WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — The eighth annual Nexstar Sports Awards and Hall of Fame banquet kicked off at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 9, 2026, inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum on the campus of Midwestern State University.
The Texoma Sports Hall of Fame was founded along with the annual Nexstar Sports Awards in 2019, honoring local legends who left their mark on Texoma athletics and enshrining them among the most talented athletes Texoma has ever seen.
Each year during the Nexstar Sports Awards, several athletes who called Texoma home are added to the Nexstar Sports Hall of Fame. In 2026, four individuals and one team were inducted into the Nexstar Sports Hall of Fame.
2026 Inductee — David Nelson (Petrolia/Rider)
David Nelson #86 of the Buffalo Bills at Cowboys Stadium on November 13, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
David Nelson first made his mark in Texoma in 2002, helping the Petrolia Pirates capture a Class 2A State Championship. He later transferred to Rider, where he became one of the most prolific receivers in the School’s history.
During both his Junior and Senior seasons, Nelson caught 144 passes for over 2,700 yards and 31 touchdowns, all of which still stand as both school and school-district records.
Nelson earned All-State honors twice, in 2003 and 2004, establishing himself as one of the top players in the state.
His career led him to the University of Florida, where he helped the Gators win two national championships. During his time in Gainesville, he recorded 46 receptions for 630 yards and seven touchdowns.
As an undrafted free agent in 2010, Nelson signed with the Buffalo Bills. In total, he spent five seasons in the NFL with both the Bills and the New York Jets, finishing his professional career with 1,530 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
As a Texas High School State Champ, record-setting receiver, two-time national champion in the SEC and one of the area’s best NFL talents, it is an honor to welcome David Nelson into Nexstar’s Texoma Sports Hall of Fame.
You can now stream KFDX and Texoma’s FOX live 24/7 on your smart TV with KFDX+, our brand-new app! No antenna, cable, or satellite needed—watch for free, anytime. Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — The eighth annual Nexstar Sports Awards and Hall of Fame banquet kicked off at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 9, 2026, inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum on the campus of Midwestern State University.
Originally named the Inspirational Story of the Year Award, the Noel Johnson Courage Award was renamed in 2021 in honor of its namesake, former Midwestern State Women’s Basketball Coach Noel Johnson, who passed away in 2020 after a 14-month battle with ovarian cancer.
RECIPIENT — Karon Martinson (Woodson High School)
Billy Graham once said, “A coach will impact more young people in a year than the average person does in a lifetime.”
And after 30 years as an educator and coach, Karon Martinson has impacted thousands, with that number continuing to grow as athletes share the lessons and values she has instilled in them.
The same way that her coaches impacted her as a teenager in Albany, Texas.
“I had great coaches in high school and I knew early that I would love to pursue that,” said Martinson.
A multi-sport talent in high school, Martinson played tennis collegiately at Hardin-Simmons, after which her coaching career began at Meadow ISD. Followed by stops in Iraan, Rankin, Sierra Blanco, Grand Falls, Munday, Throckmorton (twice) and finally in Woodson.
“You get to coach it all (at small schools), so you don’t have favorites,” said Martinson. “You’re a seasonal coach and you like it all. I’m highly competitive, so I jumped in with both feet on everything I did.”
But what drives someone for 30 years to go from volleyball season to basketball season, to tennis and track over and over and over again?
“I just had a thrill of taking kids past the point of where they felt like they could go,” said Martinson. “I felt like that was a calling. Convincing that kid that they can do more than they think they’re capable of doing. I love seeing the kids succeed.”
She’s mentored athletes through the thrill of victory and the pain of failure, drawing on lessons and experiences accumulated over three decades.
But five years ago, she had to start leaning on doctors’ wisdom after noticing shaking in her right hand.
“When I first came to Woodson five years ago, I noticed like right now when I get excited I’m going to tremor more,” said Martinson. “So in a ballgame, getting worked up, you know, tense moments and stuff, I noticed that I would shake a little bit and only my right side, my right hand is the only tremors you’ll see.”
First, doctors tried medication but saw minimal success and provided no diagnosis.
“For two years we’ve treated this as essential tremors; we didn’t realize it was Parkinson’s,” she said. “It’s a progressive disease that affects people differently. The only thing that I’ve noticed is a tremor. I’m tired. Stress is not good. So my job of being a coach is not great on this.”
And, while the tremors may have been evident to others, she has battled privately.
“When I got the phone call from you, you were the first person I told. You’re the first person I openly said that in public,” Martinson said. “The reason I was not wanting it to be out is because I say I’m an open book and you have to be an open book to kids to trust you and talk to you and to talk freely about things that might be bothering them. If they knew I had Parkinson’s two or three years ago, I’d have been treated differently.”
She didn’t want sympathy. It was business as usual. Parents chewing her out, just like they had in years past. Kids second-guessing her decisions. She simply wanted to experience all that comes with coaching as she had before.
Martinson realizes others have suspicions, but she has chosen not to address her battle.
Until now.
“They see the shaking. They’re probably talking about it in the locker room. But I didn’t want it to change my relationship with them,” Martinson said about her athletes. “We pray a lot around here. We’re a praying school. I’ll only hold a couple of people’s hands. I don’t want them to feel uncomfortable. I want them to feel at ease with me.”
Student athletes have trusted her for decades.
This lifelong coach is making a career of teaching others to overcome obstacles they didn’t believe they could overcome.
Now, as her career comes to an end, it’s Karon’s turn to heed her own advice.
Parkinson’s is not the final whistle, just another opponent to battle in the game of life.
You can now stream KFDX and Texoma’s FOX live 24/7 on your smart TV with KFDX+, our brand-new app! No antenna, cable, or satellite needed—watch for free, anytime. Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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