Plano East incoming senior Simone Heard (8) was named the District 6-6A MVP last fall after she helped to lead the Lady Panthers to the third round of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Photo by Roosevelt Joubert / C&S Media

By David Wolman

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Another school year has come and gone for student-athletes at Plano East High School.

It was a successful year in many ways. 

The Panthers’ football team posted a second straight winning season, the volleyball team made the third round of the playoffs for the second year in a row, the girls’ basketball team played in their first-ever state semifinals, the softball team competed in their first regional final since 2012, the girls’ soccer team made the playoffs for the first time in 15 years and the boys’ basketball team posted a third straight season of at least 20 wins.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the year that was for each sport. Fall sports will be reviewed this week, winter sports in the June 26 edition of the Murphy Monitor and spring sports in the July 3 paper.

Football team posts second straight winning season:

Despite tasked with having to replace 12 all-district honorees from the 2023 team that made the playoffs for the first time since 2018, Plano East pieced together a successful retool of its roster. The Panthers won six games for the second year in a row and went 4-4 in District 6-6A.

Plano East came oh-so close to making the playoffs. 

The Panthers began the season red hot, earning a 6-1 record after seven games, including a thrilling 21-14 win against Prosper Rock Hill. However, Plano East missed the playoffs after losing their last three games.

Quarterback Jackson Hays, in his first full season as the starting quarterback, tallied 1,651 yards through the air with 23 total touchdowns. Rising senior running back Travis Agee rushed for a career-high 1,297 yards with seven rushing touchdowns. 

Rising senior Jackson Howard stepped up after an injury to wide receiver Chance Ables limited Ables’ time on the field, hauling in a team-high seven receiving touchdowns. Defensively, alum defensive back Andrew Earls had four interceptions. Rising junior Javon Rogers earned the 6-6A defensive newcomer of the year award.

Volleyball team builds on playoff run:

One year after Plano East won their first playoff game since 2008 and won their first district title in program history, the Lady Panthers were again a force on the court last fall, finishing 33-9 and advanced to the third round of the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Plano East dominated Lewisville in a three-set sweep in bi-district, beat Arlington Martin 3-0 in the area round before bowing out to Keller in three sets in the regional semifinals.

The Lady Panthers leaned offensively on the right arm of incoming senior outside hitter Simone Heard. She was named the most valuable player of District 6-6A after she logged 731 kills. 

Junior defensive specialist Dakota Huynh was named the district’s defensive player of the year after she recorded 573 digs.

Tennis team makes it back-to-back playoff appearances:

For the second consecutive season, the Plano East tennis team made the playoffs.

The path to the playoffs for the Panthers started with a 19-0 blanking of Princeton to commence District 6-6A play. Plano East outlasted McKinney Boyd 11-8 in a dual that needed six hours to complete, toppled Prosper Rock Hill 16-3 and crushed McKinney 19-0 to clinch a playoff berth.

Plano East’s season ended in the bi-district round of the Class 6A playoffs following an 11-3 loss to Coppell.

Bhakta, Mulford pace cross country team:

Rising junior Meena Mulford and alum Shaan Bhakta led the way for the Panthers at the District 6-6A meet. 

Mulford finished in 16^th place in the girls’ varsity race with a time of 20:07 and was the closest of anyone on the roster to qualify for the Region I-6A meet.

Incoming senior Alina Nguyen turned in the next-fastest time for Plano East with a 20:41, good for 28^th place. Fellow senior Sarita Fino captured 33^rd in 20:54, while senior Dyan Tecuatl took 34^th in 21:02. Reagan Noel, also an incoming senior, placed 46^th in 21:51. Meghan Ledoux, who took 48^th in 22:02, recently graduated from Plano East.

Bhakta led the charge on the boys’ side, placing 17^th with a time of 16:53. 

Alum Nathan Nguyen put his best foot forward in his final career meet, earning 23^rd overall in 17:08. Rising junior Michael Sharp earned 25^thplace in 17:17. Senior Chandler Israel took 28^th in 17:23. Alum Dash Harvey clocked a time of 17:28, good for 30^th. Isaac Updike, an incoming junior, placed 35^th in 17:40. Alum Bipul Padhy captured 37^th overall in 17:43.