Sports

An exhibition run on a Monday morning was not the way Summer Croxton, Rosie Schaffer, Chloe Menard and Claire Jones envisioned their high school track careers ending. All four had dreams of one last trip to state to cap off their senior years at Graham High School. The four hold a school record in the 4x200 meter relay and needed one last run after COVID-19 ended their senior seasons prematurely. The four runners gathered one last time at Newton Field to get one last run. They wanted to end their season on their terms.

As Lady Blues center Cammi Teplicek signs to play basketball at Jacksonville College, Graham High School sends another athlete off to college.
“I just think it’s a nice college,” Teplicek said. “It’s in a good place, and it’s a good Christian college. I’ve heard a lot of nice things about it.”

The signing comes after a season in which she averaged 13.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, an output worthy of District 6-4A offensive most valuable player honors. The bond between coach and athlete started in 2015 with a welcoming gift from Coach Graham.

Writer's note: The Graham Leader is continuing to take submissions from senior spring sports athletes who missed out on having a senior night due to COVID-19. Spring sports seniors are invited to send a senior letter and a picture to sports@grahamleader.com

Writer's note: The Graham Leader is continuing to take submissions from senior spring sports athletes who missed out on having a senior night due to COVID-19. Spring sports seniors are invited to send a senior letter and a picture to sports@grahamleader.com

Writer's note: The Graham Leader is continuing to take submissions from senior spring sports athletes who missed out on having a senior night due to COVID-19. Spring sports seniors are invited to send a senior letter and a picture to sports@grahamleader.com.

Rosie Schaffer is a four-year runner on the Lady Blues’ 4x200 relay team. She’s been on record-setting teams in both junior high and high school. Along with Summer Croxton, Chloe Menard and Claire Jones, Schaffer holds out hope to earn one last trip to the state meet.

Typically in this time of year, teams are gearing up for playoff runs. However, UIL has suspended all competitions indefinitely and named May 4 as the earliest play could resume. The move effectively pushes back the playoffs for every spring sport, and for some sports, it could mean no championships at all. This is something that weighs heavily on the minds of senior athletes at Graham High School who could have their high school athletic careers end prematurely.

The Graham Lady Blues softball team will co-host the Graham/Springtown Invitational this weekend with games beginning to get underway right now. Over the next three days, the Lady Blues will have games against Van Alstyne, Seminole, Hawley, Decatur and Texas Angels. The Lady Blues will play all of their games at the Graham HS field located outside the Young County Arena.

With Hirschi's 45-41 loss to Pampa in the regional semi-finals, all of the 6-4A teams have been eliminated from the playoffs and the all-district teams have been announced. Evan Ranger, Bryce Bozeman, Daniel Gilbertson and Hunter Lanahm have all earned all-district honors. Graham finished the district with a 4-4 record. Their season ended on Feb. 25 with a 61-51 loss to Midland Greenwood in bi-district.