By David Wolman
Sachse added another successful chapter to its athletic tradition during the 2025-26 school year.
The Sachse News is proud to introduce the second installment of a three-part series celebrating the best teams, athletes, moments and performances from this past school year. The categories and winners for the second annual C&S Media High School Sports Awards were chosen by sports editor David Wolman, with winners being published over three weeks.
Part 1 (July 16) included the Biggest Story, Breakthrough Moment, Newcomer of the Year and Best Team
Part 2 (July 23) will highlight the Best Game, Best Finish, Biggest Upset and Multi-Sport Athlete of the Year.
Part 3 (July 30) will wrap up the series with Coach of the Year, Most Improved Athlete, Best Male Athlete and Best Female Athlete.
These are the winners of the second installment of the series.
Best Game: Sachse boys’ basketball defeats Waxahachie in OT in area round
In a game that demanded resilience until the final possession, the Sachse Mustangs delivered one of their grittiest performances of the season Feb. 27, defeating Waxahachie 46-45 in overtime to claim the Class 6A Division I area championship at Forney High School.
Sachse, which entered the contest 19-14 overall and 11-5 in district play, had to claw back multiple times before surviving a dramatic finish.
After Waxahachie extended its lead to 40-37 with 21 seconds left, Matthew Hudgins delivered the shot of the night — an off-balance, contested 3-pointer — to tie the game at 40 and force overtime.
In the extra period, Preston Shaw took control. He opened with a jumper to give Sachse the lead, then buried a clutch 3-pointer after a Waxahachie turnover to put the Mustangs ahead 45-40. The Indians battled back to tie it at 45, but Caleb Lindsey converted a free throw to give Sachse a 46-45 edge with seconds remaining.
Best Finish: Late rally lifts Mustangs’ baseball team past Rockwall-Heath
Before the start of Game 2 of a Class 6A Division I playoff series against Rockwall-Heath, Sachse head baseball coach Chris Burrow spoke to his players about living in the moment.
His message resonated, and it sparked one final surge that propelled the Mustangs into the area round.
Trailing 5-2 in the sixth inning, Sachse responded with a five-run outburst, including the go-ahead RBI single by rising senior Jacob Ponce. A scoreless seventh inning from rising senior pitcher Carson DaSilva secured a 7-5 comeback victory for the Mustangs, who advanced to the area round with the victory.
During a series in which Sachse’s offense erupted for 21 runs in posting a two-game sweep of Rockwall-Heath, seven well-struck singles in the sixth inning helped the Mustangs secure the series win.
Five of those hits came in succession. Luke Visser tied the score at 5-5, Ponce followed with an RBI single that put Sachse ahead for good, and Greyson Darden capped the rally for a 7-5 lead.
Biggest Upset: McClarity’s pitching gem lifts Lady Mustangs softball team past Wylie
After winning just two of its first 11 games, Sachse found its stride during District 9-6A play.
A 1-0 victory over eventual district champion Wylie on Feb. 25 proved to be the start of a big turnaround for Sachse.
Incoming senior pitcher Maya McClarity shut down a potent Wylie offense by tossing seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts against three hits, leading Sachse to a 1-0 victory.
Rising junior Jaycie Watson hit a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the fourth to account for the game’s lone run.
Wylie threatened with two on and one out in the top of the fifth, but back-to-back strikeouts by McClarity kept Sachse in the lead. She retired eight of the final nine batters she faced to clinch the shutout win for the Lady Mustangs.
Multi-Sport Athlete of the Year: Maya McClarity, girls’ basketball/softball
Following in the footsteps of her older sister, Dee, who recently completed her senior season with the University of Texas at Arlington softball team, Maya is a two-way force both at the plate and on the mound for the Lady Mustangs.
Named the Most Valuable Player of District 9-6A, Maya put up big numbers, finishing her junior season with a .586 batting average, 14 home runs and 17 RBIs. During a 20-4 victory over North Garland on April 8, she finished with 10 RBIs and hit two home runs.
On the hardwood, McClarity provided Sachse with a physical presence around the basket and she stepped up her efforts when forward Arianna Gregory went down with an injury late in the season. Named to the District 9-6A honorable-mention team, McClarity averaged 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 points per game.
