Mustang News
November and December 2019
Administration
Mustang Talk - Mr. Griffon's Monthly Podcast
Out of the Blue
Click here to check out the December 6th edition of the Out of the Blue FISD newsletter.
Mustang Matters - Know What We Know!
MCS Streaming News
FHS Buzz
Friendswood Education Foundation Hosts Inaugural Student Grant Committees
The Friendswood ISD Education Foundation (FEF) hosted the inaugural Student Grant Committee Meetings on Friday, Nov. 22 where a group of students selected grants to purchase with the funds raised on their campus through FEF’s Mustang Association campaign. The goal was to expand the ways FEF supports FISD by creating a unique learning experience for students.
“I am so proud of our Board for continuously seeking new ways to live out our mission,” FEF Executive Director Ashley Adair said. “It was such a joy to learn from and be inspired by the students that participated.”
The meetings were tailored to each age group and concluded with a vote giving each student a voice and choice in how to invest the funds.
At Friendswood Junior High and Friendswood High School students reflected on several questions about strategic giving such as, Is it better to give $1,000 to 10 organizations or $10,000 to one organization? Students quickly realized that giving away money is not as easy as it sounds and worked together to develop some guiding factors to help them make their grant selections. At the High School, the committee split into three groups to come up with their “pitch” for how to spend the funds. At the end, each individual voted for one of the three pitches to ensure all voices were heard.
FEF Board members attended to help facilitate each meeting. “It was such an incredible experience seeing the grants through kids’ eyes,” FEF Director Leah Direkly said. Another Director, Brandon Kinsey, said he was so impressed with the students who all exemplified the spirit of educational empowerment through giving and servant leadership.
The Foundation has received tremendous feedback from students, parents, and directors that participated. FEF Grant Committee Chair Niki Rhodes said, “This might just be my new favorite FEF activity and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
You can support FEF’s Adopt-A-Grant Campaign by visiting the Foundation’s website at www.FISDFoundation.com and clicking the yellow button to browse this year’s grants.
FHS Veterans Assembly
Recycling Club
CONGRATULATIONS to the AP office, Kevin Reed, Mandy Davies, Ashley Naylor and the Quest Team, Ty Bush, and their fantastic students for capturing FHS Recycling Honors this month! Their bins were overflowing with cans, plastic bottles, and markers - and NO TRASH!
Student Recyclers of the Week are freshman Jessica Nguyen, senior Zeke Bickham, freshman Leah Webb, junior Tyler Cox, and junior Ethan Villareal. These students are an inspiration to us all and valuable members of Team Save-the-World!
In addition, 426 dead markers were sent to Crayola for their ColorCycle program yesterday - that's 426 markers that did NOT go into the trash. Way to go!!
Thank you ALL for participating in yet another year of RECYCLING the FHS way! Together we DO make a difference!
Student Spotlight - Senior Ashlyn Killian
Ashlyn Killian has been a part of the FHS Choir program for the past four years and is currently serving as president of the group. She was honored with the Student Spotlight in November. Read more about her journey from wallflower to leader here.
Safety Update
Counseling
Counseling Center Updates
Career Tech
Friendswood FFA Gulf Coast District LDE Results
Please help us congratulate the following teams for their results at the Gulf Coast District (Area 3) Leadership Development Event!
1st Sr. Creed (Gracie Kempken)
3rd Public Relations (Kiki Hubbard, Rylee Burris, Audrey Westinghouse, and Reagan Pate)
2nd Sr. Quiz (Kiki Hubbard, Maci Mangham, Caden Walsh, and Audrey Westinghouse)
2nd Sr. Chapter Conducting (Rylee Burris, Kiki Hubbard, Audrey Wesinghouse, Caden Walsh, Luke Davis, Caleb Addison, Maci Mangham, and Jana Rudy)
1st Job Interview (Gracie Kempken)
- 11th Radio Broadcasting (Emily Garcia, Emily Pate, and Jadee Kennedy)
- 6th Agricultural Advocacy (Kylie Brown, Alyssa Bob, Caleb Addison, and Drew Brabham)
- 7th Junior Creed (Travis Westinghouse)
Congratulations to all of the Friendswood FFA LDE Teams!!
MCS Students Appear on Great Day Houston
MCS students sat in the audience for Great Day Houston and appeared in several segments aired in December. The students appeared in shots of the audience several times throughout the programs.
MCS Streamathon
MCS would like to thank all the clubs, teams and organizations that participated in our 9th annual Streamathon on this past Friday. It was a very successful night of live, no-script broadcasting. Over the course of the 5 hour broadcast we raised nearly $6,000 - half of which will go to our winner.....CHEER!
On behalf of MCS, thank you for watching and have a great holiday!
Academics
Academic Decathlon Hosts Practice Meet
The FHS AD team hosted their annual November meet with seventeen other teams and 395 students. FHS placed 2nd in the overall team event only trailing Pearland by 138 points. Lebanon Trail from Frisco placed 3rd. The students won 38 individual medals. Megna was high scorer for the meet and Alice Nguyen placed fourth overall and Adam Boehnke placed fifth overall in the competition.
Coaches are Adam Brown, Renae Simons, and Elizabeth Woodley.
War Museum
The students worked for six weeks learning about wars throughout American history. With the information they learned, they creating interesting and interactive exhibits to teach different themes across all wars.
