Latest news with #Mustangs'
Chicago Tribune
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Sophia Zepeda pitches like the ace Mundelein needs her to be. ‘I saw my potential.' Now she's reaching it.
Mundelein senior pitcher Sophia Zepeda's run of bad luck appears to be behind her. Zepeda, who pitched sparingly behind then-sophomore Shae Johnson during the Mustangs' run to fourth place in Class 4A last year, was anointed the ace of the staff after an injury sidelined Johnson for this entire season But Zepeda, a College of Lake County commit, then suffered back-to-back injuries that forced her to sit out some games. 'It was frustrating because I reinjured myself the very first game back and missed five or six games,' she said. 'I knew I had to be ready when I came back and thought it would be difficult after a few weeks off. It was good to rest my body.' Zepeda, who returned in early May, certainly was on her game Friday. She didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning to lead fourth-seeded Mundelein to a 6-0 victory over fifth-seeded Libertyville in the 4A Buffalo Grove regional championship game. Zepeda (8-4) struck out 18, walked five and surrendered just two hits in seven shutout innings for the Mustangs (22-10), who advance to the Stevenson Sectional semifinals to play another North Suburban Conference rival, the top-seeded host Patriots, at 2 p.m. Wednesday. 'Sophia has always been ready to step in and do what she can do for the team, so this year she knew she would get more of the pitching responsibility with Shae out with her injury,' Mundelein coach Heather Ryan said. 'She's such a tough, resilient, hardworking kid. She had some injuries but did a great job rehabbing and getting ready for the playoffs. 'She brought the heat today, and her pitching was really hitting. She hit her spots.' Zepeda struck out five over the final two innings and finished her stellar performance by snaring a hard-hit hopper and throwing to first base for the last out. She struck out 16 against Buffalo Grove in the regional semifinals and has 164 strikeouts in 103 1/3 innings this season. 'I threw a lot of rise balls, and that was working in our semifinal game as well,' Zepeda said. 'That's what I've been working on every day.' Zepeda, who also plays volleyball and basketball, was impressive in relief in the third-place game last year. She said she then prepared in the offseason to be the Mustangs' No. 1 pitcher. 'The state experience was really good for me because I saw my potential and how good I can be,' she said. 'That really drove me in the offseason. I just lit up the offseason and went to the cages and threw a lot.' The Wildcats (23-9) split the season series with the Mustangs but failed to get a hit on Friday until junior Taylor Higham, who took the loss after pitching six-plus innings, ended Zepeda's bid for a no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth. Libertyville junior Maddy Kleemann followed with a single up the middle, but Zepeda escaped a two-out, bases-loaded jam with a strikeout. '(Zepeda) dominated us and pitched great, and they made all the plays defensively,' Libertyville coach Dar Townsend said. Mundelein senior first baseman Claire Connelly, an Indiana State recruit who holds multiple program records, said Zepeda has proved she's a gamer. 'Not pitching much last season, she has stepped up and come back stronger after her injuries,' Connelly said. 'She's become a more dominant pitcher and always stays composed. I don't think she missed a pitch today. She was nonstop and didn't take a pitch off.' Mundelein freshman catcher Sarah Benes agreed that Zepeda is rounding into elite form. 'She hit her spots today,' Benes said. 'She was strong and hasn't missed anything since her injury.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wildorado boys, Spearman girls turn in strong showings at UIL state golf, other results
The high school golf season has come to an end in the Lone Star State. The 2025 campaign concluded over the past two weeks, with girls and boys teams from around the state competing in the Austin area. A number of teams from the Texas Panhandle had solid showings, but one came away with the team title. Advertisement Wildorado won the Class 1A boys UIL Golf championship with a team score of 337 strokes, beating runner-up D'Hanis by 10 strokes to secure the program's first state title. The Mustangs' team was comprised of Hunter Corman, who earned second place in the individual standings, Cash Flowers, Drew Ratliff, Will Vance and Brayden Sides. Corman earned second place after he and Texline's Bo Bradley both finished their round in 74 strokes. Due to weather, each competitor in the Class 1A boys tournament only played 18 holes. Bradley was