By EJ Holland
Southlake Carroll athletics has established a tradition ofbrexcellence.
From football to baseball and everything in between, thebrDragons are known nationwide for having the country's premier high schoolsbrsports teams on a yearly basis.
And 2015-2016 was no different. Southlake Carroll sent abrnumber of athletes to the state championships in swimming and diving, cross-countrybrand wrestling in the winter.
Perhaps the most successful program of the trio was swimmingbrand diving, which saw a number of athletes proudly display gold medals aroundbrtheir necks. But that's far from a surprise. In fact, winning state is anbrexpectation for the swimming and diving team.
Since 2010, Head Coach Kevin Murphy has guided his teams tobrsix straight state championship appearances. Murphy originally arrived atbrSouthlake Carroll from Oklahoma and has built a dynasty.
“With what I learned in the desert, I felt like I could makebrthe middle and bottom of the program a lot better. That's what we initiallybrworked on when we got there. Once the snowball got rolling, it was hard tobrstop.”
Murphy had arguably his best team yet on the boys side asbrthe Dragons took home another state title.
Southlake Carroll posted a score of 295 points—more than 100brpoints ahead of second-place finisher Austin Westlake (194). Thebrrecord-smashing performance opened eyes across the nation.
“If you've ever played the game where you put your hand on abrbaseball bat then the other person puts it higher then you put it higher,brthat's how our boys are,” Murphy says. “They were competing at practice all thebrtime, and they were hungry. They had a special season.
“They scored more points than any team in the history of thebrstate team. We've had some really good teams, but this is the highest-scoringbrand deepest team we've ever had.”
Alex Zettle, the 6A Boys Swimmer of the Meet, led thebrDragons and won a pair of individual gold medals in the 200-yard freestyle andbr500-yard freestyle. Zettle posted a time of 1:37.17 in the 200, while hebrfinished the 500 in 4:22.64.
His teammate Jack LeVant won the shortest race of the event,brfinishing the 50-yard freestyle in 20.23 seconds. The duo together with AustinbrWhalen and Colter Carman won the 400 free relay with a time of 2:59.69. Inbrdoing so they became only the third public school team in the nation's historybrto have ever broken the 3:00.0 barrier.
Meanwhile, 6A Diver of the Meet Nate Hernandez defended hisbrtitle, adding his special talents to the Dragons' championship effort.
While the girls didn't bring home the hardware, they stillbrhad an excellent season in their own right, finishing the regular seasonbrundefeated and claiming seventh place at the state meet with a score of 106.
“The girls have been down for a little bit, but I feel likebrwe are on the upswing,” Murphy says. “They just need to become morebrcompetitive. All the girls that swam at state received All-Americanbrconsideration. They were a good group of swimmers.”
Southlake Carroll's boys team returns a number of keybrswimmers, while the girls team has the potential to place even higher nextbrseason. It's clear more state achievements are within reach.
So how does Murphy keep his team motivated?
“We individualize goals a lot,” he says. “That's based onbrtheir high school practices and their club practices. Our objective is forbreveryone to improve. And if everyone improves, something good is going tobrhappen. The expectations keep getting higher. Where it stops, I don't know.”
FLEET FEET
Swimming and diving might have been the pinnacle ofbrSouthlake Carroll winter sports, but cross-country had a spectacular season asbrit garnered national attention after yet another dominant season.
The boys took home both the district and regionalbrchampionships as they earned a berth in the state championship meet. The girlsbralso captured a district title and made their way to state.
Unfortunately for the Dragons, awful weather ruined thebrcourse and played a major factor as both teams finished in second place.
“We were a little disappointed at the state meet,” says HeadbrCoach Justin Leonard. “Our goal is to always win a state championship. It wasbrjust one of those things where we got beat by a better team, so we have tobrregroup and get better.”
Reed Brown placed fourth at state with a time of 16:28.26.brNo girl finished in the Top 10 individually for Southlake Carroll but as abrunit, they posted a scored of 87, finishing only behind Flower Mound Marcus.
While both teams experienced heartbreak at state, they didbrhave a fun ending to the season as they competed in the Nike Cross Nationals inbrPortland, Oregon.
“That was a great way to end the season,” Leonard says.br“It's the best of the best out there. It was a great experience. There is nobrbetter way to wrap up your high school season than with a trip to Portland,brOregon, to compete against some of the best.”
The girls team finished 15th at nationals with abrscore of 340, while the boys finished 16th with a score of 344.
Individually, Brown stood out from the crowd. On top of hisbrgreat performance at state, Brown was named the Gatorade Runner of the Yearbrafter placing first in the Nike Cross regionals and 14th atbrnationals.
Fellow junior Charlie Gardner also had a specular season asbrhe finished fourth at the Nike Cross regionals. On the girls' side, sophomore CatherinebrTracht showed some flashes of potential for the future as she placed 24thbrat state.
All three runners will be back next season and give thebrDragons a legitimate opportunity to get back on top.
“Getting to nationals has given us a lot of momentum headingbrinto next season,” Leonard says. “Reed and Charlie are huge. They both workbrextremely hard. They are two of the fastest we've had come through the program.brThey are going to be leading the charge.
“I'm excited about our girls team, too. We are going to revampbrthe team and get to work.”
WRESTLING'S NEWbrSTRONGHOLD
Wrestling had one of its most successful seasons in schoolbrhistory. The Dragons captured their second consecutive district title, finishedbrsecond in the region and placed eighth at the state meet.
Head Coach Joseph Hathaway was also named the region Coachbrof the Year. Over the last six years, Hathaway has built Southlake Carroll intobra wrestling powerhouse.
“This was a great season and another step in the rightbrdirection for our program,” Hathaway says. “We started out well and carriedbrthat momentum on throughout the year. We talk a lot about consistency and thatbris what we are starting to see from our kids and that is leading to morebrsuccess on the mat.
“Just like every season, we had our ups and downs, but thisbrexperienced group came prepared to compete every week. This was a special groupbrof kids, especially our seniors, that I've had the pleasure of working with forbrmany years now.”
Nolin Wheeler (106), Adam Linberg (170), Jack Duval (160), ZachbrFrancis (182) and Cameron Haddock (138) all captured individual districtbrchampionships. Duval finished as the state runner up in the 160-pound division.
With Duval, Linberg, Haddock and others back in the foldbrnext season, the Dragons look poised to place even higher at state next year.
“This is a talented group and one of the most athletic teamsbrwe have had,” Hathaway says. “Having said that, their commitment to preparingbrfor next season on a daily basis will determine their success. I'm really excitedbrto see them put in the work, grow as a team and improve on the mat.”
All three sports and their success have helped SouthlakebrCarroll in the race for the UIL Lone Star Cup, which is awarded annually to sixbrhigh schools—one in each of the six UIL classifications.
The accolade based on their team performance in district andbrstate championships. The winning schools in each classification will receivebrthe UIL Lone Star Cup trophy and a $1,000 scholarship.
Southlake Carroll currently sits in third behind ThebrWoodlands and Austin Westlake with 48 points. If these winter sports are anybrindicator, the Dragons will have a chance to claim the cup with strong athleticbrperformances to round out the school year.