Wylie East alumna Saliz Ward dribbles the ball up the court during a Class 6A-Division II area-round playoff game against DeSoto from Forney High School. Photo by Maddie Smith / C&S Media

By David Wolman

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

It was a successful year in so many ways.

In today’s edition of The Wylie News, we will look back at the highlights of the winter sports season for Wylie East. The final part of the three-part series, spring sports, will appear in the July 3 edition.

Girls’ soccer maintains continued success:

The Lady Raiders began the season by playing to a 2-2 draw against St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.), which went on to finish the season No. 22 in the MaxPreps.com national rankings and was the Class 6A runner-up in the state of Florida. 

Just like in that game, Wylie East rose its level of play when it played tough competition, and it parlayed into a third consecutive appearance in the regional finals. 

Despite losing 3-0 to Forney in the Region II-6A Div. II final, Wylie East, led by an experienced senior class, pieced together another winning season under head coach Kody Christensen, as the squad finished with a 19-3-1 overall record.

Wylie East was dominant at times. The Lady Raiders won 14 games by at least five goals, including an 8-0 rout of Mesquite Horn in the area round, and for the year, outscored their opponents 116-12.

But the Lady Raiders also persevered in close games. Alumna Arianna Darquea scored the lone goal in Wylie East’s 1-0 win over Magnolia in the regional semifinals. In bi-district, Wylie East rallied for a 2-1 win over Tyler Legacy.

Boys’ soccer comes up just short of playoff berth:

After watching his team struggle to a 4-8-4 district record during the 2024 season, head coach Trey Vaut knew having a more experienced roster would give Wylie East a chance to greatly improve on that mark.

With six players with previous varsity experience, Wylie East fared much better in 2025. The Raiders doubled their win total from four to eight district wins (8-7-1) and also received great play all season from varsity newcomer goalkeeper Elijah Thompson.

Wylie East was in the playoff hunt until the very end. The Raiders forged a three-way tie with Naaman Forest and Sachse for fourth place in District 9-6A after earning a 1-0 win over the Rangers on March 4. However, Wylie East lost their last three games and missed out on the playoffs.

Lady Raider hoopsters notch 1^st playoff win in 4 years:

After starting the season with six straight losses, Wylie East’s girls’ basketball team knew that things could only go up from there.

And for a team that has made the playoffs every year since Meaghan Hodapp took over as head coach in 2017, an 0-6 start was less than ideal. But for Hodapp, a tough preseason schedule was a means for preparing her Lady Raiders for all of the situations that they would encounter on the court during District 9-6A play.  

Wylie East brushed off that sluggish start, conjuring an 11-5 record during district play to clinch another playoff berth under Hodapp’s watch. The Lady Raiders weren’t done. They beat a tough North Forney team 48-35 in bi-district to earn their first playoff win in four years before losing to DeSoto 57-47 in the area round.

Boys’ basketball follows up repeat of historic run 

After the Raiders made it to the third round of the playoffs in 2024 for the first time in program history, they followed it up with a thrilling encore.

Led by the unique passing and scoring abilities of District 9-6A MVP Parker Overstreet, Wylie East again made it to the third round of the playoffs. The Raiders used a late run to cruise past Royse City in bi-district before surviving Shoemaker 66-64 in the area round. However, Wylie East’s season came to an end in the regional semifinals, falling to College Park by a final score of 60-39.

Powerlifters shine at state meet:

Six Lady Raiders competed in the equipped Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association state meet. 

Zion McGhee just missed out on earning a medal, earning sixth place at 132 pounds after lifting 850 pounds. 

Alex Davis took seventh place at 181 pounds with a 950-pound total, while Serenity Warden earned ninth overall at 242 pounds.

Gabrielle Batiste captured 12^th at 165 pounds, Manhoor Kian took 14^th at 114 pounds and Aliaya Aguila earned 16^th at 97 pounds.

Marquez wrestles to district championship:

Daniel Marquez won the District 6-6A championship at 285 pounds. He was 3-0 on the day and won all three matches in dominating fashion, capped off by a second-period pin of Plano East’s Cesar Arguello in the first-place match

Marquez was one of two regional qualifiers for Wylie East. Jacob West earned second place at 157 pounds.