Girls’ Varsity Soccer
The Lady Wildcats are off and running with an impressive 6-0-1 record including a 1-0-1 district mark. Coach Mary Jacobi credits a stingy defense led by goalie Becky Wendt, who has registered four shutouts.
Offensively, Lake Highlands has relied on timely shooting to stymie the competition. Rachel Wilkinson leads the area’s fourth-ranked team with five goals.
“I am very pleased with the way the team has progressed throughout the non-district season and their play in the first two district games,” Jacobi says.
Perhaps the squad’s most notable triumph came in their very own Lake Highlands Invitational Jan. 22-23. After defeating South Garland and Highland Park by 3-0 scores, the Lady Wildcats faced Ursuline Academy, which came into the final with a 19-1 mark.
After ties of 1-1 at the end of regulation and 2-2 following two overtime periods, the Lady Wildcats won the shootout and the championship trophy.
“This tough competition and our success has helped to build our confidence,” Jacobi says. “Playing so many good teams early in the year will pay off down the road in the race for the playoffs. I have an excellent group of girls with great talent and experience.”
Soccer Games & Scoring:
Lake Highlands 3, Hillcrest 0
Scoring: Rachel Blaydes, Jill Curtis, Alicia Dooley
Lake Highlands 4, The Colony 1
Scoring: Liz Preskitt (2), Rachel Wilkinson (2)
Lake Highlands 3, South Garland 0
Scoring: Caren Vaughan, Erin Hamm, Misty Landry
Lake Highlands 3, Highland Park 0
Scoring: Caren Vaughan, Rachel Wilkinson, Alicia Dooley
Lake Highlands 3, Ursuline Academy 2 (shootout)
Scoring: Rachel Wilkinson, Camille Gaddis. Shootout scores: Caren Vaughan, Erin Hamm
Boys’ Varsity Soccer
Coach Frank Gidwani thinks his team is starting to gell as the fierce district race gets under way. After compiling a 7-4 non-district record, Lake Highlands took the field against Plano East on Feb. 9 for its first district test.
Consider test No. 1 a success as Lake Highlands won, 1-0. Marcus Williams scored the lone Wildcats goal with an assist by Jay Young.
The team will play all five district opponents twice before finishing the regular season against Plano on March 12. Through the first 12 contests, Lake Highlands averaged 2.6 goals scored and 1.7 goals allowed.
Gidwani is looking for more consistency on offense to go with an already solid defensive unit.
Brad Flanagan leads the team with eight goals and four assists. Forward Justin Lemmon is right behind with seven goals. Brett Daily, Damon Scott, Williams, Alan Gearing and Young each have scored two goals and Young also leads the team with 10 assists.
Varsity Wrestling
The post-season brought out the best in Lake Highlands’ young rebuilding squad. The Wildcats finished second in the district meet and fourth at the regional meet.
Regional Results: Plano 155, Berkner 152.5, Pearce 145, Lake Highlands 115, Richardson 78, Plano East 65.
Lake Highlands wrestling coach Peter Grieder says the regional meet was the closest in recent years. Several Wildcat wrestlers qualified for the state meet in El Paso on Feb. 6 and 7.
Chung Choi won the 112-pound division at regional. Claude Medlock took second in the 119-pound division, Eric Reed was second at 125 pounts, and wiry Eddie Powell won second in the 140-pound weight class.
All four wrestlers travelled to El Paso, where Choi won two matches before falling to the state’s best. Eddie Powell won a match and Medlock and Reed lost.
“We ended up surprising a lot of people this year,” says Grieder. “Considering that we lost a few wrestlers to grades and had only two returning letterman, we did pretty well. I hope next year we’ll be even better, since eight lettermen should be returning along with a solid sophomore class.
