Breckenridge High School scholarship recipients honored at annual ceremony
On Thursday morning, May 18, Breckenridge High School students gathered in Bailey Auditorium, along with family, friends, community members and staff and officials from the school district, for the 2023 awards ceremony.
There were 90 scholarships presented to 27 students for $82,802, BHS Principal Paul Armstrong announced to the crowd. Additionally, the Buckaroo Awards for Academic Excellence were awarded, and those students who qualified for state competitions this year were honored.
The BHS Class of 2023 will graduate on Friday, May 26. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the BISD Athletics and Fine Arts Center (the main gym), located at the corner of West Second and North Live Oak streets. The doors will be open to the public at 6:30 p.m. For those who cannot attend, the ceremony will be livestreamed on the Buckaroo YouTube Channel, https://www.youtube.com/@bisdstreaming8928/streams
Breckenridge High School Principal Paul Armstrong congratulates 2023 Valedictorian Keaton Ragle and Salutatorian Heer Gandhi at the Awards Ceremony last week. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
SCHOLARSHIPS
The scholarships and recipients include:
Valedictorian by InterBank of Breckenridge
Keaton Ragle
Salutatorian by First National Bank of Breckenridge
Heer Gandhi
Adam Nicholas Garcia Ag Memorial Scholarship
Parks Gill
Bobby Anderson Memorial Scholarship
Nathaniel Aguilar, Chase Lehr, Keaton Ragle, Avery Rodgers and Jerry Lawson
Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce Scholarship
Parks Gill, Chicago Harper, Avery Rodgers, McKenna Adams, Ezekiel Castillo and Heer Gandhi
Breckenridge Elks Floyd B. Watts Scholarship
Chase Wright
Breckenridge Golf Scholarship in Memory of Ken Blades
Keaton Ragle
Breckenridge Lion’s Club Scholarship
Bernardo Becerra, Abigail Otts and McKenna Adams
Breckenridge Masonic Lodge Scholarship
Nathaniel Aguilar, Chase Wright and Keaton Ragle
Casey Rodriguez Memorial Scholarship
Monserat Mendoza
Cindi Woodward Breckenridge Buckaroo Cheerleader Scholarship
McKenna Adams, Brittney Melton, Cara Schkade and Haigan Thompson
Class of 1960 to Honor Deceased Classmates
Nathaniel Aguilar
Class of 1974
Keaton Ragle
Copperleaf Properties Johnny Lewis Memorial Scholarship
Parks Gill and Jady Gonzales
Dee Escalon Scholarship
Marco Jaramillo, Bernardo Becerra and Parks Gill
First Presbyterian Church
Chase Wright
Friends of Johnny Corbett and Mitchel Sullivan Memorial Scholarship
Chase Wright, Nathaniel Aguilar and Bernardo Becerra
Higginbotham Brothers Scholarship
Heer Gandhi and Chase Wright
Howard Pardue Memorial Scholarship by Paige Townson and Leigh Murray
Chase Wright
Jerry Tubbs Memorial Scholarship
Jerry Lawson
Joe Crousen Memorial Scholarship
Jesi Warren
John and Kate Bailey Memorial Scholarship
Chase Wright and Nathaniel Aguilar
John Gerald Thomas Memorial Scholarship
Tristen Myers and Keaton Ragle
Kimberley Brooke Pardue Memorial Scholarship by Lois Smalley
Abigail Otts
KLXK/Lance Kitchens Scholarship
Anson Rodgers and Avery Rodgers
Larry Parker Memorial Scholarship
Anson Rodgers
MT7 Ranch Scholarship
Avery Rodgers
Margaret Hallauer Memorial Scholarship
Nathaniel Aguilar and Parks Gill
Marquis Martin Memorial Scholarship
Avery Rodgers and Anson Rodgers
Owen D. Woodward Memorial Scholarship
Jerry Lawson and Anson Rodgers
Pamela Pardue Midkiff Memorial Scholarship
Keaton Ragle
Ray Findlay Memorial Scholarship
Nathaniel Aguilar
Ron Downing Memorial Scholarship by Rotary Club
Bernardo Becerra
Rotary Club Academic Excellence Scholarship
Heer Gandhi
Rotary Club BISD Scholarship
Chase Lehr and Cali Griffin
Rotary Club Mitchel & Terry Sullivan Memorial Scholarship
Avery Rodgers
Scotty Brown Memorial Scholarship
Sean Cooksey
Sue Boland Memorial Scholarship by St. Paul Methodist Church
McKenna Adams
Stephens County Farm Bureau Scholarship
Hannah Bounds, Tristen Myers and Chase Wright
Stephens Memorial Hospital Foundation Scholarship
Chase Lehr and Jady Gonzales
Suicide Awareness in Memory of Jimmy Jimenez and Anthony Pineda
Abigail Otts and McKenna Adams
Tanner Ray French Memorial Scholarship
Robert Fuller, Bernardo Becerra and Chase Wright
Theater Scholarship by Marlene Tubbs
Avery Rodgers
This Is My Texas Art Contest Scholarship by Ron Hoover RV & Marine Center
Avery Rodgers and Donna Rodriguez
WINGS Scholarship
Ezekiel Castillo and Cara Schkade
Weldon Edwards Memorial Scholarship
Avery Rodgers
Woman’s Forum Scholarship
Abigail Otts and Cali Griffin
Buckaroo Award for Academic Excellence
The Buckaroo Award for Academic Excellence is earned by students taking honors classes and maintaining a specific GPA. Freshmen and sophomores must take at least one honors class and have a 3.5 GPA. Juniors must take at least two honors classes and have a 3.6 GPA, and seniors must take at least two honors classes and have a 3.65 GPA.
