Dragon Sports by Rick Herrin
Carroll Athletics continues to thrive
The 2012–13brschool year marked another year of athletic excellence for the Carroll Dragons,brbut this year there were some new headlines that marked places in the program'sbrlong-standing history. Among the news-making moments include a runner who leftbrher mark in two sports and Carroll Senior High School coming alive at night. Thebrfollowing are the top news-making moments in Dragons sports for the past schoolbryear.
Lady Dragon Front Runner
Senior Courtney Kriegshauser leaves behind a long-distance running legacy atbrCarroll that will be hard to match. The Vanderbilt-bound runner owned thebr1,600-meter event at the UIL State Track and Field meet the past two seasons.brShe repeated as the Class 5A state champion, becoming the school's mostbraccomplished distance runner in the state's highest classification.brKriegshauser leaves as Carroll's record holder in the 1,600-meter (4:49) andbr800-meter (2:13) events and finishes her career with eight state medals frombrtrack and cross-country in her four years.
Under The Lights
For the first time in the history of the school district, the varsity baseballbrand softball teams played under the lights on their home campus. Lights were installedbron the Carroll Senior High School fields, allowing for long-standing day games tobrbe night games and playoff games to be played under the lights. In the past,brthe Lady Dragons played home games in the afternoon at CSHS or at night at BobbrJones Park in Southlake. The Dragon baseball team shifted its start times frombr4 p.m. to 7 p.m. after the lights were installed.
Powerhouse In The Pool
The Dragon swimming and diving dynasty is currently reigning over Class 5A.brCarroll coach Kevin Murphy has led the Dragons to three consecutive state championships,brand the Lady Dragons have won back-to-back titles. The run of dominance hasbrbeen hard to stop for the rest of the state with Carroll's overwhelming talentbrpool. The tradition continued this year with state champions in the boys 400-meterbrfree relay and Jonathan Roberts' individual titles in 200- and 500-meter free.brDiver Bryce Klein concluded his outstanding career with his second state titlebrand a UIL record point total.
Tennis Sets Record For Qualifiers
The most decorated year in Carroll tennis happened this season. The CarrollbrDragon tennis team, led by coach Corey Aldridge, set a record by qualifying twobrdoubles teams and one singles player for the Class 5A state tennis tournamentbrin Austin. Girls singles player Kelley Anderson won the Region I title, andbrEshan Dave and Collin Alexander qualified in boys doubles. Meredith Hope andbrBrittaney McCasin qualified in girls doubles.
Leaders Of The Pack
With highbrexpectations coming off a banner year, the Carroll cross-country teamsbrdelivered under pressure. After winning the Class 5A boys and girls titles thebrprevious year and with many of the top runners returning, Carroll was the statebrfavorite. They met expectations and earned back-to-back state titles behindbranother powerful pack of runners built through intense training and dedication.brThe reward of their hard work will live on in the Carroll Senior High Schoolbrtrophy case and in memories of their amazing two-year run.
Lady Dragons Return To State Tournament
The Carroll LadybrDragon soccer team combined great talent, leadership, star seniors and youthfulbrstandouts. It nearly led to a Class 5A state title. Coach Matt Colvin's teambrfinished as the state runner-up in the team's first return trip to the statebrtournament since winning the state championship in 2008. The team that producedbra school-record 30 victories included multiple college-bound players and thebrschool's all-time leading scorer, Sophie Groff.
See more about Carroll Athletics and its pursuit of the Lone Star Cup
Photo Credit - Rex Teter Photography
Rick Herrin is the Carroll ISD Communications and Marketing Department's Video Webmaster. He also works closely with the athletic department covering events and managing sports news for the district. He is a long-time follower of Dragon athletics and formerly covered Carroll as a sports reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Grapevine Sun.