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The Rice Raiders had some highs and some lows throughout the season, and the lows were pretty well documented.
This time let’s look back at some of the highs that were accomplished by some Rice Raider athletes in the 2024-25 season.
Let’s start with the football team and how they made the playoffs for the first time in a while. The Raiders football team had a different mindset this season too as they were a little more aggressive.
Couple that with the fact that their defense did not allow a single point to be scored against them for the first three or four weeks of the season, which was one of the most impressive feats this season.
Next is cross country and these guys were just as dominant as the football team. The Raiders had the trio of Jael Valles- Serrano, Hayes Dingler and Payton Englebrecht were always in 1st, 2nd or 3rd place for the Raiders.
This level of dominance allowed the Raiders cross-country team to qualify for the State Meet.
Moving into soccer now the Raiders decided that making the playoffs for the first time in a while in one sport was not enough and decided to do it in another one. For the first time ever, the Rice Raiders soccer team made the playoffs this season with an 11-10-3 overall record and a 6-6-2 record in district play.
They lost to Needville 4-0 but despite the loss the Raiders soccer program took a big step this season and will be looking to take an even bigger one next season.
The Raiders’ basketball team was one of the more exciting teams to watch in Colorado County this season. They were a high flying and fast paced team that played with a ton of skill.
They posted a 23-8 record, 12-2 in district, and made the playoffs as the Co-District Champs. They made it to the Area Round of the playoffs before being eliminated by Cole ending the season as the Bi-District Champions.
Powerlifting is a lesser known sport in the world’s view but in Colorado County it is a very big deal. The Raiders specifically take a lot of pride in power lifting as they host multiple powerlifting meets throughout the season.
The Raiders powerlifting team made it all the way to State this season, and one of their lifters won the State Championship. John Mendoza won the UIL Powerlifting State Championship after lifting 1355 pounds.
Next up is the track team and they dominated much like the cross-country team. They had runners make it to the State Championship meet as well as a shot-put thrower.
Valles-Serrano was the runner for the Raiders that qualified for the State Meet, and he ran the 800m in one minute and 57 seconds to come in 8th place. RJ Myers competed in the shot-put event, and he came in third place in the State Meet with a throw of 57 feet.
It was an exciting year for the Raiders, and they will look to set the bar even higher and accomplish even more next season in 2025-26.
