McGehee, Martinez earn Athletes of the Week

Area teams did a lot of winning over the last week. Both Graham and Newcastle football teams earned playoff wins while basketball teams found some success on the court.

For their play in their teams’ wins, Katie McGehee of the Lady Blues basketball team and London Martinez of the Bobcats football team earned selections as Athletes of the Week.

Katie McGehee, Lady Blues basketball

Not more than a few weeks ago, McGehee was knee deep in volleyball season. The sophomore was a member of a squad whose season continued into the start of basketball.

Though she’s only been practicing full-time with the basketball team for a few weeks, McGehee has made an immediate impact. She’s a quick, shifty guard for this team that has prided itself on defense early on, particularly around the perimeter.

While she’s somewhat been playing catch-up, it hasn’t taken long for McGehee’s skills to show up on the court.

“You can see that she's finally starting to get her groove a little bit,” head coach Baylee Thompson said a day after the team’s win over Stamford. “(She’s feeling) a little more confident, because she knows what's going on, and it really showed last night.”

Against the Lady Bulldogs, McGehee finished as Graham’s top scorer with a game-high 16 points. Many of those came thanks to her defensive abilities as she also led the team with seven steals and multiple transition baskets.

The sophomore has an excellent ability to stay in front of her opponent, and with her speed and quick hands she’s been able to record multiple steals in every game she’s played so far.

“She was in position to help make steals and get stops and things like that which generated turnovers,” Thompson said. “A majority of the turnovers or steals for her that she got turned into layups, so that was awesome.”

There’s still a long season ahead, and McGehee is just a sophomore. But she’s already flashed her potential in big ways, and Thompson and the rest of the team are excited for her continued growth.

“I've been trying to tell her, ‘Hey, it's fine. I don't expect you to know everything right now. Just play hard,’ (and) she's done a great job at that,” Thompson said.

 

London Martinez, Bobcats football

Martinez has had plenty of strong games this season where he’s filled the stat sheet and helped his team to big wins.

But there perhaps wasn’t a bigger game or bigger win the junior could have been a part of than last Friday night’s bi-district contest against the undefeated Spur Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs went into the game 10-0 while the Bobcats entered 6-4 as a heavy underdog. All Newcastle did was dominate every facet of the game en route to a halftime mercy-rule win over Spur.

And one of the focal points of making all that happen? Martinez.

One of Newcastle’s most important juniors was all over the field that night throwing, running, blocking and tackling. Martinez accounted for five offensive touchdowns — two passing and three rushing.

He completed 3-of-5 passes for 151 yards and two scores and rushed eight times for 191 yards and three touchdowns.
“(London) showed great leadership and decision making as he was handling the ball,” head coach Isiah Archer said. “He has grown into his role through the year and continues to get better.”

In addition to his offensive performance, Martinez ended the game with four tackles and even had a key interception late in the game.

It was the peak performance after a long season full of ups and downs for this Bobcats team, as well as Martinez himself. But his best game came at a crucial moment.

Archer has been proud of the work that Martinez has done all season. He’s been a critical part of the success of this team, and that will continue in all aspects of his work with Newcastle sports.

“London is a great kid, smart, funny and always in good spirits. We are proud of the work he has put into the season thus far,” Archer said.