Winter Season games have been put on hold for the next two weeks due to upcoming Exams – let’s take a look at how All Saints’ Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Soccer, Swimming, and Wrestling teams have fared thus far:
The All Saints’ Men’s Basketball team is young but their improvement has been noticed by all throughout the season. Coming off a tournament championship over Thanksgiving, the team then traveled to Houston for the Houston Christian Tournament to compete against some of the top private and public school competition in the State. Last week, the team traveled to (Dallas) Bishop Lynch High School, where it lost a close game to a strong team from the TAPPS Conference. They ended the week with a home game against THESA. The team will have practices throughout the Christmas Break and will return to the court in game action on Friday, January 9, against Fort Worth Country Day.
Perhaps the biggest improvement in the Athletics Department can be seen with the Varsity Women’s Basketball team. With a young team and new Head Coach, the Women’s Basketball team has seen steady, constant improvement throughout their first six weeks of the season. The team put together their most consistent, solid performance last Friday, Dec. 12, in their game against Harvest Christian. All Saints’ won 40-14 and, again, their improvement throughout the season is on display for everyone to see. The team will practice over Christmas Break with an eye on their upcoming games on Saturday, Jan. 3, and Monday, Jan. 5. The team will then turn its attention to SPC Conference play with hopes of making a run and earning a spot in the SPC Conference Tournament.
All Saints’ Men’s Soccer scheduled some of SPC’s tougher competition for its early season non-conference schedule, and the results have the team excited for this season’s possibilities. Last week, the Men’s Soccer team tied (Dallas) St. Mark’s 2-2 in Dallas in a game that looked like an All Saints’ victory until St. Mark’s earned a late goal to, ultimately, end the game in a tie. On Friday, the team hosted (Arlington) Oakridge and shut out the Owls 2-0 for a resounding win over an always-tough Oakridge team. The team’s results over the two aforementioned SPC schools, along with wins over SPC rivals (Irving) Cistercian Preparatory School and (Fort Worth) Trinity Valley School, have given the team confidence in their abilities to perform well in the upcoming SPC Conference games after Christmas Break.
The All Saints’ Women’s Soccer team is extremely competitive under second-year coach Cassidy Acuff. Coach Acuff is not afraid to show multiple formations, line-ups, and make multiple adjustments throughout a game. The team hosted the All Saints’ Soccer Shootout two weekends ago, a tournament field that included multiple SPC powers, as well as out-of-conference soccer clubs and other TAPPS Conference schools. The exposure to elevated levels of play is exactly what Coach Acuff wanted her team to gain from the tournament, and the team saw more consistent, unified play as the tournament games wore on. They are primed for a run through SPC Conference play, beginning with a game against (Dallas) Hockaday School at All Saints’ on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 6:30pm.
All Saints’ Varsity Wrestling took to the mat for the first time on Dec. 4 and again on Dec. 10. On December 4, the team traveled to Dallas to wrestle against the Episcopal School of Dallas. The team performed extremely well under first-year coach, Greg Duke. Coach Duke noted a lack of conditioning following the first wrestling meet of the year, an issue that was addressed and produced a noticeable improvement for the team’s following meet against (Fort Worth) Arlington Heights High School. The team’s next wrestling meet will be on Friday, January 9, at (Dallas) St. Mark’s at 5:00pm.
All Saints’ Men’s and Women’s Swimming has yet to compete in a swim meet, though they’ve been hard at work with early morning swims and workouts with coach Darold Hubbard. The team’s first chance to compete will be on Saturday, January 3, at the Western Hills Cowtown Shootout. The Men’s Swim team is led by Seniors Will Allen and Luke Bauer, and the Women’s Swim team is led by Seniors Richelle Daniels and twins Emily and Ellie Sullivan.
Finally, even though we are weeks past the conclusion of the Fall Sports Season, six All Saints’ Football student-athletes participated in the Tom Hillary DFW All-Star Classic on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Pennington Field. Seniors James Smat (OL), Ryan Suitt (QB), Josiah Klingenberg (DL), Bodee Lammers (LB), Jonathan Song (K/P), and Grant Gustafson (DS) helped lead the Fort Worth team to victory over the Dallas team 24-7.
In closing, on behalf of the Athletics Department, we are very grateful for the time, dedication, and support provided by all of those involved within the individual sports and programs offered through the All Saints’ Athletics Department. Students, friends, family, and faculty/staff take time out of their days to practice and improve their athletic abilities and provide support to student-athletes and coaches, alike. We appreciate the time and energy that is spent on supporting our sports teams and, with that being said, we wish everyone involved a safe Christmas Holiday.
Be Early. Be Loud. Stay Late. Go Saints! PTF
