Abilene ISD -

Three Abilene ISD basketball teams won on Tuesday, and several football and volleyball athletes were honored for their classroom efforts. The AISD swim teams competed in their final home meet, setting several personal bests, and several AISD legends have been selected for induction into two halls of honor.

Here’s a complete wrapup of the last week in AISD Athletics and what’s coming up during the Christmas break:

Basketball: Three teams record wins on Tuesday
The Abilene High boys improved to 12-5 in non-district action Tuesday with a 67-35 win over the Wall Hawks, ranked No. 18 in Class 3A.

Winners of eight of their last nine games, the Eagles were led in scoring by Connel Colley (16 points) and Brenner Paul (13 points). The Eagles will return to action Friday at 6 p.m. when they host former district rival Odessa Permian at Eagle Gym.

Abilene High’s other games during the Christmas break will be at the Caprock Tournament in Lubbock (Dec. 26-28), vs. Mineral Wells at Eagle Gym (7:30 p.m. on Jan. 3), and at Midland Legacy (7:30 p.m. on Jan. 6).

The Cooper boys snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday with a 52-40 win over Big Spring at Cougar Gym. The Cougars improved to 6-9 with the 12-point win in one of their final games before a long layoff during the Christmas break. Cooper pulled away from the Steers at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth to take the win.

Kaymon Regala had 23 and Mazin Lawrence 10 to lead the Cougars to the victory.

The Cougars will be in Midland for Friday’s game against former district rival Midland Legacy. They will be off until Dec. 31, when they host Levelland at Cougar Gym at 1 p.m. Cooper’s final contest before District 4-5A play starts is on Friday, Jan. 3, at Graham.

The Abilene High girls snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday with a 44-42 win over Stephenville at Eagle Gym. A deflected inbounds pass with less than one second left was all the Lady Eagles needed to knock off the Honeybees.

Senior post Emily Jordan scored half of the Eagles’ points (22) to lead the Eagles to the win. Abilene High withstood a barrage of 3-pointers from Stephenville (9) to knock off the Honeybees.

Abilene High is back in action Friday at home against Midland Legacy (4:30 p.m.) before playing next weekend (Dec. 26-28) in the Brownwood Tournament. Abilene High will begin District 4-5A play on Friday, Jan. 3, against Wichita Falls Memorial at 6 p.m. before taking on Cooper at Cougar Gym at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

On Tuesday, the Cooper girls lost 75-28 at Midland Legacy. The Lady Cougars are back in action Friday at Brock, the 11th-ranked team in Class 4A.

Cooper will be off until next weekend (Dec. 26-28) when it plays in the Byron Johnson Holiday Classic in Midland. The Lady Cougars will play Midland High on Dec. 26 before taking on El Paso Andress and El Paso Socorro on Dec. 27.

Cooper will begin District 4-5A play on Friday, Jan. 3, at Wylie before hosting Abilene High on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at Cougar Gym.

Academic All-State Honors Announced
Abilene High and Cooper student-athletes in football and volleyball were honored for their work in the classroom by the Texas High School Coaches Association and the Texas Girls Coaches Association. The honorees are as follows:

Cooper Football (THSCA Academic All-State)
First Team – Matthew Henson
Second Team – Kevin Reyes, Kyler Wheeler
Honorable Mention – Hagen Keith, Devin Garcia, Alejandro Ibarra, Jeremiah Appel, David Bacherini, Austin Cummins

Abilene High Football (THSCA Academic All-State)
Second Team – Shetonde Polepole
Honorable Mention – Eddie Varela, Rylan Stokes, Dae Rapp, John Miles Wagstaff, Steven Reece, Camp Churchill, Dristain Payne, Hunter Archibald

Cooper Volleyball (TGCA Academic All-State)
Samantha Joyce, Rachel Sprencel, Jaedah Titus, Hailey Young, Emalee Filorio, Cayelyn Nault, Amyah Walker

Abilene High Volleyball (THSCA Academic All-State)
Second Team – Kinzley Cantu, Emily Jordan, Ava Breckenridge
Honorable Mention – Cannyn Childress

Swimming: AISD Teams Conclude Home Season
The four Abilene ISD swim teams recorded 21 personal-best marks last Saturday at the AISD Invitational in the Phillips Family Center pool at McMurry University. Abilene High’s team finished fifth overall, while the Cooper team finished seventh. The following teams and individuals finished in the top three in events:

Boys
Diving – 1. Lucas Lee, Abilene High
100-meter breaststroke – 2. Levi Huddleston, Abilene High
200-meter IM relay – 3. Alex Longoria, Abilene High

Girls
Diving – 1. Emilee Thompson, Abilene High; 2. Remie Batten, Abilene High; 3. Izabella McCutchen
400-meter freestyle relay – 3. Abilene High

AISD records broken during the meet were as follows:
Cooper girls 100-meter fly – Izabella McCutchen
Cooper girls 500-meter freestyle – Michelle Oliva
Abilene High boys 100-meter freestyle – Landon Schroeder
Abilene High boys 100-meter backstroke – Landon Schroeder
Abilene High boys 100-meter breaststroke – Levi Huddleston

THSCA Hall of Honor: Former AHS Coach Selected for Induction
Former Abilene High School head football coach Steve Warren – who led the Eagles to the 2009 Class 5A Division II state championship – has been selected as one of five 2025 inductees into the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor. 

Warren led the Eagles for 19 seasons (1996-2014), reached the playoffs 15 times, led the Eagles to nine district championships, reached at least the third round of the playoffs 11 times, and won the program’s seventh state championship with a 15-0 run through the 2009 season.

