In March, Kinkaid Spanish Honors and AP classes, as well as some on-level students by invitation, took the National Spanish Exam. The results were release this week and Kinkaid students did an outstanding job. The student received medals according to the following national rankings:

Gold - 95^th through 99^th

Silver - 85^th though 94^th

Bronze - 75^th through 84th

Congratulations to the following students!

Our spring season has officially come to an end which means so has the 2016-17 Falcon sports. Thank you to all of the fans, families, faculty, staff, coaches and student-athletes for all of your support, dedication and hard-work this season. Lastly, you will find a recap of our department's finish in the SPC Athletic Directors' Cup competition.

SPC Team Finishes

Our Varsity teams competed in Austin, Dallas and Houston at the end of April in the Southwest Preparatory Conference Championships. The SPC is comprised of 17 schools from Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and Oklahoma. The top six teams from each zone have the ability to compete in the tournament with the #1 and #2 seeds getting a bye in the first round. All of our spring teams advanced to the SPC tournament with nine teams finishing in the top 5 of the entire SPC conference.

SPC CHAMPIONS - Varsity Boys Golf

The Varsity Boys Golf team played a 2 day tournament here in Houston at the Cypresswood Golf Course. The team ended Day 1 with a 3 point lead over John Cooper and a team score of 299. Day 2 was a back and forth battle for the Falcons. At one point the Falcons were down 6 shots but with a strong back 9 and an improved team score of 296, they earned the championship title. The team was led by sophomore Mason Nome who shot -8 with scores of 68 and 68. Sophomore Will Jacobe shot 71 and 74. Senior Carter Guinn shot a consistent 81 for both days. Junior Johnny Bulter shot 82 on day 1 and then had a huge second day shooting 75. Senior JD Dyer shot a solid 75 both days. Congratulations again to the Falcons who have now been crowned SPC Champions 6 times in the last 8 years!

SPC Finish: 1st Place
Record: 3 out of 6 1st Place wins

SPC Tournament Results
Day 1 Team Score: 299
Day 2 Team Score: 296
Overall Score: 595

All SPC: Mason Nome, Will Jacobe

2nd Place - Varsity Baseball

SPC Finish: 2nd Place
South Zone Finish: 1st Place
Conference Record: 5-1
Record: 23-11

SPC Tournament Results
Game 1 – Won 8-7 over Oakridge (Quarterfinals)
Game 2 – Won 6-0 over FWCD (Semifinals)
Game 3 – Lost 5-4 to EHS (Championship)

All SPC: Drake Greenwood, Johnathon Thomas, Stone Simmons
All South Zone: Drake Greenwood, Johnathon Thomas, Stone Simmons, Wyatt Young

3rd Place - Varsity Girls Track

SPC Finish: 3rd Place

All SPC:
1st Place: Katelyn Gamble, Allison Favaloro, Sarah Fullenweider, Kennedy Gamble – 4x100m Relay
1st Place: Marilyn Nwora – Shot Put
1st Place: Kennedy Gamble – 100m Dash *New SPC Record
1st Place: Kennedy Gamble – 200m Dash *New SPC Record
2nd Place: Nia Caldwell – Shot Put
2nd Place: Audrey Ho – Pole Vault
3rd Place: Madi Malouf – Discus
3rd Place: Ellie Lucke, Katie Erikson, Camila Vicens, Alexandra Blake – 4x800m Relay

Individual Top 10 SPC Girls Results:
1st Place: 100 Meters - Kennedy Gamble (PR 11.76ma)
1st Place: 200 Meters - Kennedy Gamble (PR 24.28ma)
1st Place: 4x100 Relay - Katelyn Gamble, Allison Favaloro, Sarah Fullenweider, Kennedy Gamble (48.19a)
1st Place: Shot Put (4kg) - Marilyn Nwora (PR 40'9.5")
2nd Place: Shot Put (4kg) - Nia Caldwell (PR 39'5.25")
2nd Place: Pole Vault - Audrey Ho (10')
3rd Place: 4x800 Relay - Ellie Lucke, Katie Erikson, Camila Vicens, Alexandra Blake (9:43.86a)
3rd Place: Discus (1kg) - Madi Malouf (PR 115'8")
4th Place: 4x400 Relay - Allison Favaloro, Ellie Lucke, Sarah Fullenweider, Kennedy Gamble (4:03.31a)
4th Place: Triple Jump - Jasmine Smith (35'9.5")
4th Place: 1600 Meters - Camila Vicens (PR 5:24.46a)
4th Place: 3200 Meters - Camila Vicens (PR 11:22.48a)
5th Place: 3200 Meters - Alexandra Blake (PR 11:37.07a)
5th Place: Discus (1kg) - Jasmine Smith (105'2")
6th Place: Long Jump - Lydia Patterson (17'1")
6th Place: 300m Hurdles (30"): Duryn Dunbar (PR 49.63a)
6th Place: 800 Meters - Ellie Lucke (2:23.11a)
6th Place: 1600 Meters - Alexandra Blake (PR 5:26.16a)
7th Place: 400 Meters - Katie Erikson (PR 1:00.92a)
8th Place: Triple Jump - Caroline Totz (PR 34'4")
8th Place: 100 Meters - Allison Favaloro (PR 12.62a)
9th Place: Triple Jump - Lydia Patterson (33'7")
10th Place: 100 Meters - Katelyn Gamble (PR 12.73a)
10th Place: 400 Meters - Caroline Totz (1:02.70a)
10th Place: 300M Hurdles (30"): Lydia Patterson (50.50a)

