Latest news with #WestlakeHighSchool
USA Today
15 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Michael Taaffe earns spot on Allstate Wuerffel Trophy watch list
Over the last week, Longhorns star Michael Taaffe has been busy making headlines. That continued on Thursday when the Texas native earned a spot on the 2025 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy watch list. The award is given annually to the player who exemplifies community service, academic excellence, and athletic achievement. This marks the first time that the Westlake High School product has been linked to the award. Sam Echo was the latest Longhorns player to take home the honors in 2010. While Taaffe has shined on the field, he has also given back to the community. During his college career, Taaffe established Taaffe's Tackles for Fentanyl Awareness. The organization raises awareness about Fentanyl addiction. His work does not stop there, as the talented defensive back has partnered with Crime Stoppers of Houston's Million for Million Campaign that also raises awareness about fentanyl. When Taaffe isn't giving back to the community, he makes life hard for offensive coordinators. He finished the 2024 campaign with 78 tackles and two interceptions. The former walk-on started all 16 games and was stellar in the College Football Playoffs when needed the most. Against Arizona State in the Quarterfinals, Taaffe recorded a career-high ten tackles and two pass breakups. For Longhorns fans, Taaffe's latest honor comes as no surprise. He has been one of the program's best players and also helped those in need. This week, his name also appeared on the Jim Thorpe Award watch list. While his goal is to bring a national title to Austin, he is in the running for additional hardware. The winner of the 2025 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy will be selected by a national voting committee, with input from a fan vote. On December 12th, the winner will be revealed at the Home Depot College Football Awards show. Taaffe is hoping he will hear his name called alongside some of the best players in the nation.
USA Today
10-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Longhorns pitcher Dylan Volantis adds to his trophy case
Longhorns pitcher Dylan Volantis adds to his trophy case Dylan Volantis earns special recognition During the 2025 campaign, the Texas Longhorns were one of the best teams in the SEC. While they got plenty of impressive performances at the plate they also excelled on the mound. One player who stood out was left-hander Dylan Volantis, who established himself as one of the best relievers in the nation. In 51 innings, the Westlake High School product posted a 1.94 ERA while striking out 74 batters. The California native was nearly unhittable in his first college season, holding opponents to a .185 batting average. As Volantis thrived out of the Longhorns bullpen, he took on the closer role, adding 12 saves to his resume. Although it was only his first season, Volantis quickly earned the trust of Longhorns head coach Jim Schlossnagle. During the regular season, Schlossnagle called on his star reliever a team-high 23 times. Now that the regular season is in the books, Volantis is adding to his trophy case. Due to his play, Volantis earned Fresh All-American honors. It is only the first of many awards that the Westlake High School product should earn at Texas. Last month, he was named the SEC Freshman of the Year. His national recognition did not stop there, as Volantis was also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award. While expectations for next year will be higher than ever, it is a challenge Volantis is ready to face. This past season, he pitched in one of the toughest conferences in the country and dominated. With one year of experience under his belt, Volantis should continue to improve as he looks to help the Longhorns end their title drought. For Longhorns fans, that is an exciting future to think about. Follow us on X/Twitter at @LonghornsWire
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
2024-25 Austin Area High School Sports Awards: See all spring player of the year nominees
