Last month we hosted our annual Board Excellence Awards, where the Victoria ISD Board of Trustees recognized the top five fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students and the top 10 freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior students from Victoria East High School and Victoria West High School and their feeder campuses, respectively.
Of those students, many are also athletes. Participating in sports while in school can help develop time management skills, improve concentration, gain confidence, and more.
From Cade, Howell, Patti Welder, and STEM and Stroman Middle Schools, 21 of the 40 students honored with a Board Excellence Award also participated in Athletics.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our student-athletes who chose not only to excel in the classroom, but in athletics as well,” said VISD Athletic Director Spencer Gantt. “I believe that most life lessons can be learned through athletics. Time management, commitment, self-discipline, mental toughness, work ethic, teamwork, and goal-setting, tools that they are currently using in the classroom, are tools that they will use for the rest of their lives. I am very, very proud of all of them. Thank you for being great representatives of VISD student-athletes.”
From Victoria East High School, 15 out of the top 40 students participated, or are currently participating, in sports.
NINTH GRADE
Taasneem Ishra
Kason Kolle
Varsity Baseball (Still in Season)
Noah Shepard
Eliana West
TENTH GRADE
Clayton Diebel
Aaron Ehsan
Collin Flessner
Varsity Soccer
Academic All-District
1st Team All-District
Shiloh Fort
Varsity Volleyball
North Zone Newcomer of the Year
MVP Defense Team Award
Varsity Soccer
Academic All-District
Daylen King
Aidan Valdez
TWELFTH GRADE
Donovan Garcia
DJ Hopkins
Varsity Cross Country and Varsity Track (Still in Season)
Academic All-State for Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas
Brylie Koopman
Varsity Tennis
Isabella Roth
Varsity Cross Country
2022 District XC Champion
Regional Qualifier all 4 years at VEHS
All-State Cross-Country Coaches Association of Texas
Varsity Soccer
4-year Varsity Member
Academic All-District all 4 years at VEHS
Academic All-State
Team Academic Award
Team Captain 2 years
From Victoria West High School, 25 of the top 40 students participated, or are currently participating, in sports.
NINTH GRADE
Hailee Brewer
Colton Gay
Brooklyn Herzog
Hailey King
Glory Palmer
Varsity Swimming,
Regional Qualifier
Championship Heat Qualifier
Varsity Cross Country
TENTH GRADE
Ellie Ardrean
Cora Borden
Tia Cole
Ava Hamilton
Varsity Cross Country
Callie Kern
Bareera Saif
Varsity Tennis
Ajay Shamma
Casey Svatek
ELEVENTH GRADE
Nathaniel Blackshear
Taha Haris
Sarah Heinold
Nathan Mersino
Truett Rollins
Varsity Football and Baseball (Still in Season)
Football Playoff Area Finalist
Academic All District
1st Team All District Defensive End
Honorable Mention Victoria Advocate All Area
Grace Weiler
Varsity Volleyball and Softball (Still in Season)
Volleyball Playoffs Regional Quarterfinal Finalist
5A All-district Superlative Team:
Blocker of the Year
Academic All-district team
TWELFTH GRADE
Jeremiah Baldwin
Varsity Football and Basketball
Basketball Bi-District Finalist
Academic All District.
Football Playoff Area Finalist
Academic All District
Honorable Mention All-District WR
Rhonda Foreman Hooper Memorial Scholarship Recipient
1st TEAM THSCA ACADEMIC ALL STATE
2023 Team Captain
Caroline Cohen
2023 Varsity West Volleyball
Volleyball Playoffs Regional Quarterfinal Finalist
5A All-district Superlative Team
MVP, Academic All-district team
TGCA Academic All-State
Victoria Advocate All-Area First Team
Justis Trenck
Varsity Soccer and Baseball (Still in Season)
Nicolas Cantu
Football Playoff Area Finalist
Trey Tagliabue Memorial Scholarship Recipient
Samir Shama
Swimming
Regional Qualifier
Championship Heat Qualifier in two events
Clayton Sciba
Varsity Football
Football Playoff Area Finalist
Academic All District
1st Team All District Outside Linebacker
Honorable Mention Victoria Advocate All Area
THSCA Academic All-State Elite Team (Elite is the Highest)
2023 Team Captain
Talha Haris
Varsity Tennis (Still in Season)
How awesome is that?
From basketball to cross country to swimming, top students in VISD are also dedicating their time to playing and competing in sports they love and excelling in them as well. We are #VISDProud!