Friendswood AD Places 3rd at Pearland Meet
Medal Count:
Math- 2
Music-3
Economics-1
Science-4
Lang/Lit-5
Art-5
Social Science-6
Congratulations to these awesome young people!
Fine Arts
Marching Band Finishes 6th at UIL State Contest!
The FHS Marching Band finished 6th at the UIL State contest this year. The State competition is held every two years and these students had a great run. This was the 10th consecutive time to be at the contest and our 7th time as a finalist. We are so proud of these musicians!
The marching band is under the direction of: Greg Dick, Brett Nelson, Julia Sanchez, Stephanie Chavez, and Angie Puebla.
Speech and Debate - Clear Brook Results
The Speech and Debate Team participated in the Clear Brook Speech tournament and did a great job! Of the 22 participants FHS had competing,19 made it past the preliminary level. Our results are as follows:
Speech Events:
Elaina Moss- 4th place in Poetry
Husnain Ali- 7th place in Domestic Extemp
Michael Priebe- tied for 9th in Domestic Extemp
Austin Tran- tied for 9th in Foreign Extemp
Kostas North- tied for 9th in Foreign Extemp
Liliana Molis- tied for 9th in Foreign Extemp
Emma Heintz- tied for 9th in Foreign Extemp
Meghan Flanaghan- 1st place in Novice Extemp
Laura Nguyen-5th place Novice Extemp
John Richardson-6th place Novice Extemp
Grace Bilnoski- tied for 9th in Novice Extemp
Matthew Wilson- tied for 9th in Novice Extemp
Ava Bourg- tied for 9th in Novice Extemp
Madelynn Lamon- tied for 9th in Novice Extemp
Kayla Molina- tied for 9th in Novice Extemp
Rachel Barrett- tied for 9th in Novice Extemp
Liliana Molis-2nd place in Varsity Impromptu
Austin Tran-4th place in Varsity Impromptu
Kostas North-tied for 7th in Varsity Impromptu
Emma Heintz-tied for 7th in Varsity Impromptu
Husnain Ali-tied for 7th in Varsity Impromptu
Thomas Basciano-tied for 7th in Varsity Impromptu
Meghan Flanaghan- 1st in Novice Impromptu
Sophie Kester-2nd in Novice Impromptu
Grace Bilnoski- 4th in Novice Impromptu
Grace Etzel-5th in Novice Impromptu
Ava Bourg-6th in Novice Impromptu
Madelynn Lamon- tied for 7th in Novice Impromptu
Matthew Wilson- tied for 7th in Novice Impromptu
Kayla Molina- tied for 7th in Novice Impromptu
John Richardson- tied for 7th in Novice Impromptu
Husnain Ali- tied for 7th in Informative
Grace Bilnoski- tied for 7th in Informative
Ava Bourg- tied for 7th in Oratory
Sophie Kester- tied for 7th in Oratory
Debate Events:
Austin Tran- 2nd in Varsity Lincoln Douglas
Grace Bilnoski- tied for 5th in Novice Lincoln Douglas
Grace Etzel-tied for 5th in Novice Lincoln Douglas
Emma Heintz- 1st overall Speaker in Policy Debate
Emma Heintz-Kostas North- tied for 5th in Policy Debate
Sophie Kester-Sebastian Garcia- tied for 5th in Policy Debate
Friendswood Theatre Selected to Perform at State Convention 2019
Texas Thespians is one of the largest chapters in the nation of the Educational Theatre Association which sponsors the International Thespian Society. As an educational honor society, Texas Thespians is dedicated to honoring excellence in theater by encouraging and improving the skills of theatre students and their educators throughout the state of Texas.
FHS submitted their recent original production, White Noise for consideration to Texas Thespians through video and photos. FHS Theatre students wrote and edited this Spoken Word performance piece that explores the issues facing their generation as they approach 2020. Like any art, spoken word has the power to move us, to stretch our ideas and give voice to life's experience. The student's goal in creating and performing White Noise, as in any play - is to tell their story. White Noise is an original Spoken Word performance written by the ensemble as the technical theatre students contribute still images, video and music express what the life of high school student feels like as we approach 2020.
FHS Thespian Officers: Taylor Greny, Eric Jensen, Margaret Otto, Taylor Campbell and Olivia Beken
FHS Students Performing at the State Festival:
Lauren Ballard, Olivia Beken, Ashley Campbell. Taylor Campbell, Rylee Dever, Meg Dodson, Chase Donovan, Emma Ferro, Dean Galloway, Soleil Gignac, Taylor Greny, Hayden Hobbs, Keana Jazdyk, Eric Jensen, Luke Johnstone, Balint Kidd, Thomas Massey, Maris Morgan, Margaret Otto, Tara Ryan, Skylynn Smith, Nelson Thornton, Logan Tunnel, Emily Vu and Gabby Weakley
The festival was November 21-23 at the Gaylord Texan Convention Center in Grapevine Texas. The other Texas schools selected to perform on the Mainstage were: Grand Prairie High School, Coppell High School, Sachse High School and Tomball High School.
Theatre - National Qualifiers
Friendswood High School Theatre is happy to announce the results of the Texas Thespian State Festival Competition.
