By Seth Dowdle
The Plano East Panthers picked up their second victory of 2026, matching their win total from last season with a dominant 48-15 triumph over Rock Hill on Friday night at Tom Kimbrough Stadium.
Plano East was led by Treyce Seldon, who finished with 204 total yards and three touchdowns. Senior quarterback Josh Gordon threw for 177 yards with four touchdown passes.
Seldon’s biggest contribution came late in the second quarter after Rock Hill cut Plano East’s lead to 20-15. With less than a minute remaining in the half, Seldon broke free to set up a touchdown catch on the following play, giving the Panthers a two-score advantage entering halftime.
Plano East carried that momentum into the second half. Seldon scored again on a 40-yard run during the team’s opening possession of the third quarter, helping put the game out of reach.
The Panthers will face South Grand Prairie next week in their final nondistrict contest.
Read the full story in the September 10th edition. Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.
By David Wolman
Plano East senior libero Dakota Huynh started learning the game of volleyball earlier than most players.
When she was 3 years old, Huynh made underhanded throws to her father, David, mother, Snow, and her older sister, Trinity.
Dakota had plenty of volleyball experience to lean on during her early years, including David, a former volleyball player who competed for recreation league teams and in several Asian league tournaments. He is currently the head coach for the Dallas Skyline Juniors 15 Royal David club team. Meanwhile, Trinity logged more than 3,000 career digs at Plano Senior and Parish Episcopal before graduating in 2022.
One of Dakota’s biggest mentors was Ruth Nelson. Nelson amassed an overall record of 557-230 as head coach at George Williams College, the University of Houston, Louisiana State University and the University of Iowa.
Nelson began coaching Dakota when Dakota was four and a half years old, and Nelson continues to watch Dakota play while providing her with valuable feedback after matches to help improve her knowledge of the game.
“Ruth is a great coach,” David said. “She loves what she’s doing and does a great job of teaching the basic fundamentals. She still supports her. She conversated with Dakota for a while at the Allen tournament. She is a very good mentor. She loves passion the Dakota has, and she has the same passion for Dakota. They have connected well for the game of volleyball.”
Read the full story in the Sept. 3, 2026, edition of the Murphy Monitor. Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.
By David Wolman
For as many wins as the Plano East volleyball team has totaled during a challenging non-district schedule, head coach Sarah Perez said that there have been adverse moments that the team has had to work through.
Through that adversity, one of the only few things that she wanted to see her team improve on was finishing matches.
Tuesday’s home match against another tough opponent, Wylie, ranked No. 6 in this week’s Texas Girls Coaches Association Class 6A state poll, provided Plano East with another test in how it was going to respond to adversity.
The Lady Panthers accepted the challenge.
After a strong start, Plano East was forced to climb out of a two sets to one deficit. But the Lady Panthers responded by winning the final two sets, capped off by a dominant showing in the final set to earn a 25-21, 24-26, 16-25, 25-22, 15-8 win.
“It’s been a learning preseason,” Perez said. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, and holes to climb out of. But tonight, they put all the pieces together. We have been talking the last couple of weeks about how to finish and take ownership and play as a team and play their role. Tonight, they showed that they believed in themselves.”
Plano East (18-6) has played in two of the same preseason tournaments as Wylie (20-4) — Allen Texas Open and Volleypalooza — but didn’t play each other until Tuesday.
The wait proved to be worth it.
Both teams played a relentless style of defense, which included several long rallies, numerous blocks and all-out efforts to dig the ball.
Plano East’s front row was tasked with attempting to limit the production of a skilled group of hitters for Wylie, a roster that includes Lamar University commit Julia Hudgins, Grambling pledge Aubrey DeGrate, Arizona State commit Paloma Smith and Old Dominion commit Keelyn Green.
Hudgins, DeGrate, Smith and Green combined for 62 kills on the evening, but Plano East’s defense held Wylie to a .187 hitting percentage and forced 27 hitting errors.
In the first set, Wylie took an early 4-1 lead on DeGrate’s first of 18 kills. But Plano East’s defense continued to show a lot of fight. The Lady Panthers rallied and took a 15-8 lead on a Lady Pirates hitting error.
However, Wylie was just as determined. The Lady Pirates rallied, creating an 18-18 tie following a booming kill by Hudgins. But the Lady Panthers always had a response. Anna Lukas restored momentum for Plano East with a kill on the ensuing point, sparking a 7-4 Lady Panthers run to end the opening set.
In the second set, Plano East was one point away from taking a commanding two sets to none advantage in the best-of-five match. However, Wylie’s senior class ensured the Lady Pirates wouldn’t be swept on this night. A DeGrate kill tied the score at 24-24. Green put Wylie ahead with a kill on the next point, and a Plano East hitting error on the ensuing point notched the set win for the Lady Pirates.
“It was truly a point for point match,” Perez said. “Big blocks across the middle. I thought that we had some of the best blocking that we’ve had all preseason. Our blockers showed up. Our defense obviously is phenomenal. They communicate well and play well, and so does Wylie. It was truly an even match. I’m just so proud that we ended up coming out on top.”
