We welcome you to the Countdown to the 2021 VYPE Awards presented by Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine. Over the next two weeks, we will be unveiling the finalists for the player of the year awards. Team and Coach of the Year awards will be announced LIVE during the Fourth Annual VYPE Awards.
The winners will be honored in a one-hour virtual show on Sunday, June 27 at 6 p.m. on VYPE Houston's website, Twitter account and on the VYPE Texas Facebook page and YouTube Channel! It will be an event to get dressed up for and to tune in to as it will be an evening full of special moments!
Let us get it started! Here are the finalists for Public School Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year!
RUNNER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Sophie Atkinson, Cinco Ranch
Sophie Atkinson Finished 2nd overall in the State Cross Country Race with a time of 16:57.44. Aktinson will be running at the University of Virginia this fall.
RUNNER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Natasja Beijen, The Woodlands
Natasja Beijen finsihed 10th overall at the State Cross Country race with a time of 18:13.50 and helped lead The Woodlands to a 3rd place team finish at State.
RUNNER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Heidi Nielson, Cinco Ranch
Heidi Nielson finished 3rd overall in the State Cross Country Race with a time of 17:38.13. Nielson will be running at the University of Arkansas this fall.
Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine is Houston's leading provider of orthopedic services, from sports medicine to joint replacement. Houston Methodist offers comprehensive diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative services with a high standard of excellence for elite athletes, active adults and student athletes. Houston Methodist serves as the official health care provider for the Houston Texans, Houston Astros, Rice Athletics, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™, Houston Ballet, Houston Symphony and Houston Grand Opera.
HOUSTON – After a tournament in Pensacola, Florida, Rayner Noble knew he had a “scrappy” bunch.
After a come-from-behind run-rule victory over Fort Bend Christian Academy after trailing 9-0 after the first inning, Turner Murdock (’24) knew this team was “different”.
After an 11-5 victory over The Brook Hill School on Thursday afternoon in Arlington, Luke Pettitte (’23) knew this team – the 2022 version of Second Baptist School baseball – were State Champions.
“It feels amazing and sounds amazing,” Pettitte said.
Second Baptist School completed the magical season, capturing the TAPPS Division II State Championship with the six-run win. It was the sixth title in program history and the 32nd overall for Second Baptist School.
“It was early in the year where I saw that we could do some special things,” Noble said.
Every team goes through adversity in a season.
Second Baptist School had to fight its way back from early deficits and fend off injuries throughout the year. One of the biggest ones early was Texas A&M-commit Ty Baker (’23) going down.
Step in Murdock.
“When he went down it was an opportunity for me to step up,” Murdock said. “Everyone stepped up, Leighton Reddy (’22) especially. He’s been an elite closer for us.”
Noble added: “He was huge. When Ty went down and missed almost half the season, Turner just picked up the slack and threw the ball extremely well. He did a great job.”
Being called upon on a big stage wasn’t new for Murdock.
In the fall, the sophomore led the Second Baptist School football team to the TAPPS Division II State Championship game in Waco. In the spring, he’s pitched the baseball team to ultimate glory.
“It’s definitely been a fun year,” Murdock said. “It’s been a lot of big stages. It is preparing me for the future.”
Mid-way through the season, Baker did make a comeback and “bolstered” the pitching staff to make a difference down the stretch. As for the closer, Reddy was on the mound on Thursday when the final out was recorded with a throw across the diamond from Pettitte to first base.
That moment was a “blur” for the Second Baptist School junior. It was a “routine” ground ball that he has fielded hundreds of times in his career. He caught it and then “threw it as hard as I could” to make sure the championship was clinched.
Next, Pettitte threw his glove and hat in the air, rushed the mound, hugged Reddy and was jumping around as his teammates joined in.
The State Championship is special for the Pettitte family. In 2016, when the Eagles last won a baseball crown, older brother Jared, who is now in the Miami Marlins organization, was a part of that team as a senior. His father Andy – a World Series Champion himself – was the pitching coach for that team.
In 2022, Andy was back on the staff with Luke chasing a title.
“It’s pretty cool, especially since my dad was able to be the pitching coach for both of us,” Pettitte said. “He was there right by our side. He went through the thick and thin with us and the ups and downs. It’s pretty cool.”
Noble was a part of that coaching staff in 2016 when Second Baptist School last won it. He was an assistant on the staff led then by current Houston Baptist University baseball coach Lance Berkman.
Since 2012, Noble has been at Second Baptist School, and this was his third year leading the program as the head coach. Winning this title as the lead man in charge is special for the longtime baseball coach.
“It’s always nice when you’re the head coach, there’s some strong satisfaction just knowing what you did throughout the course of the year was good enough and it held up,” Noble said. “Any State Championship is good whether you are the head coach or an assistant coach but it’s really gratifying when you feel like the leadership you provided was enough to get it done.”
Finishing off a season as a State Champion is just a “testament to everyone’s hard work”, Murdock said, and they worked their “tails off” to get here.
In the end, this wasn’t Murdock’s last time to pull on a Second Baptist School jersey. For the seniors though, it was. To send them off as champions – not a better feeling in the world.
