Aledo athletes honored by TGCA

Several members of the Aledo volleyball and cross country teams have been honored by the Texas Girls Coaches Association.

In volleyball, junior opposite hitter Kinley Elms was named Class 5A All-State. Elms was also selected as a member of the 5A-6A TGCA Red All-Star Team that will compete against the Blue Team during this year’s summer clinic June 24-27 in Arlington.

Her teammate, senior outside hitter Vivian Parker, was honored as a 5A-6A Legacy All-Star. This program honors graduating seniors.

Elms ranked 13th in the state and was second in 5A Region I in hitting percentage at .369.

Together, Elms and Parker helped the Ladycats to a 34-9 record. They won the District 5-5A championship and advanced to the third round of the playoffs before falling 3-1 to then defending state champion Colleyville Heritage, which went on to return to the state tournament.

Also from volleyball, senior defensive specialist Natalie Anderson earned academic all-state honors. To qualify, an athlete must be a graduating senior with an overall grade point average of 94 or above for grades 9-11.

Cross country

Cross country all-state honors went to sophomores Molly Garrison and Madison Larsen, along with freshmen Micah Neal. They helped the Ladycats to a runner-up finish at state, the best finish ever at state by an Aledo cross country team.

Individually, Neal placed seventh, Garrison was 12th and Larsen was 22nd. The state performance was especially satisfying for Garrison, who passed out in the latter part of the 2022 state meet just a few hundred feet from the finish line.