Abilene ISD -

For the sixth time in program history, the Abilene High School girls’ cross country team has qualified for the state championship meet. The Lady Eagles finished third Tuesday at the Region I-5A meet in Lubbock to secure a berth in the field for the second time in the last three seasons.

Abilene High senior standout John Alcantar, who ran for the boys' team, also qualified for the Class 5A state championship as an individual runner. The Abilene High boys finished 17th overall, followed by Cooper in 22nd. The Cooper girls finished 16th in the team standings at the meet hosted by Lubbock ISD at Mae Simmons Park.

Aledo won the girls’ team championship with 51 points, followed by Colleyville Heritage (85) points, Abilene High (101 points), and Grapevine (148 points), each of whom will send their entire teams to the state meet to run at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock on Saturday, Nov. 2. The Cooper girls finished 16th with 392 points.

Grapevine won the boys’ team title with 83 points, followed by Colleyville Heritage (107 points), Aledo (141 points), and El Paso Burges (151 points) in the top four team qualifying spots. AHS was 17th with 405 points, and Cooper was 22nd with 485 points.

The standout senior duo of Zoe Vann and Mason Murray led the Eagles to the third-place finish. Vann clocked a time of 18:53.20 to finish fourth, while Murray finished in 19:16.20 for sixth place. Sophomores Remie Batten (20:03.90 for 19th) and Aubrey Duran (20:37.80 for 33rd) and junior Emily Brumley (21:21.30 for 54th) rounded out Abilene High’s top five finishers.

Abilene High finished ninth at the Class 5A state championship meet in 2022, the first team under longtime head coach Rosie Martin to reach the state meet. The Abilene High girls also reached the state championship meet in 1992, 1995, 1996, and 1999. Murray has now qualified for the state championship meet in all four seasons, finishing 33rd in the Class 6A meet as a freshman in 2021, 28th in Class 5A in 2022, and 24th at last year’s Class 5A meet. She qualified as an individual athlete in 2021 and 2023.

Cooper sophomore Lila Murillo, who covered the 5000-meter course in 21:21.50, led the Lady Cougars, followed by freshman Dannie Muco in 87th place in 22:25.00 and senior Kayla Dillon in 89th in 22:29.40.

Alcantar was fourth in the boys’ race to qualify as an individual for the Class 5A state championship meet. Alcantar finished the race in 15:55.60. His teammate Aldo Sanchez finished 23rd in 16:54.40. Cooper’s boys were led by senior Gabriel Reyna in 80th at 18:02.10 and freshman Mercelo Bayubasire in 83rd in 18:04.00.

The Lady Eagles and Alcantar will run in the state championship meet on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock. The Class 5A girls’ championship run will begin at 10:45 a.m., followed by the boy’s run at 11:25 a.m.

GIRLS
(Top 4 teams and top 10 individuals not a qualifying team advance to state championship meet)
Team Standings – 1. Aledo, 51; 2. Colleyville Heritage, 85; 3. Abilene High, 101; 4. Grapevine, 148; 5. Birdville, 185; 16. Cooper, 392.
Abilene High – 4. Zoe Vann, sr., 18:53.20; 6. Mason Murray, sr., 19:16.20; 19. Remie Batten, soph., 20:37.80; 54. Emily Brumley, jr., 21:21.30; 91. Jazlyn Ortiz, sr., 22:31.80; 92. Caroline Bessent, sr., 22:33.00.
Cooper – 56. Lila Murillo, soph., 21:21.50; 87. Dannie Muco, fr., 22:25.00; 89. Kayla Dillon, sr., 22:29.40; 103. Jalicia Flores, sr., 22:51.00; 118. Mizeri Ortiz, soph., 23:08.20; 145. Mya Garcia, fr., 24:46.90; 167. Harley Dawson, soph., 26:47.80.

BOYS
(Top 4 teams and top 10 individuals not a qualifying team advance to state championship meet)
Team Standings – 1. Grapevine, 83; 2. Colleyville Heritage, 107; 3. Aledo, 141; 4. El Paso Burges, 151; 5. Fort Worth Arlington Heights, 180; 17. Abilene High, 405; 22. Cooper, 485.
Abilene High – 4. John Alcantar, sr., 15:55.60; 23. Aldo Sanchez, jr., 16:54.40; 137. Reynaldo Salinas, soph., 19:21.20; 145. Axel Romero Matos, 19:38.70; 153. Jedediah Perkins, sr., 19:56.10; 156. Antonio Delagarza, soph., 20:02.30.
Cooper – 80. Gabriel Reyna, sr., 18:02.10; 83. Mercelo Bayubasire, fr., 18:04.00; 115. Dalison Nzisabira, jr., 18:47.70; 135. Karson Martinez, soph., 19:17.70; 148. Tiger Gladden, sr., 19:42.80; 158. Dyllen Gladden, jr., 20:06.60; 163. Marcos Elizondo, jr., 20:24.70.

FOOTBALL: Eagles Clinch Playoff Spot; Cougars Need Another Win
With starting quarterback Brayden Henry sitting out again with a knee injury, the Abilene Eagles clinched a berth in the Class 5A Division I state playoffs last Thursday night with a 69-14 demolition of Lubbock High at Lowrey Field.

The Eagles are 6-2 overall and 4-0 in District 2-5A Division I and have won 10 straight district football games. The Eagles have scored at least 42 points in all six of their wins this season, have topped the 60-point barrier three times, and are averaging 61.5 points per game in four district games.

