Katie Tabor (photo above left) and River Brandes (photo above right) are the valedictorian and salutatorian at W-C. Photos provided by Wheatland-Chili Central School District
One is looking to go into childhood education and the other wants to improve an athlete’s and coach’s performance through sports analytics. They both had a thirst for knowledge and that carried Kathryn “Katie” Tabor and Aiden “River” Brandes to the top of the Class of 2025 at Wheatland-Chili High School.
Tabor is the school’s valedictorian. The daughter of Karen and Christopher Tabor, she will be attending SUNY Brockport in the fall to major in childhood education, grades 1-6. She also applied to SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Fredonia, Elmira College, Keuka College and Nazareth University.
“I liked Brockport and chose it because it is close to home but also had the program that I was looking for,” Tabor said during a phone interview last week. “I was also able to meet some professors and that helped me make my decision. Brockport has small class sizes as well.”
Tabor carried a 97.7 academic average. Her coursework featured five Advanced Placement classes: U.S. History, Biology, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Calculus AB. Her Economics class was a dual credit course through Monroe Community College.
Balancing her academic work, Tabor was also involved in several extracurricular clubs and sports at Wheatland-Chili. She was a member of National Honor Society, serving as its secretary this year. She was a member of International Club and Ski Club. She played volleyball for two years and led the Wildcats last fall with a 92.7 serve percentage with six aces (fifth on the team), 14 assists (third on the team) and two kills. Tabor competed for the varsity tennis team for four years and played first doubles this spring, compiling a 7-7 record.
Outside of school, Tabor is a 2nd degree Black Belt in Karate, teaching karate to the elementary school kids on Wednesdays and helps teach a group of 5 and 6 year olds every Saturday at a karate club in Bergen. She has also worked at a local ice cream shop for three years.
“I got involved in karate in the second grade when it was offered in elementary school,” Tabor said. “I liked it and stuck with it, going to karate classes at a karate club in Bergen. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and has helped me with my confidence and my leadership abilities.”
Tabor has received numerous awards and scholarships, including the Elmira College Key Award, the Russell Sage Scholarship and an RIT Scholarship as a junior and the Diane LaDue Memorial Scholarship, the Dr. Louise Sheinman-Pask Memorial Scholarship, the Valedictorian Award, a President’s Award for Educational Excellence and a U.S. Army Scholar Athlete Award as a senior.
Her favorite memories of high school revolve around the people at the school.
“Being with my friends at school is my favorite memory,” Tabor said. “I also loved Mr. (Robert) Schneider’s English classes at school and it was partially because of his influence as well as the influence of my family that I want to go into the educational field.”
River Brandes is Wheatland-Chili’s salutatorian. The son of Shannon and Corey Brandes, River will attend Syracuse University in the fall to study sports analytics. He also considered the University of Akron and the University of Michigan before choosing Syracuse.
“I like sports, especially soccer, and in sports analytics you study and analyze performance data on players and teams to improve a player’s or coach’s performance, on and off the field,” Brandes said. “The sports analytics program at Syracuse is a very good program and, even though I am the first in my family to go to Syracuse, it is kind of like a family university because my whole family loves SU sports teams.”
Brandes carried a 97 average in his academic work. Among his challenging classes were Advanced Placement U.S. History, AP English Language and Composition, AP Biology and AP Calculus AB.
Participation in a number of activities at W-C also kept Brandes busy. He was a member of National Honor Society and Masterminds. He was in the school choir as a freshman and sophomore. He competed on the cross country running team for four years and recorded a 21 minute, 54 second time at the Genesee-Livingston League Championship last fall with his best time last year being a 21:09 at the McQuaid Invitational. He was one of the athletes on the school’s inaugural indoor track team in 2023 and competed in indoor track for the second time this past winter. A co-captain as a senior, he participated in the 1000, 1600 and 3200 meters and finished 13th in 13:07.21 in the 3200 at the Rochester Winter Track League Championship. He was on the outdoor track team for four years, placing 10th with a time of 12:29.51 in the 3200 meters at the Genesee Region League Championship this spring.
As a senior, he added one more sport to the mix as he played varsity soccer last fall in addition to competing for the cross country team. He was a midfielder in soccer, but did not score a goal or have an assist. He may look into playing intramural soccer at SU.
Outside of school, Brandes has worked as a youth soccer referee for three years.
Brandes earned several awards and honors. As a sophomore, he received an American Chemical Society Award. As a junior, he got the Junior of the Year Award. Brandes garnered several awards as a senior: a New York State Scholarship for Academic Excellence, the Salutatorian Award, the World Languages LePrix de Versailles French Award, the Office of the Attorney General – Civic Ambassador Award, a President’s Award for Educational Excellence, the Russell Hogue Award for Character and Service and a U.S. Army Scholar Athlete Award.
At the top of his favorite high school memories is the senior trip to New York City. Brandes is grateful for the faculty and staff at Wheatland-Chili, in particular Mr. Brian Glass.
“I have had Mr. Glass for a teacher and a coach for many years,” Brandes said. “He has pushed me to do my best in class and athletically and basically made me a much better person and the person I am today.”
