Our junior high basketball teams have wrapped up their season with our boys coming out on top as district champions. Our high school girls have finished district play and will take on Oglesby in Evant this Tuesday in the first round of the playoffs. The boys finish district this week and have also advanced to the playoffs.
Our youth basketball players participated in the tournament held in Cherokee this weekend. We did not have enough 1st-2nd grade players to have a full team for the duration of the season, so they were able to compete this week in a special game. They battled it out against each other in a Blue vs Red showdown. Red came out on top with a final score of 20-13. Red team was Ryker Williams, Brantley Shannon, Esme Rocha, Rawlee Stewardson, and Wylie McKneey and coached by Brandon Shanklin.
Blue team was Maycie Forehand, Kenna Fry, Austin Ramos, Faith Dobbs, CW Merriman, and Walker Shanklin and coached by Chelsea Fry.
Cherokee High School students had the opportunity to attend the 2026 Rise and Teach Conference on January 29, 2026. The conference was hosted by Region 15 ESC, Angelo State University (ASU) and Howard College faculty and led interactive sessions covering key points on becoming an effective educator. In addition, students had the opportunity to hear the phenomenal guest speaker, Dr. Adolph Brown, III or better known as 'Doc Brown,' educator, professor, motivational speaker and host of ABC television show, 'The Parent Test.' Students participating in this event, which included a tour of ASU, were Ella Graves, Illyanna Wright, Robert Bench, Samantha Oestreich, Lilian Anderson, Theresa Turner and Susan Lane. All of the Cherokee HS students were noted for their positive engagement throughout the day. With Ella Graves' willingness to participate during sessions, she earned two golden tickets which were later turned in for prizes.