*PR = Personal Record

3rd Place - Varsity Boys Lacrosse

The Varsity Boys Lacrosse team competed in their SPC Championship Tournament in Austin a week earlier than the rest of our spring sports, due to their state competition schedule. Kinkaid earned the number 1 seed from the south. They faced and defeated the north's number 4 seed, St. Stephen's, in the first round. They then took on St. Mark's where they battled hard but ultimately came up short. The next morning they took on Greenhill for the 3rd place honor. In a tight 4th quarter, the Falcons were able to maintain their lead and close out the tournament with a win. The following week, the team went on to earn 2nd Place in the City and play in the quarterfinal round of the State Tournament. Great season fellas!

SPC Finish: 3rd Place
South Zone Finish: 1st Place
Conference Record: 4-0
Record: 16-5

SPC Tournament Results
Game 1 – won over St. Stephen's 14-8 (Quarterfinals)
Game 2 – lost to St. Mark's 11-14 (Semifinals)
Game 3 – won over Greenhill 12-10 (3rd Place Game)

All SPC: Reese Sullivan, Parker Browne, Jack Nevil
All South Zone: Malcom Hedgepeth, Rob Lahourcade, Jake Reinbolt, Robert Shively, Phin Sprague
THSLL All State: Reese Sullivan, Parker Browne,
THSLL All District: Jack Nevil, Jake Reinbolt, Rob Lahourcade, Phin Sprague
THSLL Honorable Mention: Robert Shively

3rd Place - Girls Varsity Lacrosse

The Varsity Girls Lacrosse team entered the SPC tournament as the number 2 seed from the south.
With tons of energy and excitement, the team easily defeated the Greenhill Hornets, finishing strong and extending a 4 point half-time lead to a 20-8 victory. In round two they faced the defending champions from ESD in a back and forth hard fought battle. The Falcons then went on to play their south zone rivals, St. John's, in the 3rd place game. Emotions high and adrenaline pumping, the Falcons were able to defeat the Mavericks with a last minute goal to secure the victory!

SPC Finish: 3rd Place
South Zone Finish: 2nd Place
Conference Record: 3-1
Record: 14-5

SPC Tournament Results
Game 1 – Won 20-8 over Greenhill (Quarterfinals)
Game 2 – Lost 19-12 to ESD (Semifinals)
Game 3 – Won 9-8 over St. John's (3rd Place Game)

All SPC: Chloe Hunter, Belle Martire, Mikela McCauley
All South Zone: Lexi Heim, Kaylie Mings, Nakeeya McCardell
THSLL All State: Chloe Hunter, Belle Martire
THSLL All District: Chloe Hunter
US Lacrosse Academic All-American: Belle Martire

4th Place - Varsity Girls Tennis

The Varsity Girls Tennis team entered the weekend as the third seed from the south. They played in the "play in round" on Thursday evening at The Hockaday School for the opportunity to play on the Championship side of the bracket. After sweeping Greenhill in the open round, the ladies went on to sweep the Trinity Valley Trojans in the quarterfinals. They then fought fiercely against St. John's and ESD to end the tournament with a forth place finish. Well done Falcons!

SPC Finish: 4th Place
South Zone Finish: 3rd Place
Conference Record: 5-1
Record: 7-3

SPC Tournament Results
Game 1 – won over Greenhill 5-0 (Opening Round)
Game 2 – won over Trinity Valley 5-0 (Quarterfinals)
Game 3 – lost to St. John's 2-3 (Semifinals)
Game 4 – lost to ESD 2-3 (3rd Place Game)

All SPC: Sasha Inchauste, Jordan Jafarnia
All South Zone: Sasha Inchauste, Merritt Cozby

4th Place - Varsity Girls Golf

The Varsity Girls Golf team had their highest finish in 9 years, besting last year's fifth place result by coming in fourth. The Falcons entire team stepped up and worked hard to make their scores count. Emily Talbert shot 91/89, Lillian Rosenfield 93/103, Louise McCartney 101/94, Ruth Ann Bajgier 113/101 and Cheyenne Dawley hit 117/106 for the tournament. Congratulations on your success ladies!

SPC Finish: 4th Place
Record: 4 Top 4 wins

SPC Tournament Results
Day 1 Team Score: 284
Day 2 Team Score: 284
Overall Score: 568

5th Place - Varsity Boys Tennis

The Varsity Boys Tennis team entered the weekend as the 3rd seed from the south where they were matched up with Trinity Valley of Fort Worth in the opening round. After winning 3-2, they then went on to play the St. Mark's Lions. Although they fell in a very close match, the team rebounded and went on to defeat the ESD Eagles 3-2 for fifth place. Good work this season!

