MUS Sports News

Soccer Battles For Region Title

After having defeated St. Georges, 4-0, in the regional quarterfinals, the MUS varsity soccer team defeated ECS, 1-0, in the semifinals to advance to the championship match of the region tournament on Thursday. Along with the opportunity to play for a region title, the Owls also earned a berth to the state tournament, to be held during the last weekend of May in Murfreesboro.

During the semifinal win, senior Corbin Linebarier scored the lone goal of the game to defeat the Eagles. However, despite the close score, MUS was thoroughly in control much of the game and cruised to the win.

With an amazing fifteen seniors on this year’s squad, MUS comes into the state tournament as one of the most experienced teams around. The Owls definitely have the talent and experience to win state, but they will have to defeat other very talented teams if they expect to bring another title back to Memphis.

MUS takes on CBHS Thursday night, May 18, at 8:00 p.m. in the regional finals at Mike Rose.  In addition to vying for the regional championship, both teams are also trying to improve their seeding for the state tournament.

Tennis Claims Another Region Title

The local competition in the West Region has never presented much of a challenge to the dominant force of the MUS Tennis team. The Owls proved that fact once more this past week as they won their eleventh straight regional title at the Dunavant-Wellford Tennis Center.

The Owls were prepared to play in the Regional Tournament on Monday but were forced to wait two days for their first match because of rain. The weather moved the tournament indoors where the Owls faced St. George’s and prevailed, 4-0. 

Coach Taylor's squad then advanced to the finals where they shut out rival CBHS, 5-0, to claim the title -- again.

Before this victory in the Regional Team Tournament, the Owls got to display their talent in the Regional Individual Tournament last week. 

In singles, junior William Lang dispatched a CBHS foe in the final for a first-place finish. 

And in doubles, the Owls made it an all-MUS final as Watson George and Spencer Heflin won a good match, 6-1 6-4, over Michael Wills and Will Carter.

The Owls now look to the state tournament in Murfreesboro, beginning May 23. MUS will attempt to complete what they are calling the “pseudo-octet," having won seven of the last eight state titles.

Track Team Prepares For Regional Competition

As the varsity track team prepares for the postseason next week, they can now look back on a successful April that ended at the Kenwood Invitational.

This invitational was the last regular-season competition in which teams recorded scores. The Owls took full advantage of the meet to gain momentum going into the postseason. 

The individual performances put up by the Owls in Clarksville met the standards they have been setting all year for themselves. 

Senior Andrew Gordon continued his fine performances in the shot put by throwing another fifty-footer and taking first place.

Also, junior Kimani Shotwell continued to be one of the Owls’ top field athletes, earning another first-place finish in the discus event.

MUS runners also contributed greatly to the team’s victory. 

Junior Ken Haltom ran a 4:26 mile, only one second shy of his season best, and earned first place. 

Additionally, junior Clement Oigbokie won the 400m dash. Then he went on to lead the 4x400m relay team to a first-place finish; the team consisted of Oigbokie, Miles Bryant, Ken Haltom, and Lee Moore.

The Owls will take the momentum from the Kenwood and bring it back home where they now are training for the upcoming Regional Track Meet.

Also, sophomore Sam Goldstein represented MUS in the Regional Decathlon this week. Goldstein finished sixth after all ten events had been completed. 

“I didn’t have my best performances, but it still was good experience,” said the sophomore, who has shown tremendous potential throughout the season.

The Regional Track Meet begins Tuesday, May 16, and ends May 18 at Briarcrest Christian School.

Lax Team Heads to Nashville

The MUS varsity lacrosse team concludes their season this weekend as they head to Nashville to participate in the state tournament. The state includes Tennessee's top four teams: MBA, MUS, Ravenwood, and McCallie, whom the Owls play in the semifinals on Friday night at 6:00 p.m.

So far this year, the Owls (12-6) have battled extremely tough competition and have come out with some key wins.

After having endured four consecutive losses in the middle of the year, three of which were one-goal setbacks, the Owls rebounded and generated some great momentum heading into state by winning their last three games.

Coach Dent's squad dominated during the stretch, defeating University School of Nashville, 20-3; a strong Montgomery Bell Academy team, 10-8; and rival CBHS, 15-11.

Offensively, MUS has been led by senior Doug Boyer, who leads the team in points (goals and assists) and goals. Junior Buck Towner and sophomore Patrick Stewart also are team leaders in points.

Additionally, MUS has gotten impressive help offensively over the last three games by some younger players as well, like sophomores Kent Francis and Conor Bolich.

Defensively, the Owls have played solidly during this stretch as they halted the impressive attack of MBA in an April 22 win.

The Owls have been led by senior Garrott McClintock, who leads the team in loose balls and takeaways.

In addition to McClintock, John Klinke, Boyer, and Towner all have placed consistently and rank high in defensive categories.

Seniors Zach Matthews and Blake Karban, sophomores Scott McClintock and Ben Arnold, and freshman Barry Hillyer also have been solid defenders and place in the top-five of many defensive categories, including faceoffs and intercepts. And Goalie Jason Daniel has also fared very well over the last three games.

MUS hopes to bring back the state title to Memphis and continue their dominance in the state tournament. If MUS defeats McCallie on Friday, they will advance to the finals to take on the winner of Ravenwood-MBA on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

Soccer Wins Two At Germantown Tournament

The MUS soccer team participated in the Germantown Challenge this past weekend at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex. The team went 2-1 in the tournament with wins over Germantown and Pope John Paul II and a loss to Baylor.

MUS lost their first game of the tournament Friday versus Baylor, 3-0, as the Owls could not capitalize offensively and struggled containing the Baylor attack.

But MUS bounced back nicely with two good wins Sunday. In both games, MUS controlled the game throughout and was never seriously threatened.

For the tournament, seniors Brian Evans, Daniel Lansky, and Beau Creson all scored goals for the Owls, who put on an impressive offensive display over the last two games. Juniors Louis Ghawji and Josh Henke also scored for the Owls.

The Owls hit the most important stretch of their season beginning May 9. For seven days, the Owls will compete in the regional tournament and try to claim a berth in the state tournament, which they won back in 2003.

Track Sets Records At Germantown

Last weekend, the MUS varsity track team participated in the Germantown Invitational.  The Owls went into the meet with plenty of momentum, having already won two meets in April.

Both track and field participants had strong performances at the meet. 

In the discus, junior Kimani Shotwell finished first with a throw of over 140 feet, and fellow junior Ian Thomas was only five feet behind him, taking second. 

Andrew Gordon and Allie Folk finished in third and fourth, respectively, in the shot put. 

Other third-place field finishes were achieved by Devin Owens in the triple jump and Sam Goldstein in the pole vault.

The MUS runners had a memorable day at Germantown as two school records were broken. 

The first came when junior Lee Moore ran the 300m hurdles in 38.72 seconds, breaking a long-standing Owls’ record. 

Then, the 4x400m relay team broke that school record by running the full four laps in 3:22.26.  The team was made up of all juniors, including Clement Oigbokie, Miles Bryant, Ken Haltom, and Moore.

At the end of the day, the Owls walked away with second place overall in the invitational. 

This weekend the Owls will be in Clarksville for the Kenwood Invitational.