Sports

Graham Junior High School track teams opened their 2023 season Tuesday, Feb 28 at the Brock Junior High Relays.

Both the seventh and eighth grade boys’ teams placed third overall out of six teams. The seventh and eighth grade girls teams finished fourth overall.

8th Grade Boys

Individual Results

100 Meters: 7. Caden Steele, 12.83; 9. Nico Cervantes, 13.12; 12. Damien Noria, 13.22
200 Meters: 6. Cooper Corley, 26.78; 13. Gabriel Miranda, 28.85; 16. Colt Taylor, 31.82

Both the Steers and Lady Blues soccer teams struggled Friday night in a pair of losses to Wichita Falls High School at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls. The pair of games saw the teams giving up a combined 14 goals.

The Steers opened the doubleheader with a 5-0 loss. The Lady Blues followed with a 9-1 loss to a Lady Coyotes team that is ranked ninth in girl’s 4A soccer and averaged nearly nine goals per game in district play going into Friday’s contest.

Coyotes 5, Steers 0

The Graham High School track teams picked up championships to open the season Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Ram Relays in Mineral Wells. As a team, the Steers and Lady Blues combined for 21 first place finished.

Coach Jim Walton said the GHS teams typically start slow for multiple reasons, including by design, but he was impressed with how everyone competed.

The Graham Steers baseball team had a successful weekend at its annual home baseball tournament. After opening the season Monday, Feb 20 with a loss at Springtown, the Steers picked up three wins, including two shutouts over the weekend.

Steers 8, Henrietta 0

A five-run second inning led the Steers to their first win of the 2023 season. Noah Jilek and Ty Carter combined for an eight-strikeout no-hitter.

The Lady Blues softball team continued its fast start to the season with a 4-1 record last weekend in Abilene’s Ice Breaker tournament. Although the team opened with a loss, the Lady Blues improved to 6-1 overall to start the season.

After Abilene High School handed the Lady Blues their first loss of the season, the Blues quickly bounced back with wins over Sweetwater, Snyder, Cooper and Monahans.

Abilene 10, Lady Blues 1

Each week The Graham Leader honors two local athletes for exceptional performance over the previous week’s games. Athletes are chosen based on performance with feedback from team coaches.

Both varsity and subvarsity athletes are eligible for The Leader’s Athletes of the Week.

This week’s athletes are being honored based on their performance in games played between Thursday, Feb. 16 and Tuesday, Feb. 21. Sophia Schlieper of Lady Blues soccer and Jesus Lucio of Steers soccer are this week’s The Graham Leader Athletes of the Week.

Going into Tuesday’s bi-district game against Levelland, the Steers knew they would be taking on a dominant rebounding team. By taking advantage of 11 second-chance points in the first half, the Lobos took a comfortable lead early in the game on their way to a 61-38 win to end the Steers’ season.

The Steers started strong during their season-opening loss Monday, Feb. 20 at Springtown, but could not build on the momentum created with a runner in scoring position from the first at-bat.

After opening the game with a double and scoring later in the inning, the Steers could only earn one other hit. Needing to improve plate discipline, the Steers opened the season with a 5-1 loss in Springtown.

The Lady Blues overcame mid-game errors during the team’s first road game of the season Tuesday, Feb. 21 in Wichita Falls against Rider. During the fourth inning, the Lady Blues scored three runs and then gave up three unearned runs before bouncing back with seven combined runs in the fifth and sixth innings. The Lady Blues improved to 2-0 to start the season with an 11-5 win.

The Steers and Lady Blues soccer teams completed the first half of their district schedules Monday, Feb. 20 at Mineral Wells High School. The Lady Blues bounced back from last week’s loss against Burkburnett with a 2-0 win over the Lady Rams. The Steers are still looking for their first district win of the season following a 2-1 loss to the Rams.