“It means a lot to these seniors,” Murdock said. “They’ve been working for the last four years. To finally get one, it’s nice to send them off with a happy ending.”
HOUSTON - It took 48 years for Bay Area Christian to win its first boys team State Championship. It took the Broncos just 12 more months to add a second.
The Bay Area Christian Broncos (28-13) defeated Lake Country Christian 5-3 on Friday afternoon at the University of Texas-Arlington inside Clay Gould Ballpark to capture the program's second-straight State Championship. BACS has now won TAPPS Division III State Championships in 2021 and 2022.
"It is special the fact that we can be No. 1 in the state the entire year coming off a State Championship," BACS baseball coach Kyle Kennedy said. "Everybody is out to beat you. Our guys rose to the occasion, and we were able to win it again. Hats off to them for all that they did. It was a special season."
Adam Atwell was named the player of the game. He finished pitching 5 1/3 innings giving up one run. Atwell hit 3-for-3, one walk, scored a run in the State Championship game for the Broncos. Baylor-signee Jordan Medellin closed out the game for the Broncos on the mound.
There was drama as Lake Country Christian loaded the bases with one out and scored a run on a groundout to cut the lead down to two. With runners at the corners and two outs, Medellin was able induce a groundout to Atwell, who stepped on second base and end the game.
"Amazing, the best way to end our high school careers," Bay Area Christian senior Josh Flory said. "Couldn’t have asked for a better team to do it with. I felt this would happen right after we won last year."
The BACS roster carried a total of 10 seniors on it in 2022.
It was a class that was supposed to graduate at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, but with them advancing to the State Tournament and playing for the State Championship, they will graduate a day later. Now, they will walk the stage with two gold medals.
"For these seniors that helped build this place, I think for us to have sustainability for what we want to do in our program at Bay Area Christian these guys have helped," Kennedy said. "Not just help us go forward and win championships, it helps excel our program to make it a viable program here in League City for really good baseball to be played. Guys being able to go play DI, DII level in college, we're able to do that now.
"It's because of this group that has really helped sustain the program to where we are a viable option for baseball in the Houston-area."
The Broncos defeated Northland Christian 7-5 in the State Semifinal on Thursday night to advance to the State Championships.
Cypress Ridge High School student Derrick Shinette (20) and Cypress Ranch High School student Jason Dennis (72) oversee a camper performing a passing drill during Camp Courage.
Photo by Maria Colmenares, Cypress Falls HS
May 19, 2022—More than 80 CFISD football players from all 12 high schools came together on May 17 to lead the first-ever districtwide skills camp—Camp Courage—for middle school and high school students enrolled in LIFE Skills classes.
The camp began as a campuswide effort at Cypress Falls High School in 2019, when Head Coach Chris Brister borrowed an idea from colleague Chris Massey in Deer Park. Golden Eagle football players led drills for a group of about 15 students enrolled in the LIFE Skills program, which assists students with special needs in learning functional communication and academic skills.
Following a two-year camp hiatus due to the pandemic, Coach Brister suggested to Ray Zepeda, CFISD director of athletics, that all campuses join the effort in 2022.
“He loved the idea of running it as one big CFISD event, and I’m glad we did, because it made the whole thing better,” Brister said.
The other 11 high school football programs dispatched seven players each to escort and encourage the students traveling between drill stations facilitated by Golden Eagle athletes. Campus athletic trainers provided extra water bottles, and parents attended for additional supervision.
To encourage participation, middle school and high school LIFE Skills coordinators reached out to potentially interested students and distributed registration forms. Approximately 80 students initially signed up, and about 40 attended on May 17.
“That allowed us to double up with the chaperones and led to more positive interactions,” Brister said. “The effort our athletes put in was awesome. The best part about was seeing all the football players who try to compete against each other in the fall working side-by-side for a greater cause.”
Malik Slone, a sophomore defensive end for Jersey Village High School, had a positive experience working at Camp Courage. He made a connection with Cypress Falls student Haley Hayes, one of the first campers to arrive early to the event.
“Haley is a very kind and generous person who wasn’t confident at first, but I feel like I helped her create a bigger persona for herself,” Slone said. “Now she’s in a mindset where she can do what she wants to—throw a football, make a tackle, whatever. Camp Courage wasn’t about ourselves, it was about helping others who couldn’t do things we can do. It was about what I learned and what I can do to keep up that experience. I would be the first to volunteer if we did it again.”
Zepeda hopes to see the camp continue to grow in future years.
“Camp Courage is a great example of what makes CFISD and the CFISD community such a special place. We are fortunate to have so many athletes and kids that care for one another,” he said. “I appreciate the leadership of Cy Falls Campus Athletic Coordinator Chris Brister in organizing and spearheading this tremendous community service event. I also am so appreciative of the many athletes and coaches that came out to support and provide a great event for many of our students with special needs. It was evident after just a short time that all kids who participated benefited from working together and having fun collectively as a group of CFISD students.”
(PRESS RELEASE FROM CY-FAIR ISD COMMUNICATIONS)
Photo by Maria Colmenares, Cypress Falls HS
Cypress Springs and Cypress Falls football players look on as Camp Courage participant Miles Burrell, Langham Creek sophomore, drives through a tackling dummy during Camp Courage on May 17
