Tompkins Triumphant
Tompkins basketball is ready to make a run in the playoffs
Keion Cage
Feb 20, 2018, 9:21 pm
For the first time in program history, the Tompkins Falcons ended the regular season as district champs.
With a 26-8 overall record — 12-2 in district — Tompkins claimed the District 19-6A crown that had eluded the Falcons for a couple years.
Tompkins’ season included big wins over district rival Morton Ranch and Duncanville in the McDonalds Invitational Tournament to take home the tournament championship trophy.
Tompkins, ranked 16th in the state, is led by senior guard and Oklahoma signee, Jamal Bieniemy, and talented senior guard, CJ Washington.
Bieniemy finished the district season with an average of 17.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.1 assists while Washington had a district average of 16.6 points and 5 rebounds per game.
The two senior guards have been a part of Tompkins since the program’s first ever game when they were freshmen.
Now, the two are trying to lead their talented team that includes guard Eden Holt and shooting guards Emmanuel White and Kristian Sjolund to the program’s first ever playoff victory after back to back years of Bi-District exits.
“We are experienced and locked and loaded for the playoffs to started. We know what we need to do to win, so we just have to go out and play hard as a team to leave with the win,” Bieniemy said.
“We’ve been watching film and practicing hard. I believe we have a good shot to contend for state this year. This is my last year of high school, so I know I am going to go all out for my brothers on the team.”
Tompkins had their ups and downs throughout the regular season, but now it’s playoff time, which means win or go home.
Tompkins have been hungry to get back to playoffs since last year’s quick exit. They want to show that they are not just a regular season team, but they are state contenders too.
“I am very excited for the playoffs. I have been waiting for this day all year. This is my last ride with my brothers, so we got to finish with something to remember,” Washington said.
“I am getting my body right and my mind focus in practice, so I’ll be ready for the game. It been a fun season playing with my brothers that I grew up with, and I just can’t wait for the playoff game to get start with them.”
Throughout the season the Falcons have been seen as a state championship caliber team, but now it is time for them to be put to the test to truly see what kind of team they are.
Tompkins will start its playoff journey against Ridge Point High School on Monday at Alief Taylor.
The lights are getting brighter and the stage is getting bigger for Tompkins and they are coming in with a chip on their shoulder to finally make it pass the Bi-District round and get their first playoff win.
Will this be the year Tompkins finally break through the barrier and make a push for state?
Keion Cage is a student at Tompkins HS and a member of the VYPE U Ambassador Program. To learn more about how you can become a VYPE U Ambassador, visit VYPEU.com
Cal Raleigh approached the All-Star Home Run Derby like a day on the lawn. Dad was on the mound and baby brother was behind the plate.
Only this time, there were tens of thousands looking on at Truist Park and a $1 million prize.
“It goes all the way back to him coming home and me forcing him to throw me a ball and hit it in the backyard or in the house or something probably shouldn’t be doing,” a beaming Cal said, flanked by Todd and Todd Jr. after defeating Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero 18-15 in the final round Monday night.
Todd Raleigh, former coach of Tennessee and Western Carolina, threw the pitches and Cal’s 15-year-old brother, Todd Raleigh Jr., did the catching. A first-time All-Star at age 28, Cal became the first switch-hitter and first catcher to win the title. He’s the second Mariners player to take the title after three-time winner Ken Griffey Jr., who was on the field, snapping photos.
“Anybody that’s ever played baseball as a kid dreams of stuff like this,” Cal’s dad said. “I dreamed of it. He dreamed of it. When you’re a parent, you look at it differently because you want your kids to be happy.”
Leading the major leagues with 38 home runs at the All-Star break, Cal almost didn’t make it past the first round. The Mariners’ breakout slugger nicknamed Big Dumper and the Athletics’ Brent Rooker each hit 17 homers, and Raleigh advanced on a tiebreaker for longest long ball: 470.61 feet to 470.53 — or 0.96 inches. At first, Cal wasn’t aware whether there would be a swing-off.
“An inch off, and I’m not even in the final four, which is amazing,” Cal said. “So I guess I got lucky there. One extra biscuit.”
Raleigh totaled 54 homers. He won his semifinal 19-13 over Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, whose 513-foot first-round drive over the right-center field seats was the longest of the night.
Cal Raleigh's #HRDerby by the numbers:
Total HR: 54
HR of 425+: 31
Top distance: 471 ft
Avg distance: 430 ft
Total distance: 23,212 ft
Top exit velo: 112 MPH
Avg exit velo: 102 MPH pic.twitter.com/0pV6nGWLsA
— MLB (@MLB) July 15, 2025
Cal’s brother, nicknamed T, kept yelling encouragement to the brother he so admires.
“His swag, the way he plays, the way he hustles,” T said.
Hitting second in the final round, the 22-year-old Caminero closed within three dingers — MLB counted one that a fan outfielder caught with an over-the-wall grab. Using a multicolored bat and down to his last out, Caminero took three pitches and hit a liner to left.
“I didn’t think I was going to hit as many home runs or make it to the finals,” Caminero said through a translator.
Cal was just the second Derby switch-hitter after Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman in 2023. His dad was a righty and wanted both his sons to hit from both sides.
“Did it from the first day, when he was in diapers, literally,” Todd Sr. said. “I would take that big ball and he had a big red bat. I’d throw it slow and he’d hit it. Then I’d say stay there, pick him up, turn him around, switch his hands and do it again. I was a catcher. I played a little bit, and I just knew what a premium it was. I didn’t want either one of my boys to ever say, am I right-handed or left-handed?”
There was a downside.
“I don’t recommend it if you have two kids, they’re both switch hitters, if you want to save your arm, because that’s a lot of throwing,” said dad, who had rotator cuff surgery.
Raleigh hit his first eight homers left-handed, took a timeout, then hit seven right-handed. Going back to lefty, he hit two more in the bonus round and stayed lefty for the rest of the night.
“Was grooving a little bit more lefty so we were like, since we have a chance to win, we might as well stick to the side that’s working a little better,” Cal said.
Caminero beat Minnesota’s Byron Buxton 8-7 in the other semifinal. Atlanta’s Matt Olson, Washington’s James Wood, the New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Rooker were eliminated in the first round of the annual power show.
Cruz’s long drive was the hardest-hit at 118 mph.
Wood hit 16 homers, including one that landed on the roof of the Chop House behind the right-field wall. Olson, disappointing his hometown fans, did not go deep on his first nine swings and finished with 15, Chisholm hit just three homers, the fewest since the timer format started in 2015.fter it was all over, the Raleighs headed out. Stephanie, the boys’ mom and Todd Sr.'s wife, is surrounded by baseball.
After it was all over, the Raleighs headed out. Stephanie, the boys’ mom and Todd Sr.'s wife, is surrounded by baseball.
“We kind of leave it in the cage. We’ve got a cage at home, a building,” Todd Sr. said. “Or we leave it in the car on the rides home. There’s probably been a few times where she says, yeah, that’s enough.”