DARKE COUNTY – A pair of Arcanum forwards who are having strong sophomore seasons are this week’s Daily Advocate athletes of the week.
This week’s athletes of the week are Arcanum boys basketball player Carter Gray and Arcanum girls basketball player Kayla O’Daniel.
Gray leads Arcanum with 16.4 points per game, which puts him among the top five scorers in Darke County this season.
“He has become a consistent scorer for us this season and a player that opposing defenses have to pay attention to,” Arcanum boys basketball coach Marcus Bixler said.
Gray showed his shooting ability last week in a close game against Franklin Monroe when he drained six 3-pointers in the first half.
After nearly upsetting Franklin Monroe, Arcanum posted back-to-back wins at Newton and Eaton. The development of Gray is one of the reasons for the Trojans’ success.
“Carter works extremely hard on improving his game and continually adding to his skill set,” Bixler said.
O’Daniel leads the Arcanum girls basketball team with 11.4 points per game this season and 5.9 rebounds per game, both of which put her among the 10 top in the county.
“She has been a consistent player for us all year, doing a great job scoring and rebounding,” Arcanum girls basketball coach Matt Grote said.
O’Daniel helped lead the Trojans to three consecutive wins against Mississinawa Valley, Dixie and Newton.
“She’s also a terrific leader,” Grote said. “She stays positive, picks her teammates up and works hard every day.”
