SportzBuzz - December 2023

For the eighth time in school history, the Episcopal Knights are Southwest Preparatory Conference football champions. The Knights secured this year’s title with a thrilling 35-25 victory over rival Kinkaid in the SPC 4A final.

“It was really special for our senior class,” said Episcopal head football coach Steve Leisz. “Those guys lost a tough one to Kinkaid in last year’s title game and they worked so hard to put themselves in position to win this championship.” The hard-working seniors included quarterback Karson Gordon, who rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Kinkaid. In addition, standout junior running back Brandon Thomas rushed for 125 yards and two scores. Defensively, linebacker Ty Blevins came up with a series of big plays including an interception and forced fumble.

The win capped off a triumphant finish to the coaching career for Leisz, who announced his retirement from coaching after 18 years of leading the Episcopal football and wrestling programs. “The story couldn’t have been written any better than to close out my coaching career with a championship,” said Leisz. “Also, I think my wife said it best when we made the decision in August. It’s not about the wins and losses but more about building relationships with these kids. More than coaching, it’s been about developing men of character and following them academically and through life itself.”

In his tenure at Episcopal, Leisz’s football teams won five SPC titles, with Leisz being one of only two Texas coaches to have ever been selected as a head coach for the US Army High School All-American Game. In wrestling, Leisz was inducted into the Texas High School Wrestling Hall of Honor and joined an elite number of coaches who own over 500 career tournament victories. “I’ve just been so blessed to be surrounded by so many great players and coaches,” added Leisz.

STATE CHAMPIONS With seven of the top 20 finishers in the meet, the St. Thomas Eagles captured the TAPPS 6A state cross country championship. Pictured (standing, from left): Head coach Nathan Labus, James Glenn, Alex Lauzon, Wyatt Johnson, Michael Kiefer, David Carbajal, Ben Lauzon, assistant coaches Michael Erickson and Danny Hernandez; (kneeling, from left): Isaac Knappe, Jaden Stephenson, and Bryce Farrell.

Led by a strong finishing kick by several of its runners, the St. Thomas Eagles captured the TAPPS 6A State Country Championship. The Eagles won the meet by an eight-point margin over second-place Antonian at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco.  

Leading the way for St. Thomas was junior Wyatt Johnson, who finished fourth overall in a time 16.44 on a wet and muddy course. “It rained for about five days leading into the race, so conditions were tough,” said Eagles cross country coach Nathan Labus. “Wyatt did what he had to in outkicking a pair of Antonian runners near the finish.”

Finishing in seventh place overall was St. Thomas runner David Carbajal while teammate Jaden Stephenson was eleventh. “Much like Wyatt, David and Jaden had to outkick several runners down the final stretch. They dug deep to pass those guys and finish strong,” added Labus.

In addition, Eagles seniors Alex Lauzon and his older brother Ben finished 13th and 15th to give the Eagles five of the top 15 finishers while junior Michael Kiefer and freshman Bryce Farrell came in 18th and 19th overall. In all, the Eagles boasted seven of the top 20 finishers out of a field of 85 runners. The title was especially gratifying for Labus, who had previously coached St. Thomas to six state championships in track and field, but this was his first in cross country after multiple runner-up finishes.

STATE FINALIST The Memorial Mustangs advanced to the UIL Team Tennis state tournament for a remarkable 15th consecutive season. Memorial finished the season with a 16-1 record with its only defeat coming in the state finals.

After winning their 15th consecutive regional championship, the Memorial Mustangs finished as the UIL 6A state runner-up in team tennis. The Mustangs defeated Plano West 11-3 in the state semifinals, before ultimately losing to Austin Westwood in the state final.

“Our final record was 16-1 with our only defeat coming in the state finals, so I’m extremely proud of this group,” said Mustangs tennis coach Budd Booth. “They competed extremely hard from top to bottom and gave 100 percent every time they stepped on the court.”

On the girls’ side, sophomore Michelle Li and junior Kat Lowy were the Mustangs number one and two players with the tandem going undefeated in the playoffs in both singles and as doubles partners. For the boys, seniors Egor Morozov and Nate Raney were the Mustangs top two seeds throughout the season. “Those two guys won virtually every one of their singles matches and were undefeated in doubles,” said Booth. “They had great performances and were big leaders on this team.”

Booth also had high praise for Memorial assistant coaches Brian Mandell and Carol Andrews. “Our coaches did a great job of getting our players prepared and ready since we started back in August. Only four teams in Texas make it to state and for us to have done so for 15 straight years is amazing.”

Editor’s note: Todd Freed is the host and executive producer of H-Town High School Sports, which airs Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on CW39 and Monday-Thursday on AT&T SportsNet SW. To submit high school sports news for possible inclusion in SportzBuzz, please email [email protected].