MISD football players make THSCA Academic All-State Teams
Special to The Mercedes Enterprise
Four Mercedes Independent School District football players earned a place on the Texas High School Coaches Association 2020-21 Academic All-State Teams. The Tigers who received this distinction are seniors Josiah Cantu, Josue Fuentes, Alvaro Gonzalez and Horacio Pequeno Jr.
Each year, THSCA and the Texas Army National Guard recognizes high school athletes who excel in the classroom with proven grade-point-averages, class ranks and ACT/SAT scores. The students who achieve All-State status are placed in one of three teams: 1st Team, 2nd Team and Honorable Mention. Cantu and Fuentes of Mercedes Early College Academy made 2nd Team while Gonzalez and Pequeno of Mercedes High School made Honorable Mention Team.
These athletic scholars were nominated based on their excellent academic standing. To qualify for nomination, the students needed to meet the following criteria: be classified as seniors; be in good standing with their sports team; demonstrate good moral character; and have an overall grade point average of 92 or above for grades 9-12.
According to MECA Principal Jeanne Venecia, M.Ed., Cantu and Fuentes are ranked in the Top 10 of their class and will graduate with an Associate Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from South Texas College.
“We are so proud of them and all their achievements,” Venecia said. “Josiah and Josue are wonderful role models because they show how students can be both scholars and athletes.”
MHS Principal Orlando Rodriguez, M.Ed., was pleased to learn Gonzalez and Pequeno made the Academic All-State team.
“Alvaro and Horacio are just as committed to their grades as they are to the team,” Rodriguez said. “It takes discipline, time management and hard work to succeed academically and athletically. They have certainly earned it.”
Superintendent Carolyn Mendiola, M.Ed., said, “We are extremely proud of these young men. This recognition validates their hard work in the classroom and their commitment to academic excellence as they participate in the sports program. They are graduating as well-rounded leaders, and that is exactly the caliber of young men and women we try to graduate at Mercedes ISD.”
