May 12 FUMA Athletics Newsletter

The Blue Devil Report from Fork Union Military Academy's Athletic Department is your source for weekly updates on the Fork Union Blue Devils. Here's the latest from @FUMAathletics.

Contents:

  • Athlete of the Week -- John Meheen (Junior Prep Lacrosse)
  • Weekly Recap
  • Featured Stories: Outdoor Track & Field and Prep Baseball
  • Three Blue Devils Sign National Letters of Intent
  • Academic Athletic Honor Roll - Term IV
  • Faith, UVA Football Family Helped Malcolm Cook Recover from Heart Scare
  • Former NBA Star Kenny Williams Returned to Campus for Alumni Weekend
  • Photos -- VISAA Hall of Fame Inductions (Micky Sullivan)
  • Next week's schedule

FUMA's Athlete of the Week

John Meheen -- Junior Prep Lacrosse

Junior Prep lacrosse's John Meheen has been named this week's Athlete of the Week. Meheen led the Blue Devils to an 11-3 victory over Woodberry Forest last week with his third-career hat trick. Meheen is the first Junior Prep Blue Devil to record three hat tricks this season, winning him the Triple Hat Trick Award.

"John Meheen really came through last week against Woodberry Forest," said head coach Jon Greenspon. "He is so pumped up to be the first on our team this season to earn our Triple Hat Trick Award. In addition to his four goals, Meheen scooped up five loose balls and made good connecting passes to his teammates."

Weekly Recap

  • Sat., May 6 -- Track & Field at Dogwood Track Classic -- 16th/145
  • Tues., May 9 -- Junior Prep Lacrosse at Virginia Episcopal School -- L, 5-9
  • Tues., May 9 -- Prep Baseball vs. St. Christopher's School -- L, 1-11
  • Tues., May 9 -- Junior Prep Baseball at St. Christopher's School -- L, 0-3
  • Wed., May 10 -- Prep Baseball at St. Christopher's -- WIN, 6-5 (8)
  • Wed., May 10 -- Prep Lacrosse at Christchurch School -- L, 7-12
  • Thurs., May 11 -- Prep Baseball vs. Fuqua School -- WIN, 9-3

Track & Field Places 16th at the Dogwood Track Classic Saturday

Saturday, May 6, 2017 -- Meet Recap

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA -- The Fork Union outdoor track and field program placed 16th out of 145 teams at the annual Dogwood Track Classic this past Saturday at Lannigan Field.

"I really think if one or two things had gone differently we could have placed as high as fifth," said head coach Winston Brown. "Everyone performed really well for us. The 4x400 was fantastic and there were a lot of season-bests and personal-bests."

The 4x400 relay recorded the top finish for the Blue Devils, placing second with a time of 3:25.17 thanks to Ebruba Etta, Logan Justice, Nathan Disbrow and Giovani Desgrottes.

In addition to the 4x400 relay, Fork Union recorded four other top-10 finishes, including the sprint medley relay team's fourth-place showing (3:34.88), William Stupalsky's eighth-place finish in the pole vault (14-00.00), Etta's eighth-place showing in the 200-meter dash (22.27) and Justice's 10th-place outing in the 400-meter dash (50.45).

Below are other notable Blue Devil finishes:

  • RC Walbrook -- 11th in the 300-meter hurdles (40.97)
  • Distance Medley Relay -- Quinn Calahan, Giovani Desgrottes, Mazen Youseff, Blaine Marrs (11th -- 11:20.68)
  • Julian Yescas -- 16th in the 3,200-meter run (9:38.70)
  • Harrison Duncan -- 16th in the triple jump (41-03.50)

Fork Union enters the post season this weekend with the Virginia Prep League Championships on Saturday, May 13 at 11 a.m. at Norfolk Academy.

Prep Baseball Ends Regular Season with Two-Straight Victories

Thursday, May 11, 2017 -- Game Recap

FORK UNION, VA – The Fork Union Prep baseball team ended the regular season with two-straight victories, defeating St. Christopher's, 6-5 in extra innings, Wednesday and downing Fuqua School, 9-3, Thursday afternoon.

The Blue Devils are now awaiting their fate in the VISAA State Tournament, which will be announced on Sunday.

On Wednesday, senior Zach Pace went 3-for-3 with one RBI to lead Fork Union past St. Christopher's, the top-ranked team in the State. The Blue Devils finished the day with seven hits, three doubles and four RBI. Senior Andrew Hill recorded the victory, allowing three runs [two earned] off just two hits in four innings pitched.

On Thursday, eighth-grader Drue Hackenberg led the way with a 2-for-4, three RBI performance at the plate. He also appeared on the hill for the Blue Devils, recording two strikeouts in one inning pitched. In addition to Hackenberg, Hayden Miles threw five innings, allowing just one run off five hits with a game-high four strikeouts for the win.

