Area Sports Notebook

AREA SPORTS NOTEBOOK: Former Mav Mensah Stock qualifies for Olympics

By Dennis Silva II, Sports Editor
Posted 4/8/21

Former Morton Ranch standout wrestler Tamyra Mensah Stock won the Olympic Trials for the second time on Saturday, April 3, qualifying for the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in
Area Sports Notebook

AREA SPORTS NOTEBOOK: Former Mav Mensah Stock qualifies for Olympics

Posted

Former Morton Ranch standout wrestler Tamyra Mensah Stock won the Olympic Trials for the second time on Saturday, April 3, qualifying for the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. Mensah Stock first won the Olympic Trials four years ago but still needed to finish in the top two of a final qualifying tournament to earn a bid to Rio. She finished third. Because of her world championship win in the 68 kg in 2019, a win last Saturday automatically qualified Mensah Stock, who holds a Team USA ranking of No. 1 in the 68 kg/149.5-pound class. She swept 17-year-old Kennedy Blades, a high school junior from Wyoming. “I’m feeling excitement. I’m feeling overwhelmed. I feel I could’ve worked harder,” Mensah Stock, 28, emotionally told NBC after her win. “It’s a lot, a lot of hard work. No matter how naturally talented you are, there is so much work, sacrifice and dedication in this. But I have such an amazing support system that it almost was natural.” Because the Trials were in Fort Worth, Mensah Stock had family, friends, college coaches and Morton Ranch coach Mark Balser in the stands watching her. Mensah Stock was a 2010 and 2011 state champion at Morton Ranch under Balser. …

Another former Morton Ranch star, LJ Cryer, is a national champion. The Mavs’ all-time leading scorer was a true freshman on No. 2 Baylor this season. The Bears beat No. 1 and previously undefeated Gonzaga, 86-70, to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship in Indianapolis on Monday to finish 28-2 this season. Cryer played the last minute of the game and missed his only shot, a long 3-pointer. The Bears are just the second team from Texas to win the men’s basketball national title, joining 1966 University of Texas-El Paso. This season, Cryer—who scored 3,488 points as a Mav, the fifth-most all-time in Texas high school basketball history and the most by a player from the Greater Houston area—played in 20 games, averaging 3.4 points in 10 minutes per game. Cryer made 16 of 44 3-pointers for a 36.4 percent clip. …

The UIL determined last week that its state track and field meets will remain at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus this season. The state meet is scheduled for May 6-8. …

Former Seven Lakes assistant coach Kris O’Neal was hired April 1 as the head football coach at Tuloso-Midway High School in Corpus Christi. O’Neal had been at Seven Lakes since the mid-2000s and coached varsity running backs. O’Neal succeeds Wade Miller, who resigned in February to become the head football coach at Uvalde. …

In this week’s Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association state rankings, Katy is ranked No. 5 in Class 6A. Tompkins is ranked No. 10.

 (The weekly sports notebook highlights notes and news that occurred in the Katy area within the last week. To submit a news item, email dennis.silva@katytimes.com or message on Twitter @densilva02).

Katy ISD, athletics, Katy, Texas, area sports notebook, Tamyra Mensah Stock, LJ Cryer, Morton Ranch High School, Morton Ranch Mavericks, sports