Dospapas, Clayton named Athletes of the Week

Dospapas, Clayton named Athletes of the Week News Staff Sat, 05/11/2024 - 12:54 pm

• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Jade Dospapas is only a sophomore but she’s already on her second trip to the regional tennis competition in as many years. After winning district in girls singles as a freshman, she took second place this year. She faced much stiffer competition throughout this season but held her own, nearly always placing in the top three or four individuals at tournaments.
• (DAVID FLYNN | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO) Aubree Clayton is a sophomore standout for the Newcastle track team and she recently represented her school at the state meet in Austin. She has steadily improved throughout the season and made her mark already on the track program. With a few years to go, she’s poised to keep up her success in the future.

TC Gordon sports@grahamleader.com

Less than two weeks remain before the school year ends and students are free from the cares of homework, tests and grades.

This week, in the final edition of The Graham Leader’s Athletes of the Week for the 2023-2024 school year, Lady Blues sophomore Jade Dospapas and Ladycat sophomore Aubree Clayton earned selections.

Athletes of the Week recognitions will return at the start of the new school year when fall sports seasons get underway in August.

Jade Dospapas, girls singles, Lady Blues tennis

Going 2-for-2 in trips to the regional tournament in your first two years of high school is quite the accomplishment. That’s what Dospapas has achieved through her sophomore year as part of the GHS tennis team.

As a freshman, Dospapas made sure people saw what she could do right away. She had a successful season which culminated in a district championship in girls singles and a trip to the regional tournament.

This school year, Dospapas picked up right where she left off. She continued to rack up the wins during the fall team tennis season and earned a first team all-district selection.

As the spring season got underway, the sophomore continued her upward trajectory by continuing to win and place high in the standings at each tournament. Head coach Matt Birdwell scheduled a difficult spring schedule where his team played in tournaments with mostly 5A and 6A schools.

At the District 6-4A tournament this season, Dospapas finished second place in girls singles. She possesses a strong ability to diagnose her opponent and play the way she knows she needs to in order to win.

“She can do it with power, she can do it with the placement of her shots. She can pretty much go out there and say, ‘Okay, I can make this player do this and I can win,’ and that's the way that she will play her game,” Birdwell said.

Dospapas will continue to be a strong addition to the GHS tennis program, as she has a couple years left to play and improve even more.

“She's a leader on the court and off the court,” Birdwell said. “She does very well in her academic work, as well as tennis, and she's been great every step of the way.”

Aubree Clayton, high jump, Ladycats track and field

During her freshman year, Clayton placed sixth at the regional competition in the high jump event. While that wasn’t enough to qualify for state that year, it was an impressive performance for a young athlete.

Since that time, Clayton devoted herself to improving and set the goal following that meet to make it to state this year, and she made that goal happen.

Last week, at the state track and field meet in Austin, Clayton represented Newcastle as a sophomore in the high jump. She had finished third place in the regional meet and earned the wild card selection to make it to state.

“I can remember her coming to me after the girls won the state basketball tournament and saying, ‘Coach King, you ready to go to state in HJ?’” high jump coach James King said. “We knew it would be a long shot because of the competition in our area, but Aubree worked extremely hard to reach her goal.”

At the state meet among some of the top jumpers in Class 1A, Clayton took eighth place with a jump of 4-10. Though it wasn’t her highest performance of the season, it was a grand accomplishment to be at the meet. And because she’s only a sophomore, she’ll have a few years to take things even higher.

“She is a joy to be around and a very hard worker. She's the type of athlete that wants to excel at what she does,” King said. “I'm very proud of Aubree and her accomplishments this year. She has already informed me that next year, the goals are going to be even higher.”

• Sports

Breaking News Off