On Wednesday, National Signing Day, Prestonwood Christian Academy (PCA) honored four student athletes who signed Letters of Intent to continue their education and play sports at the collegiate level.
Head of School, Dr. Larry Taylor, commended the students for their achievements. “I am very pleased to see such a large crowd here today, which is testament to the kind of teammates and friends these four students are on and off the field or court. I am proud of what these young athletes have accomplished, and I commend them, their parents, faculty and coaches as we celebrate the next step of their journey. ”
Julia Gregg signed with the University of Arkansas women’s golf program next year. Gregg won the TAPPS State Girls Golf Championship in 2018 and 2017. In her freshman year, 2016, Gregg tied for first place in the State Tournament which led to a shoot-out and resulted in her taking the runner-up spot. Gregg was also part of the 2016 Girls Golf State Championship Team, and won the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship at Augusta National that same year.
Colton Smith signed to join the Cal Poly State University swim team. Smith is the captain of the Lions Swim Team, a Scholastic Academic All American, and he qualified for Junior Nationals this past summer. Smith holds eight of 11 PCA school records. He placed second at State in the 100 backstroke and fourth at State in the 200 Individual Medley.
Camryn Brown signed to play women’s basketball next year at University of California at Los Angeles. Brown is a dual sport athlete who led her teams to State in both basketball and track as a freshman and sophomore. In basketball, she led TAPPS defensively as District Player of the Year both as a freshman and a sophomore, and she averaged a double-double those years as well. Brown led the track team to State her freshman, sophomore and junior years. Sidelined with two ACL repairs her junior and senior years, but named team captain for both, Brown now acts as an assistant coach. PCA’s Varsity Girls Basketball Head Coach Holly Mulligan said that Brown’s basketball IQ is “off the charts” that she leads wherever she is in life.
Point Guard Payton Hicks signed to play women’s basketball next year at University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley. Hicks is a four-year varsity starter and captain of the Lady Lions and each year her teams advanced to the Final Four TAPPS State Tournament. In 2016, the Lady Lions were State Runner-up and her sophomore and junior years the Lady Lions were State Semi-Finalists. In her final game as a junior, Hicks was named All-Tournament Team after scoring 22 points in the State Semi-final game. Hicks scored 1,000 career points her junior season.
“I am proud of these four student athletes that we are honoring here today,” said PCA’s Athletic Director, Chris Cunningham. “They are not only athletically talented, but they have hearts for the Lord, and we are excited to watch them impact the culture and shine brightly for Jesus Christ.”
Prestonwood Christian Academy serves more than 1,600 students enrolled at three campuses: Plano (Pre-K3 through 12th grade), PCA North in Prosper (Pre-K3 through 8th grade) and PCAplus Virtual Academy. PCA North is celebrating its fifth school year with more than 170 students and is now enrolling through 9th grade as it grows to the first graduating class of 2023! PCAplus is celebrating record-breaking enrollment and has been serving students for 10 years. PCA has been recognized as having one of the strongest Christian education programs in the country providing intentional biblical worldview training and integration. The school places great value on the growth of students’ spiritual health in addition to their scholastic endeavors and co-curricular activities. Tantamount to its Spiritual Development plan is PCA’s rigorous Liberal Arts academic program. Since its first graduating class in 2002 through the class of 2018, graduates have been offered more than $110 million in scholarship for academics, arts and athletics from universities and other institutions of higher learning.