THE TEXAS TOP 20

NOV. 26 — At the conclusion of the state semifinals Friday night in San Marcos, the main topic of discussion among media covering the event focused on how 3A Wimberley as well as 4A Red Oak, New Braunfels and maybe even Hereford had been more impressive than any of the 5A teams. Apparently Westlake's players heard the talk, because Saturday the Chaps turned in a performance so dominating that they left no doubt among anyone on hand who was the king of this year's mountain. (Although we'd pay to see a round robin between Westlake, Red Oak and Wimberley — the champs of the top three classifications).

Actually, there are probably some fans in San Antonio who might have doubt about who has the best team in the state. After all, there is one team in the Lone Star State that beat this year's 3A, 4A and 5A champions. That, of course, would be Churchill.

But Westlake won the last meeting between the two and in watching all of the top teams this year, we haven't seen anyone who could have beaten the Chaps on Saturday. For that reason, they finish the season as our choice as the Lone Star State's best high school volleyball team. And Churchill? Well, we would say wait until next year but since Westlake returns all but two players, next year might be more of the same. Especially if Westlake improves at the same pace they did from the start of this season to the finish.

Also this weekend, Wimberley and Red Oak proved to any remaining skeptics that they deserve their ranking among the state elite. Everyone knew that Wimberley would be good when the season started, the only question was how good. Now we know. And while Red Oak, as usual, was expected to have one of the state's top 4A teams, only the most optimistic Red Oak fan could have predicted in August that the Lady Hawks would be as powerful as they turned out to be. In fact, Red Oak and Wimberley may have the most athletic teams in the state. Although both were challenged in the finals, the Hawks and Lady Texans always seemed in control and any time either team needed a big play, someone would step up to the challenge in a big-time way.

Finally, it's too bad that Texarkana Pleasant Grove didn't get out more this season. Against Wimberley in the finals, coach Melissa Daniel's Lady Hawks showed promise as a team capable of competing with the top teams in the state. It would have been interesting to see them at one of the top tournaments or at least see them schedule North Texas powers such as Red Oak, Arlington Martin or Arlington. Texarkana's only matches against elite teams were a couple of losses to Longview Pine Tree.

As a result of this weekend's action, there was a little shuffling in the final rankings. Performances of the teams in San Marcos influenced where some of the teams below them finished. For example, Stratford's showing in the finals also impacted the ranking of Clear Creek, a team they beat in the regional finals. Westlake's dominating performance in the finals had an impact on Churchill's position, the team they beat in the regional finals. Which brings us to our final ranking of the 20 best teams in Texas.

Final Ranking

Finished On The Bubble (in alphabetical order):

Belton
Cinco Ranch
Cy Falls
Cy Springs
Dumas
Friendswood
Medina Valley
New Braunfels Canyon
Port Neches-Groves
Round Rock
San Antonio O'Connor
San Antonio Reagan
Stephenville