Despite an overall record of 12-15, the Blue Devils defeated every team who had been ranked in the State's top-10, including St. Christopher's, Collegiate and a sweep against Benedictine High School.

Fork Union ended the regular season winning six of its last eight games.

Three Blue Devils Sign National Letters of Intent

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

FORK UNION, VA – Three Blue Devils signed National Letters of Intent this week, the Fork Union Military Academy's Athletic Department announced on Thursday. Jonathan Walker of Prep lacrosse, Andrew Hill of Prep baseball and Post Graduate basketball's Blake Burdack all made their decision to compete at the collegiate level.

Walker, a Currituck, N.C., native signed with Hiram College to play lacrosse.

"I am very thankful for this opportunity to play at the next level," said Walker. "Hiram College has everything I was looking for in a school that will challenge me on and off the field. I am very proud to call myself a Hiram Terrier. Go Terrier's!"

Walker leads Fork Union with 40 goals, including 3.3 per game, and 14 assists this season.

"Jon has played lacrosse at Fork Union for four years," said head coach Nate Thiel. "Having coached him for his last three, I can say I am proud to see the man he has grown into. Jon's level of play has been an integral part in building the program at Fork Union. I am excited for Jon, and cannot wait to see the impact he has at Hiram College in the coming years."

A New Albany, N.Y., native, Hill will play baseball at the College of Wooster next fall.

"It's one of the greatest feelings in the world to see your hard work pay off," said Hill. "I could not have done it without my family, my teammates, my coaches and God. I'm very excited for the next four years. Go FUMA, go Baseball and go Blue Devils!"

Hill, who has spent time on the mound, at the plate and in the outfield, has a 2.81 ERA with a record of 4-6 this season.

"Andrew has shown some great pitching moments while at Fork Union Military Academy," said head coach Rodney Carter. "However, I believe wholeheartedly as Andrew matures physically that he will be a real force to reckon with on the mound in college. As a four-year starter on the mound at Fork Union, Andrew has been a real thrill to work with. He is player who totally buys in to our philosophy and has had great success through God-given ability and personal work ethic. What a great kid and I will really miss him in multiple ways next year."

Hill is the second Prep baseball player to sign to play baseball at the next level.

Burdack signed with Barton College to play basketball.

"I am extremely excited to pursue my academic and athletic endeavors at Barton College in North Carolina next fall," said Burdack. "It's a fantastic program where I will be able to utilize my skill set to its fullest potential on the floor, while of course having a strong chance to bring success to an already prevailing program. I have had to deal with a lot of obstacles to get to this point, such as making a name for myself in the American basketball system as well as recovering from a serious fracture in my left foot. I am forever grateful for the help from Coach Donohue and Coach Borzager as well as my parents and every person who has helped me in any way to achieve this dream of mine."

Burdack is a 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward out of Melbourne, Australia.

"I am very proud of Blake for signing with Barton College today," said head coach Matt Donohue. "He has done an outstanding job in his time at the Academy. He works as hard as anyone I've ever coached and is dedicated to being an excellent teammate. Most importantly, Blake has really shined within the Corps of Cadets at Fork Union, excelling as a leader, a student and a young man. He is going to do great things at Barton. They're lucky to have him as a member of their team, school and community."

Junior Prep Lacrosse Leads Spring Sports in Athletic Academic Honor Roll

FORK UNION, VA -- The Fork Union Junior Prep lacrosse program led all spring sports in the Athletic Academic Honor Roll with 73-percent of its student-athletes earning an A or B for Term IV. Every squad earned at least a 64-percent.

The Athletic Academic Honor Roll is an award the Athletic Department releases every term for student-athletes earning either an A or B in their class. The Athletic Director's List is awarded for an A and the Captain's List is awarded for a B.

Below is the list of every sport:

Junior Prep Lacrosse -- 73%

Athletic Director's List

Luke Antesberger • Blake Chiovaro • Corey Fraser • John Meheen • Brennan Stone

Captain's List

Cade Cyrus • Gavin DeMorro • Xavier Frederick • John Hughes • Emerson Mabry • Vaughn Messner • Jack Milazzo • Alex Springsteen • Jack Tan • Jorge Torres Fernandez • Javion Watson • Robbie Wood • Chasyn Yescas • Benjamin Zhu

Track & Field -- 71%

Athletic Director's List

Edmund Acevedo • Henry Asare • Hollan Biss • Abdur Dasher • Jared Giszack • Mohamed Hassanin Abdel • Vincent Hatch • Ryan Hunt • Logan Justice • Abel Lulseged • Blaine Marrs • Kilian Olen • Aaron Reese • Jacob Rhodes • Seth Robinson • Abraham Ulrich • Jacob Wood • Benjamin Zwilling

