By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
A pair of Del Rio High School seniors will be carrying the Rams and Queens tradition with them to the next level of athletic achievement.
Seniors Joe Chavez and Jadyn Casillas each signed their letters of intent to play sports collegiality during a ceremony Feb. 2 at the Carl P. Guys Memorial Gymnasium.
Casillas will play soccer at Schreiner University in Kerrville while Chavez will run track and cross-country for McMurry University in Abilene.
February 2 was National Signing Day across the country, and San Felipe Del Rio CISD Athletic Director Frenchey McCrea Jr., praised not just Casillas and Chavez, but their fellow teammates and friends who attended the ceremony as well.
“Kids all across the nation are participating in various signing days so its always exciting here in our high school when we can celebrate our student athletes and their future achievements of being able to go to the next level and perform,” McCrea said. “And I’m so excited to see so many of your faces here today because that tells me that you probably aspire to be in the same position when your time comes.”
Queens head soccer coach Wilber Rivas followed McCrea and lauded Casillas for her time with the program. Casillas was a first team all-district selection as a junior, ending the district season second on the team with eight goals. She was also named the Queens’ Most Valuable Player for her work on the pitch.
She helped the Queens win their district opener Saturday at Laredo LBJ by accounting for all five goals in a 5-1 win.
“We are extremely proud of you and we have no doubt that you will do extremely well and be successful. You are a great example of a student-athlete,” Rivas said. “You were always hard on yourself and always wanted to be the best you can and we the Queens here, and the coaching staff, we really appreciate that and your commitment and your loyalty to our program. Keep it up.”
Rivas also praised Casillas for her work in the classroom, citing her 4.5 GPA and her place at the top of her class. She was also one of 13 Del Rio students to be recognized as a National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar in the fall based on her combined verbal, math, and writing skill scores on the PSAT exam taken during her junior/sophomore year of high school.
When it was Casillas’ time so speak, she used her time to thank everyone who got her to where she was – from her parents, Mona and Derek Casillas who were seated alongside her at the ceremony, to her teammates to all her current and former coaches.
“I want thank all of you all for coming out. It really means a lot to me and I’m sure it means a lot to Joe to see all the support. It’s super overwhelming but it’s greatly appreciated, so thank you everybody,” Casillas said. “I’ve known a lot of you all for a long time. We’ve all grown up together for most of our lives and I would have never thought I would have had this opportunity today. If you had told me growing up I’d be signing to go play at a collegiate level I would have never believed you. A few years ago if you would have told me I would have never believed you.”
“Growing up soccer is probably the only sport I truly connected with and frankly the only sport my parents had no knowledge of, which probably led me to choose it because I wanted something for myself, obviously. But nevertheless they’ve been such a big support throughout this whole process … driving me around, paying for things, especially to games, practices … they’ve just been a never ending support system and they really got me to this point here. So thank you mom and dad,” Casillas continued.
“Lastly, I want to thank my teammates, the Queens. Thank you for being such a big support, for making every bus ride crazy. I mean, the long bus rides to Laredo, San Antonio … they would be boring without everyone there. With the endless laughs and inside jokes, it’s truly an experience I will never forget. Thank you girls,” Casillas said.
She ended her time on the microphone with a simple pledge.
“I’m super excited to take this new journey in my life and I will continue to represent Del Rio High School in whatever I do, So thank you everybody again, and go Queens,” Casillas said.
Chavez ran well in his only season of cross-country, finishing in the top 30 at district. In track and field as a junior, Chavez was a district champion in the 800 meters and was part of the 1,600-meter relay team that also won district. He also competed in the 400 meters, qualifying for the regional meet in that event.
Cross-country head coach Vicky Perez said she was persistent in trying to get Chavez to run in her sport and was pleased with the work he put in during his only season.
“Don’t know if it was me or his teammates but whatever it was I was super excited that he did choose to come out for cross-country his senior year. It’s a very, very difficult sport, especially coming out your last year of high school and so for him to take on that challenge was exciting for us as coaches and just to see him try his best and do what he could in cross-country and now to see him move onto the next level and not only run cross-country but also track,” Perez said.
Chavez’s track coach Rick Torres thanked Chavez for his work and said when his father asked what it would take to get Chavez to the next level, Torres focused on getting Chavez a chance to compete in college.
He reminded Chavez that even though he’s committed, his college coaches will still be looking at his senior year and watching to see if he can improve his times and set new personal records.
“This was an effort of the community – coaches, family, friends. This can be you as well. It’s never too late. If you’re a senior you still have an opportunity. If you’re a younger level – junior, sophomore or freshman – this can be you as well. You just have to work hard. Joe does that every day at practice and we expect that from you, of course, if you want to continue onto the next level,” Torres said.
Chavez was joined at his table by his father, Jose Chavez, his mother, Beatrice Chavez, and his sister, Priscilla Chavez.
Chavez did not read from any prepared remarks and instead spoke from the heart when he addressed everyone gathered at the event.
He thanked God for giving him the ability to run and thanked his coaches, including Perez, Torres and Claudia Juarez, for all their help.
“I also want to thank my family always having faith in me throughout this college process. It wasn’t easy. I want to thank my dad for teaching me how to start believing in myself again because there was a point in my life when I just stopped caring about a lot of things because I just went through a lot at one time,” Chavez said. “With all that being said, McMurry has given me an opportunity to go run and do what I love doing and doing what I do best. I’m getting ready to be a Warhawk.”
McCrea spoke one last time and offered some advice to Casillas and Chavez and to everyone seated in the audience and the next stage in life.
“Continue to work hard. You’re going to have some good days and you’re going to have some bad days. You find out your true character during those bad days. But don’t let those bad days stop you from your goals and from your destiny. Continue to represent us well, we’re proud of you, stick with it, get a great education, play, have fun, but work hard,” McCrea said. “And for everyone else, again, these opportunities honestly are few and far between, but if you dedicate yourself, if you’re here, if you’re getting good grades, if you’re going to class, if you’re on time to class and doing what you’re supposed to do and you work hard the opportunity can present itself. So it’s up to what you do with your life, it’s up to you the choices that you make. Make the right choices.”
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
