FA Knightly News (5.12.22)

A Message from the Athletic Director

Our 2021-2022 athletic year ended with the FA Middle School Golf team winning the Savannah league championship on Tuesday. It was an exciting year full of excellent finishes and some big victories for our athletes. We finished the year with GISA State Championships in Girls Cross Country and Girls Tennis and GISA State Runner-Up titles in Boys Cross Country and Golf. We have a large number of varsity All-State and All-Region winners along with a lifetime of memories for all of our student-athletes.

As we celebrate the end of an incredible school year, we also say goodbye to many outstanding senior athletes. All of them have contributed to our successes in or on the fields, courts, diamonds, tracks, trails, pools, or sidelines. FA graduating seniors, I salute you and thank you for everything you did for our athletic teams, coaches, fans, and athletic department. We will miss you; our memories are filled with your accomplishments over the past eight years. I personally will miss all of you and know you will do well as you move on in your future endeavors. Our underclassmen will certainly have big shoes to fill, but it will be a great opportunity for them to make their own mark as student-athlete leaders at Frederica Academy.

A huge thank you to our coaches, administration, faculty, FA Booster Club, parents, fans, and, of course, our student-athletes. As I always do with our teams, I stand up and applaud our parents for the love and devotion they have helping their children succeed and participate in athletics. We know it's not always easy with the late nights, odd practice times, and weekend obligations. It can be a lot, but I can guarantee you this, athletics teaches participants more than the lessons and emotions of winning and losing. You gave your child a gift they will always cherish. We now celebrate our past with a focus on the future. Thank you to all!

Go Knights!

Coach Carl Nash

Boys Soccer All-Region + All-State Members

David Garcia

All-Region

Class of 2022

Jacob O'Connor

All-Region

Class of 2022

Bryce Reilly

All-Region + All-State

Class of 2022

Charlie Runyan

All-Region + All-State

Class of 2022

Girls Soccer All-Region + All-State Members

Josie Brock

All-Region + All-State

Class of 2022

Katie Hartridge

All-Region

Class of 2024

Ellie Runyan

All-Region + All-State

Class of 2022

Varsity Baseball All-Region Members

Ashton Frankel

All-Region

Class of 2022

Grant Moore

All-Region

Class of 2026

Sam Norris

All-Region

Class of 2023

Boys Tennis All-Region Members

Adam Elsharkawi

All-Region

Class of 2022

Jaxson Grotz

All-Region

Class of 2022

Andrew Kaminer

All-Region

Class of 2022

Grant Offner

All-Region

Class of 2022

Trey Walbridge

All-Region

Class of 2025

Girls Tennis All-Region + All-State Members

Merrill Been

All-Region + All-State

Class of 2022

Kate Walbridge

All-Region

Class of 2022

Varsity Golf All-Region + All-State Members

Roy Boyd

All-Region + All-State

Class of 2022

Jackson Byrd

All-Region

Class of 2025

Aarnav Nath

All-Region

Class of 2024

Jack Roberts

All-Region + All-State

Class of 2025

Varsity Track Region + State Medalist

Maggie Dorminy

2nd Place Region (1600 Meters)

5th Place State (1600 Meters)

Class of 2026

Kaitlyn Sunderhaus

1st Place Region (1600 Meters)

1st Place State (1600 Meters)

Class of 2025

TJ Jackson

2nd Place Region (800 Meters)

3rd Place State (800 Meters)

Class of 2022

FA GISA Spring Coach Awards

Coach Kevin Roberts

GOLF

Region Coach of the Year

Coach Brian Wyrick

TENNIS

Region Girls Coach of the Year

Region Boys Coach of the Year

State Girls Coach of the Year

Middle School Golf Championship

The Frederica Academy Middle School Golf team finished off its undefeated season by winning the league championship at Savannah Golf Club on Tuesday. The tournament was 9 holes, par 37, top 4 scores count, with 9 teams competing from the Savannah and South Georgia area. The Knights shot a 146 total to win by 11 over Hancock and St. Peters, who tied for second with a 157. The individual low medalist was Campbell Williams from Frederica with a 6 under par score of 31. Chad Chadwell of St. Peters was second with a 33, and Jayden Roberts from Frederica won third place with a one-under 36. Individual Frederica scores were as follows:

Campbell Williams 31 - Low medalist

Jayden Roberts 36 - Third overall

Lance Reid 38

Hudson Jones 41

Thomas Sams 43

Ford Stanfield 58

Coach's comments: It was a great win for Frederica yesterday. Campbell had an incredible day. For 9 holes, he had an amazing 7 birdies. He started out with 3 straight birdies on 1 through 3, bogeyed the par 3 fourth, birdied 5, parred 6, and birdied the rest coming in. His short game was really on, and he putted great on the lightning-fast greens at Savannah Golf Club. That was a great way to end his middle school career. He was truly the MVP this year, as he had the lowest score in every event we played.

Jayden also had a good day. He birdied the first and stayed at 1 under until a 3 putt bogey on 5. He came back with a great birdie on 8 when he hit the dogleg right par 5 in two after a monster drive left him only an 8 iron in. Jayden is going to be running the show next year after our three 8th graders graduate, and it was good to see him step it up at our biggest event.

Lance also had a great day. He pull hooked his second shot at the first into the bushes and had to go back to his previous spot with a penalty stroke, but made a great bogey from there. He picked up another bogey at the 4th but had a super chip-in eagle on 8 after he powered his second shot over the green from 190. He actually birdied the last and would have had a 37 but he signed for a wrong score which cost him a stroke. Hopefully, he will learn a lesson there and be smarter about that in future years. He has a great swing and a strong game and will be a huge part of the varsity program moving forward.

Hudson was struggling a bit yesterday, leaving some shots out to the right and getting into some trouble. He still had it at 2 over through 7, but bogeyed his last two holes coming in. He wasn't very happy, but he has had a good year for us. He is going to play a huge role on our team next year after the 8th graders leave.

Thomas and Ford struggled a bit yesterday. Thomas had a 4 putt on the par 3 4th that got him into trouble early and he just couldn't find his way out of it. He hit a lot of good drives but his wedges were letting him down. He has a good game though, and he will be a big part of the varsity as this class moves up. Ford will step into a much bigger role next year on the Middle School team, and I think his game will continue to improve as he is going to work hard this summer and really loves the game.

All of these guys put in long hours this year and should be commended for their success. They are backed up by a strong supporting cast of middle school players who didn't make it to the championship this year but worked hard and are going to be fighting for spots in the starting lineup next year. We have a lot of talent at this school and we are looking forward to defending this title for years to come.

Go Knights!

Coach Tom Willis '86

Middle School + Varsity Softball Club

FA 15 - GC Fire 3

The FA Softball Club had a wonderful first game on Tuesday. Although we have been practicing since March, we had no idea what to expect since we had never officially played together and five of our twelve players had never played softball before joining our club team. Although we had a rocky start in the field in the first inning, once we started feeling comfortable in our positions there was no looking back. The Lady Knights won 15-3 for their first match up with outstanding offensive contributions from every player. Reagan McLain pitched an excellent game and led the team at bat with a home run and a triple.

FA Softball Club Members:

Maggie Dorminy

Gracelyn Grantham

Olivia Helms

Ry Hoffnagle

Tiana Jackson

Ruth Kelley

Brianna Kohlhoff

Holly Lewis

Reagan McLain

Lyla Partin

Sophia Price