SCHOOLS & CAMPUS1 Aug 2009: Cy-Fair School News, Info and Sports News

Cy Woods Student Wins Essay Contest - Cypress Woods High School junior Cyrus Iqbal won the grand prize in the 2009 Coca-Cola Share The Dream essay contest.

Cyrus won the contest among a pool of 5,000 entries from the greater Houston and Dallas areas. Students were required to write 500-word essays responding to the theme “Change is inevitable. How will it impact you? More importantly, how will you impact change? ”

Cyrus wrote about the transition of moving from New York to Texas and the struggles that came with adjusting to a new school and setting. He also addressed his hope to become a doctor like his mother and impact change by battling patients ’ diseases.

As the grand prize winner, Cyrus received $2,500, a laptop and two domestic round-trip plane tickets.

Athletes Sign Letters of Intent - Cy-Fair ISD senior athletes signed letters of intent to compete for their respective colleges in 2009-10.

The following athletes signed from Cypress Woods High School: Michael Hays, Angelina College, baseball; Connor Hyde, Hendrix College, baseball; Cody Williams, Alvin College, baseball; Reynaldo Noel, Concordia University, boys’ basketball; Glenn Etienne, Trinity University, football; Kelsey Schad, Houston Baptist University, girls’ soccer; Kristina Cordova, East Texas Baptist University, softball; Danielle Downum, Sterling College, softball; Brandon Bricarell, Gannon University, swimming; and Tyler Williamson, University of Texas at San Antonio, track and field. Jonathan Kauffman from Cy-Fair High School signed with Ouachita Baptist University, boys’ soccer.

Spring Athletes Selected to All-Greater Houston Teams - Three Cy-Fair ISD students were named to the Houston Chronicle’s All-Greater Houston spring teams. Cypress Springs High School graduate Kimberlyn Duncan was named to the All-Greater Houston Girls Track and Field First Team as a sprinter. Kimberlyn, the 5A state champion in the 200-meter dash, was one of 10 female athletes selected to the team.

Cypress Ridge High School graduate Chris Fritts was named to the All-Greater Houston Baseball Second Team as an outfielder. Chris hit .547 for the Rams with 25 RBIs, four home runs and 12 stolen bases. He was named to the All-District 15-5A First Team.

Cypress Creek High School incoming senior Brandi Virgil was named to the All-Greater Houston Softball Second Team as an infielder. Brandi batted .430 with 14 RBIs and stole 28 bases in 2009. She earned a spot on the All-District 15-5A First Team.

Cy Ridge Students Showcase Skills at National Debate Tournament - Cypress Ridge High School students competed at the National Forensic League 2009 National Speech and Debate tournament in Birmingham, Ala. Five students competed in various events at the meet: Brett Gray and Bradley Rheinboldt in Humorous Interpretation; Lario Albarran and Ray Roberts in Duo Interpretation; and Nick Cugini in United States Extemporaneous Speaking.

Competing against more than 200 other United States Extemporaneous Speaking competitors, Nick became the first national NFL finalist from Cy-Fair ISD in more than 10 years and won third place overall. He graduated from Cypress Ridge and will attend Yale University in the fall. In addition, Brett advanced to the top 60 in Humorous Interpretation and was a quarterfinalist in Prose Interpretation.

Softball Players Make All-District Team - District 15-5A softball coaches selected the All-District 15-5A Softball Team following each team ’s conclusion of the 2009 season.

Cypress Woods High School senior Kristina Cordova was named the Most Valuable Player, while Cypress Woods head coach Clif Bond was named Coach of the Year and Cy-Fair High School freshman Paige Murray was named Newcomer of the Year.