The Eagles will host Amarillo Tascosa at 7 p.m. Friday. They need a win and a win over Lubbock Monterey in their regular-season finale to clinch a second straight district championship.

Meanwhile, the Cooper Cougars stoked the fire on their playoff hopes with a 35-23 win over Plainview in District 2-5A Division II play at Shotwell Stadium. The win snapped Cooper’s three-game losing streak and gave the Cougars their first district win as they improved to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in district play.

The Cougars are back in the hunt for an 18th straight playoff berth, thanks to the win over the Bulldogs. At 1-3 in the district, the Cougars have no wiggle room if they want that streak to continue. Cooper will be in Wichita Falls at Memorial Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday night against winless Wichita Falls Legacy (0-7 and 0-3), while Plainview (3-4 and 1-2) is at home to play Amarillo Palo Duro (3-4 and 0-3). A Cooper win and a Plainview loss would push Cooper into fourth place with one game to play: Friday, Nov. 8, against Palo Duro at Shotwell Stadium.

Friday night in Abilene, the teams that have won the last two district championships will meet with the Eagles, who are looking to take another step toward the program’s 29th district championship. A victory over Amarillo Tascosa would leave the Eagles needing only a win at Lubbock Monterey on Thursday, Oct. 31, to clinch the title.

The Rebels are in a somewhat precarious situation. They enter Friday’s game at 3-4 and 2-1 after last week’s 56-28 loss to Monterey. A loss to the Eagles and an Amarillo win over Lubbock Coronado would push the Rebels into fourth place. They still have games against Amarillo High and Caprock on their schedule.

The Eagles were without Henry last Friday at Lubbock. However, sophomore backup Tristan Beal completed 21 of 30 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns, hitting senior wide receiver Ryland Bradford eight times for 151 yards and two scores. Bryson Perez caught seven passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns, while Ethan Joyner carried the ball 18 times for 138 yards and three touchdowns.

Abilene High scored on its first two plays of the game, recovered back-to-back pooch kickoffs in the third quarter after opening the half with a scoring drive, and put up 35 third-quarter points to turn a 27-7 halftime game into a 62-7 rout. The teams played the fourth quarter with a running clock as the Eagles chewed up 558 yards of total offense against the Westerners (3-4 and 0-3).

Fans planning to attend the game can purchase tickets here. AISD has implemented a clear bag policy at Shotwell Stadium and the Shotwell Annex. Only clear bags will be allowed in with spectators.

Fans can listen to the live audio broadcast from AHS announcers Chuck Statler and Cody Coil and watch the game on AISD Live. Fans can also AISD Live prodcutions on Facebook and YouTube.

Needing a win to stay alive in the chase for a playoff spot, the Cougars relied on their defense in last week’s win over Plainview.

Junior defensive end Dycin Davis led the Cougars with a dominating performance on his 17th birthday. Davis – who has offers from five Power 4 universities and is one of the top edge rushers in Texas in the Class of 2026 – had 2 ½ sacks in the game, spearheading a Cooper defense that limited Plainview to 35 yards rushing.

While the Cooper defense was limiting Plainview’s scoring opportunities, the Cooper offense had one of its best games of the season. Cooper put together 205 rushing yards on 36 carries, and quarterback Austin Cummins completed 16 of 23 passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns. He connected on touchdown passes of 28 yards to Jaden Carrillo in the first quarter, 18 yards to Carrillo in the second quarter and seven yards to Zavian Alexander in the third quarter.

Carrillo caught six passes for 94 yards, while Alexander went for 44 yards on seven catches. Peyton Ewing carried the ball eight times for 128 yards. JQ Scroggins had 48 yards on nine carries as seven Cougars carried the ball.

Legacy has struggled in its inaugural season with three district losses by an average margin of defeat of 24.3 ppg in district contests. The Leopards have given up at least 34 points in all seven games this season and have scored more than 19 points in a game only twice.

Cooper fans planning to attend the game can purchase tickets here. Those who cannot attend the game in Wichita Falls can listen to the Cougars’ audio feed here. Jimmy Pogue and Rick Cason will call the action. Wichita Falls ISD TV will provide the video stream, available here.

VOLLEYBALL: Lady Eagles Make Playoffs Again; Lady Coogs Can Clinch Without Playing
Abilene High clinched a spot in the Class 5A playoffs for the third straight season with a win Tuesday night, and Cooper can clinch a spot Friday night without playing.

The Lady Eagles (14-23 overall) improved to 3-4 in District 4-5A play and clinched a spot in the playoffs with a 3-1 win Tuesday night at home against Wichita Falls Legacy. Abilene High will be off Friday before closing the regular season next Tuesday at home against first-place Wylie (21-17 and 6-0).

Abilene High can finish no worse than 3-5 in the district, while the best last-place Wichita Falls Legacy can finish is 2-6. Thus, AHS can finish no worse than fourth in the district, putting the Lady Eagles into the postseason.

Cooper, meanwhile, can clinch a spot in the playoffs Friday night without stepping on the floor. Legacy (9-26 and 0-6) has the tall task of taking on crosstown rival Wichita Falls Memorial (22-12 and 5-1 in district) Friday. A Memorial win will eliminate Legacy from the playoff race and send the Lady Coogs to the postseason.

The Lady Cougars will wrap up the regular season at Wichita Falls Legacy next Tuesday. If they win and Abilene High loses to Wylie, AHS and Cooper will tie for third place, requiring either a coin flip or a seeding match to establish the third and fourth positions in the district.