Captain's List

Sulaimon Abubakar-Shidi • Abimbola Banjoko • David Bell • Thomas Betters • Quinn Calahan • Giovani Desgrottes • Ford DeVault • Nicholas DiGuilio • Kaleb Dressler • Harrison Duncan • Jonathan Echols • Ebruba Etta • Nickolas Farrar • Andrew Hawley • Krishawn Henry • Jezziah Johnson • Joshua Julien • Robel Lulseged • Miles Mayfield • Ian McGlamery • Amaan Rahman • Caleb Shaw-Watson • Gabriel Stephens • Kenyetta Wainaina • Timothy Warren

Prep Baseball -- 68%

Athletic Director's List

Joshua Clarke • Drue Hackenberg • John Henry • Andrew Hill • Hayden Miles • Avery Sisco • Michael Tidwell • Michael Williams • Luke Wilson

Captain's List

Cameron Hill • Brent Lowry • Zack Pace • Gus Polizos • Derek Teeter • Timothy Warren

Prep Lacrosse -- 66%

Athletic Director's List

Henry Hosking • Graham Luongo • Zach Miller • William Pessaud • Jack Pokorny • Alex Thomas • Franklin Wallace

Captain's List

Matthew Bazan • Ben Chiovaro • Travis Gibson • Jonathan Hegler • Hunter McBride • Cooper Minor • Andrew Morris • Thailan Pay • Chandler Ragland • Alec Schlink • Jonathan Walker

Junior Prep Baseball -- 64%

Athletic Director's List

Marcus Billingslea • Nathan Krammes

Captain's List

Alexander Barnett • Kehinde Chandler • Carter Crawford • Alexis Mendoza • Scott Finch • Jackson Manglicmot

Post Graduate Basketball -- 60%

Athletic Director's List

LeAndre Thomas • LePear Toles

Captain's List

Dimetri Chambers • Zachary McIntire • Chima Omeihe • Darian Peterson

Former NBA Star Kenny Williams Returned to Campus for Alumni Weekend

Monday, May 8, 2017

FORK UNION, VA – Former Indiana Pacers' forward Kenny Williams returned to campus this past weekend for Fork Union Military Academy Post Graduate basketball's annual Alumni Game Saturday at the Thomas Gym.

"It was great to have Kenny Williams and all of our post-graduate alumni return to campus this past weekend for our annual alumni basketball game," said post graduate head coach Matt Donohue. "Kenny talked about the countless memories he had in the Thomas Gym and how Fork Union is where he really learned what it took to be a great basketball player. Seeing he and Coach Arritt reunite after 30 years was an amazing moment. I really appreciate Kenny, and all our alumni, taking the time out of their weekend to come back and visit.

Williams, who was drafted in the second round in 1990 by the Indiana Pacers, attended Fork Union Military Academy from 1986-87. The Elizabeth City, N.C., native played professionally for 16 years, including four years in the NBA followed by 12 years overseas.

Coach Micky Sullivan Inducted in Inaugural VISAA Hall of Fame Class

Former Fork Union Director of Athletics Micky Sullivan was inducted into the first Virginia High School Athletic Association hall of fame class this past Monday at the Doubletree in Richmond.

Warren Rutledge, late basketball coach at Benedictine; Richard Kemper, CMAA, former athletics director at St. Christopher's; Cal Boyd, formerly of St. Christopher's; Cas Blanchard, CAA, director of girls athletes at Potomac School; Dick Glover, formerly of Woodberry Forest; Donna Satterwhite, CAA, retired athletics director at North Cross all joined Sullivan in the inaugural class.

Below are photos from the evening.

Donna Satterwhite (Retired Athletics Director at North Cross)

Richard Kemper (Former Athletics Director at St. Christopher's and founder of the VISAA)

Micky Sullivan (Retired Athletics Director and Football Coach at Fork Union)

Dick Glover (Retired Coach/Mentor at Woodberry Forest)

Son of Cal Boyd (Former Teacher/Coach/Mentor at St. Christopher's)

Cas Blanchard (Director of Girls Athletics at Potomac School)

The Sullivan Family

Son of Warren Rutledge (Late Basketball Coach at Benedictine High School)

Up Next in FUMA Athletics

  • Fri., May 12 -- Prep Lacrosse at New Covenant School -- 7:00 PM
  • Sat., May 13 -- Track & Field at Virginia Prep League Championships -- 11:00 AM
  • Tues., May 16 -- Prep Baseball at VISAA State Championships -- TBA
  • Sat., May 20 -- Track & Field at VISAA State Championships -- 9:00 AM

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