SPC Tournament Finish: 5th Place
South Zone Finish: 3rd Place
Conference Record: 4-2
Overall Record: 6-3

SPC Tournament Results
Game 1 – won over Trinity Valley 4-1 (opening round)
Game 2 – lost to St. Mark's 2-3 (quarterfinals)
Game 3 – won over ESD 3-2 (5th Place Game)

All SPC: Michael Smith, Kenneth Lam
All South Zone: Salman Popatia, Michael Smith

5th Place - Varsity Softball

The Varsity Softball team headed up to Dallas to face Casady School from Oklahoma City in the opening round for the third straight year. Following tradition, the Falcons were victorious and moved on to the championship side of the bracket. In the next round, they faced and fell to a strong EHS team who went on win the entire tournament. The Falcons then defeated Greenhill and earned the fifth place honor. Good work this season!

SPC Tournament Finish: 5th Place
South Zone Finish: 5th Place
Conference Record: 1-4
Overall Record: 6-13-1

SPC Tournament Results
Game 1 – won over Casady 5-2 (Opening round)
Game 2 – lost to EHS 0-11 (Quarterfinals)
Game 3 – won over Greenhill 6-1 (5th Place Game)

All SPC: Olivia Stuart Ison, Julia Lasater
All South Zone: Megan Frankel, Olivia Stuart Ison

7th Place - Varsity Boys Track

The Varsity Boys Track team had a strong showing at the Championship meet in Dallas. They had 11 top 10 finishes for the weekend with 5 student-athletes hitting personal records in 7 events. Congratulations Falcons!

SPC Finish: 7th Place

All SPC:
1st Place: Alex Williams - Long Jump
2nd Place: Myles Black - High Jump
3rd Place: Alex Williams - 400m Dash

Individual Top 10 SPC Boys Results:
1st Place: Long Jump - Alex Williams (PR 22'1.25")
2nd Place: High Jump - Myles Black (PR 6'4")
3rd Place: 400 Meters - Alex Williams (PR 50.23a)
4th Place: Pole Vault - Noah Chan (PR 13')
5th Place: 100 Meters - Alex Williams (PR 10.92a)
5th Place: 4x800 Relay - Andres Melendez, Socs Zavitsanos, Dz Zavitsanos, Oscar Melendez (8:19.60a)
6th Place: 800 Meters - Andres Melendez (PR 2:00.53a)
6th Place: Shot Put – 12lb - Marquis Hubbard (PR 43'7.5")
8th Place: 3200 Meters - Dz Zavitsanos (9:59.04a)
9th Place: 1600 Meter - Dz Zavitsanos (4:38.95a)
10th Place: 4x400 Relay - Alex Williams, Andres Melendez, Chance Allshouse, Myles Black (3:34.28a)

*PR = Personal Record

HJPC Team Finishes

The Houston Junior Preparatory Conference is made up of twelve private middle schools in the greater Houston area. Only the top eight teams at the end of the regular season have the opportunity to compete in the final tournament. Congratulations to all of the teams who represented Kinkaid and a special shout out goes to the 8th Grade Baseball team, Boys Golf and Girls Tennis who won the championship titles.

Boys Baseball – 1st Place Champions
Overall Record: 10-5
Conference Record: 3-2 - #3 seed
HJPC Tournament Results
Game 1 – won 5-1 over Second Baptist (Quarterfinals)
Game 2 – won 5-1 over St. Francis (Semifinals)
Game 3 – won 6-4 over St. John's (Championship)

Boys MS Golf – 1st Place Champions
HJPC Tournament Results
Team Score: 185
Top Finishes: Brooks Morrell - 2nd overall out of 38 boys

Girls MS Tennis - 1st Place Champions

Overall Record: 7-0-1
Conference Record: 7-0 #1 seed
HJPC Individual Results:
1st Place Singles: Andrea Le
2nd Place Singles: Ella Brissett
3rd Place Singles: Hallie Jeffers
1st Place Doubles: Daryn Mehling & Kay Lucke
2nd Place Doubles: Virginia Murchison & Sara Christ

Girls 8th Grade Lacrosse – 2nd Place
Overall Record: 13-1
Conference Record: 6-0 #1 seed
HJPC Tournament Results
Game 1 – Bye
Game 2 – won 15-1 over Presbyterian (semis)
Game 3 – lost 7-6 to St. John's (finals)

Girls MS Golf – 2nd Place
HJPC Tournament Results
Team Score: 143
Top Finishes: Carrie De la Rosa - 2nd overall out of 23 boys

MS Softball – Tied for 3rd
Overall Record: 6-9
Conference Record: 3-3 #3 seed
HJPC Tournament Results
Game 1 – won 14-0 over St. Francis (quarters)
Game 2 – lost 9-1 to AOS (semis)

Boys 8th Grade Lacrosse – Tied for 3rd
Overall Record: 9-4
Conference Record: 4-2 #4 seed
HJPC Tournament Results
Game 1 – won 12-1 over AOS (quarters)
Game 2 – lost 11-5 to St. John's (semis)

Boys MS Tennis – 5th Place
Overall Record: 2-5-1
Conference Record: 1-4
HJPC Individual Results
1st Place Singles: Mikail Wijesekera

MS Girls Track & Field

MS Boys Track & Field

Please click on the video below to view Dr. Martire's May message.
Have a safe and wonderful summer! See you in August!

Congratulations to Kinkaid field hockey players Hope Haynes ('23), Emmy Stubbs ('22), Annabel Skubisz ('20), Olivia Marrus ('19), Caroline Hanan ('18), and Kaylie Mings ('17) who were selected to play in the 2017 National Futures Championship. This is the premier championship event for USA Field Hockey Futures and Olympic Development Pipeline. These girls were selected from more than 5,000 athletes across the United States. For more information, please click here.

