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JA cheerleaders and dance teams demonstrated their hard work, skill, and school spirit last Wednesday at the MAIS Spirit Competition held at the Mississippi Coliseum. JA spirit teams brought home two championship titles, two runner-up positions, and two All-Star recognitions.
The Lady Raiders Volleyball team has a storied history, nearly dominating volleyball since the school started the program in the 2011-12 school year. Now the six-time state champion Lady Raiders have been invited to Orlando to play in the Nike Tournament of Champions.
Jackson Academy’s Raider Network recently acquired a 36-foot production truck to enhance the school’s live stream and event production capabilities. Raider Network currently streams programming for athletics, performing arts, and various on and off-campus events.
Members of the Jackson Academy coaching staff look forward to a 2021-22 athletic season filled with great competition and great opportunities. As incoming Head of School Palmer Kennedy begins his transition to the leadership of JA in June, interim athletic leadership positions for the year have been filled. A plan for hiring additional posts and structuring the coaching staff is underway.
Lance Pogue will serve as interim athletic director, overseeing the administration of JA’s athletic programs. He will continue as varsity head football coach, a position he held during the 2020-21 school year. Before that, he served JA for three years as defensive coordinator. Brandt Walker will continue to serve with Pogue as associate athletic director.
In its 36th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade announced Parker Bracken of Jackson Academy as its 2020-21 Gatorade Mississippi Volleyball Player of the Year. Parker is the third JA student to receive a Gatorade Player of the Year award in recent years. Parker has been named Gatorade Player of the Year two years in a row. JA will recognize Parker at a ceremony Wednesday, May 12 at break.
Last week saw Raiders in action on the field and court Wednesday and Friday through Saturday vying for state championship titles. The JA tennis teams competed in singles and doubles play throughout the day on Wednesday. Congratulations to the girls’ tennis team for claiming their sixth title in a row, and twelfth title overall, and to the boys’ tennis team for earning runner-up! On Friday and Saturday, JA track and field athletes claimed multiple state titles in individual and team events.
Congratulations to the JA Varsity Golf team on winning the MAIS 5A state championship yesterday! This was the first title earned by JA’s golfers since 2015. Seventh grader John Markow took home the Individual State Title at the competition held at the Canebreak Country Club in Hattiesburg. “After having to cancel last season, getting back into a rhythm was tough earlier in the year,” Coach Rob Triplett said. “But each week we got better. … Everything we did this year was to be our best to win this tournament.”
Jackson Academy seniors, sisters, and multi-sport athletes Emma and Elena Roberts, daughters of Colleen and Stan Roberts of Jackson, signed to play tennis at Mississippi College on Thursday, April 1.
On Monday, Belmont University advanced in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in an upset win over No. 5 seed Gonzaga. One of the key players on Belmont’s team is 2017 JA graduate Conley Chinn.
Soccer players celebrated a big win Saturday that earned the Raiders the MAIS Division 1 State Soccer Championship.