This year’s Buckaroo Awards for Academic Excellence were given to the following:
Seniors
McKenna Adams, Hannah Bounds, Ezekiel Castillo, Heer Gandhi, Parks Gill, Cali Griffin, Monserat Mendoza, Tristan Myers, Abigail Otts, Keaton Ragle, Anson Rodgers, Avery Rodgers, Elizabeth San Lucas, Cara Schkade, Haigan Thompson, Lourdes Trejo Rivera and Chase Wright
Juniors
Valerie Beltran, Andrew Cortez, Ryleigh Cowan, Kyla Curtis, Violeta Gallegos, Emily Gooch, Victorian Gotschall, Kamryn Larremore, Marissa Martinez, Haylie Mendoza, Aaron Moore, Lynzi Poindexter, Zaea Ragle, Cora Roan, Charlie Salazar, Stephan Sanchez, Karter Smalley and Alexis Vick
Sophomores
Elijah Chisholm, Hunter Clayton, Alyssa Contreras, Carson Duran, Jaxon Escalon, Cody Gibson, Malichi Harper, Isaac Hernandez Pina, Teresa Houdek, Joni Jackson, Saxon Knust, Kaylee Langford, Jayden Martinez, Jack McKay, Solae Mendez, Timothy Newell, Cabel Perkins, Giselle Reyes, Jocelyn Reyes, Miley Roberts, Antley Rodgers, John Sackett, Alejandro Saucedo, Ruthie Valdez, Cortney Wickson, Sawyer Wimberley and Makayla Wright
Freshmen
Josiah Acosta, Lane Bartoskewitz, Sofie Bode, Kason Burchett, Julio Chavez, Shaley Cone, Cameron David, Jonathan Diaz, Abbigail Duran, Jeremiah Eddleman, Christian Flores, Brody Gibson, Michael Harrison, Preslie Malcuit, Victoria Martinez, Anthony Munoz, Darin Neely, Luis Palacios, Alyssa Phelps, Briley Powers, Raegan Robinson, Adrian Saucedo, Jack Walker, Dyanna Walker and Kaysi Wilcox
STATE COMPETITORS
The state competitors for the 2022-2023 academic year include:
Track and Field
Chase Lehr, Sawyer Wimberley, Adler Loftis, Karter Smalley, Jaime Cruz and Angel Alvarado
Forage Evaluation CDE
Kason Burchett, Case Foley, Glen Thibodeaux and Kaylee Langford
UIL Congress
Zaea Ragle
One Act Play
Avery Rodgers, Monserat Mendoza, Alexis Vick, McKenna Adams, Zaea Ragle, Antley Rodgers, Haley Graham, Nicholas Delacruz, Zoey Cotter, Adriana Perez, Preslie Malcuit, Camila Palacios, Victorian Gotschall, Claire David, Laisha Palacios, Joel Jackson, Trevin McAlmond and Kaitlynn Wilson
Cheer
McKenna Adams, Haigan Thompson, Brittney Melton, Cara Schkade, Taryn Russell, Chloe Whitmire, Aalyiah Salazar, Yenet Benitez, Karsyn Smalley, Adriana Perez, Solae Mendez, Cabel Perkins, Giselle Reyes, Miley Roberts, Lane Bartoskewitz, Ava Russell, Chloe Pugh, Aubrey Diaz, Grace Raymond, Emma Williams and Nicholas Delacruz
U.S. Military
Two BHS students were honored for their commitment to the U.S. Military. Jose Mendoza will join the U.S. Marine Corps., and Emilio Maya Jr. will join the U.S. Air Force.
Jose Mendoza, center, and Emilio Maya Jr., right, were honored at Breckenridge High School’s Awards Ceremony on May 18 and received a standing ovation from the audience. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
