Graham High School Lady Blues powerlifting athletes competed last week in the regional powerlifting meet and despite their season ending, represented the district and school.
After qualifying Feb. 13 in Weatherford, the Lady Blues team traveled Tuesday, Feb. 25 to compete in the Region 6 – 4A Small School Regional Championships at Decatur High School.
Competing in the event for Graham was Hope Jones, Hailey Martinez and Lainey Herring.
The track and field season kicked off for the Steers and Lady Blues last weekend and both teams had standout performances from athletes across all events.
With things heating up after a cold spell, Graham High School students got their first taste of competition in Mineral Wells and brought home a slew of accolades from the relay event.
This week, The Graham Leader recognizes Andon Masterfield of the Steers and Addyson Weaver of the Lady Blues as Athletes of the Week.
Andon Masterfield, Steers track and field
Steers and Lady Blues teams from Graham Junior High School competed in the Boyd Junior High Relays this week and brought high marks at the competition.
The meet was held Tuesday, Feb. 25 with the 7th grade boys team scoring first overall, the 7th grade girls team scoring second overall, the 8th grade boys team scoring third overall and the 8th grade girls team scoring second overall.
7th Grade
Lady Blues
2400 Meter Run: 7. Caitlyn Sams, 12:16.92; 13. Nataly Labastida, 15:28.32; 14. Noemi Sarinana, 15:46.02
Graham and Newcastle students will be among over 330 of the area’s top athletes representing more than 75 high schools during the Big Country Fellowship of Christian Athletes All-Star Festival.
The 26th annual All-Star Festival will be held June 3-7 in Abilene and Brownwood and includes football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and cheerleading.
Graham High School track and field kickstarted its season this weekend during the Mineral Wells Ram Relays with Steers and Lady Blues teams dominating the competition.
Events were held Saturday, Feb. 22 with the JV and varsity Lady Blues teams taking first place and the JV and varsity Steers taking first and second place, respectively.
Despite being the first meet of the season, all four teams had individual and combined successes across various events. The next event for the teams will be the Badger Relays being held Thursday, Feb. 27 in Merkel.
It was a hard-fought season for the Ladycats who pushed for another state championship, but those dreams ended Friday when the team fell 40-31 to Neches in the regional finals.
While Newcastle dominated most of their games from the start this season, things took a different direction during the game Friday, Feb. 21.
“We did a good job early, but then couldn’t get into any kind of flow,” head coach Ryan Dollar said. “I felt like we did compete well late and cut it to 4-5 points, but it was just too much to overcome.”
Tensions ran high and the Steers brought the same spirit they have shown all year to rally in the game Friday against Bridgeport, but despite that the team fell in a penalty shootout.
The Steers made it clear early on that they were not a team to be trifled with Friday, Feb. 21.
The team scored in the first four minutes of the first half with a cross by Easton Hedge bouncing off one of the Bridgeport defenders into the goal.
Newcastle basketball saw one of its teams continue to advance in the playoffs while another fell, but students have brought a strength of will all year on the court.
While other sports were postponed due to the colder weather this week, Newcastle basketball was still on the schedule and students fought hard at Chico High School and Breckenridge High School for their playoff matches.
This week, The Graham Leader recognizes Kenzie King of the Newcastle Ladycats and London Martinez of the Newcastle Bobcats as Athletes of the Week.
The Newcastle Bobcats fought hard this week to advance past the bi-district playoff round but fell 64-38 to the Forestburg Longhorns and saw their season come to a close.
The Bobcats had secured their bi-district playoff spot after a 49-33 win Friday, Feb. 14 over the Garner Longhorns during a tie breaker match for the spot. The team did not go down without a fight Tuesday, Feb. 18 against Forestburg.
The first half of the game was a close match between the two teams, with both quarters being less than an eight-point difference.
The Newcastle Ladycats are one step closer to reaching the state level after their 51-22 win over the May Lady Tigers.
The teams did not have to travel far, with the two meeting Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Breckenridge High School. Both teams had previously met during the regular season in November, with the Ladycats coming away with a 61-27 win in that game.
Ladycats head coach Ryan Dollar said the victory Tuesday was another one showing off the strength of unity seen on the team.