The Austin Area High School Sports Awards, presented by Thomas J. Henry Law, are part of the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards program. The 2024-25 Austin Area High School Sports Awards program, Presented by Thomas J. Henry Law, is proud to announce player of the year nominees for the spring sports season. The winners will be announced during the live show June 9 at The Long Center: Dell Hall. Austin native and Texas Longhorns kicker Will Stone is the guest speaker. Advertisement During the live show, these nominees will be honored, along with player of the year nominees and winners from the fall and winter sports seasons. The fall nominees were announced earlier this year and can be seen here. The winter nominees were also announced earlier this year and can be seen here. The show will also announce the winners of our premier awards, which includes boys athlete of the year, girls athlete of the year, boys team of the year, girls team of the year, coach of the year and our Courage Award recipient. Nominated athletes who RSVP for the event will receive a free ticket thanks to our sponsors. Additional tickets are on sale now and can be obtained here. The Austin Area High School Sports Awards show is part of the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards. Advertisement Here are the spring nominees … Baseball Jordan Andrews, Liberty Hill High School Chris Alsobrooks, Round Rock High School Wyatt Bickers, Lake Travis High School George Farley, Vandegrift High School Adriano Fernandez, Hays High School David Fluitt, Georgetown High School Jacob Gayman, Round Rock High School Hudson Hartgrove, Cedar Ridge High School Jessie Hernandez, Weiss High School Ricky Montijo, Johnson High School Holland Page, Westlake High School Matthew Pazak, Stony Point High School Cooper Rummel, Dripping Springs High School Max Satterwhite, McCallum High School Joseph Sandusky, McNeil High School Thomas Schnabel, Johnson High School Carson Sharp, Liberty Hill High School Dom Tanyag, Glenn High School Hagen Tate, Georgetown High School Owen Thomas, Anderson High School Connor Thompson, Rouse High School Taylor Tracey, Dripping Springs High School Ben Waisman, Anderson High School Cooper Webb, Lake Travis High School Boys golf Mackey Beckett, Lake Travis High School Sterling Hurd, Westlake High School Harrison Knight, St Michael's Catholic Academy JP Lynch, Westlake High School Tyler Neidel, Lake Travis High School Adam Villanueva, Westlake High School Girls golf Kaleigh Babineaux, Lake Travis High School Addison Bandelier, Vandegrift High School Isabel Emanuels, Westlake High School Audrey McIntyre, Lake Travis High School Ava Osborne, Westlake High School Michaela Partridge, Vandegrift High School Boys soccer Roger Amador, Northeast High School Damian Cantu, East View High School Angel Cardenas, Liberty Hill High School Tito Don Juan, Glenn High School Griffin Donnelly, Lake Travis High School John Gomez, Glenn High School Connor Gritzmacher, Round Rock High School Luke Hawley, Vandegrift High School James Hehman, Vandegrift High School Liam Kalutkiewicz, Bowie High School Rahul Kuthiala, Westwood High School Fredy Lozano, Austin Achieve High School J Mossholder, Vista Ridge High School Mateo Palma, Hendrickson High School Jason Panoff, Vandegrift High School Xander Pratt, Bowie High School Owen Pryor, Lake Travis High School Moritz Remark, Cedar Park High School Andrew Roldan, Lake Travis High School Arthur Santos, Vista Ridge High School Speight Twohey, McCallum High School Brett Van Erp, Vandegrift High School Henry West, Westlake High School Marcel Zouzouambe, McNeil High School Girls soccer Lilly Arellano, Rouse High School Emie Benson, Georgetown High School Libby Benson, Georgetown High School AJ Carlson, Westlake High School Lilley Christenson, Johnson High School Amelia Clark, Lake Travis High School Grace El-Deir, Round Rock High School Breckyn Ferrell, Lake Travis High School Evelyn Grossman, Anderson High School Ava Grosso, Bowie High School Sloane Guione, Round Rock High School Meredith Koltz, Cedar Park High School Brea Lewis, Hendrickson High School Kaylee McKinley, Hendrickson High School Reagan McKinley, Vandegrift High School Alexis Montgomery, Round Rock High School Claire Navarro, Anderson High School Eva Pensamiento, Vandegrift High School Gracie Ruthven, Anderson High School Lillian Sandoval, Wimberley High School Shea Sisson, Dripping Springs High School Sam Walker, Westwood High School Colette Whitsitt, Lake Travis High School Mia Wiele, Westwood High School Softball Kynleigh Ball, Georgetown High School Caitlin Benningfield, Cedar Ridge High School Blakely Barber, Rouse High School Sadie Bradford, Dripping Springs High School Jordyn Booe, Rouse High School London Collins, Cedar Ridge High School Chloe Ellis, Gateway College Prep School Valeria Feeney, Bowie High School Madilynn George, Rouse High School Rachel Grundei, Leander High School Jai-Lynn Flores, Dripping Springs High School Lorelei Gamble, Dripping Springs High School Kamdyn Ingram, Lake Travis High School Maddie Lee, Leander High School Kinlee McGuire, Johnson High School Emma Miloch, Georgetown High School Julianna Rodriguez, Lake Travis High School Addison Shifflett, Liberty Hill High School Ava Perlinger, Stony Point High School Ky Vaughan, Liberty Hill High School Kiersten Williams, Johnson High School Kali Winner, Stony Point High School Hadlee Woodard, Hendrickson High School Gabby Zulfekar, Cedar Ridge High School Boys tennis Trey Pleasant, Dripping Springs High School Sibi