Wylie incoming senior Zachary Brumfield won the individual title at the District 9-6A cross country meet with a 16:03. The Pirates won the team title for the eighth consecutive season. Photo by David Wolman / C&S Media
By David Wolman
Another school year has come and gone for student-athletes at Wylie High School.
It was a successful year in many ways with the boys’ basketball, boys’ cross country, girls’ golf, girls’ soccer, tennis, softball and volleyball all winning district titles. A state title was won by the Lady Pirates’ girls’ powerlifting team, which finally got over the hump to capture their first state title in the equipped division.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the year that was for each sport. Fall sports will be reviewed this week, winter sports in the June 26 edition of the Wylie News and spring sports in the July 3 paper.
Football overcomes slow start to qualify for playoffs for the third consecutive season:
The Pirates needed a reset after losing 35-0 to Flower Mound on Sept. 6 to fall to 0-2.
The message that Wylie head coach Jimmy Carter had for his players after that game was that there was no time to worry about that game, that you have to move on to the next game.
It was a message that was well received by the Pirates.
What followed was a huge turnaround.
Led by a strong rushing attack and a stingy defense, Wylie went 6-2 in District 9-6A play to earn third place and qualified for the playoffs for a third consecutive season. The Pirates lost 62-20 to North Forney in a Class 6A Division I bi-district playoff game.
The Pirates’ defense was a strength during district play, a unit that held opponents to an average of 17.4 points per game, including a 42-0 shutout of Rowlett on Oct. 10. That improvement comes after Wylie surrendered 87 points to JJ Pearce and Flower Mound in non-district play.
Offensively, Wylie leaned on a rushing attack that averaged 203.5 rushing yards per contest. Alum quarterback Jagger Bale, alum running back Josh Ausborne and rising junior Daylon Gordon combined for 2,031 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns. Gordon was named District 9-6A newcomer of the year after he rushed for 966 yards and added 15 rushing scores.
Volleyball finally gets past the first round of playoffs:
The Lady Pirates have been a force in district play in recent years, having gone 75-12 in such action from 2018 to 2023. And this past season was no different as Wylie went 15-1 to earn a share of the District 9-6A title, a championship that they shared with Wylie East.
But what followed was a huge breakthrough.
Wylie rallied to upend Rockwall-Heath 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-23) in bi-district to earn their first postseason victory since the 2020 season.
The Lady Pirates were only getting started. Wylie outlasted Waxahachie in a five-set thriller in the area round to book a berth in the regional semifinals, but the Lady Pirates’ season ended at the hands of Grand Oaks in the third round. Wylie finished with an overall record of 34-9.
Wylie ranked in numerous all-district awards. Head coach Sherry Olivares was tabbed the 9-6A coach of the year. Alumnae Taylor Johnson was named setter of the year after she finished with 845 assists, 289 digs, 26 blocks, 64 aces and 144 kills. Rising junior Aubrey DeGrate was bestowed with blocker of the year for notching a team-high 82 blocks, along with 186 kills. Alumnae Karson Barclow earned co-offensive player of the year after she logged 412 kills, 41 aces, 35 blocks and 301 digs.
Team tennis cruises to seventh straight district title:
For the second year in a row, the District 9-6A title came down to the final match of the regular season.
Again, Wylie came out on top. The Pirates cruised to a 13-2 win over Wylie East to claim their seventh consecutive district title.
Wylie got wins at No. 1 boys’ doubles, No. 2 boys’ doubles, No. 1 boys’ singles, No. 4 boys’ singles, mixed doubles and won all of the girls’ matches.
The Pirates made it to the third round of the playoffs, defeating Rockwall-Heath 10-4 in the bi-district round of the Class 6A playoffs and Temple by a 10-0 final in the area round but lost to Tyler Legacy 10-6 in the regional quarterfinals.
Boys’ cross country continues to dominate:
The Pirates have cemented themselves as one of the top teams in Region II-6A during the last decade.
Wylie continued that string of recent success last fall. Despite having to replace five seniors from the 2023 season team that captured seventh place in the Class 6A state meet, it was business as usual for the Pirates.
Although Wylie didn’t qualify a team for the state meet for the first time in four years, the Pirates qualified two runners for the state meet. Rising senior Zachary Brumfield earned another berth in the Class 6A state meet after he ran to sixth place with a time of 15:44. And joining Brumfield in Round Rock was rising senior Landon Cooper. Cooper finished in 117th place at state. Brumfield finished in 46th place.
Wylie won the district title for the eighth consecutive season. The Pirates had four runners place in the top 10. Brumfield won the individual title. Cooper finished in second place. Alum Austin Jackson took fifth place. Incoming senior Hudson Donnell captured sixth place.
The Lady Pirates qualified for regionals after finishing in third place at the district meet. Rising senior Paige Orr led the way with a fifth-place finish.
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