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By Carrie Dunlea
Retirement often brings more freedom, but it can also mean fewer daily opportunities to connect with others. Whether you’re newly retired or simply looking to expand your circle, building new friendships can improve both physical and mental well-being while making life more enjoyable. According to the World Health Organization, roughly 12% of older adults experience loneliness, a factor linked to poorer health and quality of life.
Reconnect with old friends. It’s easy to lose touch over the years as careers and family responsibilities take center stage. Retirement often provides the time to reconnect through a phone call, text message or social media. Many lifelong friendships begin right where they left off.
Explore local senior centers. One of the easiest ways to meet new people is by visiting a local senior center. The Wylie Community Park Center offers a free Senior Drop-In ID for adults 55 and older, providing access to fitness equipment, drop-in activities and recreational programs. Located inside Community Park, the facility also offers pickleball courts and the nearly one-mile Community Trail for walking and exercise.
Nearby, the Laurie Schwenk Senior Activity Center in Sachse hosts games, fitness classes, educational programs, special events and social activities throughout the week. Memberships are affordable for residents and non-residents, and transportation is available for qualifying Sachse residents, making it even easier to stay active and connected.
Start a club or join a group. Book clubs, coffee groups, walking clubs, gardening groups and pickleball leagues all provide natural opportunities to meet people with similar interests. Neighborhood Facebook groups and community pages are also great places to find or organize activities.
Reconnect with your faith. Places of worship often provide fellowship opportunities, volunteer projects and social gatherings that help foster lasting friendships while strengthening a sense of belonging.
Try something new. Learning a new skill or hobby can introduce retirees to people they might never have met otherwise. Look for painting classes, technology workshops, fitness programs, volunteer opportunities or day trips offered through local parks and recreation departments.
Staying socially connected doesn’t require a large circle of friends. Attending a weekly class, joining a walking group or simply sharing coffee with new acquaintances can make a meaningful difference. With active senior programs available in communities like Wylie and Sachse, local residents have plenty of opportunities to stay engaged, healthy and connected throughout retirement.
Did You Know?
Research has shown that staying socially active can help improve mood, reduce stress and support both cognitive and physical health as we age. Even participating in one regular weekly activity can make a meaningful difference.
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]]>By John Moore | TheCountryWriter.com
I’m not sure what fundraisers try to sell to grade school kids today, but when I was a kid, it was books. The school would hand out a pamphlet to each kid with a wide selection of paperback and hardback books we could buy. Cheap.
Maybe these were books that didn’t sell somewhere else, or maybe they were just reprints of books that had sold before, but the other kids and I bought them. Lots of them.
They were all appealing. Books by Beverly Cleary, Alfred Hitchcock, and science fiction from masters including Isaac Asimov.
Income for kids in the 60s and 70s was limited to whatever you could earn by doing chores, mowing yards, or helping a neighbor. There were rumors that some kids got an allowance, but I never met any of them. So, money was hard earned, and therefore, valuable.
But I freely let some of it go for scary stories or intrigue.
Looking back, I don’t remember anyone in the Ashdown, Arkansas, school system twisting my arm to read. The books simply looked interesting. The covers were colorful. The descriptions were exciting. Best of all, they belonged to me.
They usually arrived a few weeks after we turned in our order forms. There was something special about seeing a stack of brand-new books with a piece of paper attached that had my name on it.
Teachers were smart enough to know that if a child is interested in what he is reading, he is far more likely to keep turning the pages.
Some kids liked mysteries. Others wanted books about sports, animals, history, outer space, or famous people. There were joke books, puzzle books, collections of ghost stories, and books that taught magic tricks. Nobody seemed overly concerned that everyone read much of the same thing. The important thing was that we were reading.
That lesson has stayed with me.
Some adults spend too much time worrying about whether a child is reading the “right” book. I have always believed that reading something is better than reading nothing at all. A youngster who devours books about dinosaurs today may be reading biographies tomorrow. A child fascinated by model airplanes may eventually develop an interest in engineering. The path doesn’t matter nearly as much as developing the habit.
Reading opens doors that television, phones, and video games simply cannot. It stretches a child’s imagination because the pictures have to be created in the reader’s own mind. It expands a kid’s vocabulary without feeling like homework. It quietly teaches grammar, sentence structure, and storytelling. Long before many children realize it, they’re becoming better communicators.
Those little book orders also taught us something about making choices. We had limited money, so we studied every page of those catalogs. We’d compare prices, count our dollars, and decide which titles would give us the biggest bang for the buck. Sometimes a friend ordered a book we couldn’t afford, and after both of us finished reading, we’d trade.
