Each month during the school year, the Pattonville Board of Education honors students, staff and volunteers who have gained recognition outside of the district. Students from Rose Acres Elementary School, Holman Middle School and Pattonville High School were recognized at the Dec. 14 board meeting.

ROSE ACRES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

St. Louis Writers Guild contest

The St. Louis Writers Guild selected short stories from five Rose Acres Elementary School students for publication in its Young Writers Awards Contest Anthology. Jackson McCullough received first place. Donald McCullough, Nafas Parsang and Adelaide Pagel were named finalists. Eva Pulley received honorable mention. Robin Chang, Tracey Robinson and Nicole Youngquist are their teachers. 

Shown are honorees in the Young Writers Awards Contest. They are, from left, Robin Chang, Nafas Parsang, Eva Pulley, Adelaide Pagel, Jackson McCullough and Donald McCullough.

HOLMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Honors choir selections

Holman students selected for the 7/8 Grade Honors Treble Choir are Dylan Blassingame, Morgan Booth, Robye Bozeman Nettles, Riley Dye, Ava Flores, Mackenzie Miller, Olivia Monroe, Madison Prine, Cheyanne Scheer, Chloe Stokes and Hannah Wansing. Larry Knobel is the Holman choir director. Students will perform as part of the Honors Treble Choir at Ritenour High School on Jan. 22. 

Holman Middle School students named to an honor choir were, from left, Robye Bozeman Nettles, Riley Dye and Madison Prine.

PATTONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

County “I Voted” art contest

Junior Tara Wang was selected as a finalist/grade-level winner in the St. Louis County Board of Elections and St. Louis County Library “I Voted” sticker contest. After nearly 7,000 votes were cast, Wang’s artwork was chosen by the public as the best in the 9th-12th grade category. Her design, along with the other two finalists’s designs, will be professionally printed on the “I Voted” stickers and distributed to all polling places throughout St. Louis County beginning in 2022. Wang will receive a large plaque containing her artwork image and a $50 Visa gift card. Wang completed her design as part of an optional assignment in Kelli Dornfeld’s Graphic Design 1 class. 

PHS student Tara Wang will have her artwork printed on "I Voted" stickers in 2022.

100 Neediest Cases art contest

Seven students from Pattonville High School submitted artwork to the 100 Neediest Cases art contest sponsored by the United Way and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Art by sophomore Macy Bunton and senior Caleb Simpkins was selected to be among the top 40 entries and appeared in the print and online editions in November. Jada Brown, Aileen Cortez Gomez, Payton Crump-McHugh, Jessica Hurtado and Michael Montoya Jr. also submitted for the contest and will be included with Bunton and Simpkins in a display at the Missouri History Museum through Jan. 3. The Neediest Cases campaign helps thousands of disadvantaged families during the holidays, with the Post-Dispatch highlighting 100 cases to raise awareness and encourage donations for those in need. The art students are part of Beth Kathriner’s Drawing 2 class. 

From left, Pattonville High School students Macy Bunton and Jada Brown were among those honored in the 100 Neediest Cases art contest.

All-State, All-District choirs

Patrick Ferguson and Hannah Radican were selected to the All-State Choir. Ferguson was previously named a three-time All-District honoree and Radican is receiving her second All-State honor and has been All-District throughout her high school career. Additionally, in October, 36 members of the Pattonville choir auditioned for the St. Louis Suburban All-District Honor Choir and 29 were selected to either the Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass (SATB) or Treble honor choirs. Austin Branson, Kam Ren Brown, Ferguson, Kenedi Jenkins, Connor Lorino, Ethan Massey, Radican, Joey Stewart and Hannadey Yezza qualified to audition for the All-State Choir and were selected to the SATB Honor Choir. Other students selected to the SATB Honor Choir are Dominick Austin, Isabella Crawford, Da’Shon Dunn, Margaret Haselbauer, Daniel McCoy, Jacob Mendelsohn, Sarah Nelson, Omolara Ogunmola and Alyssa Van Hooser. The following students were selected to the Treble Honor Choir: Kristen Bowers, Ja’nya Cruise, Miranda Lopez, Ruth McCarron, Maichi Nguyen, Lily Reynolds, Kalista Roades, Devin Scharer, Laniya Smith, Jakayla Townsel and Honey Waweru. They are directed by choir teachers Tracy Baker and Melynda Lamb.

PHS students selected to honors choirs included, from left, Hannadey Yezza, Isabella Crawford, Honey Waweru, Kam Ren Brown, Lily Reynolds and Miranda Lopez.

Girls cross country honors

Senior Keilah Wilkes was named All-Metro second team and earned All-State honors for the third year after placing 10th in the 5K at the Class 5 state competition. She also placed second at districts and was named a district champion and selected All-Conference first team. She is coached by Margaret Hall, with the assistance of Katie Gengler and Kyle Hall. 

Keilah Wilkes earned All-State honors for the third year in a row.

Boys cross country honors

Two students qualified for state in cross country. Luke Stevenson placed 95th in the 5K at the Class 5 state competition after qualifying by placing 15th at districts. He was also named All-Conference second team. Justin Bowers placed 139th in the 5K at the Class 5 state competition after qualifying by placing 29th at districts. The team is coached by Matt McClellan with the assistance of Katie Gengler. 

