HP Boys Hoops Might Not Sweat 6A

Highland Park’s Evan Beucler drives past a McKinney defender on Tuesday. (Photo: Kate Simone)

All that news about Highland Park moving to the state’s highest classification for UIL competitions next season? It might not be such a big deal for the boys basketball program.

The Scots (8-0) are undefeated this season, and five of their eight wins have come against current Class 5A schools — Midlothian, Lake Highlands, Jesuit, Richardson, and McKinney — which would be part of the new 6A next season.

They had a season-best offensive output on Tuesday during an 80-59 home win over McKinney.

“I want to schedule good teams to give us a good test and see where we are,” HP head coach David Piehler said.

Read more: Park Cities People http://www.parkcitiespeople.com/#ixzz2mcP8GM21

By Todd Jorgenson

Coach David Piehler has the Scots off to a 7-0 start. (File photo: Chris McGathey)

Highland Park’s boys basketball team remained unbeaten with a 73-70 home win over Richardson last Tuesday. The Scots trailed the Eagles by 2 at halftime, but came out strong in the third quarter with a 23-11 scoring advantage to take the lead, which they never relinquished.

Evan Beucler and Clayton Murtha paced the Scot scoring with 24 and 23 points, respectively. Derek Cahn added an additional 18 points.

Both teams made eight 3-point shots, with the visitors making more regulation baskets. The difference in the game came down to foul shots, with the Scots sinking 17 to the opponents’ 10.

Read more: Park Cities People http://www.parkcitiespeople.com/page/2/#ixzz2mcONYhAB

By Dan Koller

Westcott Makes Candidacy Official

With plenty of supporters on hand, District 108 candidate Chart Westcott shakes on it with James Carter, executive director of the Dallas County Republican Party. (Photo: Courtesy of the Westcott campaign)

Park Cities native Chart Westcott on Tuesday filed to run for the District 108 seat in the Texas House of Representatives.

Westcott submitted more than 5,000 petition signatures to the Dallas County GOP in order to be placed on the ballot for the March 4 Republican primary. He is a partner and general counsel of Commodore Partners, a Dallas private equity firm.

The seat is being vacated by University Park resident Dan Branch, who is running for Texas attorney general.

Read more: Park Cities People http://www.parkcitiespeople.com/page/2/#ixzz2mcNLb6uE

By Todd Jorgenson

HP to Play in Class 6A Next Season

The Scots take the field for Friday’s win over Mansfield Legacy last Friday. (Photo: Rob Graham)

Highland Park will play in the state’s largest classification for football and other sports beginning next season.

As part of the UIL’s biennial realignment process, HP will be elevated to the new Class 6A for two years starting in the fall of 2014, based on enrollment estimates and figures released by the UIL.

For the first time on Monday, the UIL released conference cutoff numbers in advance of realignment day, using snapshot enrollment numbers submitted by each public school in the state.

HPISD turned in an unofficial snapshot figure of 2,106 students, which is six students above the 6A cutoff line of 2,100. That will make HP one of the smallest 6A schools in the state for the next two years, if not the smallest outright.

The classification divisions, as well as new district alignments, will be made official on Feb. 3.

“We always thought it could be a possibility, based on previous realignments when we were close,” said HPISD athletic director Johnny Ringo. “With the growth in our enrollment, we knew that eventually we’d be 6A.”

It will be the first time HP has moved up in classification since taking a drop from 5A to 4A in the late 1980s. The school has been one of the largest 4A schools in the state for much of the past 25 years.

“The Scots are always competitive,” HPISD Superintendent Dawson Orr said in a statement. “We look forward to the challenge.”

Read more: Park Cities People http://www.parkcitiespeople.com/page/2/#ixzz2mcMdGl5j

By Todd Jorgenson

Scots Shut Out Legacy, Pass Third-Round Hurdle

Andrew Clyde (97), Brooks Oden (91), and the rest of the Highland Park defense stifled what had been a potent Legacy offense. (Photo: Rob Graham)

ARLINGTON – The third-round hurdle in the playoffs turned out to be little more than a speed bump for Highland Park on Friday.

The Scots rolled to a 48-0 victory over Mansfield Legacy at AT&T Stadium to snap a four-game losing skid in the regional semifinal round.

For the first time since 2007, HP advanced to the Class 4A Division I Region II final, where it will face either South Oak Cliff or Wylie next week.

The Scots (12-1) stretched their winning streak to 12 games with a dominating first-half performance that included an efficient offense and a stifling defense.

Read more: Park Cities People http://www.parkcitiespeople.com/page/2/#ixzz2mcLeFcOS

By Todd Jorgenson