HOMECOMING NIGHT

by Michele Boy | February 27, 2025

On Friday night, the stands were filled with students, parents, and spectators out to enjoy homecoming against the Sublette Larks. The pep rally started off the afternoon with contests and games to get the students excited. The JH Pep Band played, the cheerleaders performed, and the crescendo choir performed the national anthem. The Varsity teams won along with the JV girls team! 

It was a packed night with senior night, homecoming, the Party After Prom basketball auction, and the unveiling of the 1,000 point club display.

  The 1,000 point club display is a series of photos of Bulldog basketball alumni who scored over 1,000 points in their Syracuse High School career. It is near the concession stand and restrooms of the Herndon Gymnasium, and was the brainchild of Denise Keller after her son Kyler graduated. “I saw it in another gym and I loved it. The school pride in that gym is amazing. And we need to bring school pride back to Syracuse, to our gym.”

Denise asked and received help from Tomas Gonzalez and Andy Coleman. “Tomas helped me find pictures of the players. I sent them out and the player could choose another photo if they chose. With donations from players and their families, I got it put together. Andy painted the wood and hung them,” said Denise.

It was a hit. Students, alumni, and many others stopped to admire the banners, ask questions, and smile! Those achieving that milestone for the men are Randy Johnson, Shane Haslett, Chris Brown, Bryce Simon, Will Brown, and Kyler Keller. For the ladies, Penny Hill, Andi Hess, Nichole Boy, Libby Lewis, Jessica Akers, Charity Maune, Maggie Welch, and Kylee Hedberg.

Denise added, “I have received so many compliments and people thanking me. Randy Johnson sent me a message that he would like to come back for his 50th reunion next year and see it in person.”
Bryce Simon said, “I really appreciate the work Denise put in to get this done, as  well as everyone else who contributed. I cannot thank her, and others, enough. What I love most about those plaques being on display is it starts to show the history of Syracuse (boys and girls) basketball that I hope younger generations can look up to and be motivated by.”

Libby (Lewis) Elliot said, “The wall looks great! I appreciate the time Denise took to get it all together and put up in the gym, I know it wasn’t easy. To reach 1,000 points in 4 seasons is no easy feat. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to consistently show up each season. Speaking for myself, I could not have accomplished reaching 1,000 points without all of my teammates throughout my high school career. The presence of social media has highlighted the significance of this accomplishment. Reaching 1,000 points was not talked about or celebrated like it is today. Having something like this in our gym for young athletes to strive for is such a great thing and can only fuel the fire to help Syracuse continue to build successful boys/girls basketball programs.”

Nichole (Boy) Swanson added, “It is an honor to be recognized for this accomplishment, not only for myself but all of my teammates. What a wonderful group of people to be included with! Thank you to Denise Keller for putting this together and making it happen.”

Thirteen seniors were recognized and at the end of the night after the ball games and the basketball auction, Alvaro Leyva and Lanee Owens were crowned Homecoming King and Queen. 
 
The Lady Bulldogs beat the Lady Larks, 67-23.  Kimber Thomeczek led the Lady Bulldogs with 17 points, Hailey Hampton had 14, Emily Pena had 11, Sophie Gould had 10, Brisa Montes had 7, Anelixz Moreno had 4, Paige Haslett and Nayeli Leyva-Loya each added 2.
Thomeczek 5,4-5,17 Hampton 7,0-0,14 Pena-Montes 1,0-0,11 Gould 3,1-2,10 Montes 2,3-6,7 Moreno 1,2-4,4 Haslett 1,0-2,2 Leyva-Loya 1,0-0,2.
3 point goals - Gould 1, Pena-Montes 3, Thomeczek 1. 
Syracuse  23   17   17   10  = 67.  Sublette      5     7     5    6  = 23

     The JV Lady Bulldogs beat the Lady Larks, 40-15.  Dayami Martin-Leyva led the Lady Bulldogs with 16 points, Clare Loder had 8, Anelixz Moreno had 6, Sandra Einspahr and Nayeli Leyva-Loya each had 4, Magoli Diaz added 2.  
Martin-Leyva 6,4-4,16 Loder 1,0-0,8 Moreno 1,1-2,6 Einspahr 1,2-2,4 Leyva-Loya 0,4-4,4 Diaz 0,2-2,2.  
3 point goals - Loder 2, Moreno 1.
Syracuse   10   12    6   12 = 40.  Sublette      0    11   13    1  = 15

  The Bulldogs beat the Larks, 67-44.  Freddy Vazquez led the Bulldogs with 13 points, Charlie Keller and Alvaro Leyva-Loya each had 11, Johnny TeVelde had 10, Brody Keller had 9, Ebben Urie had 5, Antony Lopez and Jesmar Molina Zambrano each had 3, Cavin Housholder added 2.
Vazquez 2,0-0,13 C Keller 2,1-2,11 Leyva-Loya 4,0-0,11 TeVelde 4,2-4,10 B Keller 4,1-2,9 Urie 2,1-2,5 Lopez 0,0-0,3 Molina Zambrano 0,0-0,3 Housholder 1,0-0,2.
3 point goals- C Keller 2, Lopez 1, Leyva-Loya 1, Vazquez 3, Molina Zambrano 1.
Syracuse   22   16   19   10  = 67   Sublette     11    12   11    10  = 44

      The JV Bulldogs came up short against the Larks, 34-47.   Jhonatan Avila led The JV Bulldogs with 8 points, Cavin Housholder had 6, Gabriel Gomez had 5, Aaron Rivera had 4, Mason Scott had 3, Daniel Apodaca Brock Keller, Antony Lopez and Jarret Scott each added 2. 
Avila 4,0-2,8 Housholder 2,2-2,6 Gomez 2,1-2,5 Rivera 2,0-0,4 M Scott 0,0-2,3 Apodaca 1,0-0,2 Keller 1,0-0,2 Lopez 1,0-0,2 J Scott 1,0-0,2.  3 point goals - M Scott 1.
Syracuse   7   9   12   6 = 34   Sublette   13   5   18  11 = 47

     The Bulldogs C Team came up short against The Larks, 45-50. Leading The Bulldogs was Jhonatan Avila with 18 points, Angel Ramirez had 10, Aaron Rivera had 9, Daniel Apodaca, Alex Houtsma, Axel Ibarra and Aaden Westeman each added 2.
Avila 8,2-3,18 Ramirez 4,2-4,10 Rivera 4,1-2,9 Apodaca 1,0-0,2 Houtsma 1,0-0,2 Ibarra 1,0-0,2 Westeman 1,0-0,2.
Syracuse   7   9   4   25 = 45   Sublette   8   20   13   9  = 50