Kinkaid is thrilled to introduce Brian Notch as the new Wrestling Program Head. Coach Notch comes to Houston with 12 years of coaching and teaching experience. Most recently he was at West Torrance High School in Torrance, California where he lead the program to 7 straight League Championships. While coaching the Warriors, Notch was named Wrestling Coach of the Year by the South Bay Daily Breeze in 2009 and 2013. He has mentored 5 state qualifiers, 2 state place winners, 5 masters place winners, 2 masters finalists, 19 masters qualifiers, 5 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) champions, 6 CIF finalists and 23 CIF place winners. Coach Notch also started the first All-Girls team in South Bay while at Torrance.

Prior to his success in Torrance, the Iowa native participated in football, wrestling and baseball at Kinglsey-Pierson High School. He then went on to play baseball and wrestle at Briar Cliff University and Buena Vista University. Notch has a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education/Health, a Masters of Physical Education as well as a Masters of Arts in Education/Secondary Teacher Education.

Coach Notch is a great addition to the Kinkaid community. Interim Athletic Director and Football Program Head Nathan Larned says, "We are pleased with the hiring of Notch. We feel he will help guide and lead this program into their next level of success. With his background in multiple sports, we look forward to having him help out in our football and baseball programs as well while maximizing interest in the wrestling program."

Please join us in welcoming Coach Notch and his family to Kinkaid.

Upper School Science Teacher, Ken Conner, will be stepping up to become the Girls Track & Field Program Head for the 2017-18 year. Conner began working as an assistant coach in the program in 2008 as a throwing coach leading the program to 8 SPC throwing medals including 3 this past spring. During that time he has also been a member of the Girls Cross Country staff and will continue to do so moving forward.

Coach Conner comes with a wealth of experience and success. Prior to his time at Kinkaid, Conner was the Head Coach for both the Boys and Girls Track & Field programs at his alma mater the Catholic High School in New Iberia, Louisiana. While there he led the Panthers to 13 District Championships, 6 Regional Championships and 7 State Top 5 finishes.

Coach Conner will be taking over for Coach Cheryl Mitchell who has successfully run the program for the past 19 years. Coach Mitchell is confident in the transition stating, "I know the program will continue to succeed and grow under Conner's leadership." Mitchell will stay with the program as an assistant coach and will continue as the Program Head of the Girls Cross Country team and the Director of Wellness.

Please join us in congratulating Coach Conner in his new role.

In May, four Upper School students competed as a team in the inaugural Offshore Technology Conference Energy Challenge, sponsored by BP. In this challenge, teams of high school students were asked to develop solutions for real-world energy challenges. 12 teams from across the Houston competed as they area presented their findings to the broader OTC audience. The Kinkaid team of Emmy Heyser '17, Christos Papandreou '18, Amanda Roff '18 and Ayush Krishnamoorti '20 took home 2^nd place and were awarded the BHP Billiton award of $4000.00! Specifically, their challenge was to find ways in which the industry could reduce the weight of an offshore facility.

Along with their on campus academic coach, Upper School Science Chair Sonia Clayton, the students worked with industry mentors, including a number of BP engineers and geoscientists. Projects focused on areas of remote offshore power, facility design, offshore wind energy, remotes monitoring, and decommissioning. Congratulations to the team for their amazing accomplishment! See photos from the event below.

Former Falcon, Raevyn Rogers '14, earned the prestigious honor of being named the Women's National Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). This incredible recognition comes just days after Rogers was instrumental in the Oregon Ducks National Championship title and earning the first-ever Triple Crown in women's NCAA DI history. The Ducks Women's program won national titles in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field this year.

At the NCAA Championship, which took place in Eugene, OR, Rogers won her third straight 800m Outdoor Championship with a time of 2:00.02 and anchored the 4x400m Relay that clinched the title for her team. Raevyn's split in the 4 x 400m relay was a blistering 49.7. At the Mt. Sac Relays earlier in the outdoor season, Raevyn broke the 27-year-old NCAA record in the 800m, racing a 1:59.10.

Raeyvn's tremendous athleticism and inspiring determination were evident even during her days as a Falcon. Even as a high school runner, Raevyn set high goals for herself and her teammates. Raevyn's incredible work ethic, joy in training and racing, leadership, huge heart, and her strong faith and supportive family continue to allow her to compete and reach her goals. It has been exciting watching Raevyn thrive in the NCAA – clearly, she found a good home at the University of Oregon.

While at Kinkaid Rogers was a 4 year Varsity letter winner in track, winning the 800m at the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) Championship 4 years in a row. She also brought home the champion title in the 400m (3 times), 4x800m Relay (3 times), and 4x400m Relay (1 time). Raevyn still holds the 4 school records in each of these events as well at the record for the 1600m.

Not only did Rogers contribute on the track, she was also an accomplished volleyball and basketball player during her time as a Falcon. She lettered on the Varsity Girls Basketball team for 3 years helping the team earn 2 SPC titles and was named to the All-SPC First Team her junior year. She was also named to the Volleyball All-SPC First Team her senior year after 3 years of lettering.

To read about her Athlete of the Year title, click here.

For a recap of the exciting 4x400m Relay that clinched the Oregon Ducks NCAA Championship anchored by Rogers, click here.

