Looking back at a year of Lady Blues sports
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(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham’s Olivia Pettus (right) passes off the baton to teammate Kaden Atwood (left) during a running relay at a track meet earlier this season. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Senior Madi Wilde drives down the side of the court with the ball during one of the Lady Blues’ home games. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER)Lady Blues tennis player Jade Dospapas swings hard at the ball during one of her singles matches in the fall tennis season. Dospapas earned All-District honors in the fall and qualified for regionals in the spring season. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham senior Meagan Brooks follows through after she makes contact with a ball and watches it head over the fence for a home run during one of the team’s games earlier this season. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Senior Sophia Schlieper boots the ball far up the field during Graham’s area playoff game against San Elizario. The Lady Blues finished second in district this year and earned their first playoff win in history in the bi-district round. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham juniors Lillian Noble (11) and Emi Gordy (right) leap together to try to block a ball during the volleyball team’s area round playoff game. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham’s Hannah Hollingsworth executes her squat lift during a powerlifting meet in Graham. Hollingsworth was one of two Lady Blues to qualify for regionals in her weight class.
The final countdown has begun as the school year officially ends this week for Graham High School students. Sports seasons have ended and it’s time to reflect on what the teams accomplished this year.
This is the second part of a look back at how Graham’s teams performed throughout the 2023-2024 athletic calendar year. In this second of two installments, we’ll take a look at the girls teams, the Lady Blues, and how they fared in their various competitions.
This look back will primarily focus on team accomplishments such as records and standings, unless the primary achievements focused on something singular like an individual player advancing through postseason play.
For the Lady Blues, volleyball is a big fall sport. Graham’s girls had an excellent season as they went 23-16 overall which included a fifth place finish at the annual Lu Allen tournament hosted in Graham.
The Lady Blues went 4-4 in district with some close losses to the teams above them in the district standings as they finished in third place. This led to a bi-district championship win over Sweetwater before the team ultimately fell in the area round to Decatur.
In addition to volleyball, cross country and tennis saw their teams compete against tough competition all season. The Lady Blues’ cross country team finished fifth in district with a team full of young runners who gained valuable experience this year. One of the team’s best performances came at the Burkburnett Jamboree where they finished in third place.
After volleyball and cross country the basketball team hit the hardwood. Graham’s girls looked to improve from last season and did so while introducing new, younger players to the court. The Lady Blues finished the year 12-20 overall with a 1-7 record in district. Although they missed the playoffs, they improved throughout the year and will look to keep that going next season.
Graham’s girls soccer team had one of its best seasons in the program’s young history. The Lady Blues went 14-5 overall, with multiple games getting canceled due to weather. The team went 6-2 in district and finished in second place.
While it wasn’t Graham’s first time making the playoffs in girls soccer, the Lady Blues accomplished something no other team before them had.
They won their first playoff game, a bi-district championship win over Borger with an incredible penalty kick shootout performance. The team advanced to the area round and narrowly lost to San Elizario, at the time ranked the No. 2 team in the state in Class 4A.
Although the Lady Blues don’t have a large powerlifting team in terms of participants, they showed out in their meets and had two girls qualify for regionals in Hannah Hollingsworth and Jasmine Denton.
Graham’s Lady Blues golf team is another small team in numbers, but the girls had several quality performances and improved their craft throughout the season. One of the highlights was freshman Adde Fade coming in third place as an individual at a competition in Denton.
The tennis team had a successful fall and spring season. The Lady Blues had four players earn All-District honors in the fall season while two girls — Reagan Birdwell and Jade Dospapas — made it all the way to regionals in the spring. Those two also helped contribute to the team’s district runners-up ranking at the district meet.
Track and field has always produced a number of successful athletes in Graham and this year was no different. The Lady Blues competed hard all year with both younger students and upperclassmen contributing to the team’s success.
This year the Lady Blues had 13 athletes qualify for regionals in their events. Although none advanced to state, it was still quite the accomplishment for this team to have that many successful athletes.
Finally, the Lady Blues softball team put together another complete season. Graham’s softball girls hit, pitched and threw their way to a 24-10 record overall, which included going 6-2 in district and claiming a second consecutive regular season championship.
The Lady Blues then crushed their bi-district opponent Lubbock Estacado to earn the golden glove trophy before seeing their season come to an end in a close series battle with Burkburnett.
Overall, Graham’s Lady Blues had strong seasons despite mixed records with results and district standings. With another year passed, the Lady Blues will continue to build up strong athletes who represent Graham to the best of their abilities.