The books often made the rounds through an entire neighborhood before finally ending up on someone’s bedroom bookshelf.
There was another benefit I didn’t appreciate until I was older. Those book sales weren’t just about putting stories into children’s hands. They also helped schools raise money. Every order generated a little extra income that could be used wherever it was needed most. Those dollars often supported activities that tax money didn’t completely cover.
They helped buy uniforms for athletic teams, supplies for art classes, music programs, library materials, playground equipment, classroom projects, and dozens of other things that enriched school life. We probably never gave it much thought while filling out our order forms, but every paperback carried a small benefit that reached far beyond the student who bought it.
Looking back, that was a pretty clever arrangement. Kids received books they genuinely wanted to read; the buyer paid only a few dollars, and schools gained resources that benefited everyone. It’s hard to find fault with that formula.
Today there are countless ways to read. Books can arrive instantly on a tablet or phone. Libraries offer digital downloads. Audiobooks are everywhere. Those are wonderful advances, but I hope we never lose sight of the simple idea behind those old paper catalogs.
Give children something that interests them.
Let them choose.
Don’t worry if it’s science fiction instead of history, mysteries instead of classics, or books about baseball instead of poetry. The love of reading rarely begins with assignments. It usually begins with curiosity.
For many of us, that curiosity arrived folded neatly inside a thin school pamphlet. We circled our choices, counted our money, and waited for delivery day.
When the box finally arrived in the classroom, it felt a little like Christmas.
The books may have cost us, but what they gave us was priceless.
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]]>By Allison LaBrot | [email protected]
The Wylie East Solar Car Team set out on a cross-Texas journey in their newly built vehicle Sunday, July 19, for the annual Solar Car Challenge. The five-day competition sent 24 high school teams on a cross-Texas journey of up to 619.8 miles from Fort Worth to Fort Stockton.
After winning the Advanced Classic division national championships the past two years, the Wylie East team built a new car, “East Beast 2.0,” from the ground up to comply with updated rules for the 2026 competition.
Planning for the competition started 18 months ago, with construction beginning at the start of the 2025-26 school year. The team has worked continuously, spending two to three days a week on the car this summer and adding in extra workdays over the past month.
Students contribute to every aspect of the project, from welding and fabrication to aerodynamics, electronics and other critical systems.
Ten of the team’s 16 members competed in this year’s Solar Car Challenge.
While the 2025 event took place at Fort Worth’s Texas Motor Speedway, students from around the country will travel through several Texas cities this year. Team adviser Matthew Karlsen said there will be three days of tech inspection, called “scrutineering,” before the race. Each race day includes a route with two rest stops and a lunch break.
This year, the team faced challenges during their tech inspection.
“After two days of repair for an incident that happened on day two of scrutineering, we are ready to start the race,” they relayed on social media,
“Teams can only drive from 9 to 5, so if you don’t get all the way, you must trailer to the destination,” Karlsen said. “Only the miles they drive in the solar car get counted towards their total.”
The winner is determined by total miles driven, with the fastest overall time serving as the tiebreaker. Solar cars are preceded on the road by a truck and trailer and followed by two chase cars with lights and large signs to alert other drivers of the car’s presence. The first chase car also transports a judge who keeps track of mileage and ensures rules of the road are followed.
Preparation for the cross-Texas race differs from what is needed for the track event.
“Drivers need to practice driving without cruise control to keep a steady foot, study driving hills and getting through multiple stops and starts without consuming precious energy,” Karlsen said.
The competition began Sunday in Fort Worth and includes stops in Palestine, Round Rock, Fredericksburg, San Angelo before concluding in Fort Stockton. At each stop, community members can view the solar cars during public displays held from 4 to 9 p.m. For more information and race updates, follow the Solar Car Challenge or Wylie East Solar Car Team on Facebook.
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]]>By Allison LaBrot | [email protected]
Wylie Acting Group (WAG), a nonprofit community theater organization, is gearing up for two weekends of performances of “Newsies.” The musical will be presented July 24-26 and July 31-Aug. 2 by a cast of 42 teenagers and a six-member crew.
Co-directors Barb Holder and Melissa Johnson said many of the young cast and crew members have already gained experience through WAG or their schools.