To watch the interview prior to her impressive run, click here.

And for Raevyn's full collegiate bio, click here.

Kinkaid Athletic Accomplishments

2013-2014
3^rd Year Volleyball Varsity Letter Winner
Volleyball First Team All-SPC
3^rd Year Basketball Varsity Letter Winner
4^th Year Track & Field Varsity Letter Winner
800m SPC Champion (2:10:64)
400m SPC Champion (55.47)
4x800m SPC Relay Champion (9:36.44)- Along with Courtney C. Greer, Natalie Geisler, Ana Matamoros
4x400m Relay SPC Champion (3:58.92)- Along with Lizzy McGee, Gracey Wallace, Ana Matamoros

2012-2013
2^nd Year Volleyball Varsity Letter Winner
2^nd Year Basketball Varsity Letter Winner
Basketball SPC Champions
Basketball First Team All-SPC

3^rd Year Track & Field Varsity Letter Winner
800m SPC Champion (2:12.88)
400m SPC Champion (55.68)
4x800m Relay SPC Champion (9:37.75) – Along with Courtney C. Greer, Katherine Davis, Lexie Ammons
4x400m Relay – 2^nd Place (4:03.51) – Along with Julia Camp, Gracey Wallace, Courtney J. Greer

2011-2012
1^st Year Volleyball Varsity Letter Winner
1^st Year Basketball Varsity Letter Winner
Basketball SPC Champions
2^nd Year Track & Field Varsity Letter Winner

800m SPC Champion (2:11)
400m SPC Champion (53.82)
4x800m Relay SPC Champion (9:40) – Along with Dahlgren Baker, Katherine Drews, Courtney C. Greer
4x400m Relay - 2^nd Place – Along with Dahlgren Baker, Emily Gemp, Ana Matamoros

2010-2011
1^st Year Track & Field Varsity Letter Winner
800m SPC Champion
4x800m Relay - 3^rd Place – Along with Dalhgren Baker, Aria Pearlman-Morales, Anna Wittenmyer

The Kinkaid debate team competed over the weekend at Langham Creek High School alongside 47 schools from throughout the Houston area. Competing in policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and public forum, the team found great success and reached the finals in two out of the three events.

Sam Segal '18 placed 1st out of 85 in Lincoln-Douglas. Dani Knobloch '19 and Amy Ho '19 placed 2^nd in policy, losing a close final round on a 2-1 decision. Spencer Powers '20 and first year Bennett Mach '21 placed 3rd in policy after making it to the semi-finals. Shreya Mehta '20 placed in the top 32 in Lincoln-Douglas. Lastly, first years Megan Anand '22 and Jessica Liu '22 placed in the top 8 (quarter finals).

Prior to this weekend's competition, a smaller group competed at Cypress Woods High School. Christian Gipson '19 and Camila Vicens '20 placed in the top 8 (quarterfinals) in policy. Camila was also awarded the 4th overall speaker.

Congratulations to these talented students and best of luck throughout the school year.

Mike Feinberg, Co-Founder of KIPP Public Charter Schools, spoke in September as the 9^th J. Barry Moss Distinguished Speaker. In his message to Upper School students, he discussed the inequalities throughout education and the benefits of educational options for underserved communities, a topic that hits close to home for one student in particular.

After attending KIPP since age four, Marilyn Nwora '19 was tapped to introduce Feinberg as the keynote speaker to her peers. She recollected not only his achievements as an educator inside the classroom and as an innovator, but as an inspiration to her for over a decade.

"He had this way of interacting with all of the students even though we only saw him a few times every year. Knowing how hard he and many other KIPP teachers have worked to create a better path for us alone is impactful," Nwora says.

Like many of her fellow classmates, Nwora joined Kinkaid as a 9^th grader in 2015. While the intense coursework for an Upper School student at Kinkaid can be intimidating, Nwora believes the unique ways in which KIPP chose to teach its' students greatly prepared her to for success as a falcon.

High School TMEA Region 23 Orchestra Auditions were held October 14th at Kerr High School. After competing among some of the most talented students from public and private schools in the Houston area, two Kinkaid freshman placed in the Honor Orchestras.

Ethan Fang '21 was sleected for the top symphony orchestra, while Justin Li '21 was selected for the philharmonic string orchestra.

Justin plans to compete once again in the Orchestra Area Auditions taking place October 27th and 28th at Mayde Creek High School. Congratulations to these students and Orchestra Director Steve Kastner and good luck going forward!

Over the weekend, members of the MS and US Kinkaid Band program auditioned at Sealy HS for the ATSSB All-Region Band. Please congratulate the following students for their successful auditions!

MS All Region:

Nick Kyriakides-Crowe '22- 10th chair flute

Stephanie Han '23- 1st chair flute

Jacob Newell '22- 4th chair horn

HS All-Region:

Christopher Gardner '21- 4th chair, advances to all-area

Eliot Gottsegen '21- 4th chair bass clarinet, advances to all-area

Tommy Holstead '21- 4th chair, advances to all-area

Rorye Jones '19- 2nd chair clarinet, advances to all-area

Seb Seager '19- 1st chair flute, advance to all-area

Evan Wu '21- 4th chair alto sax

Students will perform in concert with their respective all-region band Saturday, November 11th at 6:00 p.m. in the Brown Theater. Congratulations to these student musicians and to their Director, Mr. Vogt!

