MUS Sports News

Owl Swimmers Finish Strong at State

Led by Coach Laurie Clark, the Aquatic Owls returned Saturday evening from the Tennessee State High School Swimming Championships in Nashville, ending an incredible 53-9 regular season. State swim team members included seniors Geer Alexander, Jamie Drinan, and John Harkess; juniors Tyler Beard, Austin Chu, and Gatlin Hardin; and sophomores Kevin Wang and Hank Wynn.

The 400 freestyle relay team of Alexander, Drinan, Harkess, and Wang recorded not only personal best times individually for each swimmer, but also a personal best time for the relay. The time of 3:59.49 was more than 10 seconds faster than the 4:09.74 recorded at the county meet .

The 200 freestyle relay team of Harkess, Wynn, Alexander, and Drinan also posted best personal times for team members individually, and a best time for the relay. Shaving more than five full seconds off the season best time, the relay team had a time of 1:44.25.

The 200 medley relay team, consisting of Beard, Chu, Drinan, and Wang, also swam well, posting a 2:07.02.

Individual qualifiers from MUS at the state level included Drinan in the 50 freestyle and Chu in the 200 individual medley events.

The swim team this year, with double the participants from last year, also included juniors Sam Buckner, Gordon Conaway, Sean Curran, Andrew Dillon, Joseph Robinson, and Nicholas Vincent; sophomores Jonathan Barnes, Josh Evensky, Drew Fleming, Tommy Horton, Sashank Karri, Ben Katz, Jonathan Lunati, Cody Mayer, Warner Russell, Parth Sheth, Aaron Struminger, and Jon-Michael Tayler; freshman Collier Calandruccio, Jim Carter, Taylor Maury, and Dex Witte; and 8th grader Erim Sarinoglu.

They had a great season this year and look forward to next year.

Owls Ready for Postseason

The varsity basketball team finished the regular season with two victories as they prepared for the region tournament, starting this week on Saturday.

Following last Friday night's 47-44 loss at Briarcrest, a game in which the Owls trailed most of the game, MUS came back with a home victory against St. Benedict's and a road win to close out the regular season over Bishop Byrne.

Against the Saints, Phillip Reed's 15 points and Ryan Baum's 9 points were not enough to upend Briarcrest. The Owls shot only 38.1% in the loss.

However, MUS came back at home last Tuesday against the Eagles.

The Owls led the whole game to defeat SBA 50-42. Reed once again led MUS with 16 points, while Andrew Hanover added 13. The win moved MUS to 5-5 in the league and solidified the #3 seed in next week's tournament.

MUS finished the regular season last night at Bishop Byrne.

Once again, the Owls led the entire game to take the 48-38 win. Baum had 23 points, while John Phillips added 8 points and 10 rebounds. MUS held Byrne to only 25% shooting in route to the win.

MUS (16-11) plays Catholic at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday in the first round of the region tournament. The winner faces Bishop Byrne, the #2 seed in the small-school division, next Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. The admission to the tournament is $5.

Owls' Momentum Stopped by ECS

After having won two vital district games in the last ten days, the varsity basketball team had positioned themselves to make a run at the regular-season district title and top-seed in the region tournament.

MUS had played two solid games, defeating CBHS 54-53 and Harding 66-62, and had been playing pretty good basketball headed into the tilt against league-leading ECS Tuesday night.

However, the Eagles pounded the Owls from the outset and cruised to a 53-33 victory to maintain its district lead.

MUS began their two-game streak with a one-point road win against CBHS, their 15th win out of the last 17 games in the series.

Ryan Baum led the Owls in scoring with 23, while Philip Blackett added 8 points. However, this see-saw affair was not decided until a Baum basket in the final 10 seconds off of an inbounds pass from John Phillips.

MUS continued their good play last Friday night on Homecoming against Harding.

