Trustees celebrate student and staff achievements across the district

Midlothian ISD trustees recognized students, staff members and programs for outstanding achievements in academics, athletics, fine arts, Career and Technical Education, leadership and service.

Inspiring Excellence in Academics and Athletics

Trustees honored the Class of 2026 valedictorians and salutatorians from both Heritage High School and Midlothian High School for their academic accomplishments and leadership throughout high school.

Family members, campus administrators and trustees joined together to celebrate the students' dedication, perseverance and commitment to excellence as they prepare for the next chapter after graduation.

Trustees also celebrated Heritage High School Jaguar and Midlothian High School Panther student-athletes who earned Academic All-State honors during the spring sports season.

These student-athletes demonstrated excellence both in competition and in the classroom while balancing the demands of athletics, academics and extracurricular activities throughout their high school careers.

All four MISD girls and boys soccer teams advanced to the UIL playoffs and reached at least the regional semifinal round.

The Heritage High School girls basketball team advanced to the regional semifinals and concluded the season with 30 wins and a district championship. District 15-5A also named the coaching staff Coaching Staff of the Year. Individual honors included:

• Bri Finch — school record for most 3-pointers in a season; first-team all-district
• Danaya Hicks — District 15-5A Defensive Player of the Year
• Riley Menicucci — first-team all-district

MISD powerlifting student-athletes also qualified for the UIL 5A Large School State Tournament.

• Ariana Edwards (MHS) - 132lb Class, Squat-220/Bench-105/Deadlift-225
• Lydia Morris (MHS) - 165lb Class, Squat-215/Bench-120/Deadlift-235
• Amiyah DeGrate (MHS) - 181lb Class, Squat-200/Bench-110/Deadlift-255
• Kaycie Gaydos (MHS) - 242lb Class, Squat-310/Bench-175/Deadlift-300
• Emma Sanchez (HHS) - 2nd Place, 485lb Squat 485/Bench-270/Deadlift-340

Emma Sanchez became a three-time state qualifier and earned Academic All-State honors, won Outstanding Lifter at the regional meet and received a $1,000 scholarship from the THSWPA.

Heritage High School student-athlete Legend Vail became the first boys golfer in school history to qualify for the UIL 5A State Golf Championship Tournament. During his career, he set school records for both 18-hole and 36-hole scores while earning multiple all-district and all-region honors.

Midlothian High School Softball advanced to the Regional Semifinals after capturing the program’s first outright district championship in 20 years, along with back-to-back bi-district and area championships.

The Midlothian High School mixed doubles tennis team of Hannah Hobbs and Caleb Hobbs advanced to the UIL 5A State Tennis Championship and finished as state runners-up. The achievement marked the first time in MISD history that the district was represented in a tennis state championship final.

The Heritage High School girls track team captured back-to-back district championships, the program’s first area championship and the first regional championship in school history. The team tied or broke 23 school records and qualified for the UIL state championship in five events. The Heritage boys track team also qualified its 4x100-meter relay team for the UIL 5A State Championship.

Inspiring Excellence in Fine Arts

Midlothian ISD fine arts students continued to excel at the state and national levels in theatre, visual arts, dance and Winter Guard.

Midlothian High School students Gabrielle Anderson and Kate Kennedy earned the Texas Theatre Scholar Award for the 2025-26 school year. The distinction recognizes students who demonstrate excellence academically and in theatre arts.

MISD also celebrated five students whose artwork advanced to the state Visual Arts Scholastic Event competition:

• Brielle Yanez, Heritage High School
• Jordan Winant, Heritage High School
• Karissa Bacon, Heritage High School
• Norah Pacheco, Heritage High School
• Miranda Roberts, Midlothian High School, the first MHS Art 1 student to advance to the state competition

The Walnut Grove Middle School Diamonds dance program earned multiple national honors, including national champion titles in several categories and the Best of the Best designation in the middle school division.

The Midlothian High School Varsity Winter Guard earned multiple top-three finishes during the season and concluded the year with a bronze medal at the state championship finals. The Midlo Middle Guard also earned bronze at the NTCA Championships, marking the first championship medal in program history.

Inspiring Excellence in CTE

The Heritage High School Jagwire Robotics team continues to build a strong tradition of success despite being only in its fourth year. The program has already helped launch dozens of former students into university programs in engineering, technology, computer science, medicine, law and business, while others have entered the military or skilled trades.

This year, the team competed at two state competitions, including the FIRST Robotics Competition. The Jagwires also earned the gracious professionalism award and the safety award for their performance and teamwork throughout the season.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization dedicated to inspiring young people to pursue science, engineering and technology through hands-on robotics competitions. The FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) is designed for middle and high school students and emphasizes teamwork, innovation, iterative design and problem-solving through game-based robotics challenges.

Students from Heritage and Midlothian High Schools participated at the State HOSA competition in Galveston.

• Leia Beckett - third place in Medical Art (out of 250 entries and will be showcased in future publications), sixth place in Home Health Aide (written test and skills portion; out of 350 entries)
• Camden Clemmons - first place in ATC Medical Career Development and second place in ATC Medical Math for Health Careers
• Priya Douglass - second place in ATC Environmental Science
• Ryland Jeter - eighth place in Family Medicine Physician in Health Professions Event

In addition, the Midlothian High School HOSA Chapter earned a Silver Award for its blood drive efforts during the school year.

Inspiring Excellence in Service and Leadership

Walnut Grove Middle School eighth-grade student Brenden Hunter earned the rank of Eagle Scout, an achievement earned by only a small percentage of scouts nationwide.

For his Eagle Scout project, Brenden supported the Midlothian City Animal Shelter by collecting supplies and volunteering his time to care for animals awaiting adoption. His leadership and service made a direct impact on the shelter and the community it serves.

Trustees also recognized Midlothian Heritage High School graduate Lauren Rodriguez for earning a Perfect Attendance Scholarship. Lauren attended MISD throughout her K-12 education with perfect attendance while also graduating with a 3.88 GPA and earning her associate degree from Navarro College during high school.

Midlothian ISD continues to prioritize a culture of service and strong community partnerships.

Trustees recognized the district’s partnership with Mentors Care, a program that connects community volunteers with at-risk students to provide support, encouragement and guidance throughout high school.

MISD and Aramark also were recognized through the Texas Farm Fresh Challenge for their commitment to serving locally sourced foods and promoting agricultural education opportunities for students.

Trustees honored the 2025-26 Servant Leaders of the Year:

• Janet Probst — manual/custodial trades
• Debora Jones — paraprofessional
• Caty Dearing — professional

The district also celebrated being named a Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase District for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, all 14 MISD campuses earned designation as Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase Schools.

Trustees recognized the 2025-26 Employees of the Year, who were nominated by staff and community members for exemplifying the district’s cultural tenets and commitment to serving students, staff and families.

• Mary Quintero, Child Nutrition Services
• Maria Escalante, Custodial Services
• Sydney Shannon, First-year Teacher
• Rachel Bruton, Instructional Aide
• Cassandra Ricks, Leadership
• Dario Guevara, Maintenance Services
• Kay Lynn Ward, Paraprofessional Services
• Lisa Reynolds, Professional Services
• John Newcomb, School Resource Officer
• Jackie Fontaine, Transportation Services