Our National Qualifiers are:
• Eric Jensen – Superior in Solo Acting/ National Qualifier
• Lauren Ballard and Emily Vu Superior in Duo – Musical Dance
• Taylor Campbell – Superior in Solo Musical Song/National Qualifier
• Taylor Greny – Superior in Solo Musical Song/National Qualifier
• Rylee Dever – Finalist in Make up Design/National Qualifier – Perfect Score
• Gabby Weakley – Superior in Technical Theatrical Design/National Qualifier
• Margaret Otto – Superior in Stage Management/National Qualifier
• Keana Jazdyk – Superior in Technical Theatre/National Qualifier
• Soleil Gignac – Superior in Theatrical Set Design
Nationals are held in June 2020.
Earning Excellent Ratings from Troupe 1084
Troupe Display for Troupe 1084
• Meg Dodson – Excellent in Short Film
• Chase Donovan – Excellent in Duo Acting
• Emma Ferro – Excellent in Group Acting
• Hayden Hobbs – Excellent in Group Acting
• Dean Galloway – Excellent in Group Acting
• Luke Johnstone – Excellent in Group Acting
• Balint Kidd – Excellent in Group Acting
• Thomas Massey – Excellent in Group Acting
• Maris Morgan – Excellent in Group Acting
• Tara Ryan – Excellent in Group Acting
• Skylynn Smith – Excellent in Group Acting
• Nelson Thornton – Excellent in Duo Acting
• Logan Tunnel – Excellent in Group Acting
• Olivia Beken – Excellent in Group Acting
• Ashley Campbell – Excellent in Group Acting
Improv Team of: Eric Jensen, Taylor Cambell and Taylor Greny, Logan Tunne, Chase Donovan, Nelson Thornton competed in the prelim rounds of the Improvisation challenge.
The Tech Team Challenge Team competed at the prelim rounds: Meg Dodson, Soleil Gignac, Gabby Weakely, Keana Jazdyk, James Nelson and Margaret Otto.
All students performed WHITE NOISE and received an overwhelming response after their performance and talk back session. White Noise did not compete for a national slot but has been asked to consider entering the play marathon at Nationals in June. White Noise continues to move audiences.
Kathy Powdrell is the FHS Head Theatre Director.
Katy Taylor Speech and Debate Results
Speech Events:
Meghan Flanagan- 2nd in Novice Extemp
Matthew Wilson- tied for 9th in Novice Extemp
Ava Bourg- tied for 9th in Novice Extemp
Rachel Barrett- tied for 9th in Novice Extemp
Grace Bilnoski- tied for 9th in Novice Extemp
Emma Heintz-4th in Impromptu
Meghan Flanagan-5th in Impromptu
Christine Chacko-7th in Impromptu
Kostas North- tied for 9th in Impromptu
Grace Bilnoski- tied for 9th in Impromptu
Sophie Kester- tied for 9th in Impromptu
Jacob Miller- tied for 9th in Impromptu
Austin Tran- tied for 9th in Impromptu
Thomas Basciano-tied for 9th in Impromptu
Husnain Ali-tied for 7th in Informative
Grace Bilnoski-tied for 7th in Informative
Christine Chacko-tied for 7th in Informative
Debate Events:
Emma Heintz and Kostas North-tied for 5th in Policy Debate
Julian Gonzalez and Thomas Basciano- tied for 5th in Policy Debate
Kayla Molina- tied for 5th in Novice Lincoln Douglas
Austin Tran-tied for 9th place Varsity Lincoln Douglas
UIL Student Congress Regionals
Three FHS students competed in the UIL 5A Student Congress Regional Tournament. We had the following results:
LIliana Molis placed 1st
Julian Gonzalez placed 3rd.
Both advanced to the 5A State Tournament in Austin, TX in January.
Region Orchestra Success
Connor Gibson, 1st chair clarinet
Eric Li, 2nd chair clarinet
Connor Thurman, 3rd chair trumpet
9th Grade Region Band Success
Students earning positions were:
Flute - Soobim Lim
Bb Clarinet - Sean Bocek, Sophia Bocek, Adam Schafer, Grayson Farese, Mohamad Moussaoui, Ella Schaefer, James Jewson
Bass Clarinet - Noah Garcia
Bassoon - Hugh Vo
Alto Sax - Chris Lancaster
Tenor Sax - Matt Dupuis
Baritone Sax - Dawson Jeannes
French Horn - Will Mons, Josiah Strickland, Ethan Montalvo
Euphonium - Matt Delany
Tuba - Alex Lichter
Percussion - Skylar Cloyd, Emma Boek
Congratulations to these outstanding musicians!!
Region Band Results
The FHS Band competed in the TMEA Region 17 Band auditions at Alvin HS. Students were chosen for the District Band, Region Band, and Area who will audition the All-State Band on January 11 at Clements HS. Friendswood had 57 in District, out of those, 46 made Region Band, and out of those 29 Advanced to Area auditions for the All-State Band. Congratulations to these outstanding musicians!!
