Sports

After posting a strong outing at their area meet, the Newcastle Bobcats and Ladycats traveled to Waco to compete in the regional meet. 

Following the events, the teams posted strong performances again with three athletes advancing to the state meet.

The top two finishers in each event advance to state, therefore these three athletes put on exceptional performances.

The three Newcastle athletes that will be advancing to the state meet are Camren Mallory, Catherine Youngblood and Allison Melton.

While several sports are in the heart of their seasons for Graham, one stood out above the rest for their postseason performances. That would be the Graham Steers and Lady Blues track and field teams.

They both respectively had strong athletic performances in the district championships, and at the area championships saw 11 athletes advance this past Friday, April 11 to the regional championships in Lubbock. 

The Graham Lady Blues had another rough outing in the penultimate game of their season. They lost to the Brownwood Lady Lions 14-5. 

Despite the loss, there were some bright spots for the team and the Graham crowd to tip their hats on. 

The game opened with a special annual ceremony to honor the seniors on the team for senior night. 

For the Lady Blues, that is a short list of one. Zoey Harrell was joined by her parents and received a standing ovation from the crowd. 

The Graham junior varsity Lady Blues had one of their most impressive performances yet Tuesday evening, defeating the Brownwood Lady Lions 10-6 in an offensive surge. 

“They did a lot better. They hit the ball pretty good,” Head coach Casey Williams said. “Our baserunning today was better than it has been.” 

Graham got off to the races early in the bottom of the first when Peyton Petty hit an infield single, stole second base and reached third safely on quality base running. 

It was a banner day for the Steers and Lady Blues track and field teams Friday. They traveled to Shotwell Stadium in Abilene to partake in the area meet. 

Graham saw a total of 11 athletes in events throughout the day advance to regionals in hopes to compete for a spot in the state competition.

The teams in attendance included Brownwood, Stephenville, Lubbock Liberty, Snyder, Brock, Graham, Lubbock Estacado, Glen Rose, Big Spring, San Angelo Lake View, Levelland and Mineral Wells High School. 

The top four in each individual event advanced to regionals.

The Newcastle Bobcats and Ladycats continued their postseason schedule this week with the area championships Monday. 

Newcastle had plenty of strong showings from both teams at Bryson High School. Both the Bobcats and Ladycats saw multiple first place finishes from the field to the running events. 

The Schools in attendance included Bellevue, Bellevue MS, Bowie Gold Burg, Bryson, Forestburg, Garner, Henrietta Midway, Montague MS, Newcastle, Nocona Prairie Valley, Perrin, Saint Jo, Throckmorton and Woodson. 

The Lady Blues varsity softball team couldn’t get the job done against the Lady Eagles, losing 16-1. 

This loss couldn’t come at a more inopportune time as head coach Adam Arrington is trying to prepare his team for the remaining schedule. 

“We haven’t been able to handle pressure very well,” Arrington said. “Not to sugar coat anything, next week’s the biggest week of the season. We’ve got Brownwood on Tuesday and we’re going to Mineral Wells on Thursday.” 

The Lady Blues took on the Brock Lady Eagles Friday and came up short losing 7-3. 

Despite the loss, junior varsity head coach Casey Williams found silver linings in the performance. 

“We scored more, we held them to less. That means we’re improving,” Williams said to her team after the game. 

The Graham Steers ultimately couldn’t get the job done in their 2-0 loss to the Mineral Wells Rams. 

Despite the loss, head coach Allen McGee showed a lot of pride in his team postgame. 

“I saw the fight there. If we can keep the fight there we can sleep at night,” McGee said. “I told them I love them. I’m always going to be proud of them regardless of the outcome. I liked the fight tonight.”

The Graham Steers junior varsity baseball team had another rough day at home versus Mineral Wells. 

The team suffered a 9-2 loss Tuesday, April 8 against the Rams. Head coach Bubba Brewster said changes need to be made. 

“We looked kind of flat, we looked lethargic,” Brewster said. “I’ll take full responsibility of that.”

In order to make those kinds of changes, Brewster suggested that the lineups going forward may look very different.