Eaton High School’s baseball team celebrates winning their state semifinal game. The team would go on to win the state championship
two days later. Photo by Josh Moore, Xtreme Sports Shots.
State trips highlight
athletic year
Staff Report
Northwest ISD’s high school sports programs had such
a successful year that one sport didn’t even end with the
conclusion of the 2017-18 academic year – it ended a week
later with a state championship.
Eaton High School’s UIL 5A Baseball State Championship
capped a remarkable year for all three comprehensive high
schools. The baseball team’s victory marked the second
time in the school year that a Northwest ISD team reached
a state title game. Northwest’s boys basketball team lost a
heartbreakingly close state championship match, coming up
just short in the fourth quarter. Several starting players will
return for the Texans, who will look to advance to the state
tournament for a third consecutive year.
But perhaps no success was as indicative of the district as
a whole more than the three schools’ wrestling programs,
which each had at least one student earn an individual state
championship – Byron Nelson’s Lexie Basham (the school’s
first wrestling state championship), Eaton’s Mattison Parker
(its first state champion in any sport), and Northwest’s
Michael Kumlien and Andrena Carter.
Joel Johnson, Northwest ISD’s executive director of athletics,
said the 2017-18 school year was filled with highlights that
should bode well for the upcoming school year.
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“All of our athletic programs put a great deal of time and
effort into practices, and it’s always a thrilling experience
when our students get to see the fruits of their labor
culminate with major accomplishments,” he said. “Few
students get the experience of competing at state, so seeing
the amount of our students who made it to such a high level
is rewarding.”
More student-athletes competed in state in individual
sports, including multiple students representing the district
and their schools in swimming, powerlifting, and track
and field. A student also represented the district and Byron
Nelson in the UIL Golf State Tournament.
In addition to the state success of multiple sports programs,
two more made their own deep playoff runs: Byron Nelson’s
volleyball team and Eaton’s softball team each advanced
to their regional semifinals. Beyond those playoff runs, six
teams won at least one playoff game.
With the UIL’s biannual realignment process having just
taken place, Eaton and Byron Nelson will compete in
the same 6A athletic districts next year, while Northwest
will compete in 5A. Athletic districts may vary slightly
depending on the sport. For athletic schedules, visit
www.nisdtx.org/athletics closer to the start of
the school year. n