SportzBuzz - April 2011 | The Buzz Magazines

By Todd Freed, Staff writer | April 1, 2011

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Memorial Mustang Russell Clark brought the crowd to their feet with this slam dunk in the Mustang’s overtime playoff game against the Madison Marlins.

Before an overflow crowd at the St. John’s School gymnasium, and in truly dramatic fashion, the St. John’s Mavericks captured this season’s Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) Basketball Championship with a final-second victory over the Episcopal High School Knights. With the 69-67 victory, the Mavericks also secured their first SPC basketball title in 32 years.

“We put the ball in the hands of one of the best freshman in the country, and he made a play,” said Mavericks head coach Harold Baber in regard to the game-winning play.

“I actually had a dream last night that we were going to win the game at the buzzer. I didn’t know it was going to be me, but it’s pretty amazing,” said Joshua Winslow, who also had the honor of cutting down the net after the victory. “It’s just incredible for us to win this championship.”

The championship was highlighted by a magnificent performance from Justise Winslow, who scored 43 of the Mavericks’ 69 points in the win, which was accomplished despite the heroic efforts of Episcopal’s Ken Williams, who poured in 36 points.

“We’ve waited a long time for this,” said coach Baber. “To finally have the opportunity to hang up another championship banner is simply amazing.”

The Memorial Mustangs boys basketball team put forth a tremendous season in advancing to the Class 5A bi-district playoffs before losing an overtime heartbreaker to the Madison Marlins.

“I thought it was a very successful season,” said Mustangs head coach Dave Lay. “Our returning guys, like Walker Pennington, Kyle Dobbins, Ryley Caton, Brooks Taylor, Russell Clark and Alan Clayton, really led the way at the beginning of the year. Our new guys then caught on, and we played some really good basketball. We improved every game.”

The Mustangs certainly had to play good basketball to earn a playoff spot in one of the region’s best Class 5A districts. “Our goal was to make the playoffs, which we hadn’t done in five seasons. With three teams from our district ranked in the state top 20, it was pretty much a battle for the fourth and final playoff spot.” The Mustangs ended up winning many of those battles behind a defense that was ranked second in the region, allowing opponents a mere 47 points a game.

The team was also bolstered by the support of a student fan group best known as the “Swearing Sailors.” “They’re just an incredible group of anywhere from 50 to 100 guys who come out to most of our games wearing their sailor caps,” said Lay. “They stand the entire game and just create great atmosphere and energy at our games. It includes a large group of guys who play other sports here at Memorial.”

The St. Thomas' Episcopal girls swim team captured its second-straight state championship while the school’s boys team finished second at the TAPPS Division III State Swimming and Diving Championships.

At St. Thomas’ Episcopal School, it’s back-to-back state championships for the girls’ swimming and diving team after winning the title at the recent TAPPS Division III state meet.

“The girls did just about everything right,” said head coach Helena Finley. “We were as close to perfect as we could be in winning the championship.”

It was a simply spectacular meet for senior Christine McGough, who set a trio of school records while winning three gold medals and silver in the swimming finals. “Christine definitely went out with a bang,” said Finley. “She was magnificent.”

Along with winning an individual gold medal in the 200-yard freestyle, McGough teamed with Coleen Chen, Elizabeth Finley and Claire Coulter for a big victory in the 200-yard medley relay. Then, in the final race of the meet, it was McGough, Chen, Coulter and Anna Liisa Joki who raced to victory in the 4x100 freestyle relay to secure the state championship.

“We were tied with [Regents School of Austin] going into the final two races, and the girls really came through under pressure. My daughter Elizabeth won the gold in the 100-yard breaststroke, and then we sealed the championship by winning the 4x100. They just had a phenomenal meet,” said Finley.

Editor's Note: Lone Star Emmy Award winner Todd Freed is the host and producer of Todd Freed's High School SportZone, which can be seen Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. on Channel 57-The KUBE. To submit information for possible inclusion in SportzBuzz, please e-mail [email protected].