awarded the individual state title after shooting a lower score on the back-nine holes, which was the event's tie breaker. Aside from Wildorado, Randall's boys team and Spearman's girls teams also had solid showings at the state golf tournament. Randall placed fourth in Class 4A, led by Jackson Lankford, while Spearman, led by Izzabella Slover, finished second in Class 2A. Advertisement See how every Texas Panhandle golfer performed at the state tournament below. More: UIL State Track: Which Amarillo-area athletes left Austin with a medal? More: Panhandle girls claim UIL State Track team championship with record-setting performance More: Four Randall girls soccer players honored on UIL state All-Tournament team after title Class 1A BOYS Team standings: 1. Wildorado, 337 strokes; 2. D'Hanis, 347; 3. Abbott, 352; 4. May, 362; 5. Robert Lee, 366; 6. Blum, 368; T7. Brookeland, 371; T7. Springlake-Earth, 371; 9. Jayton, 372; 10. Iredell, 382; 11. Roscoe Highland, 385; 12. White Deer, 396. Advertisement Individual results: Bo Bradley, Wildorado, 74 strokes (winner); Hunter Corman, Wildorado, 74 (runner-up); Chase Nelson, Booker, 82; Drew Ratliff, Wildorado, 86; Froylan Agundiz, Springlake-Earth, 86; Will Vance, Wildorado, 87; Ethan Mosqueda, Springlake-Earth, 89; Brayden Sides, Wildorado, 90; Tyler Tanaro, Springlake-Earth, 91; Cash Flowers, Wildorado, 93; Foster Black, White Deer, 94; Caynden Mynear, White Deer, 97; Isaac Lanham, White Deer, 102; Braxton Brown, White Deer, 103; Jacob Alvarez, Springlake-Earth, 105; Cason Powell, White Deer, 111. GIRLS Team standings: 1. Garden City, 774 strokes; 2. Utopia, 788; 3. Lenorah Grady, 790; 4. D'Hanis, 815; 5. Crowell, 827; 6. McMullen County, 835; 7. Veribest, 838; 8. Sulphur Bluff, 872; 9. Lazbuddie, 898; 10. Happy, 912; 11. Neches Highland, 923; 12. Henrietta Midway, 960. Individual results: Neely Davis, Kelton, 194 strokes; Bree Reinart, Happy, 214; Kamreigh Bender, Happy, 218; Ennah Mosqueda, Springlake-Earth, 235; Abby McCreary, Happy, 239; Bela Ramirez, Happy, 242; Scout Atwood, Happy 247. Class 2A BOYS Individual results: Cooper Nichols, Farwell, 72; Braddock Foster, Farwell, 74; Jake Houska, Wheeler, 81. Advertisement GIRLS Team standings: 1. Mason, 664; 2. Spearman, 736; 3. Sonora, 739; 4. Wink, 740; T5. Crawford, 773; T5. Weimar, 773; 7. Cisco, 789; 8. Shiner, 827; 9. Hamilton, 851; 10. Mart, 899; 11. Latexo, 909; 12. Gladewater Union Grove, 961. Individual results: Izzabella Slover, Spearman, 166; Allie Duncan, Wellington, 175; Jaslene Baca, Spearman, 185; Acey Womble, Spearman, 187; Tessa Holton, Spearman, 198; Morgan Earle, Spearman, 221. Class 3A GIRLS Team standings: 1. Odessa Compass Academy, 664; 2. Sweetwater, 691; 3. Gunter, 693; 4. Maypearl, 702; 5. Corpus Christi London, 708; 6. Bushland, 724; 7. Vanderbilt Industrial, 763; 8. Columbus, 772; 9. Callisburg, 788; 10. Cameron Yoe, 799; 11. Atlanta, 816; 12. Elkhart, 835. Advertisement Individual results: Avary Brookshire, Bushland, 173; Ava Permenter, Bushland, 181; Ariana Marcos, Bushland, 184; Anaston Tabor, Bushland, 186; Ella Grice, Bushland, 206. Class 4A BOYS Team standings: 1. Bridgeport, 590; 2. Andrews, 617; 3. Mabank, 624; 4. Randall, 626; 5. China Spring, 632; 6. Fredericksburg, 637; 7. Comal Davenport, 643; 8. Sulphur Springs, 649; 9. Hardin-Jefferson, 650; 10. Longview Pine Tree, 651; 11. Corpus Christi Calallen, 653; 12. Bullard, 685. Individual results: Jackson Lankford, Randall, 147; Madden Myers, Randall, 149; Braeden Brandt, Randall, 164; Jarett McDowell, Randall, 166; Bryson Nuzum, Randall, 176. Class 5A BOYS Team standings: 1. Walnut Grove, 296; T2. Montgomery Lake Creek, 298; T2. Highland Park, 298; 4. McAllen Memorial, 308; 5. Highland Park, 311; 6. Mission Sharyland, 312; 7. College Station, 314; T8. Abilene Wylie, 317; T8. Smithson Valley, 317; 10. Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill, 320; 11. Tascosa, 323; 12. Burleson Centennial, 328. Advertisement Individual results: Slayde Stevens, Tascosa, 76; Derek Darnell, Tascosa, 81; Grant Young, Tascosa, 82; Joe Bybee, Tascosa, 84; Parker Whitney, Tascosa, 84. GIRLS Team standings: 1. San Antonio Alamo Heights, 589; 2. Frisco Centennial, 609; 3. Highland Park, 621; 4. Colleyville Heritage, 630; 5. Montgomery, 633; T6. Amarillo High, 639; T6. Walnut Grove, 639; 8. Comal Pieper, 643; 9. Friendswood, 648; 10. Grapevine, 655; 11. Montgomery Lake Creek, 656; 12. Edinburg Vela, 686. Individual results: Addison Britten, Amarillo High, 150; Tyler Held, Amarillo High, 160; Kylee Demetro, Amarillo High, 161; McKenna Montoya, Amarillo High, 168; Edee Thacker, Amarillo High, 186. This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: UIL Golf: How did the Texas Panhandle perform at the state tournament?
