Last week, RISD athletes exemplified sportsmanship, camaraderie on and off the field and, of course, amassed another collection of wins.
At the Skyline dual swim meet on Oct. 17, the Lake Highlands boys and girls teams won the 200 meter medley relay. Marcy Aguirre Alvarez anchored the relay and also won the girls 200 meter freestyle and the girls 100 meter butterfly. The LHHS boys swept the 200 meter freestyle with Jack Lopez winning and Jackson Maurer edging Teagan Webb by about one second for second. Jackson Maurer also won the boys 500 meter free, and the LHHS boys and girls relay teams also won the 400 meter free.
Brynn Zatopek of Lake Highlands won the girls 200 meter individual medley and the girls 100 meter free. Ethan Petty won the boys 100 meter free, and Lake Highlands swept the 100 meter butterfly with Nathan Macy winning, followed by Luke Jackson and Jack Lopez.
Berkner’s Andrew Ballard won the boys 200 meter IM narrowly over teammate Dimas Fredrik, who won the 100 meter breaststroke. Robin Sivley of Berkner won the girls 100 meter breaststroke. In the backstroke, Eli Russell of RHS won the boys heat and Nicole Moseley of Lake Highlands won the girls heat.
The Pearce Mustangs competed against a very tough Highland Park swim team with back-and-forth scoring the entire meet. The Lady Mustangs finished the day taking first with the boys finishing second. Swimmers of the meet, Isabela Chien, George Hall and teammate of the meet, Kamil Murugan, helped lead the Mustangs to this victory. Congratulations to all the Wildcats, Eagles, Rams and Mustangs!
On Oct. 18, the Berkner Lady Rams golf team had a phenomenal day at the Tour 18 Classic bringing home impressive wins. Congratulations to Catalina Malott for placing first, to Karen Kim for coming in second and to Victoria Malott for rounding it out with a third-place finish! Way to represent RISD on the golf course! The Lake Highlands varsity golf team competed at the Indian Creek Golf Course tournament on Oct. 17 with Jack Hollingsed’s outstanding performance placing the Wildcats in third place.
Continuing the wins on Tuesday evening, volleyball overtook the leaderboard sending three of RISD’s four teams into the playoffs. Elementary and junior high night at the Pearce Mustangs game resulted in a sweep over Irving as junior setter, Molly Harris, surpassed 1,500 career assists. Across town at Irving MacArthur, the Richardson Eagles dominated in a sweep, pushing them into the playoffs. Senior Brooke Rifkin ended the night with three aces and junior Layla Rakestraw tallied five kills and were pivotal pieces to the playoff push. The Berkner Rams battled Highland Park and ultimately lost in three sets. Lake Highlands Wildcats held senior night and swept Irving Nimitz.
With a restful Wednesday, the Pearce Mustangs and Lake Highlands Wildcats football teams were able to prepare for their battle that was broadcast live on CW33’s High School Football Showdown.
Both teams joined together on the field to honor the officials ahead of the game as part of Texas Officials Appreciation week. The sportsmanship displayed throughout the entire game allowed RISD’s inherent values to truly shine.
The Mustangs came out strong with quarterback Presley Harper throwing a 36-yard touchdown pass to Cade Varner for a 7-0 Pearce lead. The Wildcats come back in the second quarter with quarterback Tripp Holly running it in for a score of 14-10, but not before Pearce goes back in front with Christian Baker following his offensive line into the end zone for a 17-14 lead. Then Lake Highlands scored 31 unanswered points resulting in a 45-17 win for the Wildcats.
On Friday night, RISD’s four volleyball teams went back to the court to keep the wins coming. The Richardson Eagles faced Highland Park, the No. 3 team in the state. The Scots won the first set and RHS kept it close in the second set before the Scots eked out a 25-23 win. Junior Sofia Alexander had a team high of 11 kills and 10 digs for RHS.
Pearce finished second in District 7-6A and will play South Grand Prairie Tuesday, Nov. 1, at Carrollton Newman Smith High School at 6:30 p.m.
Lake Highlands finished third in district and Richardson fourth. The two RISD teams will play Arlington schools in a first round playoff doubleheader at Coppell High School. RHS faces Arlington Martin Tuesday, Nov. 1, at Coppell HS beginning at 5:30 p.m. Lake Highlands will play Arlington High School immediately following the RHS match.
Ending the night for the district, we jump over to Eagle-Mustang Stadium for the Richardson Eagles homecoming game against Irving. Homecoming at Richardson High School begins early in the week with all athletes across the school taking part in the traditional parade. Showcasing their ability to work together off the court and field to create a float that won first place is a friendly, yet competitive way we get to see the artistic side of RHS athletes.
The Eagles offense had a slow start to the game, but gained momentum in the second quarter with a touchdown pass. The defense came up big throughout the game holding the Tigers scoreless heading into halftime. The second half showcased both a dominate offense and defense with an additional touchdown pass and rushing touchdown to shutout the Tigers 21-0 for a major homecoming victory. Notable players of this game include Howard Armstrong and Cam Hight on offense along with Jake Breazeale on defense and Dean Lamendola on special teams. Congratulations on this district win, Eagles!
The RISD cross country teams are heading to Lubbock to compete in the regionals next week. Wishing you all the best, Wildcats, Mustangs and Eagles! #RISDBelieves #RISDGreatness