The first, second and honorable mention team selections are as follows: First Team All-District – Amber Austin,Cypress Creek, Pitcher; Kat Moreno, Cypress Woods, Pitcher; Laura Driskill, Cy-Fair, Pitcher; Bethany Armstrong, Cy-Fair, Infielder; Cassandra Barefield, Cy-Fair, Infielder; Taylor Munguia, Cypress Ridge, Infielder; Jackie Hernandez, Langham Creek, Infielder; Brittany Upton, Cypress Springs, Infielder; Katie Carrizales, Cypress Falls, Infielder; Rachel Bisceglia, Cypress Woods, Infielder; Tori Treece, Cypress Woods, Infielder; Tori Sheppard, Cypress Creek, Infielder; Erin Duhon, Cypress Creek, Infielder; Taylor Brown, Cypress Springs, Utility; Kayla Irvin, Cypress Creek, Designated Player; Second Team All-District – Hailey Peet, Cy-Fair, Pitcher; Megan Mobley, Jersey Village, Pitcher; Brittany Taylor, Cypress Falls, Pitcher; Jodi Ekster, Cy-Fair, Infielder; Kayla Holland, Cypress Springs, Infielder; Kari Smith, Cypress Falls, Infielder; Megan Selldin, Cypress Creek, Infielder; Shelby Reddington, Cypress Creek, Infielder; Lindsay Carroll, Cypress Springs, Infielder; Jettie Thompson, Cypress Woods, Infielder; Shelby Winters, Cypress Falls, Infielder; Brooke Poorbaugh, Langham Creek, Infielder; Meagan Davlin, Jersey Village, Infielder; Lacey Simmons, Jersey Village, Outfielder; Leslie Buxton, Cy-Fair, Outfielder; Meredith Fair, Cy-Fair, Outfielder; Ashley Linden, Cypress Falls, Outfielder; Kayla Lott, Cypress Creek, Outfielder; Jackie Heffeman, Cypress Creek, Outfielder; Honorable Mention All-District –Lauren Hopkins, Cy-Fair; Tanita Lopez, Cy-Fair; Ashley Marmonttin, Cypress Ridge; Elise Riggs, Cypress Ridge; Kelsey McCabe, Jersey Village; Courtney Ladner, Jersey Village; Andrea Martinez, Cypress Falls; Anna Jagneaux, Cypress Falls; Lauren Van Ness, Langham Creek; and Danielle Downum, Cypress Woods.

Cy-Fair ISD Key Clubs Excel at Texas-Oklahoma District Convention - Forty Key Club members representing four CyFair ISD high schools attended the Texas-Oklahoma District Convention held in Dallas. Cy-Fair, Cypress Falls, Cypress Woods and Cypress Ranch high schools traveled to the convention together and were accompanied by five faculty advisors.

Members attended leadership training sessions learning and sharing community service project ideas with other Key Club members. More than 1,000 Key Club members, representing hundreds of other Key Clubs in Texas and Oklahoma, were in attendance.

The students also entered various competitions at the convention. Shivam Seth, Cy-Fair, and Paige Fincher, Cypress Falls, won first- and second-place trophies, respectively, for the Oratory Contest. Ryan Roberts, Cy-Fair, won the popular Guitar Hero contest.

One of the most highly competitive contests at the convention is the T-O Quiz Bowl with a five-student team from each state battling annually for the coveted trophy. Abbas Mishra, from Cypress Falls, was a contestant on the Texas team which won the competition this year. The Key Clubs from Cypress Falls, Cy-Fair and Cypress Ranch were recognized for their outstanding Web sites. Mathew Dominguez, Cypress Woods, was awarded a $1,000 college scholarship.

At the convention’s closing session, Madhu Govindu, Cy-Fair, was installed as Lt. Governor of Division 3N. In this leadership position, Madhu will oversee the existing Key Clubs in Cy-Fair and Katy ISD and form new clubs. Madhu replaces Mathew Dominguez of Cypress Woods, who held this position during the past school year.

Students Place at Spring Academic Meet - A pair of Cypress Falls High School students and a Cypress Woods High School student placed in the top three at the UIL Spring Academic Meet in Austin.

Cypress Falls seniors Sara Meghji and Saif Kazim placed first and third, respectively, in the Lincoln Douglas Debate competition. Sara and Saif both advanced to the semifinal round, where they were forced to debate one another. Judges gave Sara the win by a 2-1 vote, after which she went on to defeat a student from Clear Lake High School in the final round.

Sara and Saif debated again at the 2009 National Speech and Debate Tournament in Birmingham, Ala.

Cypress Woods junior Sophia Nguyen placed second in the Literary Criticism competition in her second year to advance to state in the event. She missed placing first by only one point on what Literary Criticism coach Traci Underwood called “an extremely challenging test.”