Rockwall Jacket Athletes of the Month

Each month, the Jacket Backers, Rockwall High School’s Booster Club selects student athletes who are nominated by their coach for Jacket Athlete of the Month.  For the month of April, Grant Morris, Gillian Thurmond, Parker Thomas, Braden Wills, Maya White, Brad Binns, Sam Alves, Claire Lowrey, Keviah Ealy, Elizabeth Schaefer and Cole Dillon were each nominated by their coaches and selected as Jacket Athletes of the Month.

Grant Morris, Freshman Boys Golf had a great season for the Jackets.  He finished up the year leading the Jackets in the District Tournament. “Grant tied with Caden Garner to earn a 10^th place medal. “Grant had a great freshman year and learned a lot of valuable lessons that will benefit him and the Jackets for the next three years.  Grant has a great work ethic and usually has a smile on his face.  We are looking for Grant to be a leader for the next several years.” Shares Coach Watkins.

Gillian Thurmond, Sophomore Girls Golf placed 6^th at the District Tournament earning a trip to the regional tournament as a medalist.  “Gillian had a great work ethic and has a bright future for the Lady Jackets.  Gillian has two years left at RHS and we are looking for her to contribute as the Lady Jackets hope to continue their success on the golf course in the years to come.  Gillian is a pleasure to coach as she always has a smile on her face.” Adds Coach Watkins.

Elizabeth Schaefer, Junior Softball First Baseman has been a massive part of the Lady Jackets team’s success throughout the season.  Coach Acosta states, “She has been the best example of resilience, heart, respect, hard work, faith and toughness for our team.  She is our Varsity Captain and the person who we can rely on to keep our defense focused between every pitch.  Schaefer has started all 25 games this season, is 2^nd in batting average with .475, leads the team in sluffing percentage at .887, leads the team in RBI’s (34), leads in homeruns (9), and tied for first for triples.  She is equally as incredible and focused as a student.  We couldn’t have asked for a better leader on and off the field!”

Cole Dillon, Senior Baseball Catcher has hit .607 for the month of April going 17-28 with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homerun and 15 RBI’s as the starting catcher.  “Cole is a three year starter and leads the Jackets from behind the plate and in the dugout.  He is committed to play baseball at McClennan Community College in Waco” shares Coach Rose.

Sam Alves, Junior Hurdler and Vertical Jumps for Boy’s Track; this past Saturday at the Region II-6A Track and Field Meet Sam became the first male state qualifier for RHS since 2013.  Sam also won the Regional track meet in the 110 Meter Hurdles by running a 14.05.  He is chasing the RHS School record of 13.90 set back in 1994, which is one of two of the oldest records remaining on the record board.  “Sam has remained undefeated in this event for the entire 2021 season.  In 2 weeks Sam will be lining up with 8 other athletes at the state track meet.  It will not surprise me when he is up on that awards podium receiving a medal and along with it a new school record as well.” Exclaims Coach McCrary.

Claire Lowrey, Sophomore High Jumper for Girls’ Track has remained undefeated in the girls’ high jump for the entire 2021 season.  She recently won the Region II-6A meet in her specialty event this past weekend.  At the area meet on April 15^th at Wilkerson Sanders Stadium, Claire jumped 5’8.5”.  This mark was good enough to break the RHS school record along with the Wilkerson Sanders Stadium record.  Coach McCrary adds, “This mark also puts her at the top of the 6A girls’ high jumpers in the State of Texas.  Claire is eyeing the gold medal and a new PR of 5’10” or better.  This will not be a surprise to anyone that knows her.”

Keviah Ealy, Senior Long Jump for Girls Track was another regional champion for the Lady Jackets at last week’s Region II-6A Track Meet.  Keviah barely made it out of area after not being able to work out a week prior to the district meet due to an injury.  She managed to jump good enough to place 4^th and advance to Area.  Coach McCrary proudly shares, “Keviah regrouped going into Area and won the area meet with a new PR of 19'1", which was also her first jump ever over 19' in a competition.  At this past weeks Regional Meet, Keviah's first jump was a foul.  On her 2nd Jump, Keviah jumped her new PR of 19'9.5".  This mark is only 1 inch shy of the girl's school record set by Kaylee Hinton back in 2015.  Keviahs remaining 4 jumps were all 19' + marks.  She is now showing signs of being a consistent 19'0" jumper but she is about to hit that 20' mark soon, like maybe 2 weeks down in Austin.  Keviah also is one of the State's leaders in her event.  I am looking forward to seeing what is in store for her at State.”

Parker Thomas, Junior for Girls Water Polo, is the “Do it all on our team” according to Coach Partenheimer.  “She can score and play outstanding defense.  This past week, she's also made the Southwestern Zone Youth Water Polo team and made the Olympic Development Program.  She's lead out team to qualify for regionals this weekend.”

Braden Wills, Senior for Boys’ Water Polo, has played outstanding water polo for the Jackets making a last second goal to tie Southlake Carroll.  Coach Partenheimer adds, “Every play goes through Braden on the offensive side.  With him, we’ve qualified for regionals.”

Maya White, Senior for Girls Swimming, continues to do well.  “She is dropping times in her events and will do great things at Colorado State next year” shares Coach Partenheimer.

Brad Binns, Freshman for Boys Swimming did so great this year as he has moved up in training groups making great strides.  “He has also started to play water polo this year” says Coach Partenheimer.

Congratulations to each of these Rockwall High School Athletes!

The Jacket Backer Booster Club is a non-profit association formed to maximize fundraising efforts for Rockwall High School Sports, and other charitable activities that promote the development of good character, high morale, and maximum effort.

For more information on how you can support, vote and promote Rockwall High School’s Student Athletes visit the Jacket Backers website at https://www.jacketboosters.com/ and be sure to follow all of our athletes’ accomplishments on Facebook or Twitter @RHSJacketBacker.

It’s a Great Time to be a Jacket Backer!!!