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(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Mattie Dollar of the Newcastle Ladycats runs past the Forestburg defense to make a shot near the net during a matchup Monday, Feb. 10. Dollar was a driving force for the team all season. -
(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Easton Hedge was a major player for the Graham Steers team during their season. Hedge was selected as a member of the High School Coaches Association 4A super elite boys soccer team. -
(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Ladycat Camren Mallory competes in the 100-Meter Hurdles event at the 77th annual PK Relays held Saturday, March 15. Mallory came in second in the event with a time of 17.66. -
(COLTON MCWILLIAMS | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO) Catherine Youngblood competes in the 100-Meter dash Saturday, May 3 in the state championships. Youngblood came home with new hardware with both a bronze medal in the 100-Meter dash and a silver medal in the 200-Meter dash.
Every year, the Texas High School Coaches Association selects athletes from all around the state to be honored as athletes for their Super Elite teams.
This year, four athletes from both Graham and Newcastle earned the prestigious honor and are representing their communities.
According to the THSCA, the super elite team awards are nominated by professionals within the organization, and recognizes a student athlete for their accomplishments on the field or court over the past year.
Each nomination is deliberated on by the Super Elite Teams Committee (S.E.T) and from there finalists are named and receive memberships on their respective teams by classification.
In order to be nominated, players must also meet certain criteria. Those terms are that the player must be of “good moral character,” must play a varsity sport, must be a “good standing” member of the team at the time of their nomination and excelled in their respective sport as an elite athlete of course.
Upon release of the THSCA team selections, Easton Hedge for the Steers was the lone athlete who fit the bill for Graham.
Joining Hedge from Newcastle are Mattie Dollar, Camren Mallory and Catherine Youngblood.
Hedge was selected as a member of the 4A super elite boys soccer team. This was an honor that head coach Tim Wankowicz was very proud of.
“This is a tremendous honor to have coached a young man like this for four years," Wankowicz said. “His drive and determination was exciting to watch. He exemplifies what it takes to play a sport at the next level and this award is a result of that.”
Wankowicz described Hedge as a leader by example and a tone setter for practices and games.
He will be moving on to Hardin-Simmons University this fall and Wankowicz has full confidence that Hedge’s game will translate to the next level.
The Ladycats had several athletes representing their community within the Super Elite Teams.
Dollar was a stand alone athlete for the Ladycats in both girls basketball and girls tennis.
She was a top finalist for both sports and won team most valuable player for class 1A in basketball.
“It is an honor for Mattie to be named to both of those teams,” Coach Ryan Dollar said. “There are lots of amazing players in our state and we are thankful that her years of hard work and commitment to excellence paid off.”
Dollar played in multiple all-star games for basketball this year and also represented Newcastle in the state tennis tournament.
Her fellow Ladycats Camren Mallory and Catherine Youngblood also represented Newcastle for the girls super elite track and field team for class 1A.
“Its incredibly rewarding and a proud moment as a coach to see Camren and Catherine recognized at this level,” Coach Ashley Archer said. “Not just for their talent, but for the consistent effort and discipline they showed all season. They earned it.”
That effort showed as both Mallory and Youngblood competed in the state tournament in May for the Ladycats in track.
Mallory finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.74.
Youngblood finished third in the 100-meter dash and second in the 200 meter dash with times of 12.37 and 25.85.
