Nineteen seniors are hitting the field for Newcastle High School as the 2024 football season prepares to get underway.
Among those 19 are four who have played together as Racers since they were in the first grade at Newcastle Public Schools.
Hunter Barry, Trey Burchett, Rex Heskew and Ayden Elcyzyn will again be on the Racer roster to complete a long run of being Racers together.
Racer Head Coach Jeff Brickman said these four, who play on both offense and defense for the Racers, all have different personalities. Brickman said as a group, however, they are like a band of brothers.
“When on the game field, they play hard for one another as well as for the city of Newcastle,” Brickman said. “They are Racers through and through.”
Gerald “Boomer” Elcyzyn, Ayden’s father, said these four started as Racers when they first threw on the pads in first grade, and they’ll finish high school as Racers.
“They’ve never quit, battling through injuries and tough times,” Boomer said, “but they have made it throughout the years as a Racer.”
T hey’ve gone from being Little League Champions to hopefully being able to pull out a State Championship before they are done, Boomer said.
In Little League, the foursome played in the Deep Fork Valley League, where they went undefeated for many years. Boomer said they were back-to-back champions in 2013-14, and they did very well in junior high, having lost only one or two games in seventh and eighth grade.
Boomer said throughout high school, they all have battled some injuries, but they went to the second round of the State Playoffs where they they lost to Poteau.
“They set the standard, rising to the top,” Boomer said. “They have each other’s backs constantly, and when they play they leave it all out on the field.”
Again, this year’s Racer football team will have 19 seniors returning altogether. The foursome are part of a talented class of athletes.
They’ll also be moving up to Class 5A this year, but the hopes are for another good season.
( Editor’s Note — The Newcastle Pacer special issue focusing on the 2024 Racer Football season will be part of the August 29 issue.)
