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:

• Year-in-Review from the Director of Athletics Brooks Berry
• Outdoor Track & Field Wins VISAA State Title
• Fork Union Announces Spring Athletic Awards
• Fork Union Receives Fields of Excellence Award

The Athletic Department would like to thank you for reading the Blue Devil Report throughout the year!

This will be the last issue until mid-August.

Year-in-Review

A Letter from the Director of Athletics Brooks Berry

Once again, it has been another great year for FUMA Athletics! We are grateful for the support of parents, alumni, fans and most importantly the young men who wear the Fork Union uniform.

The joy of being an athletic director at a boarding school comes from watching these young men grow independently throughout the year. Our boys must navigate the highs and lows of competition. They go through the trials and tribulations of being on a team and having to work with others from different upbringings. Having been a cadet myself, the growth you experience at Fork Union, although tough at times, builds and strengthens you for your life to come.

Faith, Discipline and Grit

In order for the year to truly be considered a success, we must have embodied much more than the results on the scoreboard. I spoke to the cadets in Chapel last Thursday and cited Galatians 6:9, 9 - Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Unwavering Faith, a foundation rooted in the Bible and the determination to never give up are some of the most important aspects to being a great athlete and teammate. Through the joy of victory and the adversity of defeat, these values played a part in the highlights of 2017-18.

Notable Highlights:

• Over 60 of our student-athletes have made commitments to play five different collegiate sports next year at schools ranging from Virginia Tech, VCU, University of Wyoming, Louisiana State University, Roanoke College and Boston University.

• The 2018 Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field State Champions, including our school-record setting 4x200 relay team that achieved All-American status in the Winter. These performances helped head coach Winston Brown capture his 20th State Title. Our program also won the Sportsmanship Award in cross country.

• An 8-1 record for our Post Graduate football team, which was featured in the Bleacher Report.

• Once again, our Post Graduate basketball program was nationally ranked, while playing one of the toughest schedules in years.

• Prep Lacrosse finished the season with a winning record for the first time in 20 years.

• Our strength and conditioning program took off this year with well-documented improvements for all of our athletes. We are the only high school in Central Virginia with a collegiate level program.

• Wrestling continued to climb the rankings in Virginia and finished second in the strong Virginia Prep League, while winning the sportsmanship award in the league.

• Fork Union Athletics improved to fourth in the Virginia Prep League Director’s Cup Standings - the most competitive private school league in the state. The Prep League won 8-of-13 Division State titles in 2017-18 with FUMA capturing two of the eight.

• We have seen a resurgence in tennis on our campus and the boys had a winning season, including a victory against Saint Anne's Belfield for the first time in 20 years.

• From intramural “Skirmish” programs to our club teams, every cadet participated in athletics and physical fitness this year.

Fork Union Alums continue to do great things in the world of sports:

• In April, we cheered proudly when Ole Miss defensive end Marquis Haynes was drafted in the third round of the NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers. Four other FUMA alums went on to sign free-agent contracts.

• This June, Creighton University shooting guard Khyri Thomas is expected to be picked in the first round of the NBA draft.

• The New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas headlined our many alums playing in the NFL with his 2018 Pro Bowl Selection.

• John Dorsey took over as the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns.

• Indiana University Swimmer and Olympian Ali Khalafalla was named First Team All-Big Ten and earned two All-America honors.

• Peter Lomong finished eighth in the NCAA Cross Country Championship, earning him All-American honors as he helped Northern Arizona win its second-straight NCAA Championship. Peter also helped his squad win the Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championship. His brother Alex also had a great year at Ohio State University, helping the Buckeyes win the Big 10 Outdoor and Indoor Track and Field Championships.

• Legendary Fork Union track & field and cross country coach Fred Hardy was inducted into the VISAA Hall of Fame.

Honoring the Past

We are building for the future by honoring those that came before us.

The first step is the renovation of the Thomas Gymnasium. We have raised $180,000 to renovate the interior of the gym with a goal of $220,000. The Academy has already started on a $100,000 project to upgrade the exterior and roofing of the building. The centerpiece of the entire project is the naming of the playing floor in honor of Fletcher and Betty Jean Arritt.

If you or anyone past or present was impacted by the legacy of Fletcher Arritt, we would love for you to consider giving to this incredible project. It is as simple as clicking on this link below.

Once we reach our goal, we will announce a date to honor Fletcher and Betty Jean!

Another incredible fundraising story was the generosity of current NFL players and FUMA alums Christian Hackenberg and Russell Bodine. Their individual donations were matched by the NFL and helped begin the process of updating our weight room.

Come see us this summer!

We have many great athletic opportunities on campus this summer, including Father-Son Weekend, Basketball School, Football Camp, and Strength and Condition Programs!

Please spread the word and help us have fun this summer!