The Owls jumped on the Lions early and maintained a 27-14 halftime lead on 52.4% shooting in the first half. Yet Harding fought back in the second half as they turned up the defensive pressure and began to turn the Owls over more frequently.

The Lions finally pulled even and forced overtime.

With a standing, cheering crowd packed into the Ross M. Lynn, the Owls were in trouble in the first overtime. But a Baum three-pointer in the last seconds saved MUS and sent the game to a second overtime period.

After not having decided the game in a second extra period, the game went to a third overtime, and the Owls eventually prevailed. Baum finished with a season-high 32 points and added 11 rebounds, while Blackett and Philip Reed each added 10 points. The win moved MUS within one game of league-leading ECS.

However, the Owls could not take advantage of their position against the Eagles.

ECS made 10 of their 11 second-quarter shots to put the game out of reach. The Owls never threatened after having fallen behind at the break 36-15.

MUS shot only 27% from the field for the game, and 14 turnovers hurt as well. Baum tallied 18 points, but the Owls never got any offensive flow, taking quick, bad shots and not getting any offense off of their defense. The loss moved the Owls to 14-10, 4-4 in league play.

MUS has an opportunity to redeem themselves this Friday night at Briarcrest. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Aquatic Owls Get Second at County

The         varsity swimming team took another step to becoming a dominant program         in West Tennessee by placing second at last Saturday's county meet held         at St. George's. 

The Owls tabulated 506 team points to finish 44         points behind county champion CBHS. Here is the complete list of         competing teams and final point totals:

 

                                                                                

CBHS                 MUS                 Houston                 White Station                 Germantown                 Collierville                 Cordova                 ECS                 Bartlett                 St. Benedict                 Briarcrest                 Bolton

550               506               403               358               296               242               203               183               184               124                 75                 28

       

  

St. Georges and Lausanne had no one with         qualifying times.

 

Scoring points for the team included the following         Owls:

 

                                                                         

200                 Medley Relay:                                 200 Freestyle:                 50 Backstroke:                                 200 Individual Medley:                 50 Freestyle:                                 50 Breaststroke:                 100 Butterfly:                 100 Freestyle:                 500 Freestyle:                 200 Freestyle Relay:                 50 Butterfly:                 100 Backstroke:                                 100 Individual Medley:                 100 Breaststoke:                 400 Freestyle Relay:

6th -                 Austin Chu, Parth Sheth, Jamie Drinan, and Gordon                        Conaway                 5th - Kevin Wang, 6th - John Harkess, 10th - Dex Witte                 4th - Erim Sarinoglu, 10th - Drew Fleming, 14th - Tommy                        Horton                 5th - Austin Chu, 7th - Cody Mayer                 6th - Jamie Drinan, 12th - Sam Buckner, 13th - Gordon                        Conaway                 4th - Hank Wynn, 8th - Gatlin Hardin, 9th - Nicholas Vincent                 7th - Aaron Struminger, 9th - Joseph Robinson                 11th - John Harkess, 12th - Geer Alexander                 5th - Kevin Wang, 9th - Aaron Struminger, 11th - Dex Witte                 5th - Geer Alexander, Hank Wynn, Sam Buckner, Tyler Beard                 4th - Jamie Drinan, 8th - Gatlin Hardin, 9th - Joseph Robinson                 8th - Drew Fleming, 10th - Tommy Horton, 16th - Jonathan                        Lunati                 6th - Tyler Beard, 9th - Sam Buckner, 10th - Geer Alexander                 6th - Austin Chu, 7th - Hank Wynn, 11th - Nicholas Vincent                 5th - John Harkess, Jamie Drinan, Aaron Struminger, Kevin                        Wang

       

 

The highest scoring MUS swimmers were Jamie Drinan         with a 4th in the 50 butterfly, Hank Wynn with a 4th in the 50         breaststroke, and Erim Sarinoglu with a 4th in the 50 backstroke. The         lack of first-place finishes again shows how much of a team effort the         overall second-place finish was. In addition, almost everyone posted         personal best times, and all the relays scored higher than they were         seeded.

