New district first look: West Mesquite

Kevin Davis, Sports Editor • May 25, 2016

Editor’s note: This is the sixth in a series of profiles on the school’s opponent in next year’s new UIL district, 15-5A.

West Mesquite

Enrollment: 1,885

Mascot: Wranglers

School Colors: Burnt Orange and White

Distance from Lovejoy: 33.9 miles (41 minutes) 2500 Memorial Boulevard, Mesquite, TX 75149

Year opened: 1976

Wranglers’ 2015-16 results (according to SportsDayHS):

Football: 5-5

Volleyball: 6-17

Boys Basketball: 30-6

Girls Basketball: 24-8

Boys Soccer: 6-7

Girls Soccer: 3-12

Baseball: 0-16

Softball: 3-11

Notable Alumni: Trevone Boykin – quarterback for the TCU Horned Frogs

Thomas DeHorney – renowned international opera singer, voice teacher, and model

Big Joe Walker – country music recording artist, record producer, actor, film composer

Craig Wayne Boyd – Winner of Season 7 of The Voice (U.S.) in 2014

Athletes to watch: Coye Campbell, G, Class of 2018

Campbell just finished his sophomore season as a guard on the Wranglers’ basketball team. Campbell was the second leading scorer last year for the Wranglers behind senior guard Andre Watts. The sophomore finished the season with 413 total points scored in 28 games, an average of 14.8 points per game. Along with being the team’s second leading scorer, Campbell was also second on the team in assists with 94.

Analysis: Outside of the successful basketball program at West Mesquite, the Wranglers did not have much success at all in the athletic department. With a winless baseball team and near winless softball and girls soccer teams, the Wranglers definitely have room for improvement as they enter the new district after realignment.

About the Contributors

Kevin Davis, Sports Editor

Kevin Davis is returning for his fifth year is the newspaper program in middle school, and is a senior this year. He is also the sports editor of The Red Ledger for the second consecutive year. His favorite sport to cover is volleyball, because of the recent success the volleyball program has had. He plays outside linebacker for the leopard football team and wears number 22 because of ex-Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, however his favorite football player is Adrian Peterson. On the weekends, Kevin enjoys watching the Oklahoma Sooners, Dallas Cowboys, and hanging out with friends. His favorite restaurant is Buffalo Wild Wings (medium boneless buffalo dry rub). Also, cold stone is vital for a complete meal after eating at BWW. Also, music is very important to Kevin. If he could, he would have background music playing throughout his whole day. His favorite genre is rap, his favorite rapper is Kanye West, but he listens to just about everything. Although he can’t play any instruments, he can play Through the Fire and Flames on expert on guitar hero three. Other than guitar hero, he is not very interested or good at video games. Another skill that Kevin possesses is photoshop and graphic design.

Avery Degenhardt, TRL Graphic Designer

Avery joined “Intro To Photography” in eighth grade with some curiosity, and she quickly learned the basics of photography and quickly improved. She learned to love the craft, and along with her “secret” part-time photoshop in the class, she obtained skills she never imagined she would have with a computer. Applying for newspaper and deciding if she wanted that challenge or not was probably the most difficult choice of her life, but she went through with it. Avery has established her place among the staff and continues to pursue her interest in graphic art design. As a junior this year, she hopes to improve her skills in digital art and change her haircolor again.