Sports

(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Athlete of the Week Ryder Taylor makes the start for Graham during their game Tuesday, April 8. Taylor had a dominant pitching performance while also putting in work defensively at centerfield.

Martin, Taylor named Athletes of the Week

As the school year begins to wind down, several teams in Graham are getting to the heart of their schedules. 

Graham track and field is in the middle of their postseason. The team just competed in district at Newton Field and had several of their athletes advance to area at Shotwell Stadium. 

Steers baseball has also crossed the halfway point of the season and they will be looking full speed ahead towards postseason ball. Both teams once again displayed outstanding performances on the field. 

(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Mike Garcia batting in the top of the lineup Friday, April 4. Garcia has been one of Graham’s most consistent hitters over the course of the season.

Steers go cold against Lions, fall 9-4

It was a long day for the Steers as they fell Friday to the Brownwood Lions, 9-4. 

After playing relatively strongly at home after the last couple of weeks, the Steers had an uncharacteristic performance in their loss. 

Right from the jump, it wasn’t an ideal day for ball in Graham. The clear sunny skies and warm weather the team was accustomed to recently fell away into mid-50-degree weather and mild wind, adding a chill. 

(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The Steers varsity track team competes in the 110 meter hurdles at district Thursday, April 3. The track and field teams had impressive performances throughout the days of the event.

GHS athletes advance at district meet

The Graham Steers and Lady Blues track and field teams kicked off their postseason schedule right at home in Graham. 

The District 6-4A relays were held Wednesday, April 2 and Thursday, April 3 at Newton Field.
Teams around the district competed in a multitude of field events both days with the running preliminaries taking place on the former day and finals on the latter. 

Teams in attendance included high schools from Brownwood, Brock, Stephenville, Glen Rose, Graham and Mineral Wells. 

(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Braylee Mayes runs a tight race in the 100 meter hurdles at the district meets Thursday, April 3 at Newton Field. Mayes impressed in her performance as she qualified for area.

Graham track and field athletes advancing to area

The Graham Steers and Lady Blues track and field teams kicked off district at home this week and had a number of athletes advance during the District 6-4A meet.

The meet was held Wednesday, April 2 and Thursday, April 3 with teams including Brock, Brownwood, Glen Rose, Graham, Mineral Wells High School and Stephenville in attendance.

From the running finals to the field events, there were a plethora of athletes from the Steers and Lady Blues who advanced to the Area Meets. 

(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Lady Blues track and field athlete Emerie Stogner is recognized as this week's Athlete of the Week by The Graham Leader. Stogner put up first place performances in both the high jump and triple jump events at the Peaster Greyhound Relays held Thursday, March 27.

Mahaney, Stogner named Athletes of the Week

It’s been another busy week for Graham athletics. The Steers varsity baseball team continues to have strong outings in front of their hometown fans as they picked up a win over the Brock Eagles. 

On the road, the Steers and Lady Blues track and field teams capped off a two week road trip at the Peaster Greyhound Relays. Both teams once again showed off wells of talent but there were two notable standouts. 

The Graham Leader is recognizing Tripp Mahaney of the Steers and Emerie Stogner of the Lady Blues as this week’s athletes of the week.

(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Kylie Pruitt behind the dish at catcher for the Lady Blues in their Tuesday, April 1 matchup against the Lady Rams. Pruitt was very versatile in their victory calling a great game behind home plate while also delivering the games biggest hit.

Lady Blues complete sweep of the Lady Rams with 6-4 win

The Lady Blues kept the momentum riding high Tuesday evening with a complete sweep of the Lady Rams. After junior varsity picked up a 6-5 win, the varsity team capped off the night with a 6-4 win. 

This game certainly had several standout performances. A consistent anchor for the team throughout the entirety of the game was starting pitcher Zoey Harrell. 

After surrendering two runs in the top of the first inning, Harrell picked herself back up and didn’t allow another run for four consecutive innings until the top of the sixth. 

(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Pitcher Ruby Shaffer takes the mound for the Lady Blues in the top of the first inning during their Tuesday, April 1 matchup against the Lady Rams. Graham defeated Mineral Wells 6-5.

Lady Blues take down the Lady Rangers 6-5 at home

The Lady Blues junior varsity softball team came back home to Graham and made the hometown community proud by picking up a big win over the Mineral Wells Lady Rams Tuesday evening. 

What makes the win even more impressive is that it was a come from behind effort for Graham. 

The Lady Blues struggled somewhat early in the first inning surrendering a run after a few wild throws led to the Lady Rams opening baserunner being able to make it all the way around the diamond and score to make it 1-0 Mineral Wells. 

(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) While the Steers ultimately had trouble getting the ball passed the infield in this game, they were still putting it in play early with runners on base leading to their only runs of the game against the Brock Eagles.

JV Steers fall 15-2 to Eagles

The JV Red Steers took a hard fall after being mercy ruled in a 15-2 loss to the Brock Eagles. 

This was a situation that JV head coach Bubba Brewster said is a one-off and not to be expected from the 11-win team. 

“I don’t think they’ll have any problem of re-focusing,” Brewster said after the game. “Everybody understood the situation. That one got out of hand. Those kids are winners and they’ll refocus.”

(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The bottom of the third inning is where things started churning for the Steers offensively in their Friday, March 28 matchup against the Brock Eagles. Harison Brockway would kick off the scoring in this inning.

Steers triumph 8-4 over Eagles

After a difficult start to a beautiful Friday evening with JV Red’s tough loss, the Graham Steers varsity team picked spirits back up with a gritty win over the Brock Eagles. 

Head Coach Allen McGee had nothing but praise for his team after another promising win. 

“They’re great teammates, they don’t want to let their teammates down,” McGee said. “When they get opportunities like that, they’re going to take full advantage.”

(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Damien Noria passes the baton to Brodie Martin during the 4x100 Meter Relay at the PK Relays held Saturday, March 15. After spending last week in Springtown, Graham's teams traveled to Weatherford for the event Thursday, March 27.

Graham heads to Weatherford for 2025 Peaster Greyhound Relays

The Graham Steers and Lady Blues track and field teams continued their two week road trip on Thursday in the 2025 Peaster Greyhound Relays.

After spending last week in Springtown, Graham's teams traveled to Weatherford for the event Thursday, March 27.

The teams that participated included: Bowie, Brock, Eagle Mountain High School, Graham, Millsap, Peaster, Poolville and Santo. 

Steers Varsity

100 Meter Dash: 8. Santiago Zamora, 12.42; 10. Ty Thompson, 12.51

Subscribe to Sports