed 12th out of 755 boys. The team’s only senior, Sam Sidhu, also finished his season, consistently placing in the top 30 in 12th-grade boys.

Baseball

The varsity baseball team, led by head coach Scott Holder and assisted by Phil Berndsen and Nick De La Cerda, currently has a 20-9 record and finished first in the district with a 6-2 record. The team currently plays in the regional round of the playoffs, with a series against Coppell High School. All three games of the series will be played at Little Elm High School, with the first two on Thursday, May 19 and Friday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. and the third game, if needed, will be played on Saturday, May 21 at 1 p.m.

The team is currently ranked No. 22 in Texas Division 6A, and No. 62 in Texas overall, according to MaxPreps. The team has eight players currently signed to play baseball in college. Senior outfielder and pitcher Austin Wallace committed to North Texas Central College, senior pitcher Lucas Davenport committed to Texas A&M, junior pitcher Dane Burns committed to Mississippi State University, senior catcher Easton Carmichael committed to the University of Oklahoma, senior catcher Zach Spurr committed to Austin College, senior outfielder Jacob Devenney committed to Rice University, senior first baseman Trent Casey committed to South Eastern University and freshman pitcher and utility player Luke Billings committed to the University of Tennesee.

Boys Basketball

The varsity basketball team, led by head coach Jonathan Ellis and assistant coach Jake Garner, finished their season with a 19-16 overall record, and fourth in the district, with a 7-6 record. The team made it to the playoffs but lost in the first, or bi-district, round to Plano High School 83-65.

Some standout players include juniors Addison Harmon, James Cloud, Brandt Evanson, and sophomore Jaxson Ford. These players, in addition to the team overall, contributed to the team’s success and wins against tough matchups, including a 60-53 win against Allen High School and 73-67 win against Denton Guyer.

 

Cross Country & Track

The cross country teams, led by head coach Jennifer Gegogeine, ended the season with success after competing in 12 meets, from August to December. The track teams, led by coaches Coby Richards and Jennifer Gegogeine, also had a successful season after competing in 14 meets, from August to May.

Senior cross country runner Aubrey O’Connell was a key factor in the cross country and track team’s overall success. O’Connell committed to Oklahoma State University, and placed second at the state meet in the 800m event, with a time of 2 minutes and nine seconds. Another member of the track team, junior Lauren Lewis, placed first at state in the 400m dash, with the fourth fasted time in Texas high school history. Junior Kayla Watson also placed at the state meet, placing third in the long jump with a length of 19 feet and 1o inches.

The varsity track and cross country teams also had many other key players that did not make it to state, but still placed at the district and regional meets and broke school records. Senior Jaxson Lanz placed third in the 200-meter event at the regional meet and junior Trevor Montayne also placed third in the 100-meter event at the regional meet with a time of 10.77 seconds.

Click here for a slideshow with photos and captions full of information about the district meet on Tuesday, April 12, and Wednesday, April 13. 

Football

Ending the season in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs to Denton Guyer, the varsity football team, led by head coach Brandon Schmidt, ended the season 9-5 overall and ranked fourth and 3-3 in the district. The Eagles ended the season ranked 34th in Texas, according to MaxPreps. Overall, the Eagles scored 460 points, and opponents earned 312 points against them.

The team also had their annual Spring Ball game, Saturday, May 14, at noon. The game was a chance for the community to celebrate the team, but also to get a preview of next year’s team and their dynamic.

For a slideshow with photos and captions full of information about the Spring Ball game, click here. 

For an in-depth analysis of the season, click here to go to another story highlighting key players and an analysis of the regular season, as well as playoffs. 

Lady Eagles Basketball

The varsity girls’ basketball team, led by head coach Trey Rachal and assisted by Leslie Wright and Mike Squiers, ended their season with an overall record of 16-14 and ranked fourth in the district, with a record of 6-5. The team made it to the first, or bi-district, round of playoffs before losing to Plano West 60-42.

Lady Eagles Soccer

The varsity girls’ soccer team, led by head coach Taylor Baca, ended their season in the first round of the playoffs to Flower Mound Marcus, 1-0, after finishing the season with an overall record of 19-1-2, and 10-0-0 in the district, ranked first. The team ended the season ranked 12th in the country and ranked third in Texas, according to MaxPreps, with Flower Mound Marcus and Southlake Carroll above them.