Earning District Honors were: Lindsay Kilgo, Emily Confair, on Oboe; Hugh Vo on Bassoon; Abigail Dare on Bb Clarinet; Becky Brown on Trumpet; Kayla Huhn, Katie Smith, Nick Cipolla on French Horn; Logan Thurman on Trombone; Alex Lichter on Tuba; Jonathan Gao on Percussion
Earning District and Region Honors were: Lauren Andrews, Sooin Lim on Flute; Audrey Weakley on English Horn; Nicole McGill on Bassoon; Sanbrina Chen, Blake Carlisle, Mohamad Moussaoui, Ella Schaefer, Adam Shaffer, Grayson Farese on Bb Clarinet; Madalyn Gray on Bass Clarinet; Brandon Pisell, Justin Ouyang, Michael Nguyen on Alto Saxophone; Emily Hernandez, Adam Boehnke on Trumpet; Skyler Cloyd, Daniel Chen, Jaiden Patel, Jason Thomas on Percussion
Earning District, Region, Area Honors were: Megan Pruitt on Piccolo; Harmony Fries on Flute; Lindsay Kilgo, Emily Confair on Oboe; Andrew Zehrer, Nicole Huning on Bassoon; Faith Perry on Eb Clarinet; Eric Li, Connor Gibson, Sean Bocek, Nicole Litzinger, Brandon Medearis, Sophia Bocek, Bailey Cloyd, Nick Polak, Laura Genzer on Bb Clarinet; Sia Ramchandran on Bass Clarinet; JC Chahal on Contra-Bass Clarinet; Shannon McGill, Mateo Sharp on Alto Saxophone; Mitchell Litvinov on Tenor Saxohone; Connor Thurman on Trumpet; Katherine Ratliff, Logan Kunkel, Kayla Huhn on French Horn; Joel Estes, Dawson Miller on Trombone; Enrique Castillo on Bass Trombone; Chris Keeble on Euphonium.
Tanvi Gupta Wins Grand Prize in Art Contest!
Huge Congratulations to Tanvi Gupta for winning the Grand Prize in the Independent Insurance Agents of Houston Fire Prevention Art Contest! Schools all over the Houston Area, K-12th grade, entered the competition.
Tanvi has won a cash prize for herself and the FHS Art department. This billboard will also be up throughout Houston. We are so proud of her continued success!
FHS Choir - Pre-Area Audition Results
Nearly 100 FHS singers began the process of learning music for the Region/All-State process six months ago. Early December marked the third audition out of four, and we are proud to announce that six students will be representing our school at the Area ("All-State") audition on January 11th. Congratulations to the following singers:
Soprano 1: Brooke Humlicek (3)
Alto 2: Kacie Bridwell (2), Ashlyn Killian (4)
Bass 1: Philip Lu (1), Zachary Sharp (2), Jeremiah Stubblefield (4)
Alternates are Allie Bishop (Soprano 1), Katie Rodriguez-Keklak (Alto 1), Ashley Adams (Alto 2), Ross Hall (Tenor 1)
Speech and Debate - Clear Springs Results
The Speech and Debate Team competed in the Clear Springs Tournament this past weekend. We had a great showing with several competitors placing in competition. The team also earned 3rd place in Sweepstakes!
The individual results are as follows:
Debate Events:
Alex Gomersall-2nd place in Novice Lincoln Douglas
Grace Bilnoski-3rd place in Novice Lincoln Douglas
Grace Etzel- tied for 5th in Novice Lincoln Douglas
Vijay Chaudhari-tied for 5th in Varsity Lincoln Douglas
Madelynn Lamon and Julian Gonzalez- tied for 5th in Policy Debate
Liliana Molis-Finalist in Student Congress
Speech Events:
Taylor Campbell-1st place in Varsity Impromptu
Liliana Molis-2nd place in Varsity Impromptu
Meghan Flanagan-2nd place in Novice Impromptu
Sophie Kester-3rd place in Novice Impromptu
Madelynn Lamon-4th place in Novice Impromptu
Jack Richardson-5th place in Novice Impromptu
Taylor Campbell-3rd in Dramatic Interp
Taylor Campbell-2nd place in Prose
Taylor Campbell-6th place in Poetry
Sophie Kester-6th place in Oratory
Ava Bourg-tied for 7th in Oratory
Liliana Molis-6th place in Foreign Extemp
Vijay Chaudhari-tied for 7th in Foreign Extemp
Austin Tran-tied for 7th in Foreign Extemp
Marshall Prince-tied for 7th in Domestic Extemp
Meghan Flanagan-tied for 7th in Domestic Extemp
Madelynn Lamon-2nd place in Novice Extemp
Ava Bourg-4th in Novice Extemp
Lisa Adolf- 5th in Novice Extemp
Christine Chacko-tied for 7th in Novice Extemp
Husnain Ali- 6th place in Informative
Christine Chacko-tied for 7th in Informative
Austin Tran-tied for 7th in Informative
Jacob Miller-tied for 7th in Informative
Liliana Molis-tied for 7th in Informative
Athletics
FHS Volleyball - Lady Mustangs Make It To State Tournament!
The playoff push started with a win in the Bi-District round of the playoffs in three vs Dayton. The momentum continued with the FHS Varsity volleyball team winning the Area round of the playoffs in three vs Foster. The girls then won the Regional quarterfinal round of the playoffs in four vs Shadow Creek advance to the regional tournament. The team won the Regional Semifinal round of the playoffs four vs Rouse to advance to the regional finals vs another local powerhouse Manvel for a spot at the State Tournament.
The Lady Mustangs secured their state berth by defeating Manvel in the Regional tournament in four sets to advance to the STATE TOURNAMENT. Although the girls played hard, they were defeated by Lucas Lovejoy in the State Semifinal game.
