So far, so good for the 1993 version of the soccer team. Second-year Lake Highlands coach Frank Gidwani and assistant coach James Sanders are pleased with the team that started practicing in early January.
Already, the boys have kicked their way past Coppell, 3-0 and North Garland, 7-0, in scrimmages. In their first regular-season game, they defeated North Dallas. At Advocate press time, the Wildcats hadn’t allowed a goal defensively.
Gidwani welcomes back eight starters from last year’s 11-5-2 squad that tied J.J. Pearce and Plano for second place in the district. Justin Lemmon, a second-team all-district selection as a junior, scored three goals against North Dallas and already looks to be in mid-season form.
Jay Young and Alan Gearing are expected to add leadership and talent to the mix, although Gearing is currently nursing an injury. Brad Flanagan, Aaron Sockwell and Keegan McConnell are also key players on Gidwani’s talented team. Gidwani mentions that several of his players have the potential to play in college.
Varsity Girls Soccer
Coach Mary Jacobi, entering her seventh year of coaching soccer in Lake Highlands, welcomes back nine starters from last year’s fourth place team (7-6-1, 9-6-1). This experience, coupled with a strong defense, should keep the Wildcats near the top of the district race.
The squad is loaded with talent, including Erin Hamm, a senior defender; Becky Wendt, a senior goalkeeper currently playing basketball; Sarah Moore, a talented senior midfielder; Misty Landry, a 12-th-grade stellar midfielder/forward; and Rachel Wilkinson, a junior forward.
“This team should be very competitive,” says Jacobi. “I admire their talent as well as their dedication. If we will come together as a team unit, we should have the ability to finish near the top of the district.”
Lake Highlands will play six non-district games and a local tournament before traveling to Plano East Feb. 8 for the first district game of the 1993 season.
Varsity Boys Basketball
At 4-0 in District 11-5A play and 18-4 overall at press time, the Wildcats are looking like the team to beat in the district race. Recent highlights includes road victories over Newman Smith and Berkner.
The Trojans were no match for the talented boys from Lake Highlands, who mesmerized Newman Smith with aggressive defense and a balanced scoring offense. In their opening district game, the Wildcats defeated arch-rival Plano, 65-52, at home. The game may have set the tone for the season.
But the Wildcats also lost what has been described as one of the most exciting games in the history of the Dr Pepper tournament, 79-77 in overtime to Lincoln, the state’s top-ranked team in Class 4A.
“Lincoln has as much physical talent as any team in the state,” says coach Jimmy Roe. “Even though we lost that game, it showed us that we can compete with anybody.”
Sea Lonergan continues to soar for the boys in black and red, leading the team with a 19-point average, along with a team-high eight rebounds. Ryan Boldrick is averaging 15 points and smooth-as-silk point guard Sheldon Croomes and Jason Lentz are adding about 10 points per game.
Lonergan leads the squad in steals, while Croomes is dishing out five assists per night. Lentz is averaging almost two blocked shots a game.
LH 9th Grade Boys Basketball
Coach John McPherson, in his second season at the school, has led his team to a 2-3 district record. The Number One gun for the squad is “Mr. Franchise,” Craig Thompson, a 5-foot-11 shooting guard.
Thompson is averaging about 23 points and four steals per game. McPherson calls Thompson a “complete player” and a good leaper.
Terry Snow, also a talented football player, leads the team with 10 rebounds per game. Casey Stegman and John Frier are also having steller seasons for the Wildcats.
The season highlight has been a victory over Forest Meadow, and the team’s other win came against Westwood. The district tournament begins the first week of February.
Varsity Wrestling
The team has been weakened recently by wrestlers lost to poor grades, but Coach Pete Grieder expected a number of wrestlers to place well in the Jan. 30 regional meet and qualify for the state meet.
Wiry senior Eddie Powell continues to excel in the 140-pound division, compiling a 20-5. Chung Choi is 9-6 and Claude Medlock is 8-6. Senior Eric Reed is 8-9.
