Castleberry ISD honors CHS student-athletes for winter and spring seasons

Castleberry ISD on Monday recognized Castleberry High School student-athletes for achievements across winter and spring sports, including UIL playoff appearances, regional medals and individual all-district honors. The Board of Education and district athletics staff invited student representatives and coaches to summarize season highlights and accept recognition.

The recognition segment opened with Miss Dee Dee Pierce introducing the athletics presentations and a district representative thanking the board, specifically President Tollovar and Miss Smith Faulkner, for supporting the programs. Students and coaches from multiple sports outlined team results, postseason progress and individual honors.

Jaden Vasquez, representing the CHS varsity boys basketball team, said the Lions tied for fourth in district play and won a tie-breaker over Bridgeport, 46-34, to qualify for the UIL state playoffs; the team later lost in the bi-district round to Wichita Falls Hershey. Vasquez named all-district selections including first-team honorees Amore Dobbins and Everett Ariana and second-team selections Demetrius Valdez and Michael Ramirez.

Iolordre Gutierrez reported that the CHS girls soccer team finished third in district and earned a spot in the UIL state playoffs, losing a close match to Diamond Hill, 4-3. Gutierrez listed individual honors, naming Alexa Rivera as defensive player of the year and Aligail Buendia as newcomer of the year, along with first- and second-team all-district players.

Saul Becerra summarized powerlifting: five boys competed at regionals and nine girls qualified for regionals in Decatur, with four girls medaling (Molly Sezustek, Aliyah Barbosa, Jalen Russ and Yvette Gomez). Becerra said all participating lifters achieved personal records in the primary lifts over the season.

Rodrigo Lopez said the CHS boys soccer team reached the regional semifinal after four playoff victories, falling to El Paso San Lazario, 3-0. Lopez listed district awards, including offensive player of the year Giovanni Paredes and utility player Alan Narayano, and noted Isaac Chavez and John Castaneda were named Region 1 TASCO All-Stars.

Head coach Paul Smith recognized assistant coach Fontenot as the region-wide Assistant Coach of the Year and presented a small trophy on behalf of the program. "Another one of the awards that TASCO hands out… Assistant Coach of the Year — and he won that," Smith said, thanking coaching staff and supporters.

Sarah Caldera described CHS track and field qualifiers at regionals in Lubbock. Junior Marcos Cano, the district's wheelchair shot-putter, finished second at regionals and broke the regional meet record with a throw of 23 feet, 2¼ inches, qualifying for the UIL state meet in Austin; Caldera said Cano finished fourth at state amid rainy conditions. Coaches Juan Silva and Tim Gillespie were credited for their work with the athletes.

The board invited athletics staff and parents to stand for recognition and arranged for group photos to mark the occasion. No formal actions or votes were taken during the recognition segment; the presentations concluded with applause and acknowledgements.

Members of the public and families in attendance were invited to celebrate the student-athletes as the meeting moved on to the next agenda item.