Coach Paulk states that "this season has been about perseverance and these girls have worked so hard since last November to get to this point. We are so proud of every single one of them!" Way to go girls!!
Varsity Football Playoffs
Friendswood High School Signing Day
On Nov. 12, five Friendswood High School seniors signed their letters of intent on National Signing Day.
Amelia Hammerle signed a letter of intent to play soccer for Colorado State University. She was named FHS Soccer Rookie of the Year, District 24-6A Goalkeeper MVP, Houston Chronicle Greater Houston Area Second Team, First Team All-County, First Team All-Region and even played in. scrimmage with the Houston Dash Pro Team during the summer of 2017. Hammerle is also involved with Student Council, Habitat for Humanity Club, National Honor Society, National English Honor Society and NASA High School Aerospace Scholars. Hammerle was joined at the signing by her parents Jennifer and Kurt Hammerle, and exchange student Laura Bernardes.
Olivia Theall signed a letter of intent to swim for Texas A&M University. She was a State-qualifier her freshman, sophomore and junior years; a three-time All-American; a six-time State-medalist; a three-time record holder; District athlete of the meet in 2018-2019; and 2018 Region athlete of the week. Theall is also involved with choir and formerly ran track and cross-country for three years. Theall was joined at the signing by her parents Anne and Jeff Theall; aunt and uncle Carol and Mike Stuart; cousins Carly, Brady and Hanna Stuart; and swim coaches John Little, Craig Sikkema and Monika Whitsett.
Makensy Manbeck signed a letter of intent to play volleyball for Houston Baptist University. Her honors include District Offensive MVP, Houston Chronicle Girls Athlete of the Week, TGCA 5A All-State, TAVC 5A All-State, TSWA 5A All-State, and named to the All-American watch list. Manbeck is also involved in the Mustang Athletic Leadership Council and FHS Yearbook. Manbeck was joined by her parents Mark and Wendy Manbeck, brother JT, grandparents Linda and Tom Long, and coaches Marco Majstorovic, Marco Meoni, Jerry Linch, Ryan Davies, Shayna Sauers, Sarah Paulk, Megan Holmes, and Tiffany Thomas.
Tori Weatherley signed a letter of intent to play volleyball for Gardner-Webb University. Her honors include Bay Area Player of the Year, Galveston County Setter of the Year, Houston Chronicle Girls Athlete of the Week, named to the All-American watch list, and finished second in the State for assists in 5A. Weatherley is also involved in the National Honor Society. Weatherley was joined by her parents Stephen and Sandra Weatherley, brother T.J., and coaches Marco Majstorovic, Marco Meoni, Jerry Linch, Ryan Davies, Shayna Sauers, Sarah Paulk, Megan Holmes, and Tiffany Thomas.
Maura Mitchell signed a letter of intent to play tennis for Methodist University. Her accolades include Girls Tennis MVP 2017-2019, District Champion 2019, second-place in Regionals in 2019, and fifth-place in State in 2019. Mitchell is also involved with USTA tennis and the National Charity League. Mitchell was joined at the signing by her parents Amy and Keith Mitchell, sister Ellie, and coach David Cook.
Swim Team Hosts First Sikkema Splash Meet
The Friendswood Mustang Swim and Dive Team hosted the first annual Sikkema Splash Meet on November 13, 2019. The Mustangs competed against Westside High School and Galena Park North. The Friendswood Mustang girls won the meet with 196 points and the Mustang Boys placed second with 110 points. Two records were broken at the meet. Diver Gabe Costa broke the pool record scoring 269.55 points and in swimming Max Hardt broke the pool and team record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:37.51. Listed below are the top three place finishers for the Mustangs in each event.
Girls 100 Yard Medley Relay 1st place Lezli Sisung, Peyton Becker, Olivia Theall and Abigail Nelson
Boys 100 Yard Medley Relay 1st place Trey Gurry, Max Hardt, Todd Sisung and Nathan Haney
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle 1st place Leah Givens and 3rd place Alex Linden
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1st place Olivia Theall
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1st Lezli Sisung and 2nd place Peyton Becker
Boys 50 Yard Freestyle: 1st Nathan Haney
Girl’s 1 mtr Diving: 1st Caitlin Williams
Boys 1 mtr Diving: 1st Gabe Costa * (new pool record) and 2nd place Andrew McMichael
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1st place Olivia Theall and 2nd place Abigail Nelson
Boys 100 Yard Butterfly: 3rd place Todd Sisung
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1st Place Bella Allen and 3rd Place Anna McHenry
Boys 100 Yard Freestyle: 2nd place Nathan Haney
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1st place Peyton Becker and 3rd place Alex Linden
Boys 500 Yard Freestyle: 1st place Max Hardt* (new pool & team record)
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1st Lezli Sisung, Alex Linden, Peyton Becker, Leah Givens, 3rd place Riley Holcomb, Hallie Ratcliff, Emily Camacho, Bella Allen
Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 2nd Trey Gurry, Ethan Long, Slade Ray, Nathan Haney
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1st Lezli Sisung, 2nd place Abigail Nelson and 3rdBella Allen
Boys 100 Yard Backstroke: 1st Todd Sisung
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1st place Leah Givens and 3rd place Riley Holcomb
Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1st place Max Hardt and 3rd place Chayton Budzik
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1st place- Leah Givens, Alex Linden, Abigail Nelson, Olivia Theall; 2nd place Emily Camacho, Riley Holcomb, Mara White, Anna McHenry and 3rd place Nicki Hansen, Dani Shavlan, Mady Blok, Bridget Barcelo
Craig Sikkema is the Head Swim Coach at FHS.
