Four Dallas-area coaches were announced as state coaches of the year by the Texas High School Coaches Association.
They were all recognized for their accomplishments this fall, when each led their team to a state title. Here are the winners:
Lovejoy’s Natalie Puckett, volleyball
Lovejoy swept Liberty Hill 25-18, 25-23, 25-19 to win the 5A state title and finish 34-10. In its 17th season of varsity volleyball, Lovejoy won its 10th state title, and Windthorst (14), East Bernard (13), Amarillo (10) and Jewett Leon (10) are the only other UIL schools that have won at least 10 championships.
Lovejoy won 23 of its last 24 matches and got a match-high 17 kills to go with 11 digs from freshman Gentry Barker in the state championship match. It was the sixth state title for Puckett at Lovejoy — three as a player, one as an assistant coach and the last two as the head coach.
Flower Mound’s Andrew Cook, girls cross country
He led Flower Mound to its fourth consecutive Class 6A team state title, finishing 36 points ahead of a nationally ranked Southlake Carroll team that had beaten it by 28 points at the regional meet.
Oregon signee Nicole Humphries, who tied for the individual state title in 2022, was injured and didn’t run all season until the state meet. Flower Mound also didn’t have Alexandra Fox — who finished third at state in 2022 — for this year’s regional meet.
But Flower Mound had Oregon signee Samantha Humphries and Fox finished fourth and fifth, respectively, and Flower Mound got a 15th-place finish from Natalie Spangher and a 23rd-place finish from Nicole Humphries to win with 41 points. That tied Flower Mound’s best score at state during the run of four championships.
Frisco Centennial’s Doug Fair, team tennis
Making its second straight appearance at the state tournament, Centennial won the 5A title, beating Amarillo 11-2 in the semifinals and crushing Austin Liberal Arts and Science Academy 10-1 in the final to finish 23-2. Centennial’s only losses came against a pair of 6A programs — Allen and six-time state champion Plano West — and Centennial had regular-season wins over 22-time state champion Highland Park and 2022 6A state semifinalist Southlake Carroll.
Flower Mound Marcus’ Brandon Dion, boys and girls water polo
Marcus won the boys water polo state title, defeating Boerne Champion 25-12 in the final to finish with a 24-2 record. This was the second season that water polo was a UIL-recognized sport.
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
