Valedictorian Kristin Crouch

Kristin Crouch and Olivia Sula will graduate at the top of the Class of 2017.

Crouch is the Valedictorian for 2017 with a final grade of 110.15.

Olivia Sula is the Salutatorian with a final grade of 108.82.

Kristin Crouch

Just days before graduating as the Valedictorian for Salado High School, Kristin Crouch wrapped up her career as a student athlete teeing off at the UIL State Golf Tournament.

Crouch will graduate with a 110.159961 grade.

She is the daughter of Karen and Robert Crouch and the younger sister of Kathryn Crouch. She has attended Salado schools for 10 years.

High School hasn’t just been hitting the books for Crouch, who took Honors course in Advanced Placement English 3 and 4, AP Statistics, AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Biology, AP World History, AP United States History, AP American Politics and Government and AP Macroeconomics. She will already have course credits from the AP tests when she begins her college career at Texas A&M University. She will study Business Management and plans on owning and operating a large staffing agency.

Crouch has had a stellar career in athletics as well as academics. She is a four-year starter for the storied Salado Lady Eagle soccer program. She was named to All District first team this year three times during her career. She was named tot he Academic All-District all four years of high school. She was a team captain as a senior for the Lady Eagles. During her four-year career in soccer, the Lady Eagles won three district championships, was a regional finalist, a regional champion and state semi-finalist. Crouch was also named a TASCO Senior All-Star Team Member in 2017.

Crouch has also played four years on the varsity golf team, which competed at the State Tournament earlier this week. She was named the Golf MVP in 2016 and served two years as Team Captain. As a freshman she was part of the State Runner-Up team. The Lady Eagles were Regional Champs in 2014 and Regional Runner-Up in 2016. She was third place individually in District in 2017.

She also competed in UIL Academics as a member of the calculator application team, which was the regional runner-up in 2016 and 2017. She was district medalist in 2016 and 2017 and regional medalist in 2017.

Crouch was a member and President of Mu Alpha Theta (2017). She was also a three-year member of National Honor Society and a graduate of the Salado Youth Leadership. She was named an AP Scholar with Honors Award in 2016.

As a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Crouch was a huddle leader in 2015-17.

In addition to UIL Soccer, she played Club soccer, starting for the D1 Liverpool 98G-Gerrard team (2014-2016) where she received the Premier Award for Quality and Excellence in 2014. She was a team member of North Texas Liverpool Premier Team in 2016.

She found time to volunteer as a golf coach for Killeen Junior Golf Academy working more than 100 hours with kids aged 6-14. She also dedicated hours to the Harker Heights Animal Shelter and worked concessional stands during the football season.

Crouch says she will play club soccer in college. “I also am going to join a country dancing club to learn the basic western dances,” she said. “I will more than likely join a church and become a youth counselor as well.”

She said she will always remember the bus rides to and from soccer games. “I am going to miss singing at the top of my lungs,” she says, adding “and the snack bucket — basically a huge bucket we decorate and fill to the top with around 500 snacks —on the way to McAllen for regionals.”

“My favorite teachers are Mr. Cabaniss and Mrs. Bagley,” she said. “Mr Cabaniss is an extraordinary teacher that has sparked my interest in going into a mathematical based minor. I look up to the strong sense of character and fashion sense that he possesses. I am beyond grateful to have been in 8 classes with him. Although I may never be able to match my entire outfit every day like him, I hope that I can possess the many honorable attributes that make him one of the most well respected teachers in Salado.”

“My other favorite teacher Mrs. Bagley, who I have had 3 classes with, stands out to me as a teacher because of her unique teaching methods,” she said. “She is an extremely down to earth woman who has invested time into helping me with school and with my future. I will miss both Mr. Cabaniss and Mrs. Bagley’s sly humor and wit. I can not thank them enough for making my high school career so memorable.”

She will coach kids at the junior golf academy this summer, as well as working at Sedona Staffing where she will learn the basics of a staffing agency.

“I am also going to a golf resort in Florida for vacation,” she said. A much deserved vacation!

Olivia Sula

Olivia Suzanne Sula will graduate as the Salutatorian with a grade of 108.82.

She is the daughter of Robert and Audra Sula. She is the older sister of Lauren Sula, 13 yrs old, 7th grade and Lindsay Sula, 9 yrs old,  4th grade.

Active in sports and school organizations, Sula was a Varsity Soccer player and Cross Country runner. She was also involved in ASTRA, National Honor Society, Mu Alphe Theta, Salado Youth Leadership, VASE Art Competition, Spanish Club and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

She was named the  Most Improved Soccer Player and received All District nods for 1st and 2nd Team All-District (Soccer) and Defensive MVP(Soccer).

Sula was also a Regional VASE Winner.

She volunteered twice a month for the kids’s church at Crossroads Church. She also volunteered for the clean-up of Rowlett, Texas after a tornado hit that community.

She has given of her time in a multitude of capacities, including these: NHS Adopt-A-Spot Trash Clean-Up, Salado Daddy-Daughter Dance Waitress, ASTRA Kids Against Hunger Food Drive, Project Graduation Bake Sale and Garage Sale, Chalk Ridge Falls Park Trash Clean-Up, Little League Baseball Field Clean-Up.

While in High School, Sula took extensive honors courses, including Pre-Advanced Placement Biology I and Algebra II and Advanced Placement Calculus, AP Statistics, AP English 3 and 4, AP World History, AP US History, AP Government and Politics, AP Physics and AP Biology 2.

Sula will attend Abilene Christian University, where she will major in Biology for pre-med. Olivia says that she plans on attending medical school to become a sports medicine physician.

Among her favorite memories is “playing soccer with my friends all four years and winning the Regional Tournament and going to State last year,” she said.

“Everyone I have gone to school with in Salado is exceedingly smart, so having to compete with those great grades has taught me hard work and dedication,” she said of growing up in Salado. “Salado is very small so it is really easy to fellowship with other community members, which allowed me to make a lot of lifelong friends.”

Favorite high school teachers were Dennis Cabaniss, Michael Goos and Kessler.

“Mr. Cabaniss is so wise and educated that he made learning math a breeze and he always pushed me to learn as much as I can in school,” she said. “Coach Goos was my soccer coach, and he has taught me how to work hard, be my best, and treat people right on and off the soccer field. Mrs. Kessler is also one of my favorite teachers because she makes learning Spanish so much fun, and she’s more of a best friend to me than a teacher.”

Sula plans for a mission trip to Peru this summer, going on a cruise to Mexico and “babysitting to save up money for college.”