Wylie carried that momentum into the third set where the Lady Pirates put forth their most dominant effort of the match. Perez was eager to see how her squad would counter that momentum, which the Lady Panthers did. Plano East broke a 22-22 tie in the fourth set on a kill from Leyna Anderson.
Then, it was all Lady Panthers in the deciding fifth set. A service ace and block by Luz Luna fueled a 5-0 start for Plano East, and it proved to be more than enough separation for the Lady Panthers.
“It was a very big lull in the third set,” Perez said. “They came out and took a set off mentally. They were able to take that and turn it around and come out stronger and come out with more energy and truly played as a team. They grabbed the momentum in the fourth set and took it into the fifth set.”
Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.
By David Wolman
Plano East went 5-3 at Volleypalooza last weekend to finish 17th out of 66 teams.
The Lady Panthers didn’t need long to find their rhythm, earning wins in four of their first five matches. They cruised to a 25-17, 25-22 win over Coronado in their first match. After losing to Clear Springs 25-9, 21-25, 29-27 in its next match, Plano East bounced back with three straight victories – a 21-25, 25-18, 25-20 win over Eastlake, a 21-25, 25-23, 25-23 come-from-behind win against Harlan and a 25-14, 25-19 triumph over San Antonio Johnson.
The Lady Panthers lost a hard-fought match to Antonian 25-23, 30-28 to begin play Saturday, then dropped a 25-16, 20-25, 25-19 decision to Lake Creek. However, Plano East finished the tournament on a positive note, cruising to a 25-12, 25-21 win over Jenks.
Sophomore Luz Luna contributed 10 kills and 12 assists in the win over Johnson and senior libero Dakota Huynh had 20 digs. Junior Jaiden Boutte accounted for five of Plano East’s 10 blocks against Eastlake.
Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.
By David Wolman
(editor’s note: check out game photos here — https://csmediatexas.dotphoto.com/CPViewAlbum.asp?AID=6888587)
MESQUITE — Plano East sophomore running back Treyce Seldon finished with 186 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns in less than three quarters of play during the Panthers’ 55-21 season-opening win over Mesquite Horn on Thursday, Aug. 27 at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.
The Panthers (1-0) built a commanding 27-0 lead with 4:13 left in the first quarter and never looked back in winning their first season opener since 2024.
After a 35-yard kickoff return by senior Braeden Quatch on the game’s opening play set up Plano East with excellent starting field position, Seldon ran for a 51-yard touchdown on the second offensive play of the contest for a quick 7-0 lead.
Junior Tyson Seldon caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Josh Gordon on the next Plano East possession for a 13-0 Panthers lead.
Gordon completed 14 of 15 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns.
Plano East’s lead grew to 27-0 after senior Jordan Stafford returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown.
Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.
By David Wolman
Another week on the course produced another championship-level effort for the Plano East cross country team.
Plano East’s depth led the Panthers to a sweep of the varsity 5-kilometer team titles Saturday morning at the Texoma Invitational. The Lady Panthers posted a first-place score of 19 points, while Plano East’s boys, with 35, edged runner-up McKinney North by 14 points.
Meena Mulford continued her early season success by winning first place in the varsity girls race with a 20:10.02.
Plano East accounted for five top 10 finishes. In addition to Mulford capturing first place, Louisa Christensen placed seventh in 21:53.51, Brooke Tierney was eighth in 21:58.99, Kate Salyer was ninth in 22:20 and Reagan Diggs captured 10th in 22:24.05.
Taylor Chu turned in a 12th-place finish with a 22:59.87.
Josie Gryglas placed 15th in 23:04.32, Evelyn Felipe took 24th in 24:04.64, Emma Sahni was 29th in 24:58.85, Jordan Grant placed 31st in 25:03, Zoey Powell took 34th in 25:37.39, Stella Millan finished 35th in 25:42.27 and Payton Lowsley took 36th in 25:48.92.
Isabella Downing (41st, 27:45.65), Serena Castillo (44th, 29:05.58), Liliana Green (45th, 29:13.31), Allison Nguon (46th, 29:23.48), Evelyn Bush (47th, 29:25.95), Maryam Mohammad (48th, 30:14.76) and Paige McBride (50th, 30:35.05) rounded out the efforts for the Lady Panthers at the Texoma Invitational.
Plano East’s boys were just as balanced, with the Panthers accounting for five of the top 13 individual finishes.
Isaac Updike led the way, placing third with a 17:21.64. Levi Rowe finished seventh in 17:35.34. Michael Sharp was 10th in 18:12.45, Alex Castillo took 11th in 18:15.47, Grant Updike earned 13th with an 18:26.37, Joshua Cruz placed 16th with an 18:32.14, Samuel Powell was 23rd in 19:11.06 and Mohammad Raslan took 24th in 19:11.54.
Cole McBride finished 40th in 19:55.6 and Dan Tecuatl took 42nd in 20:01.73.
Read the full story in the Aug. 27 edition. Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.
By David Wolman
With district play for the Plano East volleyball team not beginning until September, the Lady Panthers are using the month of August to get in a challenging schedule to help prepare them for a potential playoff run.
