SportzBuzz - May 2014 | The Buzz Magazines

By Todd Freed, Staff writer | May 1, 2014

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After going winless last year, the Bellaire Cardinals, led by senior captain Alexis Summers, pulled off a remarkable turnaround season.

It’s been a tremendous turnaround season for the Bellaire High School girls lacrosse team, which won six of its first seven district games and had its sights on a berth to the Texas Lacrosse League Division II state tournament. The victory total is especially significant considering the Cardinals went winless in district play just last season.

“It’s night and day between last year and this year at Bellaire,” said Cardinals girls lacrosse coach Ellen Walls. “This season, the girls look like a single unit both offensively, defensively and in transition. They’re working really great together, and the attitude among everyone on the roster is extremely positive. It’s the reason we’re really successful.” Offensively, the Cardinals are led by a pair of team captains in senior Alexis Summers and junior Clara VanLandingham. “Alexis is by far one of the most amazing offensive player I’ve seen,” said Walls. “She has incredible speed and even scored a spectacular eight goals in our game against St. Agnes. As for Clara, she has phenomenal shot placement on the field as an attacker. She’s the unsung hero of our team, always fights hard to the very last second of the game.” Walls says senior captain Mary-Claire Graham is the team’s strongest defender. “Mary-Claire was the MVP of our defense last year, and she’s an incredibly mature and strong leader again this season. She forced a team-record 11 turnovers in our game against Division I Episcopal.”

Emery/Weiner lacrosse player Alex Wasserstrom gets set to take a shot for the Jaguars in the inaugural season of boys lacrosse at the school.

For the first time in school history, The Emery/Weiner School is fielding lacrosse teams for both boys and girls. For the inaugural season, Emery/Weiner is competing at the junior varsity level. The first-year coach on the boys’ side is Tyler Tyson, who was a standout lacrosse player in high school at The Woodlands before playing college lacrosse at Sam Houston State.

“Right now, we’re just working on fundamentals and trying to improve every day,” said Tyson. “It’s really cool to see how much fun the kids are having learning the sport. Jake Plantowsky, who’s only a freshman, is really the only boys’ player who has measurable experience in the sport.” The team has improved enough to have posted the first lacrosse win in school history, when it edged out the Bellaire junior varsity in an 8-7 final in late February. “That was really exciting,” said Tyson. “The guys were jumping all over each other in celebrating the first win for our program. We were really proud of the victory. Along with Jake, fellow team captains Alex Wasserstrom and goalie Matt Hall had big games.” Tyson is excited about the future of the lacrosse program at Emery/Weiner. “We have a lot of kids who’ve expressed interest in playing. Next year, our goal is to also start a middle school and junior varsity program. We have a new turf playing field at the school, which also adds to the excitement level of the program.”

St. John’s Maverick Sean Yuan pins Episcopal’s John Walker to secure a victory at this year’s SPC Wrestling Tournament.

One year after ending the 37-year reign of Dallas St. Mark’s as the SPC wrestling champions, the St. John’s Mavericks have captured a second straight SPC Wrestling Championship. The Mavericks edged St. Mark’s 158-153 to secure back-to-back titles. “I told the kids that if you’ve done it one time they might call you lucky. But if you do it twice, all they can call you is great,” said Mavericks wrestling coach Alan Paul. “Last year we had more actual individual champions, but this year it took every single kid to come through to win the SPC crown. It was a complete team effort.”

The Mavericks’ sole individual champion was sophomore Cyrus Lee, who won the 120-pound division. “Off the mat, Cyrus is a real jovial kind of lighthearted kid, but once he steps in the circle, he’s all business,” said Paul. With Evan Eisenberg and Matthew Urdahl finishing second in their respective weight divisions, as well as third- and fourth-place finishes from Preston Neal, Douglas Moody, Drew Guillory, Jerald Barbe, Sean Yuan and Carl Bernicker, the Mavericks racked up enough points to secure the victory. “The kids have put in the hard work to make this happen,” said Paul. “They wrestle not just for themselves, but also for their teammates, the school and the entire St. John’s community. Most people will work harder when they’re doing it for someone else, and that’s exactly what these kids have done.” Editor’s Note: Todd Freed is the Emmy Award-winning co-host and producer of the KUBE SportsZone, which airs Saturday and Sunday at 6 p.m. on Channel 57-KUBE. To submit high school sports news for possible inclusion in SportzBuzz, please email [email protected].