Spring Branch ISD
GAMES
RANKINGS
WINTER WRAP: Spartans, Mustangs Earn District Titles
BASKETBALL
THE 2021-2022 HOOPS CAMPAIGN WAS A STRONG ONE FOR SPRING BRANCH ISD.
Stratford’s boys shared the District 17-6A title with Cypress Creek, going 12-2 in district play. Stratford finished 27-6 overall, falling to Mayde Creek in the Area playoffs.
Spring Woods was 15-15 overall, Memorial went 10-25 and Northbrook finished 3-25.
Stratford was buoyed by a breakout season from junior guard Keanu Dawes, who will be one of the top talents to keep an eye on in the Class of 2023. Senior forward Luke Hatcher also enjoyed a stellar season for the Spartans.
On the girls’ side, Memorial had an outstanding year, finishing with a program-best 27 wins. The Mustangs shared the 17-6A title with Cypress Creek, going 13-1 in district play.
The prolific-shooting Mustangs were led by premier talents like junior guard Riley McCloskey, junior forward Abigail Tomaski, sophomore forward Nicki Polocheck, and senior center Giana Vlahakos. Memorial reached the Area round.
Stratford joined Memorial in the playoffs. The Spartans went 14-17 overall, 8-6 in district play, to make the postseason for the first time in seven years.
Stratford finished as an Area playoff finalist after routing Bellaire in its BiDistrict playoff game.
Spring Woods went 7-21 overall and Northbrook finished 9-22.
SWIMMING
SPRING BRANCH ISD SENT A STRONG CONTINGENT OF COMPETITORS TO THE UIL CLASS 6A STATE SWIMMING MEET THIS SPRING.
The district’s stars in Austin were the Memorial boys 200-yard medley relay team and Memorial sophomore Kassidy Kitchel.
The Mustangs’ 200 medley relay finished ninth overall with a time of 1:35.32. The team consisted of senior Luca Burns, sophomore Reid Vandervoort, senior Amaury Jayr and junior Oliver Grossman.
Kitchel finished seventh in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:04.21. She also finished 14th in the 100-yard butterfly with a mark of 56.28 seconds.
Burns also finished 15th in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 50.91 seconds. Memorial’s 400- yard freestyle relay team of Jayr, Grossman, Burns and junior Romain Joubert finished 11th with a time of 3:08.20.
SOCCER
STARTFORD REPRESENTED SPRING BRANCH ISD WELL ON THE PITCH, WINNING THE DISTRICT 17-6A GIRLS TITLE IN DOMINANT FASHION.
Stratford went 13-1 in district play. The Spartans won six consecutive games entering the postseason. Once there, Stratford defeated Westside (12-0), Katy (5-0), Tompkins (3-2) and West Brook (1-1 (4-3 PKs) to advance to the Region III-6A Championship match. Stratford fell to Ridge Point and finished the season 20-4-4.
In 28 matches, the Spartans allowed 18 goals while scoring 77.
Memorial also booked a trip to the playoffs as the No. 3 seed out of 17-6A. The Mustangs went 11-3 in district. Memorial fell to Seven Lakes in the Area Round.
Spring Woods finished its season 8-14 overall, going 4-10 in district play and finished fifth in district. Northbrook went 8-11-3 overall.
On the boys side, Northbrook was the lone Spring Branch ISD representative in the playoffs. The Raiders finished fourth in district, going 6-5-3. They finished 8-10-4 overall.
Memorial, Spring Woods and Stratford all fell short of the playoffs. Memorial went 6-7-8 overall, Spring Woods went 7-10-5 overall and Stratford finished 6-11-4.
POWER MOVE: Julio Becomes First-Ever State Powerlifting Qualifier
WHEN ERIK JULIO FIRST STEPPED ONTO THE NORTHBROOK HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS AS A FRESHMAN, POWERLIFTING WASN’T FIRST ON HIS SPORTS LIST.
It was football. But it ended up not being a fit for Julio.
So, he pivoted and got involved with the powerlifting program in its first season of existence. What he found was a sport that didn’t care about how big or fast you are. It is just about brute strength.
“In powerlifting everyone accepts each other,” Julio said. “Everyone supports each other no matter what. That’s what I started liking about powerlifting, because it was a better community for me.”
Julio’s work for the past three years in powerlifting came to fruition this spring when he stepped into the gym for the Texas High School Powerlifting Association Region 4 Division I Regional Championship in March.
The Northbrook senior, who had made it to Regionals the year before, stepped up big. He squatted 405 pounds, bench pressed 185 pounds and deadlifted 405 pounds, giving him a total weight of 995 pounds. That number in his 123-pound division garnered him the Regional Championship and a trip to the THSPA State Meet.
“I went to Regionals last year and couldn’t get close to the other guys because it was competitive,” Julio said. “But I focused on improving every day and I got to the point to win the Regional Championship, which was a good accomplishment.”
Northbrook powerlifting co-head coach Matt Corwin added: “It was great knowing how hard he works. Anyone who has ever been in the weight room after school knows how hard he works in here, sweating and not complaining. He’s in here for hours after school making sure he hits his numbers. He’s worked very hard for everything he’s accomplished.”
Julio advancing to the State powerlifting meet was a huge deal for the senior on a personal level but also on a school and district-wide level.
He had just become the first powerlifter from Northbrook High School to go to State – even getting a State sendoff with the drumline and cheerleaders through the school halls as he left.
“It shows that you can do the impossible and to never give up throughout the process,” Julio said. “Just keep working hard.”
At the Division I State Meet in Abilene on March 26, Julio lifted 405 in the squat, 205 in the bench press and 410 in the deadlift to give him a total of 1,020 pounds – good for an 11th place finish out of 26 competitors in the 123-pound division. The numbers that Julio posted at State were all season-bests.
With his historic season behind him, Corwin has already seen the positive effect of Julio’s year on the future of the program.
“It’s a huge deal for Northbrook as a school and for Northbrook athletics,” Corwin said. “It’s been great for the sport. I have kids every day asking me about powerlifting. How do I get in? What do I have to do? So, this is great for the future of the sport at Northbrook High School.
“The effects of Erik’s accomplishment’s this year are going to be felt for years down the road.”
Julio added: “Hopefully the powerlifting program keeps improving and gets more guys to Regionals and State.