The team had many key players, all of which contributed greatly to its success. Senior Molly McDougal was named District 5-6A Defensive Player of the Year and also earned Texas Association of Soccer Coaches Organization, or TASCO, 2nd Team All-State honors. McDougal committed to Mississippi State University to continue her soccer career. Sophomore Emma Yolinsky was named District 5-6A MVP and also earned TASCO 2nd Team All-State.

Powerlifting

The boys’ and girls’ powerlifting teams, both led by head coach Brian Thompson, ended their seasons successfully, with records broken in different events and categories. For the boys’ team, senior Marco De Tomas, junior Peyton Heninger and senior Nash Gagliano made it to the Texas High School Powerlifting Association (THSPA) State Powerlifting Meet, where De Tomas broke every Prosper High School record in the 165 weight class. Heninger finished 14th at state with a weight total of 1500 between the three lifts — deadlift, squat and bench press. Gagliano finished seventh in the state with a weight total of 1640.

The girls’ powerlifting team had five lifters go to state — sophomore McKenna Seamen, senior Amandalynn Garst, senior Ryan Buckner, junior Stormie Stevens and senior Emily Patel. Buckner finished third, one lift away from first, and won the State Scholarship. Seaman finished in fifth, and Stevens finished 11th.

Boys Soccer

The boys’ varsity soccer team, led by head coach Bryan Thompson and assistant coach Dave Simeone, ended their season with an overall record of 13-5-1, and an 8-2 record in the district, which also ranked second in the district. The team made it to the first round of the playoffs to Lewisville High School, 5-4. The team ended up being ranked 108th in the country and 20th in Texas, according to MaxPreps.

Softball

The varsity softball team, led by head coach Todd Rainwater and assisted by Reena Bersosa, Lauren Ainsley and Cori Cate, ended their season ranked first and 12-0 in the district, with a 27-6-1 record overall. The team made it to the first, or bi-district, round of the playoffs, but lost to Flower Mound Marcus, 2-0.

Overall, the team was strong, with all five seniors committed to playing softball in college. Elizabeth Moffit committed to Texas Tech, Ayden Allen committed to the University of Houston, Sydney Lewis committed to the University of Maryland, Gabrielle Coffey committed to Mississippi State University and Riley McDaniel committed to California Baptist University.

Click here to read a story with photos and captions full of information about the varsity softball team’s regular season.

Swim and Dive

The swim and dive team, led by head coach Lena Harrington, had success in their season, with athletes placing at state. At the 2022 Texas UIL State Meet, the team had 16 top finishers and placed seventh overall in the Texas 6A division. Sophomore Jacob Wimberly placed first in the state in the 100-meter butterfly race. He is ranked sixth in the state and ranked 26th in the class of 2024, ranked nationally, according to Swim Cloud.

Before the state meet, in the 2022 District 7-6A Championship Meet, the girls’ team placed fourth and the boys’ team placed second. There were seven event wins, 29 top-eight finishes, three high school records broken and 45 season-best performances.

 

Tennis

The varsity tennis team, led by head coach Mandy Weaver and assisted by Hollie Cunningham, had their fall and spring seasons complete with success. In the fall season, the team competed in the 2021 Fall 5-6A district meet and placed second, and were named bi-district qualifiers. In the spring, a mixed duos team, senior Drew John and freshman Presely Churchman placed fourth at the regional meet.

Volleyball

The varsity volleyball team, led by head coach Erin Kauffman, ended their season in the third, or regional, round of the playoffs to the Hebron Hawks, 3-1. The team ended their district play ranked fourth with a record of 7-5, and with an overall record of 29-13. The team ended the season ranked 71 in the nation and 11 in Texas, according to MaxPreps.

The team has many standout players that contributed greatly to the team’s success. Junior setter Callie Kieffer committed to the University of Alabama to continue her volleyball career on the colligate level and was an asset to the team as the starting setter. Junior libero or defensive specialist Brianna Martin also committed to play college volleyball at Gonzaga University. Senior Kendall Hewitt committed to Rider University, junior Ella Chaney committed to the University of Lousiana and senior Jazzlyn Ford committed to Indiana State University.

For a more in-depth analysis of the team and their season, click here.

Wrestling

The varsity wrestling team, led by coaches Sion King and Tony Cooper, had key wrestlers that made it to the UIL 6A State Wrestling Championship that proved the success of the team. Junior Joseph Richardson placed second, senior Megan Flaherty placed second, senior Taylor Martinez placed third, junior Alyssa Galindo went 2-2 and junior Mason Gordon went 1-2. The girls’ team placed sixth and the boys’ team placed in the top 25.