 

Coach Laurie Clark was very pleased with the         team's performance and is looking forward to next year.

 

"It was a great meet, and next year we are         going after CBHS," said Clark after the meet.

 

The Owls will be attend the State Championships         February 22 and 23 in Nashville. Jamie Drinan will represent MUS in the         50 Freestyle, and Austin Chu will represent MUS in the 200 Individual         Medley. MUS will also send three relay teams.

Swimmers Win Last Regular-Season Meet

The MUS Aquatic Owls tallied 79 points and won their last swim meet of the regular season last night at St. George's with a ten-point victory over Germantown. Collierville came in third with 66 points, while Bartlett, ECS, and White Station followed.

This win gives the Owls great momentum headed into the county meet, taking place Saturday, February 8, at 10 a.m. at St. George's. The state meet will follow two weeks later in Nashville.

Owls Split as Road Woes Continue

The varsity basketball team split their two games last week, winning at home on Tuesday against Briarcrest 63-34 but losing last Friday at St. Benedict 53-43.

MUS jumped out early on the Saints and never looked back as they outscored the visitors 41-21 in the second half to get the easy win. Ten players scored in the game, led by Ryan Baum's 20 points and John Phillips' 13. The Owls shot 50% from the field for the game and made all 11 of their free throws to get the region win.

However, MUS could not maintain the momentum at St. Benedict.

The Eagles got the early lead and then spread the Owls out to control the MUS defensive aggressiveness. SBA put shooters in the corners in their halfcourt sets and then used penetration to pull in the defense and allow their shooters to get open. And the Eagles did not disappoint as they made 8-19 from the three-point line to keep MUS at bay.

The Owls still were in the game midway through the fourth quarter at 42-37. However, a Ryan Baum foul and ensuing technical foul ended his night, and SBA went on an 8-0 run to salt away their first region win.

Baum led MUS in scoring as he got 18 points before fouling out. Philip Reed added 9 points, but Ed Nienaber's 16 points was too much for the Owls. With the loss MUS falls to 12-9, 2-3 in the region.

Homecoming week has arrived at MUS this week as two games are scheduled. Tuesday night the Owls travel to CBHS while Harding comes to the Ross M. Lynn Arena on Friday night. Both games will tip at 7:30 p.m.

Owls Rely on Teamwork as County Meet Nears

With several swimmers out sick, the varsity swimming team had to rearrange the heat sheet and put some swimmers in events they had not competed in before; but the Owls pulled together and competed strongly, finishing second in the latest meet, only 7 points behind Houston.

Austin Chu scored the only first-place finish for MUS, winning the 500 freestyle; however, the Owls again scored the maximum three places in every event except the 100 backstroke where we scored in two positions.

Other top 8 finishers included the following:

Austin Chu	2nd (100 breaststroke)
Jamie Drinan	3rd (100 freestyle) and 6th (50 butterfly)
Tyler Beard	3rd (100 individual medley)
Hank Wynn	3rd (100 breaststroke) and 8th (50 butterfly)
Tommy Horton	3rd (100 backstroke)
Aaron Struminger	3rd (500 freestyle) and 4th (100 individual medley)
John Harkess	4th (100 freestyle) and 5th (500 freestyle)
Gatlin Hardin	5th (100 breaststroke) and 7th (50 butterfly)
Gordon Conaway	5th (100 freestyle)
Drew Fleming	5th (100 backstroke)
Sam Buckner	6th (100 individual medley)
Beard, Harkess, Conaway, and Drinan	3rd (400 Freestyle Relay)

The last regular-season meet will be Monday, February 4, at St. George's at 6:30. Other teams involved include Germantown, ECS, Collierville, White Station, and Bartlett.

The County Championships will take place Saturday, February 8, at St. George's starting at 10:00 a.m.