KHS BASKETBALL CELEBRATED | Boys, girls programs honored at annual banquet (with gallery)

Players, coaches, parents, fans and members of the soon-to-be-official Kilgore High School Basketball Booster Club gathered at Forest Home Baptist Church Monday night to honor the 2023-24 boys and girls KHS teams, particularly their seniors.

The banquet began with Cooper Shipman’s invocation, and included team honors from the varsity, junior varsity and freshmen coaches, with a banquet hall decorated not only with senior memento tables, but also two tables that were particularly special, dedicated to former Kilgore athlete and father Mark Spires, and to Kilgore student Jack Stone; both passed in 2023.

Coach Marissa Coop recognized her academic all-district students, Trinzai Frierson, Makaylah Jackson, Auniyeuh Matlock, Kassidy Oliver, Maggie Quine, Molly Quine, Phenix Rivers, Hallie Smires and Brittany Yzaguirre, and honored first-team academic all state student Maggie Quine.

Coop also mentioned her District 17-4A All-District honorees, Matlock, Oliver and Maurine Witt, who were all named second-team all-district (by the coaches in the district), and all-district honorable mention Rivers.

The team honored manager Hania Chmielewska, of Poland, and then moved to performance awards.

Rivers was presented with the hustle award; Maggie Quine and Oliver were presented as co-winners of the most valuable teammate award; Smires won the offensive most valuable player award and Matlock, the defensive MVP; and Witt was named the team’s overall most valuable player.

Molly Quine briefly spoke on her upcoming trip to Spain for a basketball leadership tour. July 30 to August 7 in, among other places, Barcelona. To read more about Molly’s trip, or to help her fund it, go here: Contribute to Molly Quine’s trip to Barcelona, Spain (wetravel.com).

Freshmen and JV teams of boys and girls were honored – the JV boys went undefeated and won the 17-4A JV boys district championship.

Coach Jeff Coleman’s varsity Bulldogs finished 8-4 in district play, third in the district, and reached the playoffs, falling to Palestine in a tight first-round game in Cushing.

Coleman recognized his academic all-district players: Braydon Nelson, Kayson Brooks, Jayden Sanders and Dre Sanders, and academic all-state honorable mention Jayden Sanders.

Sanders was also recognized as the team’s most valuable player, as well as making the 17-4A boys all-district team, as did Nelson.

Javon Towns and Eric Armstrong were recognized as second-team all-district honorees, and Dre Sanders as honorable mention all-district.

Shipman received the Big Heart award from Coleman, and manager Brady Reeves, one of the team’s seniors, was also recognized.

And players from each team signed basketballs, as well, to conclude the banquet.

Seniors from the Lady Bulldogs this year are Hallie Smires, Auniyeuh Matlock, Maggie Quine and manager Hania Chmielewska.

Bulldogs’ seniors this year are Mikel Dennis, Eric Armstrong, Brady Reeves and Braydon Nelson.

Banquet photos below by MITCH LUCAS.

Kilgore’s varsity boys got into the Class 4A playoffs again under coach Jeff Coleman, and were honored Monday night along with coach Marissa Coop’s varsity girls (below) and the entire KHS basketball program at the annual banquet, at Forest Home Baptist Church.

Tables dedicated to Mark Smires (above) and to Jack Stone (below) were decorated in the banquet hall; Smires and Stone both passed in 2023.

This table, for Molly Quine, also has an information sheet on her upcoming basketball trip to Spain. To help Molly on the trip or find out more, see the story above.

Tables were also in the hall honoring graduating seniors, like this one for Auniyeuh Matlock.