The fall sports season has officially come to an end. The Varsity Falcon teams had a strong finish winning two SPC Titles while the Middle School had three teams compete in HJPC Championship games and two win the HJPC Title. Thank you to all of the fans, families, faculty, staff, coaches and student-athletes for all of your support, dedication and hard-work this season. Below is a recap of each tournament finish.

SPC Team Finishes

Our Varsity teams competed three weeks ago in the Southwest Preparatory Conference Championships. The SPC is comprised of 16 schools from Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and Oklahoma. The top six teams from each zone have the ability to compete in the tournament with the #1 and #2 seeds getting a bye in the first round. All of the Kinkaid Fall Varsity teams earned a spot in the tournament. The Varsity Field Hockey and Varsity Football teams both won 1st place trophies while the Girls Cross Country team brought home 2nd place. Girls Volleyball, Boys Volleyball and Boys Cross Country all finished in the top half of the conference earning 6th, 7th and 8th place respectively.

Here is an article by Jack Marrion of the Houston Chronicle recapping the championship weekend:

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/memorial/sports/article/Kinkaid-leads-local-schools-with-20-SPC-picks-12384585.php

SPC CHAMPIONS – VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY

The Varsity Field Hockey team had an impressive season capped off with an exciting and dramatic SPC Tournament weekend. The Falcons entered the tournament as the number one seed from the South Zone by going undefeated in conference play and outscoring the opponents 28 to 3. They continued their dominance once they arrived in Fort Worth for the championship tournament. They first faced a tough and physical Episcopal School of Dallas team who was not going to go down easy but Kinkaid prevailed with a 2-1 victory. Next they matched up against cross town rival St. John's and were able to win 1-0; a result that sent the team to the Championship game. The Falcons met the number one seed from the North Zone, the Trinity Valley Trojans who were also hosting the tournament on their home field. Kinkaid got on the board first but then TVS answered back to make the score 1-1. It was a back and forth game for the remainder of regulation and two overtime periods. The winner of the game was then to be decided by penalty strokes where each team has the opportunity to send one shooter against the goalie with the best of five winning. Kinkaid was ready for the challenge and was named SPC Champions by dominating 3-1 in strokes. This is the first SPC Title for the Field Hockey program since 1999. Congratulations Falcons!

SPC Finish: 1st Place

South Zone Finish: 1st Place

Conference Record: 5-0

Overall Record: 12-3

SPC Tournament Results

Game 1 – won 2-1 over Episcopal School of Dallas

Game 2 – won 1-0 over St. John's (semi-final)

Game 3 – won 2-1 over Trinity Valley in penalty strokes (Championship)

All SPC: Caroline Hanan, Ellie Bolin, Belle Martire, Annabel Skubisz, Farise Cravens

All South Zone: Caroline Hanan, Annabel Skubisz, Olivia Marrus, Farise Cravens, Laine Jacobe

SPC CHAMPIONS – VARSITY FOOTBALL

The Varsity Football team once again was able to take care of business and bring home the SPC 4A Championship Title. Over the last 9 years, the Falcons have found themselves in the title game 8 times with 5 of those games being played against Episcopal High School. This year was unique and exciting for all, as the game was played right here in our backyard at University of Houston's TDECU Stadium. During their regular season match up, the Falcons lost 37-27 to EHS but used that loss as the motivation to come out prepared and ready to take care of business in the championship game. Entering the contest, the Falcons were on a three game winning streak outscoring their competition 105 to 33. They used that momentum along with the energy from the spirited fans who filled the stadium to defeat the Knights 38-21 and brought home the SPC Championship Title. This is the fifth SPC Championship win for the Kinkaid Varsity Football Team in eight years. Keep on soaring, Falcons!

SPC Finish: 1st Place

South Zone Finish: 2nd Place

Conference Record: 4-1

Overall Record: 7-3

SPC Tournament Result

Won 38-21 over Episcopal High School (championship)

All SPC: Johnathon Thomas, Josh Williams, Ameer Mustafa, Adam Harter, Kamal Nader, Hayden Rome

All South Zone: Malcolm Hedgepeth, Michael Horne, Victor Garza, Wyatt Young, Jack Nevil

2nd Place - Girls Cross Country

The weather was perfect and the course was stunning as the Girls Cross Country team prepared to defend their title at the picturesque Athletic Performance Ranch in Fort Worth. The team had a sensational season winning either first or second place in every meet they attended this season with many team members breaking personal records week after week. Prior to the championship weekend, the Falcons won first place at the South Zone meet in Austin with six girls earning All-South Zone honors based on their times. Then at the SPC Championship meet, the team accumulated 67 points and had four girls finish in the top 20 to earn the second place trophy for the entire conference. Way to go, Falcons!

SPC Finish: 2nd Place

South Zone Finish: 1st Place

All SPC: Camila Vicens, Alexandra Blake, Ali Ammons, Alison Zhang

All South Zone: Camila Vicens (Champion), Alexandra Blake, Ali Ammons, Alison Zhang, Lindsey Ho, Ellie Lucke

6th Place - Varsity Girls Volleyball

The Girls Varsity Volleyball team improved their record this year to 12-10-1 going 10-3-1 in non-conference play. The Falcons qualified as one of the top twelve teams in the conference to participate in the SPC Tournament. They entered the weekend as the sixth seed from the South Zone and matched up against a strong Greenhill team from the North. The game was close and could have gone either way, however the Falcons dug deep and refused to give in. They fought to the very end and won 3-2 to make it to the quarterfinal round of the tournament. They ended their run finishing in the top half of the conference and earned sixth place for the weekend. Good work, ladies!

