PANGYO, South Korea – Denny Hilgar made his last of 31 appearances a happy one as Seoul American coach in a Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference Girls Division I Volleyball Tournament.

Most Valuable Player Destinee Harrison slammed 14 spike kills in 37 attempts, had four block points and six service aces as the Falcons, second in the regular season, downed regular-season champion Daegu American 25-18, 25-19, 25-21 in Saturday’s final at Korea International School.

As is customary with Hilgar, who retires to Florida after this school year, he deflected credit to his players. “It’s their tournament,” he said. “It’s not about me; it’s about the kids getting the most out of it.”

His final act as Falcons coach comes Nov. 8-13 in the Far East Division I Tournament, which Seoul American hosts.

Osan American’s boys made school and Division I Tournament history, as the Cougars, led by MVP Nathan Baldevia, edged Seoul American for the third time this season in five sets, this time 25-18, 25-17, 27-29, 24-26, 15-12 at Seoul International School.

Cross countryFor the third straight year, the Falcons girls held sway in the KAIAC cross-country championship meet at International Christian-Uijongbu. Under sunny skies, sisters Amanda and Pam Henderson led Seoul American’s 1-2-3-4 finish, clocking 20 minutes, 29 seconds and 20:30.

“My girls came up really competitive,” coach Steve Boyd said, adding that his top seven girls finishers each beat their personal bests in their final tune-up for next month’s Far East meet at Tokyo’s Tama Hills Recreation Center.

“We’ll be competitive,” Boyd said of the Falcons’ shot at a third straight overall Far East team title.

Five of his boys also beat their personal records, but the Falcons as a team finished second to Seoul Foreign. Japeth DeVries of ICS-U won the boys race in 17:09. “You want to win everything, but I’m satisfied” with the boys performance, Boyd said.

TennisOn the tennis courts, what Seoul American’s girls did a year ago, the Falcons’ boys did on Friday at Yongsan International-Seoul, winning the KAIAC team championship, the first time a DODDS Korea boys team has won the title.

All seven of coach Robert Victoria’s boys reached the finals of their respective groups, with Jay Han winning the third singles and Matt Bruhnke and Andrew Clark the first doubles.

“This feels great,” Victoria said. “The boys got it together and in their minds they felt they could do it. It was wonderful.”

Seoul American’s girls finished second to Seoul Foreign, which also placed seven players in their respective finals, with each of them winning. All-Conference doubles player Miriam Kim finished her Crusaders career with a 41-0 record; she teamed with Lauren Kim to win the second doubles.

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