Last week was cold, but Killeen ISD’s athletic teams stayed hot. The district basketball standings are one example.
After games played last week –– Jan. 7 and Jan. 10 –– the Chaparral and Ellison girls are 3-0 in District 16-5A, the Shoemaker boys are 4-0 in District 12-6A and the Harker Heights Lady Knights lead the way at 5-1 on the girls side of 12-6A.
Girls
The Lady Knights closed out the first half of district play with a 57-43 road win Jan. 10 at Waco Midway. Making the turn tied for second are the Lady Grey Wolves, who, at 4-2, are responsible for handing Harker Heights its lone 12-6A defeat so far.
The Lady Knights are idle Tuesday, Jan. 14, before opening the second half of district against the Lady Roos, who begin this week at Midway. Shoemaker hosts Copperas Cove on Tuesday and Midway on Friday.
In 16-5A, Ellison and Chaparral –– both of which celebrated 1,000-point scorers in Faith Etienne and Ivy Powell last week –– have cruised to their 3-0 starts and appear on a collision course to determine the first-half leader when they meet Jan. 17.
Before that matchup, the Lady Eagles host Belton and Chaparral goes to Lake Belton on Tuesday.
Boys
Not far off the Grey Wolves’ first-place pace, the Knights have won four in a row to sit second at 4-1. Killeen High, meanwhile, is in fourth after splitting its two games last week.
Killeen next hosts Midway on Tuesday and Harker Heights –– which is idle Tuesday –– on Friday. The Grey Wolves are on the road twice this week, first at Copperas Cove and Midway on Friday.
Friday, Jan. 10, marked opening night in 16-5A for the Ellison and Chaparral boys. The Eagles tipped off their title defense with a key 55-47 home win over Waco University. The Bobcats, who had won 10 straight games, were edged by Belton, 57-50.
Chaparral hosts Lake Belton and Ellison is at Belton on Tuesday before the two KISD squads meet up Friday at Ellison.
Swimming
Killeen ISD’s senior swimmers took their final competitive dip in the Clements Boys and Girls Club pool Saturday and were recognized prior to the Last Splash Invite for their commitment to the sport.
There still is more swimming, though, for those seniors –– Chaparral’s Alexander Perry and Jamarian Hall, Ellison’s Ellison Autumn Rico, Christian Sabino and Elizabeth Kinsey
Harker Heights’ Wonkuk Lee, Matthias Ulch, Carlos Vasquez and Christina Wade, Killeen’s Anthony Helmer and Ryan Barnett, and Shoemaker’s Julian Hankins, Robert Griffin, Andres Valladares, Gabrielle Batts –– and the rest with district meets on the horizon.
The District 22-5A meet, which features Ellison and Chaparral and includes Belton and Lake Belton, is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 24 at Belton ISD’s Roy and Jean Potts Swim Center.
The District 12-6A meet featuring Harker Heights, Killeen and Shoemaker, in addition to Copperas Cove, Hutto, Bryan, Temple and Midway, is slated for Saturday, Jan. 25 at Temple ISD’s James W. Hardin Swim Center.
Soccer
Four KISD boys soccer teams played in the Waco ISD tournament Jan. 10-11 and accumulated a combined 4-3-1 record.
Harker Heights picked up wins over Chaparral, 1-0, and Waco University, 6-0, Chaparral notched a 5-3 win over Waco La Vega, Ellison handled Marlin 5-1, and Killeen tallied a 1-1 draw with Fort Worth Southwest.
While those four were north, Shoemaker went south to the Austin Akins tournament to face more tough competition.
Wrestling
Ana Davis’ victory in the girls 185-pound division Saturday at the Austin Lake Travis Cavalier Classic highlighted a team-title showing for the Harker Heights Lady Knights, who placed seven wrestlers overall on the podium.
Davis clinched her gold with a second-period fall over Cedar Park Vista Ridge’s Kallie Jimmie, and the Lady Knights stored up 142 points to edge Comal Piper for the team championship.
Also making the podium (top six) for the Lady Knights were: Emily Malbrough (100, fourth), Kalani Saria (107, third), Violet Raymond (126, third), Aniya McConico (132, fourth), Layla Williams (165, fourth) and Saniah Ebron (235, third).
That turned out to be just the tip of a successful iceberg for KISD wrestlers at the Cavalier Classic.
Ellison’s Darlah Louis-Charles claimed the 100-pound girls title with a major decision victory over Pieper’s Chloe Segura. Josephine Okribata (120) was fourth for the Lady Eagles.
Also for Ellison, Aodhan Jimenez (113) was third and Benjamin Alvarado (138) fourth in the boys competition.
Harker Heights’ boys had three reach the podium with Brayden Mulcahy (120, fourth),
Leonidas Michelon (126, second) and Geoffrey Anderson (190, fourth), while Shoemaker had Zana Onnally (185, third) on the girls side and Aljon Morales (120, second) and Sheldon Gunnels (285, third) for the boys.
Powerlifting
Killeen traveled Saturday to the Taylor Duck Invitational at which the boys placed fourth as a team and the Lady Roos ninth.