“Their passion and dedication shine in every performance,” the directors said.
Read the full story in the July 23rd edition. Stay informed — subscribe to The Sachse News.
]]>The Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) program is a nationally recognized course that provides realistic, hands-on self-defense instruction for women of all fitness levels. According to organizers, the goal is to provide practical defense options participants can use in real-world situations.
The course consists of four three-hour sessions scheduled from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 14, 21 and 28 and Nov. 4 at 3815-D Sachse Road.
To register, participants must be Sachse residents and at least 16 years old. Space is limited.
For more information about the national R.A.D. program, visit rad-systems.com. To register for the Sachse course, visit cityofsachse.com/RADTraining.
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]]>Train enthusiasts and families are invited to climb aboard for the return of Sachse Train Day, a free community event hosted by the Sachse Historical Society from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 25.
“This is our third year to host Train Day, and it is absolutely getting bigger each year,” said Tricia Lindsey, president of the Sachse Historical Society. “The LEGO layout is new… and everyone is excited to see what the North Texas Brick Society is going to create.”
This year’s event follows the same popular format as previous years, encouraging visitors to travel between four “depot” stops, collect stamps on a map and redeem a completed passport for a prize.
The new exhibit, located in the Sachse Library meeting room, joins returning attractions including model train displays, caboose tours and interactive activities at each location.
Aside from the meeting room, activities will take place at the Sachse Historical Society Museum, 3033 6th Street; the Sachse Community Center, 3815 Sachse Road and the historic caboose.
Guests can enjoy N-scale model train displays presented by North Texas T-TRAK Modular Railroad Club, caboose tours and opportunities to build their own train mini modules while learning about the important role railroads played in Sachse’s history.
Choo Choo Express trackless train rides will once again be available for purchase on-site.
The Sachse Historical Society’s museum features railroad artifacts and exhibits highlighting the city’s heritage, while the historic caboose offers visitors a glimpse into early Sachse through a detailed diorama depicting the community during its railroad era.
“It’s easy to forget how transformative the railroad was to America,” Lindsey said. “It didn’t just move crops and products to market faster. The railroad gave people the freedom to travel, experience new places, and helped shape the growth of cities. I hope visitors can catch a glimpse of that as they explore the different depot stops.”
For more information, visit the Sachse Historical Society website or call 972-496-6577.
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]]>Nearly 90% of participants earned their General Class amateur radio license during a licensing course and Field Day demonstration hosted June 27 by the N5SAC Amateur Radio Club at the Sachse Fire Department’s Emergency Operations Center.
The event combined classroom instruction with hands-on operating experience, allowing participants to make their first General Class radio transmissions after completing the course. Nearly all students who took the exam successfully upgraded their licenses, resulting in an 89% pass rate.
The class was supported by Sachse Fire Chief Marty Wade, whose assistance allowed the event to be held at the fire station’s Emergency Operations Center.
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]]>5 Loaves Ministries is preparing to welcome hundreds of local families to its fourth annual Back 2 School Bash Saturday, July 18, with this year’s theme, “Bright Futures Start Here.” The event is expected to serve 400 children, helping them begin the school year equipped with the supplies and confidence they need to succeed.
Each registered child will receive a new backpack filled with school supplies, along with access to free haircuts, oral care resources and a fun-filled day featuring activities for the entire family. The event reflects 5 Loaves Ministries’ ongoing commitment to supporting children and families beyond meeting immediate needs.
“We know that a successful school year begins long before the first bell rings,” Rebekah Rodgers, executive director, said. “Our goal is to remove barriers for families while reminding every child that they are valued, supported and capable of achieving great things. We want every child to walk into school with confidence because bright futures truly start here.”
As preparations continue, 5 Loaves Ministries is inviting the community to join the effort by sponsoring children, making monetary donations, purchasing school supplies through the organization’s Amazon Wish List or volunteering at the event. Businesses and community organizations are also encouraged to become event sponsors and invest in the success of local students.
The Back 2 School Bash allows 5 Loaves Ministries to bring together volunteers, businesses, churches and civic organizations to ensure children begin the school year prepared and encouraged.
Sachse Parks and Recreation is also gathering the community to support 5 Loaves Ministries. The Pickleball Summer School Supply Drive offers an evening of active fun from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 17, at the Michael J. Felix Community Center. School supplies will be accepted for admission.
