Athletic valedictorians
Martin continues his families’

tradition of athletic excellence
By Steve Behr

Baine Martin comes from an athletic family. His mom, Donna Martin, ran track at Appalachian State, while his granduncle, Mike Martin, is the head coach of Florida State’s baseball team.

Then there are his older twin brothers, Tanner and Caleb, who each played two sports — football and baseball — at Watauga. His younger brother, David, is a promising baseball player who was a fixture in the Pioneers’ varsity lineup in 2009.

It’s time to make more room in the Martin’s trophy case.

All of those above accomplished much. However, it was Baine who excelled in three sports at Watauga during the 2008-09 school year. A busy senior year that saw Martin play key rolls on three different athletic teams was the main reason why he earned the Trailblazer Award, which is given to the top male athlete at Watauga High. He received the award Friday.

“I was definitely happy,” Martin said. “I was not sure if I would get it. It’s an honor to get it, but it was also a nice feeling.”

Martin was the center fielder and the leadoff hitter for Watauga’s baseball team, which won the Northwestern 4-A Conference this year.

He was also the home run hitter for Watauga’s football team, as has been a key weapon for the Pioneers’ offense during his three seasons on the varsity team. Then after taking his junior year off from playing varsity basketball, he returned his senior season to run the Watauga offense.

He’s had the unique experience to be teammates with all three of his brothers. Not only was he able to share winning games with them, he feels they made him a better athlete.

“It was awesome,” Martin said. “David probably is the best baseball player and I think he made me better. But I think I taught him some things and he taught me some things.”