Boys swimming and diving honors

Members of the boys swimming and diving team qualified for multiple events at the state competition. Wyatt Martin placed 6th at state and broke the school record in the 50 yard freestyle. He also placed 16th at state and broke his own school record in the 100 yard breaststroke and qualified for state, was named conference champion and broke the school record in the 200 yard individual medley. He also broke the school record in the 100 yard backstroke. He was also part of the team that qualified to swim the 200 and 400 yard medley relay at state. Isaac Reddy qualified for state and was conference champion in the 50 yard freestyle and placed 16th to advance to the finals at state and was named conference champion in the 100 yard freestyle. He was also part of the team that placed 18th in the 200 yard medley relay and 400 yard freestyle relay at state. Additionally, the 400 yard freestyle relay team that also consisted of Isaiah Loparco, who also participated in the 200 yard medley relay, and Ty Procter, who also participated in the 200 yard freestyle relay, placed 28th at state. Other members of the 200 yard freestyle relay team that placed 28th at state are Jack Pfister, Adam Reddy, who also participated in the 200 yard medley relay and qualified for districts in 1 meter diving, and Michele Venturato. The team is coached by Anna Braswell with the assistance of Nathan Jones and Justin Thompson. 

PHS honorees on the swimming and diving team include, from left, Isaac Reddy, Wyatt Martin, Jack Pfister, Adam Reddy, Ty Procter and Isaiah Loparco.

Girls volleyball honors

The girls volleyball team placed second at districts after being named conference champions. Six players earned individual honors. Reagan Nelson was named All-District and All-Conference first team. Kylie Surratt was named All-District first team and All-Conference player of the year. Paige Rowland was selected All-District second team and All-Conference first team. Gabi Chan and Sarah Pieper were selected All-District and All-Conference second team. Charlie Heiligenstein received the All-Conference Sportsmanship award. The team was coached by Jenell Franken with the assistance of Alexa Kramer. 

Conference honorees in girls volleyball included, from left, Paige Rowland, Reagan Nelson and Kylie Surratt.

Field hockey honors

In girls field hockey, Mia Baugher and Tamia Dockett were named All-Conference second team. Lauren Barton, Emily Cremer, Dockett, Amy Prueitt, Ashley Santel and Gabrielle Turner were named academic All-Conference. The team is coached by Jess Hale, with the assistance of Carolyn Overton. 

Field hockey honorees included Tamia Dockett, left, and Lauren Barton.

Football honors

Football players named All-Conference first team were DeAndre Haron as kick returner, August Heiligenstein for defensive line, Logan Lindsay for offensive line and Tony Porter as linebacker. Recognized for All-Conference second team honors were Heilgenstein for offensive line and Charles Johnson for running back. Students named All-Conference honorable mention include Julia Blankenship as kicker, Zion Bradsher as linebacker, Kameron Eleby as quarterback, Damion Harris and Michael Irving as defensive back, Kyjuan Morgan as punt returner, Bryan Orta as linebacker and punter, Terrell Porter as linebacker and Xavier Stepney as defensive line. Lindsay was also recognized as academic All-Conference, and Tony Porter earned the All-Conference Sportsmanship Award. The football team is coached by Steve Smith with the assistance of Travis Harris, Corey Lewis and Stefan Seals. 

PHS football conference honorees included, from left, Damion Harris, DeAndre Haron, Logan Lindsay, Xavier Stepney and Tony Porter Jr. 

Girls golf honors

Macy Hanford and Zelletta Wyatt were named All-Conference second team in girls golf. Mackenzie Cain, Tehya Cox Potter and Jordyn Maryas were named All-Conference honorable mention. They were coached by David Gross with the assistance of Scott Hutson. 

Girls golf conference honorees included, from left, Tehya Cox-Potter, Mackenzie Cain and Zelletta Wyatt.

Boys soccer honors

Devin Holtzclaw and Christopher Magana Toledo were named All-Conference first team in boys soccer. Players named All-Conference second team were Kyle Kaemmerer, Carlos Llamas and Jadon Trice. They are coached by Marcus Christian with the assistance of Tomi Benney. 

Boys soccer conference honorees included, from left, Jadon Trice and Kyle Kaemmerer.

Softball honors

All-Conference first team honors in softball were awarded to Sami Green as an outfielder, Samantha Heine as a catcher, Madison Leckrone for infield and Allison Schrumpf as a utility player. Sarah Rizzello was named an All-Conference second team pitcher. Allison Pearia received the All-Conference Sportsmanship Award. The softball team is coached by Rob Simpson with the assistance of Victor Fink. 

Girls tennis honors

Senior Lindsey Meyer was named All-Conference second team for singles. She is coached by Jeff Grass with the assistance of Emily McDaniel. 

College/career counselor presentations

Pattonville college and career preparation coordinator/counselor Michelle Luraschi was a co-presenter or panelist at several recent conferences. Luraschi co-presented a session titled “Counseling for All Post-Secondary Pathways” at the Missouri School Counselor Association Conference. She served on a panel with Brian Crouse, vice president of education programs for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, as a former participant in the “Show-Me Careers Educator Experience.” At the Missouri Association of Student Financial Aid Personnel Conference, Luraschi served on a panel of high school counselors speaking to student financial aid administrators from Missouri colleges and universities on ways to improve the financial aid outcomes for students and families. Luraschi was also a co-presenter at the STEMSTL’s Annual Gathering on “Career Counseling Strategies” to high school, non-profit and STEM industry leaders. Luraschi assists Pattonville High School students in exploring, preparing for and transitioning from high school to their future educational training or college program, military enlistment and/or career.