SPC Finish: 6th Place

South Zone Finish: 6th Place

Overall Record: 12-10-1

Conference Record: 1-4

SPC Tournament Results

Game 1 – won 3-2 over Greenhill

Game 2 – lost 3-1 to Houston Christian (quarter-final)

Game 3 – lost 3-0 to St. John's

All SPC: Onuchi Ndee, Julia Lasater

All South Zone: Onuchi Ndee

7th Place - Varsity Boys Volleyball

The Boys Volleyball team fought hard all season long in many close and tight games. They qualified for the SPC Tournament as the number three seed from the South Zone. They faced an impressive Casady team from Oklahoma who went on to play in the Championship game. The Falcons closed out their season with an exciting 3-1 win over the Knights of Episcopal High School and finished in seventh place. Good job, Falcons!

SPC Finish: 7th Place

South Zone Finish: 3rd Place

Overall Record: 6-14

Conference Record: 1-5

SPC Tournament Results

Game 1 – lost 3-0 to Casady

Game 2 – lost 3-1 to St. John's

Game 3 – won 3-1 over Episcopal High School

All SPC: Alex Frumovitz

All South Zone: Brian Xu, Scott Morey

8th Place - Boys Cross Country

Kinkaid's Boy Harriers (aka cross country runners) approached this year's SPC Championship meet with another solid season under their belts. The team entered the race coming off a forth place South Zone finish with three athletes garnering All South Zone honors. At the Championship Meet a number of Falcons ran their best race of the season on the challenging course at the Athletic Performance Ranch in Fort Worth. With a team finish of eighth place, the boys' team boasted two runners in the top 20 to earn All SPC honors. Great job, Falcons!

SPC Finish: 8th Place

South Zone Finish: 4th Place

All SPC: DZ Zavitsanos, Socs Zavitsanos

All South Zone: DZ Zavitsanos (3rd Place), Socs Zavitsanos, Andres Melendez

Varsity Cheerleading

The Varsity Cheerleading team started their summer off by heading up to the Gaylord in Grapevine, Texas where their trained and competed for several days at the Universal Cheer Association camp. At the conclusion of the camp, the Falcons were named the 1st place winners in Game Day Routine, 2nd place in Extreme Routine and had four girls named as All-Americans. They then spent the fall cheering on our Falcons and training for the UCA Regional Competition at Texas State University in San Marcos where the Falcons earned 5th place overall. Congratulations and thank you for all of your support this season!

UCA Summer Camp Competition:

Game Day Routine = 1st Place

Extreme Routine = 2nd Place

UCA Regional Competition: 5th Place

All-American: Julia Burpeau, Katelyn Gamble, Kennedy Gamble, Caroline Petersen

HJPC Team Finishes

The Houston Junior Preparatory Conference is made up of twelve private middle schools in the greater Houston area. Only the top eight teams at the end of the regular season have the opportunity to compete in the final tournament. Field Hockey, Football and Boys Volleyball all made it to the championship games. Congratulations to all of the teams who represented Kinkaid and a special shout out goes to the Boys 8th Grade Volleyball and 8th Grade Football teams who won the championship titles.

Boys 8th Grade Volleyball – 1st Place

Overall Record: 6 - 3

Conference Record: 3-3 #2 seed

HJPC Tournament Results

Game 1 – Won 2-1 over ROBS (semi-final)

Game 2 – Won 2-0 over AOS (Championship)

8th Football – 1st Place

Overall Record: 5-1

Conference Record: 4-1 #2 Seed

HJPC Tournament Results

Game 1 – Won 27-8 over St. John's (Championship)

8th Field Hockey – 2nd place

Overall Record: 5-6-3

Conference Record: 3-4-3 #4 seed

HJPC Tournament Results

Game 1 – Won 1-0 over ROBS

Game 2 – Won 2-0 over St. Francis (semi-final)

Game 3 – Lost 3-0 to St. John's (Championship)

MS Cross Country

HJPC Tournament Results

Girls - 5th Place

Boys - 7th Place

Top 10 Finisher

Sydney Smith - 6th Place

8th Girls Volleyball

Overall Record: 2-9

Conference Record: 2-9

9th Place

MS Cheerleading

Universal Cheer Association Camp

Extreme Routine - 1st Place

Best Cheer - 2nd Place

Game Day Competition - Superior Trophy

Last weekend, 20 Kinkaid Model UN students participated in the 17th annual Columbia Model United Nations Conference and Exposition. After competing against 69 schools and nearly 700 students, we are excited to announce Kinkaid took home three awards!

Anna Thomas '18 was awarded Honorable Mention for playing the role of Maurice Sugar in the The Driver's Seat: United Auto Workers committee. Nicholas Cox '19 was awarded Verbal Commendation for playing the role of

Over the weekend, Kinkaid had two wrestlers place at the state level. Both four-year varsity wrestlers, Colin Lawler '18 took first in the heavyweight class at 285 and Noah Chan '18 placed second in his weight class at 160.

