For those following Newcastle Athletics it has been a big year of change.
Athletic Director Brent Hodges reflected on the past year, his first at Newcastle, and the many changes either underway or coming.
Of those, the school’s average daily membership, which counts the students attending Newcastle Public Schools, has placed Newcastle Athletics in Class 5A in every sport except fastpitch softball. They’ll compete for the last time in Class 4A this year, and then make the move up to Class 5A in the 2025 season.
Hodges said those changes have come on the heels of Newcastle’s growth spurt, which he said is 14.2%, and is considered Oklahoma’s fastest growing city population percentage wise.
“Changes are happening,” Hodges said. “We will be playing different teams and traveling to different places in Oklahoma.”
Hodges said the athletic directors here and in Blanchard and Tuttle have committed to continue playing the rivalry games. All three schools have fun at these games, Hodges said, and the communities all show support for their continuation.
Newcastle is still in the Western Athletic Conference, which consists of a majority of Class 4A teams. Hodges said the school is looking at changing to a majority Class 5A Conference because this affects middle school competition, and he believes they should be playing 5A schools — “a bid change competitively.”
He said the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletic Association tells the schools who to play on the varsity level so the change will not impact varsity sports.
Last year, Hodges first, was a good year for Newcastle Athletics. The fastpitch softball team won the State Championship, football went to the State Quarterfinals, cross country saw the boys qualify for State and two girls qualify for State individually. Cheer qualified for State in both competitions, boys basketball made it to Area, the girls basketball made it to District. Wrestling had Nic Lozano place third at State. The track and field team had several State placers. Both soccer boys and girls made it to the State playoffs, and girls golf had two participate in the State tournament.
Hodges said middle school has a lot of great teams and performances, and he believes the program is taking the right steps to be good.
“It is refreshing to be good in a community like this,” Hodges said. “It’s a great place to be and we have a lot of support and success. Dr. Walker always says it’s a great place to be.”
New Coaches Join NPS Staff
The school system has hired several new assistants and head coaches that will elevate the athletic department to a really high level, Hodges said.
“We’ve brought on some really talented staff,” he said.
Some of those he pointed out include: Jim Peronivic as head girls basketball coach; Ryan Robertson as head wrestling coach; Madison Rider as pom coach; Heather Holmes as competitive cheer coach; Stacy Wright for spirit group and cheer; and Carol Craven as girls golf coach.
Hodges noted the hiring of 36-year veteran strength and conditioning coach Tim Gray as a program strengthener (as reported in last week’s issue of the Newcastle Pacer). Gray will work with coaches to develop sport-specific training.
Athletic Facilities
Hodges said Newcastle fans will notice several changes in the facilities this year. He said a big change is the permanent air conditioning now in use for volleyball season in Racer Field House.
He said additional parking has been graded and leveled off the parking lot west of the field house.
New LED lights have been installed to light up Gene Reid Field. Fencing has been repaired on the interior of the facility. The stands and sidewalks at the stadium have also been cleaned.
Hodges said a change he is excited about is moving the Racer Band back into the stands.
He said they’ve put in a ton of work and game attendees will experience their energy. He added that they’ll add excitement to the student section.
New Racer Mascot Being Named in Contest
Newcastle Athletics is adding a new mascot who will be named in a contest for students at the Newcastle Elementary School and the Early Childhood Center.
These same students will have older student athletes visiting them in an Adopt-ARacer program. They’ll get a T-shirt and have mentorship by the athletes. Hodges said these programs have proved to contribute to good behavior for the younger children.
“It helps them to do the right things,” Hodges said.
These actions are what the school system had in mind as it developed its new motto of RPMS. The motto is an acronym for Respect, Purpose, Motivation, and Supported. Hodges said RPMS is expected out of the kids, the coaches, and the community. They want respect for the teams, the coaches and the referees, and they want the kids to feel supported by the administration, their parents, and the coaches.
“We’re here to win championships,” Hodges said.
Softball Champs Recognized Aug. 19
As a way to show continued recognition, a special night has been planned for the August 19 Newcastle-Perkins-Tryon softball game. Last year’s State Championship Racers will be recognized and the school system will reveal some new signage that will have the programs’ championships on them.
