Signing Day: 11 Montwood students sign to compete at next level
Eleven student athletes from Montwood High School signed Wednesday to play their sport at the next level.
Goalkeeper, Zoey Lopez, will sign with the University of Texas at El Paso. Lopez, who transferred to Montwood her junior year, played varsity one season and was named All-District MVP Goalkeeper.
Sarah Polanco, softball centerfielder, will head to Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. The four-year member of the varsity team has a .526 batting average and was named District Newcomer of the Year in 2015; All-District Academic Team from 2015 to 2017; All-District First Team in 2016 and 2017; and Texas Sports Writer Association Honorable Mention in 2017.
Softball player, Azul Munoz, will attend the University of Texas Permian Basin in Odessa. Munoz is the team captain, who plays multiple positions including pitcher, first and third base. She has earned numerous honors including All-District Second Team and Pitcher of the Year in 2016 and All-District Honorable Mention Team in 2017.
Football player, Efren Young, will sign with Beloit College in Beloit, Wisc. The two-year starter running back accumulated 917 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns.
Steve Moreland, a defensive safety, will sign with Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Ill. Moreland was a defensive captain whose career stats include 70 tackles and four pass deflections.
Three year varsity soccer player, Alberto Ortiz, will pledge with Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colo. As team captain, Ortiz made six goals and had three assists. He was on the All-District Honorable Mention Team in 2017 and named to the All-District Second Team in 2019.
Soccer player Bryan Meraz will sign with Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. Meraz was the team’s leading scorer with 16 goals and five assists. He was on the All-District Second Team as a junior and this year made the All-District First Team.
Pole vaulter, Megan Pennington, will sign with Crown College, St. Bonifacius, Minn.The three-year varsity track star currently holds the school record in the pole vault. Pennington also has been on the training staff at Montwood for a year and was on the basketball team for three years. She has won awards at state for athletic training where she finished 6th.
Samantha Luna, another student athletic trainer, also will sign with the University of Texas Permian Basin. Luna is ranked seventh in the state in the Advanced Division of Sports Medicine for West Texas. She plans to earn a master’s degree in athletic training and become nationally certified.
Tennis player, Larry Torres, will take his talents to Letourneau University in Longview, Texas. Torres is a three-year varsity letterman and has been the No. 1 ranked tennis player on the Rams varsity team since the end of his sophomore season. He has been a quarterfinalist each of the past two seasons in boys’ singles at the district tennis tournament. Other honors include making the All-District Second Team in 2017 and 2018.
Isaiah Aranda, a safety on the Rams football team, will sign with Trinity International College in Deerfield, Ill. Aranda was a three-year varsity letterman and was a captain. He finished his career with 98 tackles including five for a loss and four pass deflections.