Boys Basketball Season Opener Against Pearland
The Boys Basketball season officially got underway with the boys going over to Pearland to take on the Oilers. Coach Marburger officially kicked off his first full season as Head Coach. Both teams were very familiar with each other, having played twice in fall leagues/shootouts in the last two months. Friendswood got its first points of the season on a Luke Lipetska bucket early in the first. With the opening jitters, both teams came out sluggish early. After the first couple of minutes, the teams were able to settle down, and put some points on the board. The game was tied at 14 at the end of the 1st quarter. The second quarter featured a tightly contested defensive battle with Pearland limiting the Mustangs to 4 points. At the break, the Oilers carried a 21-18 lead.
In the third, the Mustangs outscored the Oilers by 4, and took a 31-30 lead heading into the final frame. The final quarter was not very kind to the Mustangs, as Pearland started the quarter with a 9-0 run. For those that don’t know, when Pearland gets a lead, they pull the ball out and try to run the clock as much as possible. With the Mustangs trailing and unable to get the buckets needed, the Oilers were able to escape with a 48-40 win to open the season. Luke Lipetska (Jr.) and Hudson Bockart (Sr.) led the Mustangs in scoring with nine each.
The Freshman A, Sophomore, and JV teams all fought hard, but ultimately came up short. B Team cruised to an easy opening night win.
Caleb Marburger is the FHS Head Varsity Coach.
Wrestling Tri-Meet
The Mustang Wrestling team had their first meet of the year in late November. This year the Mustangs have a little different look - for the first time in history the Mustangs have enough girls to fill enough weight classes to be able to compete as a team. That's right we have a girls wrestling team in Friendswood!
The mustangs wrestled Terry H.S. and Clear Lake High School at the meet. The girls tied Terry 18 - 18 in their first team meet ever with the following notable results:
- Bailey Jarvis wrestled her first varsity match ever and won by pin.
- Dora Martinez picked up where she left off, winning by pin
- Carolyn Rodriguez picked up her first varsity win with a pin.
Next the girls faced Clear Lake H.S. where they recorded their first team win in Mustang history with a score of 30-6 with the following notable results:
- Elena Ellyson winning her first varsity match by pin
- Dora Martinez won by pin.
The boys came out strong defeating Terry H.S. by a score of 36-18 and defeating Clear Lake by a score of 33-30 with the following notable results:
- Joseph Price picked up his first varsity win by pin.
- Oscar Martinez started strong by picking up two wins by pin.
- The top male wrestle goes to Ryan Ammodt for two outstanding performance winning both by pin.
Varsity Boys Basketball Defeats Pasadena HS in Double OT!
On Dec. 3rd, the Mustangs played against the Pasadena HS Eagles. The Varsity came in with an (0-3) record on the young season, and the boys were looking to get that elusive first win. Any hope for a fast start from the Coach Marburger and staff was gone, after the Mustangs started off the game with sloppy and poor play. After the first quarter, the Mustangs trailed 20-10. The proverbial struggle bus continued into the second quarter, which saw the Eagles stretch the lead to as high as 13. After cranking up the pressure in the last minute, the Mustangs were able to go into the half down 9 after Austin Petrovics (13 pts.) scored on a last second layup.
The Mustangs came out in the second half on fire! Led by Hudson Bockart (20 pts.), the Mustangs were able to roar back and take a 39-36 lead heading into the fourth. We will bypass the first 7:30 of the fourth, and after a missed FT up 1, Pasadena was able to get a quick transition bucket to go up 1 with 20 seconds left. After the Mustangs missed a 3, they quickly fouled. Pasadena went 1 for 2 from the line, the Mustangs scored on another last second shot from Hudson Bockart to send the game to OT.
Fast forward to the final seconds of the first overtime, the Mustangs were able to get a huge 3 from Will Bauer to tie the game with 4 seconds left. Fast forward again to the final 40 seconds of the second OT, with the Mustangs down 3, Chris Morrison (Jr.) hit a pull up jumper to pull the Mustangs within 1 with 40 seconds left. After a FT game, the Mustangs trailed by 1, until a bucket from Cole Kelly (Jr.) put the Mustangs ahead for the final time! Savion Skeete (Sr.) cleared the boards with 15 rebounds.
All sub-varsities had dominating victories over the Eagles.
The game was reported by Casey Devers, the Friendswood Boys Basketball Varsity Assistant Coach.
Swim and Dive - Senior Farewell Meet
The Mustang Swim and Dive team competed against Clear Lake High School in the traditional Senior Farewell meet. 14 seniors on the FHS team are graduating this year.
The Mustangs girls team placed first with 170 points vs. 135 points for Clear Lake High School. The Mustang boys team placed second with 117 points. The meet had several new records set starting off with the Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay. The team of Lezli Sisung, Peyton Becker, Olivia Theall and Abigail Nelson set a new pool and team record with a time of 1:46.27 in the event. In the Girls 200 Yard Freestyle, Leah Givens set a new team and pool record time of 1:53.75. In the Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke event, Olivia Theall set a new team and pool record with a time of 1:04.20. Below are the top three Mustang finishes in event order.
