Nine Dayton High School seniors inked their names to letters of intent with colleges and universities on Feb. 1 at a special event in their honor at the DHS Performing Arts Center. Below is a list of the athletes and highlights of their high school athletic career:
VERNON HARRISON: Harrison signed with Texas Weslayan University. He is the District offensive MVP. He finished the season with 1,251 total yards, 21 touchdowns, 47 tackles on defense, eight pass break-ups, one block kick, three interceptions, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He is a member of the baseball team as well and has participated in track and field. Harrison plans to study sports communications at Texas Weslayan.
JONAH HEARNE: Hearne signed with Southwestern University to play football. His end-of-season stats include 47 tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. He was Honorable Mention in district play. He plans to study history and education.
ERIC ROSALES: Rosales signed with Texas Weslayan University to play football. He is a two-year letterman on the football team and participated in powerlifting and track. Rosales finished his season at nose tackle with 29 tackles. He is the Second Team All-District D-Line and First Team Academic All-District. He plans to study business.
PAYTON VEALS: Veals is heading to Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches this fall to participate in the collegiate dance team. Veals has been an extraordinary member of the Dazzlers Dance Team at DHS for the past two years. He was offered a spot on the SFA Dance Team after one of the team’s coaches saw him dance. While most dancers have to be invited to tryouts and go through a strenuous process, Veals’ talents allowed him to skip that process and be offered a scholarship.
MAIYAH PHOUMMARATH: Phoummarath signed to run cross country and track for the University of Texas in Dallas. Not only does she excel in sports, she is ranked 23rd out of 333 Dayton High School seniors. Phoummarath was an All-District runner as well as a regional qualifier this season.
KAMRON HOUSTON: Houston signed to play soccer with Bethel College. Houston is a two-year letterman and also plays club soccer for the Beaumont Dynamo 05 PA. He is the 2023 Highway 90 Classic Most Outstanding Goalkeeper and has the program record for the most penalties saved. He plans to study software development at Bethel College.
LARISSA RAMOS: Ramos signed with San Jacinto Community College. She competed in softball at Atascocita High School until moving to Dayton this fall. While attending AHS, she lettered in softball her junior year and received several awards, including Defensive Player of the Year 2021, Offensive Player of the Year 2022, First Team All-District 2022 and First Team Academic All-District 2022. She plans to study health science and then pursue a career in radiology.
EMMA PIERCE: Pierce signed with San Jacinto Community College. At Dayton High School, she has played volleyball for four years and lettered for two, softball for four years and lettered for all four, and competed in powerlifting for four years. In volleyball, she served as JV captain for two years and varsity captain for one year. She was Academic All-District and Academic All-State in volleyball. In softball, she was awarded Home Run MVP, Honorable Mention, Second Team All-District and Academic All-District for two years, and is the recipient of the Ashley May Spirit Award. In powerlifting, she was a regional qualifier for three years and state qualifier for one year. She plans to study mechanical engineering and minor in architecture with the hopes of becoming an engineer.
FABIANA CANDELARI: Candelari signed with Northeast Texas Community College. She has played softball and lettered all four years at Dayton High School. During her softball career, she has earned several awards including Defensive MVP her freshman and sophomore years and Second Team All-District her freshman, sophomore and junior year. She also competed in powerlifting and was a regional qualifier her junior year. She plans to pursue a degree in radiologic sciences and work as an X-ray technician.