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Aleks Medrano: a loving friend, loyal teammate and unwavering kindness
The sudden and unexpected loss of Aleks Medrano is being felt all across Colorado County and throughout the Texas high school football community.
Medrano, 17, died on Wednesday, Oct. 2, after initially suffering a seizure, leaving him in a coma he would not wake up from. A high school senior at the time of his death, Medrano was a defensive end and offensive lineman for the Columbus Cardinal football team, leaving a lasting impact during his short time with the Columbus community.
One person he made a big impression on was his girlfriend, Addison Pilsner, who was named an honorary captain for the Cardinals’ game on Friday, Oct. 4 against the Rogers Eagles. Pilsner was dealing with a range of emotions and knew Medrano on a deeper level than most, speaking to the type of person Medrano was.
“He was the most loving person to ever exist,” said Pilsner.
Medrano was known for putting others before himself, going out of his way to check on his friends, teammates and even his teachers. He carried himself with an energy and excitement that people were naturally drawn to.
Medrano’s middle school coach Jordi Theut wrote a Facebook post on the Clear Eyes Full Hearts page to give more context to the type of person Medrano was.
“I coached him for two years while he was in Junior High,” said Theut in a Facebook post. “Even after those two years, any time I would see him around town he would make sure that he came by to ‘dap me up’ and see how I was doing and give me an update in how he was doing.”
It did not matter if he was in the classroom or on the football field Medrano’s energy was infectious. Cardinals quarterback Adam Schobel provided more insight into Medrano’s excitement and how it affected the football team.
“He was the best teammate, he had more energy than any other teammate I ever had,” said Adam Schobel. “Every day he would bring us out and fire us up. He would give us quotes in the tunnel before we would run on the field, ‘take their lunch money’ being one of them. He was really a great kid; it is a terrible loss.”
In last Friday’s game, the Cardinals came away with a 56-8 win and Schobel wasted no time dedicating the win to Medrano.
“This one is for him, I wanted to get 62 for him but no doubt we won this one for him,” said Adam Schobel.
Medrano’s high school and middle school coaches also held him in high regard. Cardinals head coach Matt Schobel said Medrano was loved dearly by his teammates and his positivity and encouragement will be missed.
“We are heartbroken, we love Aleks, we love his family, and our thoughts are with them right now,” said Matt Schobel. “We are trying to do the best we can to keep playing and keep honoring Aleks, that is what he would want us to do.”
Matt Schobel said it was an emotionally tough week with the team losing a big piece of their roster on Wednesday then playing that same Friday. The Cardinals’ head coach said he was proud of his players for honoring their teammate the way he deserved to be honored and will do everything they can to continue to honor Medrano for the rest of the season.
A shirt with a picture of Medrano entering a football field, pointing to the sky, was created by local sports media company Small Town Preps, with all proceeds from the shirt sales going directly to the Medrano family. Visit https:// shop. smalltownadvertising. com/ and search for the “Aleks Medrano” shirt to purchase.
Other businesses and members of the community across Columbus and Colorado County such as Frontier Rodeo Coffee Company, B&D Graphics, Jess N David Ross, Extreme Gym and more, have all joined in the efforts to raise funds, with all donations supporting the Medrano family.
