Dollar, Thompson named Athletes of the Year

Looking back over this year there is much for the communities of Graham and Newcastle to take pride in when it comes to its local athletes.

This season, the Graham Steers pushed to make a state run and fell in the Region 1-4A Division II final. The Newcastle Ladycats took a trip to state with a team of athletes hoping to represent the school and community.

For their performances in their respective events and their work all season, Mattie Dollar of the Newcastle Ladycats and Ty Thompson of the Graham Steers earned selections as Athletes of the Year.

Mattie Dollar, Ladycats

Advancing to a state level is not out of the ordinary for Dollar, who last season was part of the 1A basketball championship team and finished among the top 1A teams for tennis.

For the second year in a row, Dollar headed to the state cross country meet and was joined this year by a team of six of her fellow Ladycats. At the regional cross country meet in Grand Prairie, Dollar finished third overall with a time of 12:59.45.

As a senior and someone who’s been there before, Dollar was a leader for the cross country team both on and off the course.

“Everybody we have is younger than her; a couple of freshmen and sophomores and a junior,” head coach Ryan Dollar said. “Them being able to see her the way she works, in her attitude, she doesn't gripe and complain about having to do it; she shows up and just gets it done.”

Her competitive nature is what drives her, the head coach said. She finished near the top of every meet this season, and even took first at the district meet the week prior to the regional meet.

“It's fun to watch the work that she puts in pay off in the big races,” Ryan Dollar said.

The Ladycats as a team went up against 15 other team qualifiers in the 1A girls race. Newcastle came in 11th place with a total 260 points, behind Jayton who finished in 10th place with 241 points, and ahead of Gorman who took 12th with 265 points.

Dollar led her team in this year’s race as she took 33rd overall with a time of 13:22.40. It was an improvement on both her time and placement from last year when she came in 43rd with a time of 13:28.9.

For Newcastle’s growing cross country team, this experience provided plenty of benefits for the rest of the team moving forward if they return. Dollar was the only senior on this year’s squad as the remainder of Newcastle’s runners were a mix of freshmen, sophomores and juniors.

Regardless of the final result, Dollar capped off a spectacular senior season and played a big part in leading the rest of the team.

 

Ty Thompson, Steers

The quarterback is always looked at as one of the leaders of a football team. Thompson was in his fourth year in control of that position, and he fulfilled all expectations in a historic Steers season.

Starting at quarterback as a freshman is never an easy challenge, but it’s one Thompson took on and has only succeeded in since.

“No matter what level it’s at…you're only going to be as good as your quarterbacks are,” head coach Clay McChristian said. “With Ty, he's just been dedicated since the day he came over here. He has just been steadfast in his preparation, his attention to detail, his wanting to be coached. He pours himself into the position.”

During the bi-district matchup against Dunbar, Harison Brockway and Thompson combined to be a dominating force. Thompson finished the game 19-of-24 passing for 217 yards and three touchdowns.

Thompson’s performance continued in the area round when he finished 11-of-18 passing for 170 yards and three touchdowns. His first was a 20-yard pass to tight end Hayden Horn, his second was a 31-yard bomb to Jace Gill, and his final passing touchdown of the night came on a threaded post pass to Wright — his first target, catch and offensive touchdown of the year.

The senior quarterback had more of a challenge in the region semifinals against Glen Rose, but continued to bring the heat with 10-of-20 passing for 126 yards and also rushed 24 times for 212 yards.

Four years have passed since Graham’s football team made it past the second round of the playoffs and this year the team advanced to the Region 1-4A Division II final with a trip to the state semifinal on the line.

In a battle that required three overtimes to determine a winner, Graham’s season came to an end with a 12-10 loss to Brock. Despite the outcome, Thompson’s season was nothing short of spectacular for the program and something McChristian said was evident among the entire team.

“This is my first senior class being the head coach, and just how proud I am to lead this program,” McChristian said. “(I told them to) just pour yourself into everything that you want in life. Sometimes you're going to get what you want. Sometimes you're not going to get what you want, but it doesn't mean you quit.”