Follow the team on twitter @fhsswimdive.
Girl’s 200 Yard Medley Relay
• 1st place – Lezli Sisung, Peyton Becker, Olivia Theall, Abigail Nelson *- New Pool & Team Record
• 3rd place – Hallie Ratcliff, Anna McHenry, Mara White, Bella Allen
Boy’s 200 Yard Medley Relay
• 2nd place – Trey Gurry, Max Hardt, Todd Sisung, Slade Ray
Girl’s 200 Yard Freestyle
• 1st place- Leah Givens *- New Pool & Team Record
• 2nd place- Alex Linden
Girl’s 200 Yard Individual Medley
• 2nd place- Riley Holcomb
Boy’s 200 Yard Individual Medley
• 1st place- Max Hardt
Girl’s 50 Yard Freestyle
• 2nd place- Bella Allen
Boy’s 50 Yard Freestyle
• 1st place- Nathan Haney
• 3rd place- Slade Ray
Boys Diving
• 2nd place- Gabe Costa
• 3rd place- Andrew McMichael
Girl’s 100 Yard Butterfly
• 1st place- Abigail Nelson
Boy’s 100 Yard Butterfly
• 1st place- Todd Sisung
• 3rd place- Ryan Flick
Girl’s 100 Yard Freestyle
• 1st place- Leah Givens
Boys 100 Yard Freestyle
• 1st place- Nathan Haney
• 3rd place- Slade Ray
Girl’s 500 Yard Freestyle
• 1st place – Alex Linden
• 3rd place- Hanna Stuart
Girl’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
• 1st place – Lezli Sisung, Peyton Becker, Abigail Nelson, Olivia Theall
• 3rd place- Riley Holcomb, Anna McHenry, Mady Blok, Bella Allen
Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
• 3rd place- Todd Sisung, Ryan Flick, Daniel Morgan, Chayton Budzik
Girl’s 100 Yard Backstroke
• 1st place Lezli Sisung
• 2nd place – Peyton Becker
Boy’s 100 Yard Backstroke
• 2nd place- Todd Sisung
Girl’s 100 Yard Breastroke
• 1st place – Olivia Theall *New Pool and Team Record
• 3rd place- Anna McHenry
Boy’s 100 Yard Breastroke
• 2nd place- Max Hardt
• 3rd place- Chayton Budzik
Girl’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
• 1st place – Lezli Sisung, Abigail Nelson, Leah Givens, Olivia Theall
• 3rd place- Emily Camacho, Hallie Ratcliff, Anna McHenry, Alex Linden
Boy’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
• 1st place- Trey Gurry, Ethan Long, Slade Ray, Max Hardt
FHS Wrestling Hosts "Battle in the Wood" Meet
Mustang wrestling teams hosted the Battle in the Wood team dual tournament the first weekend of December.
Both boys and girls teams competed hard. With a few gaps in the lineups due to some injuries, both boys and girls teams finished 3rd in team points which was solid.
For the girls:
- Bailey Jarvis improved her season record to 3-1 with two pins on the day
- Dora Martiez added 3 pins to her record
- Kalya Molina added 3 wins
- Rachel Barret added 2 wins
- Elena Ellyson added 2 wins.
- Carolyn Rodiriguez added 1 win
For having our first girls team in mustang history, it is very impressive how these ladies are coming along in a new sport most have never tried. FHS competed against two teams that have had great girl's programs for awhile and are always competitive. We tied one and beat the other, it was outstanding!
For the boys:
- Lauro Pino had an outstanding day racking up three wins and wrestling up a weight class to earn one them.
- Joshua Price added 3 wins to his record.
- Jeremy Price picked up his first win ever
- Zachary Aune added 3 wins.
- Oscar Martinez added 2 both by pin
- Ashton King won 2 matches in his first matches ever
- Ryan Aamodt added 3 wins
Congratulations to all of these wrestlers!
Boys Golf Finishes 3rd at Pearland Tournament
Girls Varsity Golf
The Girls team also competed in a tournament at Golfcrest. The team finished 3rd place overall. Heidi Demel shot a 79 to finish 4th and Hannah Johnston shot an 81 to finish 7th. This wraps up our fall season on a positive note!
Boys Basketball Takes Down Brook 48-43!
On Decebmer 10th, the boys took the long trip down FM 2351 to take on the Wolverines from Clear Brook. The boys, winners of 4 out of the last 5, took on a Brook team who has played extremely well to start the season. The entire game was a back and forth battle, that never featured either team taking a commanding lead. In the first, seniors Austin Petrovics, Gracen McGregor, and Will Bauer (2) each had 3's to start the game. At the end of 1, the Mustangs and Wolverines were tied at 13. The second quarter didn't feature a whole lot of scoring, and the Mustangs trailed 21-20 entering the break. Fun fact, only 1 bucket in the first half was from 2 point range for the Mustangs, the rest were either 3's or ft's.
