SportzBuzz - July 2025 | The Buzz Magazines

By Todd Freed, Staff writer | June 27, 2025

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Jenny Murdock, William Carlson, Carson Elder, Christopher Torn, Jake Miers, Matthew Elder, Charlotta Wharton

STATE CHAMPION The Second Baptist Eagles staged a spectacular comeback victory to secure the TAPPS 5A Boys State Golf Championship. Pictured, from left: Head coach Jenny Murdock, William Carlson, Carson Elder, Christopher Torn, Jake Miers, Matthew Elder, and coach Charlotta Wharton.

In a dramatic finish that came down to the final hole of the tournament, the Second Baptist Eagles rallied to win the TAPPS 5A Boys State Golf Championship. Eagles senior Matthew Elder connected on a four-foot putt on the 18th green to seal a one-stroke victory over rival The Woodlands Christian Academy.

Along with the clutch putt by Elder, there was no shortage of heroics down the final stretch of holes for the Eagles. “It wasn’t looking good for us to win it going into the last three or four holes, but in the last 45 minutes or so, all five of our players were sinking every putt ranging from three-footers to 15-footers to even 35 feet. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Eagles head golf coach Jenny Murdock.

On the second-to-final hole, Elder’s twin brother and fellow senior Carson sunk a 15-foot putt for birdie then closed out on the 18th hole with a spectacular 35-foot putt for back-to back birdies. In addition, junior Christopher Torn capped off his round by making good on a pair of big putts including a nine-footer on the closing hole.

The low scorer for the Eagles on the day was freshman William Carlson with a one-over par 73, followed by the Elder brothers who both shot 75s with Torn (77) and senior Jake Miers (80) rounding out the scoring in the ultimate one-stroke victory.

“We hadn’t defeated The Woodlands Christian in district or regionals in the previous six years I’ve been here,” added Murdock. “I’m just especially proud and happy for our seniors. Our guys have worked so hard and are such a great group of kids.”

Davis Shoaf, Gus Montgomery, Austin Le, Grant DeLorenzo, and Davis Pinion

STATE RUNNER-UP With five players all scoring in the 70s, the Memorial Mustangs put forth a magnificent round of golf to finish second at the UIL 6A Boys State Golf Tournament. Pictured, from left: Davis Shoaf, Gus Montgomery, Austin Le, Grant DeLorenzo, and Davis Pinion.

It was one of the best seasons ever for the Memorial Mustangs boys golf team which, along with winning its regional championship, then went on to finish second in the state at the UIL 6A State Golf Tournament. “To finish right near the top of the leaderboard in Texas 6A golf is always a great accomplishment,” said Mustangs golf coach Michael Martin. “We finished third in the state last year and, with a lot of kids returning, I’m super excited about the future of our golf program.”

Among the returnees for Memorial is sophomore Grant DeLorenzo, who shot an even par 72 to finish fourth individually at the state meet while gaining all-state honors. In addition, junior Davis Shoaf finished sixth individually at state with a one-over par 73 while junior Austin Le shot a 75 to finish 13th overall and sophomore Davis Pinion and Gus Montgomery each carded a 79 over the 18 holes. As a team, the Mustangs finished 11 strokes behind state champion Austin Westlake.

For his part, Le previously won the 6A Region III Championship with DeLorenzo and Shoaf finishing third and fifth respectively at the regional tournament. “We have a multitude of great players,” added Martin. “Between our varsity and junior varsity teams, we had 27 players who averaged in the 70s over the course of the season. Our team has a lot of depth and it’s just a great crop of kids.”

SOLID GOLD Episcopal senior DJ Taylor captured a remarkable six gold medals to lead the Knights to the SPC Boys Track & Field Championship. Taylor will run track next season for Texas A&M.

Led by a sensational performance from senior DJ Taylor, the Episcopal Knights dominated the field to win the SPC Boys Track and Field Meet for the third year in a row. Remarkably, Taylor captured gold medals in six events including first-place finishes in the long jump, triple jump, 100-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, and as part of the winning 4 x100 meter relay team.

“In the 20 years I’ve been here at Episcopal, I haven’t seen anything like it,” said Knights Track and Field Coach Isaiah Coleman. “It’s just a phenomenal performance. Six gold medals including five individual victories is truly special. To be honest I don’t think I’ll see something like this again.”

For Taylor, who’ll next run track and field for Texas A&M, the performance was somewhat of a dream come true. “It’s something I’ve thought about since my freshman year. I came into the meet with the mindset of winning six gold medals and I was extremely happy to make it happen.”

Taylor has made great things happen in a spectacular senior season in which he ran the nation’s fastest high school time of the year in the 300-meter hurdles at the prestigious Bluebonnet Invitational at Texas A&M University. “I had to watch the meet from the stands last year because I was injured, so to come back and run the fastest time in the nation in one of the biggest meets made it extra special,” said Taylor.

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].