Plano East senior Dyan Tecuatl (bib No. 375) recently earned a selection on the Texas High School Coaches academic all-state elite team. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media

By David Wolman

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For all the personal sacrifices that high school athletes make throughout the school year to show up early in the morning to lift weights and practice, they are just as focused on getting the job done in the classroom.

All of the academic success that student-athletes at Plano East, Sachse, Wylie and Wylie East was recently recognized by the Texas High School Coaches Association, which placed at least one athlete, student manager or trainer from each school on the academic all-state team.

Plano East had 18 student-athletes in cross country, football, team tennis and volleyball earn their way onto the prestigious list, with eight of those selections coming in cross country.

Dyan Tecuatl earned the highest individual honor, having been placed on the all-state elite team. Alina Nguyen, Sarita Fino, Adam Farooqui and Donald Dorak were placed on the first team. Reagan Noel was a second-team honoree. Courtney Shults and Maya Shariff received recognition on the honorable-mention team.

It was a banner year for the Lady Panthers, who won their first district title since 2017. Plano East and Prosper both accumulated 52 points, but the Lady Panthers won the tiebreaker because of a higher finish by their sixth-fastest runner. Noel finished in fourth place to lead the charge for Plano East at the District 6-6A meet. Nguyen placed 15th, while Tecuatl ran to 22nd place. 

For the Plano East volleyball team, Emma Reeves received a selection on the academic all-state team. Reeves helped lead the Lady Panthers to fourth round of the playoffs for the first time since 2008. 

In team tennis, Plano East’s Haosu Zhu and Collin Nguyen were named to the all-state elite team, while Akash Arulkumaran, Elena Shurtleff and Clementine Allouard-Carny earned recognition on the first team.

In football, Plano East’s Bo Delozier and Keissy Lopez were honored on the first team. Roheem Olayia Mohammed were placed on the second team, while tight end/running back/wide receiver/quarterback Jackson Howard received recognition on the 6A honorable-mention team.