Newcastle holds 2015-16 sports banquet

Newcastle High School held its annual sports banquet Thursday night at the Young County Arena in Graham. The Bobcats and Lady Cats achieved plenty on the court, on the field, on the track and on the gridiron in the 2015-2016 season.

The first group that was honored on Thursday night was the Lady Cats volleyball team. The team had several girls receive All-District honors. First team honors went to Lacy Lewelling, KC Shields and Holly Manos. Second team honors went to Kelsey Shields, Nicole Martinez and Robbi Blair. Gracie Payne received 1A All-District honorable mention. Other members of this year’s Lady Cats Volleyball team included Junior Giesi Gonzalez, sophomores Emma Ray, Kiley Mays and Elizabeth Lowrance. The other freshmen on this year’s team included Shyla Hardin, Kelsi New, Hannah Shanks and Arryn Eli.

“These are a great group of girls, and I was proud to have them,” Newcastle Volleyball coach Lindsey Smith said.

At the banquet, a signed volleyball was auctioned off for $150, and a signed volleyball picture was auctioned off for $100.

The Newcastle football team was honored next by head coach John Eli. The Bobcats had several players receive honors. All-District honors went to Billy Bohannon, Trinity Bohannon, Gage Bozeman, Kyle Crossland, J.R. Gossett, Chris Jordan, Matthew Lowe, Levi Martinez, Grady Shields and Mikey Walker. The seniors were given signed footballs.

All-Region honors went to Billy Bohannan, Kyle Crossland, Chris Jordan, Matthew Lowe,  Grady Shields and Mikey Walker.

All-State honors for football were awarded to Kyle Crossland, Chris Jordan, Matthew Lowe, Grady Shields and Mikey Walker.  

The Brandon Burlsworth Character award was given to Matthew Lowe. At the banquet, bi-district signed footballs were auctioned off for $200 and $250. 

The Newcastle cheerleaders were honored next. Elizabeth Lowrance was this year’s mascot. Other members of the team included senior Heather Manos, junior Holly Manos and sophomores Gracie Payne, Emma Ray and Bethany Mallete.

The boys and girls cross country teams were honored next by coach Brad Wilkinson. For the girls, Robbi Blair was a state qualifier in 2015. Nicole Martinez was a regional qualifer for the Lady Cats.

Gage Bozeman and J.R. Gossett were regional qualifiers for the boys. Richard Chapla and Levi Martinez also made up the boys cross country teams.

Newcastle basketball was next. The Lady Cats had a remarkable run that saw them rip through district competition, and remain a 1A ranked force until falling in the regionals. 

The boys basketball team had several players receive All-district honors, as well. Gage Bozeman was named first team All-District and Academic All-District. Chris Jordan was named second team All-District, and Matthew Lowe was named All-District, All-Region, and Academic All-District. Mikey Walker was named to the academic All-District squad. Seniors Lowe and Jordan were given signed basketballs.

“We may not have had a lot of numbers, and many times we had to play with just five, but these are a great group of guys,” Newcastle coach James King said.

The Lady Cats had numerous honors. The Lady Cats finished 28-5 in 2015-16. 

“All throughout the year they kept saving momentum,” King said. “I can’t express my gratitude for these girls enough.”

First team All-District honors went to Hannah Birdwell, Aryn Eli, Lacy Lewelling, Heather Manos, Holly Manos, Coty Manuel, Nicole Martinez, KC Shields and Kelsey Shields. All-Region honors went to Lewelling, Heather Manos and Holly Manos. Holly Manos also made the All-State team. An area signed basketball was auctioned off at the banquet for $325.

The track teams were honored next. The boys track team had only 10 athletes this year. They placed second at the district meet against a school that had three times the participants as Newcastle. 

Trinity Bohanan was an area qualifier in the discus. Gage Bozeman was a regional qualifier in the 1,600 and 3,200. A.J. Ford went to district for shot put and discus. David Gossett also competed at district in the shot put and discus. J.R. Gossett was a regional qualifier for the 4x100 relay team and the 800-meter run. He placed fifth at district in the 1600.

Matthew Lowe qualified for regionals in the 4x100 relay. He placed fifth at area in the discus and qualified for area in the long jump. He was a district finalist in the 100 dash and shot put. Daniel Martinez went to the district meet in the 400-meter dash. Grady Shields placed third at state in the high jump and long jump. He also was a regional finalist for the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 4x100 relay.

Ronnie Short went to district in the shot put. Mikey Walker was a regional qualifier for the 4x100 relay and shot put. He placed fifth at area in the 200, sixth at area in the discus and was an area qualifier in the long jump.

The track girls had all 13 girls advance to area. Robbi Blair finished fifth at regionals in the 4x100 relay and was a regional qualifier in the 3,200. Arryn Eli finished fifth at regionals in the 4x100 relay also. She was also a regional qualifier in the shot put. Giesi Gonzalez finished fifth on the 4x400 relay team at regionals.

Shyla Hardin finished sixth at area in the 4x100 and the 4x200. Bethany Mallette finished fifth in the 4x400 at regionals and placed sixth in the 300 hurdles at regionals. She also was a regional finalist in the 100-meter hurdles.

Heather Manos finished fourth at regionals in the discus. Holly Manos finished sixth at area in the 4x100 relay and sixth at area in the 4x200 relay.

Cat Manuel was an area qualifier in the discus. Nicole Martinez finished fourth at the regional meet in the 800. She finished sixth in the 400 and qualified for regionals in the high jump.

Hannah Shanks finished sixth at area in the 4x100 relay, and sixth in the 4x200 relay. KC Shields finished fifth at regionals in the 4x400 relay. She also qualified for regionals in long jump and triple jump. Kelsey Shields finished fifth in the 4x400 at regionals and qualified at area for the 100 hurdles, shot put and 300 hurdles.

In golf, Kiley Mays qualified for regionals. Gracie Carr and Giesi Gonzalez were also members of this years golf team.

Finally, the overall awards were handed out. The most improved athlete awards were given to Nicole Martinez and Gage Bozeman. The coaches award went to Mikey Walker and Kelsey Shields. The most outstanding athlete awards were given to Matthew Lowe and KC Shields. 

The boys who participated in all sports at Newcastle included Matthew Lowe, Mikey Walker, J.R. Gossett, Ronnie Short and Gage Bozeman. The girls who played all sports were Holly Manos, KC Shields, Gracie Payne, Arryn Eli, Nicole Martinez, Kelsey Shields, Shyla Hardin and Hannah Shanks.