Their latest test came last weekend at the Allen Texas Open.
Plano East aced the test, finishiing 4-2 with a run to the quarterfinals in the championship bracket.
Plano East, which earned a No. 6 state ranking and is looking to build on a first-place finish in the Garland ISD Tournament, opened bracket play in Allen with a sweep of Hockaday by identical 25-20, 25-20 scores. However, the Lady Panthers’ tournament run came to an end a short time later following a 25-11, 25-17 loss to Allen, ranked No. 8 in the MaxPreps.com national poll.
The Lady Panthers were sharp to begin the Allen Texas Open. Plano East posted a 25-20, 25-21 win over Frisco Heritage in the tournament opener, followed by a 25-12, 25-18 victory against Sachse. The Lady Panthers lost their final match in pool play, a 25-15, 25-9 loss to Cornerstone Christian.
Read the full story in the Aug. 27 edition. Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.
By David Wolman
With temperatures continuing to exceed 100 degrees in the Dallas area, kickoff for the Plano East football team’s week-one matchup at Mesquite Horn from Mesquite Memorial Stadium on Thursday has been pushed back 30 minutes, from 7 p.m. to 7:30.
]]>
By David Wolman
One year after making their first regional final appearance since 2008, the Plano East Lady Panthers have showed no signs of slowing down.
Plano East capped off a perfect 9-0 first week to the 2026 season with a 2-1 triumph against Frisco Memorial (25-14, 23-25, 28-26) during the championship match of the gold bracket in the Garland ISD Tournament. It was Plano East’s third time winning the tournament over the last four years.
After earning a 3-1 come-from-behind win over Woodrow Wilson (24-26, 25-17, 25-14, 25-19) to commence the season Aug. 11, Plano East won all eight matches in Garland and lost just two sets. The Lady Panthers topped South Grand Prairie (25-16, 25-18), Lebanon Trail (25-19, 25-8) and Lakeview Centennial (25-7, 25-15) during the first day of pool play, swept Forney, Frisco Independence and Eastlake on the second day before outlasting Johnson and Frisco Memorial on the last day.
One of the team’s newest players, sophomore Anna Lukas, a Lovejoy transfer, totaled a team-high 78 kills during the season’s first week. Sophomore Kyla Slaughter had 56 kills, followed by 55 from sophomore Luz Luna. Junior middle blocker Jaiden Boutte notched 20 blocks. Senior libero Dakota Huynh had 143 digs to pace Plano East’s defensive efforts.
Plano East’s undefeated streak ended Tuesday, with the Lady Panthers falling on the road to Rock Hill by a 3-1 final (25-15, 18-25, 25-21, 25-23).
After struggling with passing as well as the jump serve of Rock Hill freshman Danielle Bazan in the first set, Plano East was much more fluid on offense in the second set.
A pair of Luna kills staked the Lady Panthers to a commanding 14-4 lead. But a young Rock Hill (9-2) team with seven freshmen on its roster didn’t lose its focus. The Blue Hawks closed the gap thanks to a pair of aces from Auri Graham. Rock Hill got as close as 21-18 late in the set, but Plano East maintained its composure. A block by Boutte forced set point and a kill by freshman Ava Nzegwu notched Plano East the set victory for a 1-1 tie in the best-of-five match.
Plano East had chances to take a stranglehold of the match, but the Lady Panthers were unable to build on a 12-8 lead during the third set. Rock Hill took the lead for good on an Alyssa Jackson kill and Graham capped off a 17-9 run with a kill, giving the Blue Hawks a two sets to one lead.
For a moment, it appeared the fourth set was going to get away from Plano East. Rock Hill built a 9-3 lead after back-to-back aces, but the Lady Panthers proceeded to answer with a big run of their own. Slaughter rallied Plano East into an 18-12 lead with an emphatic block on the right side.
But just like the third set, Plano East was unable to close out Rock Hill. The Blue Hawks stunned the Lady Panthers with a 13-5 run, and the match ended after the 11th Rock Hill ace of the evening.
Stay informed and support your local community newspaper — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.
By David Wolman
Two days after winning the Garland ISD Volleyball Tournament for the third time in the last four years, Plano East earned the No. 6 ranking in the Texas Girls Coaches Association Class 6A state poll, which was released on Monday morning.
Katy Tompkins is the top-ranked team in Class 6A, Austin Westlake checks in at No. 2, Aledo at No. 3, defending Class 6A Division I state champion Byron Nelson at No. 4, Cy Ranch at No. 5, followed by Plano East at No. 6.
Plano East comes into this week with a 9-0 record.
After defeating Woodrow Wilson in four sets during their Aug. 11 season opener, the Lady Panthers won all eight matches in Garland, capped off with a 2-1 win (25-14, 23-25, 28-26) over Class 5A’s No. 15 Frisco Memorial in the championship game.
Plano East plays at former district rival Prosper Rock Hill tonight and will return to action Friday and Saturday at the Allen Texas Open. The Lady Panthers will commence pool play against Frisco Heritage at 10:15 a.m. Friday, followed by matches against Sachse (12:45 p.m.) and Cornerstone Christian (3:15 p.m.).
]]>