Raja, Westwood High School Arjun Rajan, Westwood High School Luke Riezebeek, Westlake High School Daniel Zhang, Westwood High School Devon Zhang, Westwood High School Girls tennis Anwi Duduka, Westwood High School Sophie Geng, Westlake High School Rylee Michna, Taylor High School Madison Strait, Georgetown High School Janya Tellabati, Westwood High School Lily Wang, Westwood High School Boys track & field Victor Aviles, Burnet High School LaDainian Green, LBJ High School Swayde Griffin, Lago Vista High School Colby Huntress, Anderson High School Zayden Sharp, Anderson High School Nolan Waida, Wimberley High School Girls track & field Eva Cragnolino, LASA High School Mya Harris, St Dominic Savio Catholic High School Faith Murphy, Anderson High School Lily Muzzy, Georgetown High School Bethany Preusse, Thorndale High School Emma Wade, Vista Ridge High School This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Austin Area High School Sports Awards: Spring player of year nominees
USA Today
19-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Longhorns closer named Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist
Longhorns closer named Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist Dylan Volantis rewarded for his stellar play Following an impressive regular season, Dylan Volantis is earning national recognition for his play. The Longhorns star has been named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award. During his first year as the closer, the Longhorns freshman was a human highlight reel while etching his name into the record books. In 43.1 innings, Volantis posted a 1.66 ERA and struck out 64 batters. He also showed excellent control by only walking 11 batters and allowing three home runs. As he frustrated opponents on a nightly basis, the Westlake High School product was one of the Longhorns' most used arms. Additionally, the talented lefty was one of the best in the country in high-pressure situations with 12 saves. 11 of those came in conference play, which was the most by a freshman in SEC history. He thrived with a 1.59 ERA in conference play while holding opponents to a .160 batting average. What stood out about Volantis was his ability to dominate a lineup regardless of the opponent. His diverse pitch mix and ability to attack the zone made him a matchup nightmare. That is bad news for the rest of the conference, as Volantis is just getting started. While his ultimate goal is to help the Longhorns win a championship, Volantis could not have asked for a better start to his college career. Just being a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes award is an impressive accomplishment. If he can continue to build on his play, it would not be a surprise to see him in the mix for the award next year. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @LonghornsWire.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Perfect attendance! Westlake High School graduate never missed a day of school
Westlake High School graduate never missed a day of school, all the way back to kindergarten. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Westlake High School senior Lincoln Fletcher will lead the color guard for the school's upcoming graduation ceremony. He wouldn't miss it for the world. In fact, at school he has never missed anything. 'My parents prided themselves on making sure I was always present every day, no matter the cost,' Fletcher said. Since the first day of kindergarten through the last day of his senior year, Lincoln has had perfect attendance. TRENDING STORIES: Missing kayaker disappears near Lake Lanier DeKalb County pastor involved in $2.5 million legal battle over deal to sell church Looking to buy a new home? Not in this neighborhood. The new trend hitting metro Atlanta He's a perfect soldier, too. Last year, Channel 2 Action News reported on Fletcher being named the Top Cadet at the National Flight Academy. 'You hear the cadets all the time. I want to be like Lincoln. I want to be just like Fletcher. He sets a great example. He's an awesome kid. He was raised very well,' Senior Army instructor Dana Fort said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A little shout out to his mom, Patrice, and uncle Matthew Hutcherson, who set the perfect example: He, too, never missed a day of school. Ever. 'I know I may have mentioned to my sister maybe once. Is he really sick? Is he just playing? Let that boy go to school, right?' Hutcherson said. During Lincoln's 13-year scholastic career, there were 2,340 days of school. He was in class for all 2,340 of them. Now he's going to be a Morehouse Man, where he plans to keep his perfect record intact. 'If there's an excuse for me to not go to college classes, I still want to show up and be there every day like I was for high school, middle school, and elementary school,' Fletcher said.
