Cooper High School

The state softball playoffs started last weekend across Texas, and the state baseball playoffs will begin this weekend. In Abilene, the Cooper and Abilene High boys’ and girls’ tennis teams competed in the District 4-5A tennis championship meet at Rose Park Tennis Center. And two Abilene High gymnasts competed in the Texas School Gymnastics Coaches Association state championship meet last weekend in Odessa.

This week’s Athletics Roundup will cover those stories and upcoming district and state competitions for other Abilene ISD athletes.

BASEBALL
Last week’s biggest story came on the baseball field, where Cooper swept Abilene High in a home-and-home set to end the season, which gave Cooper third place in District 4-5A and knocked AHS into fourth place. Head coach Brandon Stover’s team finished the regular season 20-8 and 6-6 in district play after the sweep of the Eagles. The sweep, by the scores of 3-1 and 2-0 last Tuesday and Friday, gave the Cougars a 2-1 season series win over the Eagles.

Cooper will be the No. 1 seed from District 4-5A in the Class 5A Division I playoffs, while the Eagles (16-10-1 overall and 6-6 in the league) finished fourth in the district and will be the No. 2 seed in the Class 5A Division II postseason. Wylie won the district title, and Wichita Falls Memorial was second. Those teams will play in the Class 5A Division II playoffs.

Cooper’s third-place finish puts the Cougars into the playoffs for the first time since 2019, and when the Coogs take on Lubbock Coronado this weekend, they’ll be trying to win a baseball playoff series for the first time since 2017.

The Cougars will play Lubbock Coronado this weekend in a best-of-three series in Andrews starting Friday. The Cougars and Mustangs will play on Friday at 5 p.m., followed by an 11 a.m. game on Saturday. If a third game is necessary, it will start 30 minutes after the end of Game 2.

The Eagles are headed to the playoffs for the third consecutive year under head coach Brad Harman, who guided AHS to an appearance in the Region I-5A quarterfinals in 2024. Abilene High will face Amarillo High in a three-game series this weekend at O’Bannon Field in Lubbock. The series will start at 6 p.m. on Friday, with Game 2 scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday. If a third game is necessary, it will start 30 minutes after the end of Game 3.

SOFTBALL
The UIL state playoffs started last weekend, and the District 4-5A champion Abilene High Lady Eagles got off to a quick start with a 2-0 sweep of Amarillo Caprock in the bi-district round. Led by head coach Jenna Aguirre, AHS blanked Caprock twice by the scores of 3-0 and 10-0.

Andria Starks drove in two runs in the first game, and Germanie Williams was 3 for 4 with two stolen bases to lead the Lady Eagles’ offense. Avah Reyes was outstanding in the circle, pitching six innings and allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out 11 Caprock hitters.

In the second game, Kinzley Cantu was 3 for 3 with a double, while Alicia Gutierrez and Makayla Gutierez each drove in two runs. Reyes was 1 for 2 with a triple and two RBI. KK Gonzales pitched the first three innings, giving up five hits and striking out two batters before Reyes finished the game, striking out four in two hitless innings as AHS won via the 10-run rule.

AHS (18-8) will play El Paso Americas this weekend in the area round of the playoffs in a three-game series in Monahans. Game 1 of the series starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, with Game 2 set for a 3 p.m. start on Friday. If a third game is necessary, it will start 30 minutes after the end of Game 2.

First-year head coach Kaegan Jimenez led Cooper’s Lady Cougars to the playoffs in 2025, the program’s first appearance since 2021. The Lady Coogs took Amarillo High to the limit in the bi-district round, but fell to the Sandies by the scores of 2-1 and 4-1. Cooper finishes its season at 15-14.

TENNIS
The Abilene High and Cooper boys’ and girls’ tennis teams competed in the District 4-5A championship tournament last weekend at the Rose Park Tennis Center, and each school will send student-athletes to the Region I-5A tournament next week in Lubbock.

The Cooper duo of Jayden Palacios and Trae Foster won the boys’ doubles district championship with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win over the Wylie duo of James McCall and Witten Sides. Both teams will advance to the regional tournament, scheduled for May 7-8 at the Texas Tech McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock.

Two Abilene High doubles teams also advanced to the regional tournament, with one team finishing as the runner-up and the other winning a playback to earn a spot in the regional tournament.

The mixed doubles team of Cynthia Grace Darby and Henry Ferguson lost to the Wylie duo of Kate Delgado and Steven Cowling in the final. Still, both teams will advance to the regional tournament. In the girls’ doubles final, the Wylie team of Jordyn Perry and Kiley Hirsch defeated No. 1 seed knocked off the top-seeded team of Lily Muzechenko and Sadie Connally from Cooper, 6-3, 6-2.

In the playback, Abilene High’s Abby Bryan and Allie Dunn beat Muzechenko and Connally, 6-4, 6-1, to join the Wylie duo in the regional tournament.

GYMNASTICS
The Abilene ISD gymnastics season ended last week at the state championship meet in Odessa. Abilene High’s Korban Jackson and Perielle Dalbert represented the district in the meet last Friday and Saturday (April 25-26) at Odessa Permian High School.

Jackson finished 20th in the all-around in the Class 6A state championship meet with a best finish of fourth in the pommel horse during the compulsory round (score of 9.75). His best finish during the optional round was 10th on the horse, scoring 8.55.

Dalbert finished tied for 24th on rings with a score of 9.2. Abilene High finished 15th in the boys’ team results.