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
LSU football schedules a game with 2024 playoff team
LSU and SMU football announced a home-and-home series starting in 2028, according to a joint announcement from both schools Monday. The Tigers will host the first of the two games on September 2, 2028 then travel to Dallas on September 1, 2029. The contest in Death Valley will be the first meeting between the two since 1934 and third meeting all time. The Mustangs won the first game in 1922 51-0 before a 14-14 tie in 1934. Advertisement SMU reached the College Football Playoffs last season, its first apart of the ACC. It finished with an 11-3 record and ended its season with a 38-10 loss to Penn State in the 12-team postseason format. The Mustangs' future remains bright as well, boasting the No. 20 overall 2026 recruiting class. Head coach Brian Kelly will face SMU for the first time in his storied career. He also never coached against Mustangs' leader Rhett Lashlee but the pair will face off in back-to-back seasons. The announcement comes on the heels of news involving both programs as former LSU wide receiver commit Jakai Anderson flipped to SMU. This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football schedules game with 2024 playoff program
USA Today
13-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
LSU football schedules a game with 2024 playoff team
LSU football schedules a game with 2024 playoff team LSU and SMU football announced a home-and-home series starting in 2028, according to a joint announcement from both schools Monday. The Tigers will host the first of the two games on September 2, 2028 then travel to Dallas on September 1, 2029. The contest in Death Valley will be the first meeting between the two since 1934 and third meeting all time. The Mustangs won the first game in 1922 51-0 before a 14-14 tie in 1934. SMU reached the College Football Playoffs last season, its first apart of the ACC. It finished with an 11-3 record and ended its season with a 38-10 loss to Penn State in the 12-team postseason format. The Mustangs' future remains bright as well, boasting the No. 20 overall 2026 recruiting class. Head coach Brian Kelly will face SMU for the first time in his storied career. He also never coached against Mustangs' leader Rhett Lashlee but the pair will face off in back-to-back seasons. The announcement comes on the heels of news involving both programs as former LSU wide receiver commit Jakai Anderson flipped to SMU.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
SMU Football adds versatile DB in major recruiting win
SMU football continues its rise in the college football recruiting game with the addition of standout defensive back Braylon Edwards from powerhouse Duncanville High School. Announcing his commitment following a weekend official visit, Edwards chose SMU over upcoming visits with Auburn, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and Utah, signaling the Mustangs' growing clout in both Texas and the national recruiting scene. A Homegrown Star from a National Powerhouse Advertisement Duncanville is one of the premier high school football programs in America, and Edwards has been a central part of its defensive dominance. At 6'0', 185 pounds, Edwards brings size, speed, and versatility—qualities that have drawn attention from top-tier Power Five programs. SMU securing his commitment is a clear win in the ultra-competitive Dallas-Fort Worth recruiting battleground. Loyalty, Fit, and Development In his own words, Edwards cited SMU's early faith in him. 'They saw the talent in me when I was 5-9, 165 lbs. Now I'm 6-foot, 185 and they love me the same way,' he said. That kind of developmental belief goes a long way in building loyalty—and programs. Edwards noted SMU's plan to use him in multiple defensive roles, which highlights the staff's strategic vision and the player's football IQ. Related: Memphis defensive tackle Keveion'ta Spears transfers to SMU SMU's Momentum in the Metroplex Advertisement This commitment continues SMU's upward trajectory in the Dallas-area recruiting wars. Under head coach Rhett Lashlee, the Mustangs are creating a local pipeline—an essential ingredient for long-term success. Edwards is ranked the No. 74 cornerback nationally and No. 109 prospect in Texas, per On3, and his decision only reinforces the Mustangs' appeal to elite in-state talent. SMU isn't just playing catch-up anymore—they're setting the pace. Related: SMU gets four-star receiver over SEC powerhouse programs Related: Former SMU four-star running back on the move again