The third quarter featured the Mustangs getting some good stops and timely buckets to regain the lead. Cole Kelly (Jr.) was able to give the Mustangs a boost going into the fourth, after getting a breakaway dunk to put the Mustangs up 31-28 heading into the final frame. The Mustangs had a 36-33 lead, when after a scrum for the ball, the Wolverines were whistled for a technical foul. Caden Cannon (Jr.) came off the bench and nailed the two FT's (for those that have been to a game, we have struggled at the line all year) to extend the lead 38-33. Gracen McGregor (Sr.) was able to lead the Mustangs to victory with his tough play and clutch FT's down the stretch. Coach Marburger stated after the game, "clearing the defensive glass, making our FT's, and limiting their downhill drives would be the key to bringing home the victory". The Mustangs did just that and improved to a 5-4 record.
The B Team was able to secure a solid win, while the JV, Soph's, and A team all fought hard, but ultimately came up short.
Follow @FwoodBoysBball on Twitter updates.
Mustangs Swim & Dive Holiday Splash Results
The Mustang Swim & Dive Holiday Splash took place this past weekend and the Mustang Girls’ Swim Team suffered their first loss of the season. The Mustang girls placed 2nd with 120 points team against the top girls’ team Clear Creek, scoring 161.5 points. The Mustang Boys placed 5th with 52.5 points with the top boy team being Clear Falls who won with 149.5 points.
Below are the top 3 finishers for the Mustangs girls and boys in the event order:
Girl’s 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1st Place – Team of Abigail Nelson, Peyton Becker, Olivia Theall, Leah Givens
Girl’s 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1st Place – Leah Givens
Girl’s 1 Meter diving: 1st place – Caitlin Williams
Boy’s 1 Meter diving: 1st place- Gabe Costa, 3rd place – Andrew McMichael
Girl’s 100 Yard Freestyle: 2nd place – Olivia Theall
Girl’s 500 Yard Freestyle: 1st place – Alex Linden
Girl’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1st place – Team of Peyton Becker, Leah Givens, Abigail Nelson, Olivia Theall
Girl’s 100 Yard Backstroke: 1st place- Abigail Nelson
Boy’s 100 Yard Backstroke: 3rd place- Todd Sisung
Girl’s 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1st place – Peyton Becker
Girl’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1st place – Team of Abigail Nelson, Peyton Becker, Leah Givens, Olivia Theall
Craig Sikkema is the FHS Head Swim Coach.
Mustang Wrestling Teams Update
Over the past weekend your Mustang Wrestling teams competed in two different team tournaments.
Friday we traveled to New Waverly where the Boy's team finished 3rd. At the tournament freshman Joseph Price at 106 lbs won 4 matches along with Senior Ryan Ammodt.
Saturday we traveled to College Station where the highlight of the day was the Girls team. The girls won their Pool which placed them in the championship round against Waller who always has a strong girls team. The girls battled an outstanding dual match winning matches they should not have. Freshman Rachel Barret stepped up by pinning her girl to close the gap. Freshman Ellena Ellyson did not win but played a big part in not getting pinned helping us keep the score close. Emila Martinez stepped up in the final second to pin her girl to bring the score even closer.
Unfortunately, the girls took second place. They missed winning the tournament by one match. Good news this is the highest place a Friendswood girls team has ever done! These girls are truly the first full team we have ever had and they are doing great in a sport that is not historically the norm for girls.
Mustangs Boys Basketball BEAT Creek 48-47!
The Mustangs welcomed former district foe to Walter Wilson Field House,. The Clear Creek Wildcats came into 77546 looking to build on an impressive start on this young season. Our boys got the game started with a 6-0 run, but somehow the rim got smaller, and Creek took a 12-9 lead heading into the second quarter. In the second, the Mustangs outscored the Wildcats 16-14 to head into the halftime break down 26-25.
Jerome Scott (Sr.) (8 Pts.) provided a huge spark off the bench with a layup and three in the second quarter, to keep the Mustangs close. After missing a couple early buckets, Cole Kelly (Jr.) came to life in the third providing the spark the Mustangs needed to outscore the Wildcats 17-11 in the frame. The Mustangs were able to take a 42-37 heading to the final period. In the final 8 minutes, the Mustangs stretched the lead to as much as 7, but let it slip away and trailed by 1 with a couple minutes remaining. A baseline layup by Savion Skeete (Sr.) (14pts.), put the Mustangs up for good with 1:47 left. In true Mustang fashion, we missed FT's in the final minute and survived a last second three from Creek, to escape with a 48-47 WIN!
With the win, the Mustangs are now 8-6 on the season, and face a strong Strake Jesuit team on the road Friday. After Strake, we will be in the Pasadena tournament two days after Christmas, and will start our district with defending champion Texas City on Jan. 3.
FHS Soccer "Kicks" Off Season Over Winter Break
Sub of the Month
Thank You Lee Norbraten!
We would like to thank Mr. Lee Norbraten for all of his work with our students. When asked about Mr. Norbraten Mrs. Nickerson said,"He is the BEST sub at FHS! He goes above and beyond with every class he subs for. He knows and loves our kids like they are his own. I have missed many classes this year to see my son play college football and Lee was my sub each and every time. Lee knows each student by name and gets to know them as a person. To prepare for the day he works out every worksheet and is able to teach and answer questions for students in my math classes. He is like a magical unicorn! "
Thank you Mr. Norbraten for going above and beyond for our teachers and students!