For most kids in high school, being named to an All-State team means that they’ve done the right things athletically speaking. 

But, there are kids that also garner honors off it. 

Presley Castro has been doing both.

The Hunter High senior played three sports this past school year. For many, it would become far too difficult to maintain any sort of a courseload and still excel outside the classroom. 

Not only did Castro thrive on the field, she did just as well maintaining a 4.0 GPA and achieved high ACT and SAT scores. 

Though the Hunter senior was competing on the girls’ soccer team where Castro played fullback, and was on the cheer team where she performed regularly at games and competitions now that cheer is a sanctioned high school sport—she was not done. 

Castro also featured on the Lady Wolverines basketball team and got significant playing time, averaging two points, two rebounds and two fouls per game in two years of action. In other words, she was a tenacious defender for head coach Emily Brough’s squad that reached the second round of the 5A state tournament in 2026. 

Castro joined a dozen other athletes across the west side, from I-215 to the Oquirrhs, that were all honored for their academic contributions simply for doing one thing: they entered their grades as required on RegisterMyAthlete, the clearinghouse for all athletics in the Utah High School Athletics and Activities Association—and the UHSAA did the rest, issuing Academic All-State honors to these deserving student-athletes. 

Others were nearly as proficient as Hunter’s Castro in the classroom this past year as several other girls even received two honors. Amelia Okeson of Granger earned Academic All-State in girls wrestling and volleyball, as did Lancers Christy Nguyen and Grace Winder in girls swimming and tennis. 

There were many girls receiving one Academic All-State nod as well. Hunter earned three more, as Isabelle Miller received one in debate, Gracie Harding one in girls tennis and Madeleine Taylor another in girls cross country. 

Cyprus garnered a number of honors as well. Riley Woodman got one on drill team, and in girls tennis, Lady Pirates Emily Albertsen and Gracie Hunter took home honors, while Brittany Mendez earned hers in girls soccer. 

For the boys, Jimmy Nguyen of APA West Valley took home that school’s lone Academic All-State nod in music—though Nguyen also has the unique distinction of being named West Valley City’s only National Merit Scholar this past school year, an award he received at an assembly at the school in March. 

For the Kearns Cougars, they were represented by boys swimmer Zackery Kahl while Cyprus’ Beckham Bayles became the only student-athlete on the west side of the valley to receive both an athletic All-State Honorable Mention in boys basketball for Class 5A’s top-five ranked Pirates and Academic All-State honors in that sport in the same school year. 

The Pirates were also well represented in football, getting two boys on the list in Schuyler Garlitz and Owen Murphy. And, Mason Brown of Cyprus rounded out an impressive list of Academic All-State honorees through the winter. Spring honors will be announced at the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year. 

In no particular order, the full list for fall and winter activities and sports: 

Isabelle Miller, Hunter – debate 

Jimmy Nguyen, APA West Valley – music 

Amelia Okeson, Granger – girls wrestling and volleyball 

Christy Nguyen and Grace Winder, Granger – girls swimming and tennis 

Zackery Kahl, Kearns – boys swimming  

Riley Woodman, Cyprus – drill team  

Presley Castro, Hunter – cheer, girls basketball and soccer 

Beckham Bayles, Cyprus – boys basketball 

Emily Albertsen and Gracie Carter, Cyprus – girls tennis 

Gracie Harding, Hunter – girls tennis 

Brittany Mendez, Cyprus – girls soccer 

Owen Murphy and Schuyler Garlitz, Cyprus – football 

Madeleine Taylor, Hunter – girls cross country  

Mason Brown, Cyprus – boys cross country