Warren is Abilene High’s all-time leader in coaching wins (172), ahead of Texas coaching legends like Dewey Mayhew (98 wins from 1927-40), Pete “P.E.” Shotwell (91 wins from 1917, 1919-23, and 1946-52), and Chuck Moser (78 wins from 1953-59). Warren is fourth in program history in winning percentage at .738.

The THSCA Hall of Honor Class of 2025 will be inducted in San Antonio on July 19, 2025. Tickets will be made available in March. Warren is the 11th former Abilene ISD coach, administrator, or student to be selected for induction into the THSCA Hall of Honor. Warren joins the following:

• Pete Shotwell (1960), former AHS head football coach
• Chuck Moser (1968), former AHS head football coach 
• B.L. “Blackie” Blackburn (1973), former AHS head baseball coach
• Ray Overton (1978), former Cooper head football coach
• William “Shorty” Lawson (1981), former AHS assistant football and baseball coach; former AISD Director of Athletics
• Bill Shipman (1989), former AHS head football coach
• Louis Kelley (1997), former Abilene Woodson High School running back; Lubbock Estacado head football coach 
• Randy Allen (2006), former Cooper running back and head football coach; current head coach at Highland Park High School
• Larry Pullin (2013), former AHS head football coach
• Johnny Taylor (2016), former AHS assistant football coach; later served as the head coach at Idalou High School

Big Country Sports Hall of Fame: Hood Family Selected for Induction
Former Abilene ISD student-athletes and coaches are among the 2025 class that will be inducted into the Big Country Sports Hall of Fame at a ceremony on April 14, 2025, at the Abilene Convention Center.

Tickets for the 24th annual banquet are $75 apiece, and tables of eight can be purchased for $1,000, which includes admission to the VIP reception before the banquet. Tickets can be ordered online at bigcountryhalloffame.org or by calling the Big Country Hall of Fame Museum at (325) 704-1759. 

Calli Corley played volleyball, basketball, and track as a three-sport athlete at Abilene High. She was an all-state volleyball player and District MVP as a senior. Corley also earned all-district honors in basketball and is a two-time state qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles. In addition, she won the Bev Ball Award as the top female athlete at Abilene High. Corley then played volleyball for four years at TCU and still holds the TCU career record with 1,406 digs.

Fred Kniffen, the first tennis coach at Cooper High School, was selected as the recipient of the Bill Hart Memorial Legends Awad and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Kniffen later won four junior college national championships at Tyler Junior College.

Ike Groce, considered the “Father of Tennis in Abilene,” came to Abilene in 1969 and was the junior high school tennis coordinator for the Abilene ISD. He will be inducted into the hall of fame. The foundation Groce laid with youth tennis has helped Cooper win state team championships and Abilene High win two. Both programs are still among the top 25 programs in Class 5A tennis.

The Hood Family of Abilene was selected as the winner of the Pat Gerald Memorial Legacy Award, and the family of coaches will be inducted into the hall of fame. The family’s patriarch, Don W. Hood, passed away earlier this year. He won nine NAIA and NCAA Division II national championships in 11 years at Abilene Christian University. He was considered the nation’s premier pole vault coach, having trained former AHS state champion Billy Olson and his ACU teammate Brad Pursley, both members of the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame and the ACU Sports Hall of Fame. Don had three sons – Don D., Derek, and Joel. Derek graduated from Abilene High in 1986, lettering in football and track and field. He later coached cross country at ACU and led the Wildcats to two NCAA Division II national championships. He recently served on the AISD Board of Trustees.

Going for History: Randy Allen Coaching for 5th State Title
Former Cooper head football coach Randy Allen will lead Highland Park in its quest for the program’s seventh state football championship on Saturday when the Scots take on Smithson Valley at AT&T Stadium. The game will kick off at 11 a.m.

Allen is the winningest active coach in Texas and the second-winningest coach of all time in Texas, carrying a career record of 446-95-5 into Saturday’s game. A win by Highland Park would give Allen his fifth state title (2005, 2016-18) and would give Highland Park seven titles, tying the Scots with Abilene High, Brownwood, and Plano for the fourth-most state championships by a program in state history.

Aledo has won the most state championships in Texas history with 12, followed by Carthage, Katy, and Richland Springs with nine, and Celina, Mart, and Southlake Carroll with eight.

AISD Athletics Notes
• Former Abilene High cross country standout Mason Murray was selected as a TGCA Cross Country Legacy All-Star. Murray was one of 20 graduating cross country athletes in combined Class 6A and 5A selected as a Legacy All-Star. The team honors graduating senior student-athletes in cross country, volleyball, cheerleading, basketball, track and field, and soccer.
• Abilene High quarterback Brayden Henry –injured late in the season and missed the Eagles’ last five games – was named a finalist for the Class 5A Quarterback of the Year by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. Henry threw for 991 yards and 13 touchdowns and ran for 800 yards and 12 scores in seven games.
• Cooper defensive end Dycin Davis, who will be one of the top defensive players in West Texas in 2025, received his ninth NCAA Division I FBS offer in late November when Arizona State offered him a scholarship. Davis – who had 13 sacks and 25 tackles for loss as a junior in 2024 and is a 3-star recruit by Rivals.com – has offers from Arizona State, Arizona, Iowa, Texas Tech, Baylor, California, North Texas, UTEP, and UTSA.
• High school soccer season starts the first week of January, with the four AISD teams participating in the Abilene Tournament, Jan. 2-4, at Shotwell Stadium and the Shotwell Annex. The Abilene High girls will play Lubbock High at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 2, at Shotwell Stadium, followed by the Cooper girls against Plainview at 3 p.m. The Abilene High boys will host El Paso Montwood at 5 p.m. at Shotwell Stadium, and the Cooper boys will finish the tournament’s opening day by taking on Killeen Harker Heights at 7 p.m. at Shotwell Stadium.