In the quarterfinal round of the Prep Slam Wrestling tournament in Atlanta, GA, Head Coach Alan Paul took quick notice of Jet Ligums’ ’26 opponent. At stake were Prep Slam All-American honors and breaking Mason Lum’s ’25 record of 138 individual match wins.
“He was a big, strong, muscled-up kid who looked like he did not weigh 157,” said Paul.
When the whistle blew to start the match, Ligums was driven back off the mat. It was not an auspicious start, but no points were scored on that move. At that point, Coach Paul knew what to say and Ligums knew what to do.
According to Coach Paul, Ligums trains as hard as anyone in the mat room, yet what takes him to the next level is his competition mode.
“He is a tournament guy,” said Paul. “He has a switch that turns on in matches. We say ‘Cowboy up’ to help him reset.”
Coaches Paul and Danny Henderson came up with the phrase “Cowboy up” to help Ligums ignite that switch. Ligums works on a ranch in the summers, and the slogan was a good fit.
Ligums heard it loud and clear when he returned to the circle after being on his heels in the first seconds of the match.
“The match started out a little rocky, and I got driven out of bounds,” said Ligums. “I had a few seconds to reset and took a deep breath. I trusted a move I’ve worked on since I was six years old.”
Ligums pinned him in 45 seconds, time enough to “Cowboy up!”
St. John's Mavericks Varsity Girls Volleyball, 2025 SPC Champions, is back in the spotlight with Houston Chronicle All-Greater Houston Private School awards.
Player of the Year: Kiran Rio '26
Coach of the Year: Shelbi Irvin
All Private School Team: Jacey Carroll '27, Olivia Landahl ’27
Congratulations to John Perdue ’22 for being named Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American for the Brown University Football program. Perdue, a senior captain, led the team with 88 tackles on the season. He was also named Second-Team All-Ivy and Academic All-District. Perdue is a finalist for the CSC Academic All-America award, to be announced on January 27.
While at St. John’s, Perdue competed in multiple sports. In Swimming, he broke the school record in the 50 free. He is the only 2X All-American in the St. John’s Wrestling program. In football, he was a three-year starter who led the team in rushing & scoring (2020) and tackles (2019). He also competed for the Maverick Lacrosse and Track & Field teams.
Perdue is hanging up his cleats for good and does not plan to compete on any other team at Brown.
"This is the end of the road in competitive sports for me," said Perdue. "That said, I loved the brotherhood we built at Brown Football, and I will definitely miss playing alongside those guys."
Congratulations to Taylor Synnott ’28 for being named the 2025 VypeGirls Cross Country Private School Athlete of the Year! Synnott finished first at the SPC Championships, leading the Mavericks to a runner-up team finish.
Congratulations to Arianna Doss ’23 of the MIT Women’s Soccer program for making the 2025 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Team. Doss was named Scholar All-American Third Team, Scholar All-Region Second Team, United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Region, NEWMAC All-Academic, and NEWMAC First Team All-Conference. The Engineers (22-3-1) won the NEWMAC Conference title for the third straight season and advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament.
Congratulations to Margot Manning '23 and Texas A&M for winning the 2025 NCAA Women's Volleyball D1 National Championship. The Aggies defeated three #1 seeds in the tournament and did not drop a set in both of their Final-Four matches.
Congratulations to Margot Manning '23 and Texas A&M Volleyball for advancing to the NCAA Final Four Volleyball Championships. The Aggies defeated the overall #1-seeded Nebraska in the regional final and are set to play Pittsburgh on December 18 in Kansas City.
Congratulations to goalkeeper Juliana Boon ’24, who made 62 saves on the season for Northwestern, including four in the National Championship game OT win, for a second consecutive NCAA D1 Championship! Boone was also selected to the NFHCA First Team All-Region Team (West).