Thank you for another great year! We are excited to coach the next generation of FUMA cadets!

Thank you for reading the Blue Devil Report!

Sincerely,

Brooks Berry, Director of Athletics

Fork Union Brings Home VISAA State Championship

Saturday, May 19, 2018 -- Meet Recap

RICHMOND, VA – The Fork Union Military Academy's outdoor track and field program won its 29th VISAA State Championship this past Saturday at Sports Backers Stadium.

"I am absolutely in awe of our team's effort on Saturday," said head coach Winston Brown. "What should have been a nail-biter turned into a comfortable win over a very good field. We had three seniors get double victories. They have done an outstanding job of teaching the underclassmen how it is done. It was a great ending to a great year."

The Blue Devils recorded 18 top-five performances, including seven gold medals. Senior Ebruba Etta led the squad with two first-place finishes and a silver medal. The Boston University signee won the 100-meter dash (10.74) and the 400-meter dash (49.21), while placing second in the 200-meter dash (22.06).

In addition to Etta, RC Walbrook swept the hurdle events. The Louisiana State University signee recorded a time of 14.80 in the 110-meter hurdles, while crossing the finish line at the 39.19 mark in the 300-meter hurdles.

Senior Julian Yescas took home two gold medals, winning the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:31.14 and the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:01.03. Yescas will continue his track and field career at Lynn University this fall.

Junior William Stupalsky won the discus event, recording a score of 133-08.00. Stuplasky also recorded top-five performances in the 300-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump events.

The Blue Devils won the 16-team pool convincingly with a score of 142. St. Christopher's placed second with 109 points, while St. Stephen's & St. Agnes placed third with 101 points. Norfolk Academy (73) and Woodberry Forest School (48) rounded out the top five, respectively.

Fork Union Announces Spring Athletic Awards

Monday, May 21, 2018

FORK UNION, VA – The Fork Union Military Academy Athletic Department celebrated its Spring sports programs with an awards ceremony Monday morning in the Wicker Chapel.

The six spring athletic teams, along with the off-season conditioning and skirmish programs, celebrated its student-athletes’ commitment to the department. Below are the award winners:

Junior Prep Baseball

• Coach’s Award: Travis Elsperman
• Most Valuable Players: Jackson Manglicmot & Robert Holmes

Prep Baseball

• Most Improved Player: Brent Lowry
• Coach’s Awards: Hayden Miles & Jacob Hershner
• Co-Utility Player of the Year: Zion Villines & John Henry
• Most Valuable Player: Drue Hackenberg

Junior Prep Lacrosse

• Most Improved Player: Ben Green
• Most Valuable Player (Defensively): Alex Springsteen
• Most Valuable Player (Offensively): Logan French

Prep Lacrosse

• Coach’s Award: William Minor & Jack Greenspon
• Most Valuable Player (Defensively): Freddie Sposato
• Most Valuable Player (Offensively): Zach Miller

Junior Prep Tennis

• Most Improved Player: David Santos
• Coach’s Award: Jett Montes
• Most Valuable Players: Brennan Hayward & Duc Kien Nguyen

Outdoor Track & Field

• Fred Hardy Award Winners: Logan Justice & Julian Yescas
• Outstanding Performers: RC Walbrook & Ebruba Etta
• Most Valuable Performer: William Stupalsky

Off-Season Training (Iron Cadets)

• Larry Elder
• Cameron Hill
• Peter Chira
• Quavon Blackwood
• James Taylor

Skirmish Awards (Most Outstanding Cadets)

• Alex Thomas
• Harrison Drumheller
• Trokon Woods
• Emmerson Mabry
• David Mattox
• Harrison Ludwig

Fork Union Athletics Receives Field of Excellence Award

The Fork Union Military Academy Athletic Department received a Fields of Excellence Award from Pioneer Athletics this year.

From Pioneer Athletics:

“Every athletic field has a story to tell. It may be the great rivalry game twenty years ago. Maybe it was the year the conference championships were hosted on it. Or, maybe it’s the care given to it by the dedicated professionals or volunteers throughout the year.

“At Pioneer Athletics, we are proud to salute the men and women who work hard to make game day a special day by producing an exceptional field of play.”

At Fork Union, we have seven dedicated employees who give their heart and soul to our athletic fields and facilities. Guided by the Athletic Facilities Director Rich Taddei, the fields crew is responsible for prepping all six athletic fields, two gymnasiums and two tracks all year long for daily athletics.

The Athletic Facilities Department is the backbone to Fork Union Military Academy’s Athletic Department and day-to-day activities could not be done without each and every one of them.

The Academy would like to thank Taddei, Clarence Bates, Richard Richardson, Glenn Critzer, Jimmy Christian, Curtis Toney, and Carol Tipton for their daily hard work and dedication to the Academy.

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