The Clark Cougar boys varsity soccer team stays on top of the Express News soccer rankings this week.  The Cougars are currently 2-0-1 with last week’s game against the brandies bronchitees resulting in the lone mark against the Clark district record. Johnny Lawson had the single Clark goal in that game that ended 1-1.

You can see them in action today against the John Jays @ Northside.

Go COOGS!

Niko takes his turn at hero

Looking to stay ahead of Stevens in the playoff seedings, the Clark Cougars varsity basketball team stepped up, defeating the Falcons 57-56.  Niko Maxwell’s final shot of the game sealed the victory.  The Cougars currently stand in 3rd place in a competitive District 27-5A with a 9-3 record and 19-8 overall.

Read more about this crucial win from Lorne Chan and the Express News.

Way to go, boys!

The wife of former Clark assistant football and baseball coach, Tony Sledge, passed away this week in San Antonio. Jenifer Sledge, 27,  died on Thursday afternoon following a lifelong battle with Cystic Fibrosis. Funeral services are scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 3:00 at the Gruene United Methodist Church in New Braunfels.  More details here.

Coach Sledge was with Clark Athletics for 3 years before taking a job as an assistant football coach at New Braunfels Canyon High School in 2010.

Hunter with parents Eunice and John

Congratulations to Clark Cougar varsity baseball senior Hunter McFall who signed a letter of intent to play baseball for Midland Junior College beginning this fall. Hunter, who played JV his Freshman year, has started every game of his varsity career since he was a sophomore as an outfielder.  Last season he earned unanimous All District honors.

At his signing, Hunter thanked his parents, team and coaches for their support.  Clark Head Coach Aldo Velazquez told the team, “Hunter has worked very hard since joining Clark Baseball and proves that with hard work and dedication your dreams can come true and you can play baseball in college”.

Congratulations Hunter on a job well done and way to represent Clark!

Clark Seniors lead team to 2nd and 3rd place wins

The Clark Cougars endured a very long day on Saturday January 22nd and succeeded in bringing home a lot of top places!  From warm-ups that began at 7:30 am until the last finals race,  which began at 8:25 pm,  Clark held strong with their eyes on the prize.
The Clark women’s squad, comprised of only 12 members,  combined sheer guts, persistence and stamina to bring home the District 3rd place award.
Clark men, who outnumber the women  2:1,  had  depth in all  strokes and races but faced an onslaught of very talented  O’Connor, Marshall and brandies men.  The Men’s squad left the pool that night with a well earned  2nd place District 27-5A trophy.
Top finalists from Districts are back in the water  this week  preparing for  UIL  Region  VII-5A   on Feb. 4th and 5th  at the Josh Davis Natatorium.  Prelims begin at 9:30am on Friday the 4th and Finals begin at 9:30am on Saturday the 5th.

-S. Ogden

Emily Socks it to them

Clark divers Emily Socks, Tyler Momberger and Alex Peacock demonstrated their talents last Friday at the 27-5A Diving Championships. Area judges awarded scores for each of the 9 dives that all Northside divers executed successfully.
Emily captured 4th place in the Womens’ division, Tyler walked away with 5th place Mens’ honors and Alex did extraordinarily well as a first time, freshman diver at a large Championship meet.

Great work, Cougars!

-S. Ogden

Cougars Win

The Clark boys basketball team took care of business against Jay tonight, winning 59-44. Leading all scorers was Ansley Benjamin with 17 points. Niko Maxwell added 13 and Adam Perez had 10 points for the Cougars. The win keeps Clark in second place in district play – a half game ahead of Warren. Clark faces Warren in a showdown next Tuesday.

The Clark girls found the going a bit tougher against the #1 ranked Jay Mustangs, losing 69-48. Melanie Schwartz scored 15 for the Cougars followed by Sam Beimer with 7 and Hannah Gulley and Kristen Lye with 6 each.

The Clark boys basketball team notched another victory in the second half of their district season this week, beating brandeis 58-46.  Jacob Palacios led all scorers with 15 points, followed by Ansley Benjamin with 13 and Adam Perez with 10.  The Cougars are 7-2 in district play.

Meanwhile, the Clark girls lost a close one in overtime to the broncos by a score of 61-59. Donna Matthews led the Clark scoring with 16 and Hannah Gulley added 10. The Cougars take on the challenge of the tough Jay Mustangs on Friday.

GO GET ‘EM COOGS!

Clark Swimmers and Divers 2010-11

The Clark Cougars  take to the pool at 9:15 AM on Saturday, January  22nd  for  27-5A  District Championships.
The preliminary races run from 9:15  to approx.  noon  or 12:30 pm  at the Block  Natatorium  (410 and Culebra.)

Finals  begin  at  6 pm,  also at the Block pool.  Clark fans coming out to watch, and we hope there are many,  should arrive well before 6 pm to  secure a seat on deck.

This Friday evening,  Clark divers take to the boards for District Diving Champs.   Clark  has a unique opportunity this year, as we have accomplished male and female divers who have been scoring well this season.   Their points  from the  6 pm  competition (Block pool on Jan. 21st)  will be added to the swimmer’s points on Saturday.

In addition to some amazing individual swims,  Clark fans can expect  6  exciting relay  races.  The Mens’ and  Womens’  200 free, 400 free and  200 medley relays  will be ready for challenges brought by  O’Connor, Brandeis and Marshall.
The relay competition within  the District this year is very tight.    Come out and cheer us on this weekend!

The #1 ranked Clark boys soccer team opened district play with a 2-0 victory over Taft at Farris Stadium on Tuesday. This followed a strong showing in the highly competitive Klein Showcase over the weekend. The Cougars faced nationally recognized teams and they returned to San Antonio with one win, one tie and one loss – before the Taft victory. One of the bright spots in tourney play was forward Johnny Lawson, who garnered “Player of the Week” recognition from the Express News for his showing.

Lawson also scored one of the goals in the Taft game, along with fellow senior Oscar Barboza.

The Clark girls team didn’t open the district season as well. They dropped their game against Taft 4-0, but the Cougars did enjoy a good weekend in the Houston area Kingwood Tournament where they compiled a 2-1-1 record against some good competition there.

More tournament appearances await the teams this weekend with a trip to New Braunfels for the girls and to Boerne Champion for the boys.