For more information about the Back 2 School Bash, sponsorship opportunities or volunteer opportunities, visit 5loavesministries.org or contact 5 Loaves Ministries at 469-767-8071 or [email protected].
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]]>Sometimes the passenger is a woman carrying little more than a purse and a few belongings. Other times, it’s a father traveling with children. Some rides last only a few miles; others stretch across state lines.
The circumstances are always different, but the mission never changes.
Discreetly and often urgently, Families to Freedom staff and volunteers help survivors put distance between themselves and the people hurting them — one ride, one flight, one bus ticket and one tank of gas at a time.
For founder and CEO Sarah Nejdl, the organization grew from understanding a difficult truth: leaving abuse is rarely as simple as walking out the door — and no single charity offered flights for domestic violence victims.
“We started as an all- volunteer organization focused on helping sheltered survivors get to family by road trip or by private flight,” said Nejdl, a private pilot.
Within a year, Families to Freedom expanded beyond private flights, adding transportation to rural shelters, bus and commercial travel, and fuel assistance. During the pandemic, the organization broadened its mission again, helping survivors reach any available shelter regardless of distance.
Today, the nonprofit operates offices in Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston and is expanding into East Texas, helping connect rural victims with resources in larger cities while also guiding metro-area survivors to available shelters in smaller communities.
Funding support has also transformed the nonprofit’s reach.
“Those funds help us afford frontline personnel so donations go directly toward victim travel,” Nejdl said.
Since 2015, Families to Freedom has coordinated more than 1.7 million transportation miles through local and regional rides, cross-state travel, bus transportation, fuel assistance and commercial flights.
For Nejdl, a few stories still stand out.
“There are many survival stories that remind us that sometimes our services are literally saving lives,” she said.
One involved a mother and her children fleeing an ex-partner who pursued them from state to state.
“She got a ride from us to a secure facility in another state where she could completely change her identity to disappear from him,” Nejdl said.
Another call came through a sheriff’s office requesting transportation to an emergency shelter in another county. One of Families to Freedom’s volunteer drivers transported the woman to safety only minutes before her abuser returned.
“The sheriff later shared that the abuser came home within 10 minutes of our driver leaving with her, and he had shotguns in the truck,” Nejdl said.
Roberta “Robbie” Chandler has seen the mission from behind the wheel.
After volunteering for 12 years with a McKinney nonprofit, Chandler attended a meeting where Nejdl spoke about Families to Freedom’s need for volunteers.
“I just automatically put my hand up,” Chandler said. “It just seemed like there was a desperate need.”
Four years later, Chandler dedicates 20 to 25 hours each week to the organization, handling North Dallas outreach and public speaking while reminding audiences that abuse can affect anyone.
When people ask why victims don’t simply leave, Chandler said those questions usually come from people who have never experienced abuse firsthand.
“Before they come to us, they have probably exhausted what friends and family they have,” she said.
Families to Freedom staff handle intake calls, develop individualized safety plans and assign one staff member to remain with each client throughout the process, coordinating transportation and working directly with volunteers.
Volunteers never pick people up at front doors and are never placed in unnecessary danger. Drivers are tracked from pickup through drop-off, receive descriptions of suspected abusers and remain in constant contact with staff.
“We know at all times, if we’re driving, that we’re being watched,” Chandler said.
Volunteers also provide small comforts. Survivors receive purses stocked with essentials, gift cards and toiletries, while children receive backpacks, books, toys and snacks.
“Anything that would make them feel like they have something to call their own,” Chandler said.
Staff continue checking on survivors for up to a month after they reach safety and will arrange additional transportation if another shelter becomes necessary.
The work, Chandler admitted, can be emotionally draining.
“You never cry in front of the client when you hear their story,” she said. “You wait until you get them safely delivered.”
Afterward, volunteers check in with office staff to talk through the trip.
“They’ve got nothing but our best interest at heart,” Chandler said.
The past decade has brought tremendous growth for Families to Freedom, though Nejdl said she wishes there were no need for the organization at all.
“Sadly, we won’t run out of work to do,” she said.
Still, she remains hopeful.
“I dream of a future when all Texas victims have access to arrive to safety … no matter how far away,” she said. “With more volunteers, grant funding and donations, we’ll see that become a reality soon enough.”
To volunteer, donate or learn more about Families to Freedom, visit familiestofreedom.org or call 833-903-SAFE (7233).
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