Coming to the end of their Kinkaid careers, Colin is now a four-time state champion while Noah is a three-time champion, narrowly losing in the finals this year. Both hope to continue their success at the upcoming SPC tournament and at the Prep National tournament in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania happening February 23-24.

Following this season, both students are moving on to compete at the next level. Colin will be wrestling at NC State while Noah plans to compete at Franklin and Marshall College. The next opportunity to watch the wrestling team compete will be at the SPC tournament at St. John's on February 17. Good luck!

Congratulations to the entire wrestling team and coaches for their hard work this season! Check out some of the photos from the tournament below.

The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) announced this week the winners of its top awards for scholastic publications. Of the 1,100 digital, print newspapers, magazines and yearbooks submitted, the Kinkaid Falcon was named as one of 15 Scholastic Gold winners for print news. The newspaper staff submitted five of their six issues from 2016-2017 to be judged by CSPA.

Publications are judged on their excellence as showing by their design, photography, concept , coverage and writing. Co-Editor & Chief of this year's paper, Arman Badrei '18 believes it has been a multi-year process that has led to receiving this recognition.

"I think definitely the impact Ms. Yim left and the style that she started her first year, which was our freshman year, has stuck with us. The mentality of raising the bar of writing and design has been important," Badrei says.

Distributed a few times a year, the Kinkaid Falcon covers a wide range of topics including happenings in and around the school, politics, pop culture and often tackling hot button social issues. Enthusiastically hand delivering copies hot off the press to their fellow students and faculty throughout campus, the staff takes pride in facilitating engaging conversations through their publication.

"Yes we're the voice of the students, but I also think it's bigger than that. We're the voice of Kinkaid," says Co-Editor Allison Favaloro '18. "When people come in and see our school, there's newspapers everywhere that they can pick up and look at...that's one of the first things they see and I think that's really impactful".

With the school year coming to a close, the editors and staff are looking to finish the year strong and hope to continue their new standard of excellence for years to come.

"I think (our goal) would definitely be to win the same awards. I think that bar has been set and we hope to reach it. I think more concretely, I want to see the quality of writing continue to be elevated so that it's more captivating storytelling," says Badrei.

Congratulations team!

Both Upper School's VEX and FIRST Technical Challenge (FTC) robotics teams recently completed their 2017-18 seasons by participating in their respective Southeast Texas Regional Championships. While neither team advanced to the next round of competition, each competed hard in their final matches.

The VEX team achieved early success, winning the Cy-Fair Clawbot Challenge at the end of September, just a few weeks removed from Hurricane Harvey. Competing in three qualifying matches, the team improved their robots capabilities each time. At the VEX Southeast Texas Regional tournament in late February, the team finished 3-5 against the top teams in the region, its strongest showing since the Clawbot Challenge.

The FTC Robotics participated in the West Houston FTC league where they experienced both failures and success throughout the season. The season's high point came at the Reindeer Roundup Qualifying tournament in December, where the team earned second place in the Inspire Award. The Inspire Award is the highest honor given to the team that best embodies the FIRST Tech Challenge Program by being a strong ambassador for FIRST programs, being a top contender in the other judges awards, and acting with Gracious Professionalism.

Julian Meyer '19 was named one of three FIRST Technical Challenge Dean's List finalist at the Southeast Texas

Regionals and is under consideration to become one of ten Dean's List Award winners that will be announced at the FIRST Robotics World Championships in Houston in mid-April. More information about the FIRST Dean's List can be found here at https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/ftc/deans-list.

Congratulate Julian and both teams on another solid season!

After an extensive search that resulted in an impressive pool of candidates, we are pleased to announce Torrence Botts has been selected to lead our Boys Basketball Program. Botts will serve as the Varsity Head Coach and oversee the development of the sub-varsity and middle school basketball teams.

Botts began his coaching career at St. Francis Episcopal Day School before serving as the Head JV and Varsity Basketball Assistant Coach at Kinkaid. After his first season at Kinkaid, Botts was hired as a Varsity Assistant Basketball Coach and Physical Education Teacher at Stafford High School in Stafford, Texas. Botts was promoted to Head Varsity Basketball coach at Stafford in 2010. As the Head Coach, Botts led the Spartans to multiple District Championships and playoff appearances. His 2017 squad finished the year as Regional Quarterfinalists in the State Playoffs. Additionally, Coach Botts was named District Coach of the Year in 2011, 2014, and 2017.

The Houston native graduated from the University of Houston where he earned his B.A. in Kinesiology. While at the University of Houston, Botts was a two-sport Division I student-athlete earning multiple varsity letters in both basketball and football for the Cougars. As a high school student, the Clear Brook graduate was a three-sport athlete. As a basketball player, Botts earned two First Team All Region and All District honors as well as being a McDonalds All American Nominee.

In addition to his basketball coaching responsibilities, Coach Botts will teach physical education, serve as an assistant football coach in the fall and coach a sport in the spring.

Torrence's tireless work ethic, his experience and success as a Head Basketball Coach and Physical Education Teacher, along with his familiarity of Kinkaid and Houston-area youth sports make him an excellent fit to lead our program. Torrence embodies the positive qualities to serve as a teacher, coach and mentor in our community. Please join us in welcoming Torrence Botts back to Kinkaid.