Six Troy High School seniors recently celebrated a major milestone, taking the next step in their athletic and academic careers on Signing Day—the largest in recent school history.

Assistant Principal, Scott Uptmore kicked off the event, emphasizing the significance of the moment. “This to my knowledge for the last 13 years that I've been here, is the largest signing day. Having six students sign at once is a huge honor, huge accomplishment, and I want to be able to celebrate the hard work of all of these wonderful athletes. A lot goes into this. Everything —that leads to this moment.” The following athletes signed their letters of intent with the following colleges and universities:

Izzy Garcia – Softball, Temple College

Jae Jae Phillips – Softball, Our Lady of the Lake University

Melanie Zapata – Softball, Navarro College

Joseph McMurtry – Baseball, Temple College

Reed Ketcham – Baseball, Hendrix College

Grayson Williams – Cross Country, UT Tyler

The ceremony was lively and festive, featuring decorations, desserts, and a packed crowd. Family, faculty, and friends gathered around the signees, offering their support through heartfelt words, warm embraces, and enthusiastic cheers.

“I trained harder than I thought possible,hours that no one saw. I sacrificed weekends and nights out with friends. But I realized that struggle is the price to pay for greatness.” shared Grayson Williams, who finished as the state runner-up in the 3A boys' cross country meet last November. Williams signed with the University of Texas at Tyler.

“Pain is temporary but regret lasts forever. David Goggins says that ‘when your mind tells you you're done, you're really only at 40%’ and I felt that firsthand every time my legs burned in my lungs begged for air, I found more in me. When my mind screamed, you're not good enough, I answered , ‘I'll get better.’ I didn't keep running because it was fun. I didn't chase the dream for metal recognition. I did it because for once in my life I wanted to look in the mirror and be proud of the person staring back. I did it for the ones just like me, the ones who were told they couldn't, the ones who felt like no matter how hard they tried, they would never be enough, and today I sit here, knowing one thing for certain: ‘I am enough.’ So when you lay down at night, I want you to dream, dream of the person you want to become, and when you wake up, go become that person, because you only get one life and you only get one shot. And if you're gonna put in the work, make sure you give it everything you've got.”

Common speeches spoken by these athletes' coaches were of dedication, resilience, determination and hard work, which were received with loud applause from the stands.

This signing day is a testament determination of these students. Troy ISD is proud of its athletes and looks forward to seeing them excel at the next level. Congratulations to all six signees!