High school and middle school students who played on an ACS sports team during the 2021-2022 school year received recognition for their participation, leadership, and athletic abilities at Athletic Awards Programs on June 3 and 6.
At the High School Athletics Awards event on June 1, it was a time to celebrate and reflect on a distinguished year of achievement as Athletic Director Pam Hitchner gave an overview of each team’s accomplishments. In the fall sports season, the Varsity Boys’ Soccer team finished in second place. They went 13-4-1 in the regular season and advanced to play in the Tri-State Christian Athletic Championship match for the first time since 2012.
In winter sports, the Varsity Boys’ Basketball Team won the Cairn University Tournament Title early in the season and then clinched the TSCAC Championship Title for the 3rd consecutive year. The Varsity Girls’ team finished in first place in the regular season, but lost in the championship game.
In the spring, the Varsity Girls’ Softball Team was undefeated in the regular season and won the TSCAC Championship Title; the Varsity Boys’ Baseball team finished in second place and lost in the championship game. Both the Varsity Girls’ Softball Coach Dara Kimmerley and the Varsity Boys’ Baseball Coach Gus Casey received Coach of the Year Awards. 10th grade shortstop Evangelina Kim received the conference MVP Award in softball.
The track program continued to grow this year. The Cross Country Club, in its second year, competed and won twice in two 5K meets with King’s Christian School and added a new Homecoming 5K Run. A new spring track program was established and 44 middle school and high school students participated. The high school boys’ and girls’ track teams came in first place at the TSCAC Track Meet hosted at ACS on May 12.
The teams also competed at the Mid-Atlantic Christian School Association (MACSA) Invitational Track Meet at Messiah University on May 17 and made a very strong showing The high school boys placed 2nd and the high school girls placed 4th out of 20 Christian schools that participated from the tri-state region. Notably, 11th grader Cruz Lewis was recognized for his significant contributions to the track team and Hitchner awarded him with a scholarship to attend a one-week sports camp sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Kutztown University to receive special training in track.
A 26-member Cheer Team of middle school and high school students made school history, winning first place at The ONE Cheer and Dance Finals in April in Virginia Beach in the School Cheer Division, Junior High Intermediate Level and then went on to be named the Grand Champion in Virtual Finals in June. The ACS cheer team also won first place at the ImpACT Cheer Competition in Toms River in February, in the same division.
12th grader Aaron Glancey and 10th grader Evangelina Kim were chosen by the Athletic Department to be the recipients of the 2022 Billy Robinson Award that recognizes one high school boy and one high school girl for significant achievement, Christian testimony, and athletic ability. Angela Eggie, Cole Lewis, and Devin Tridente received the Cougar Award, which is given to seniors who have demonstrated outstanding Christian character, leadership, responsibility, and commitment in the area of athletics.
During the program, the head coaches of the various teams presented certificates and special awards to their players, including the Coach’s Award, Most Valuable Player, and Most Improved Player. The coaches participating in the program were: girls’ soccer — Carly Witherow; girls’ basketball — Kaylee Breunig and Dara Kimmerley; boys’ soccer — Tommy Tillis (assistant coach); boys’ basketball — Drew Carney; boys’ baseball — Gus Casey; girls’ softball — Dara Kimmerley; and cheer — Morgan Gibson (head coach), Kelly Flynn and Michelle Wheeler (assistant coaches).
The high school award recipients were:
- Varsity Girls’ Soccer: Paige Noble and Eden Wilson (MVP); Maddie DeNick (Coaches Award); Alicia O’Donnell (Unsung Hero Award)
- Varsity Boys’ Soccer: Aaron Glancey (MVP); Noah Gibbs (Coaches Award); John Hannum (Most Improved)
- Varsity Girls’ Basketball: Paige Noble (MVP); Evangelina Kim (Coaches Award); Maddie DeNick (Most Improved); Reyna Lewis (Unsung Hero Award)
- JV Girls’ Basketball: Rebecca Kelley (Coaches Award)
- Varsity Boys’ Basketball: Aaron Glancey (MVP); Devin Tridente (Game Changer Award); Charlie Costello (Most Improved)
- JV Boys’ Basketball: Jayden Sanchez (MVP); Robby Barberio (Coaches Award); Judah Dawkins (Most Improved)
- Softball: Evangelina Kim (MVP); Ava Nixon (Game Changer Award); Maddie DeNick (Slugger Award); Taylor Sutton (Coaches Award)
- Baseball: John Hannum (MVP); James Papanikolaou (Coaches Award); Cruz Lewis (Most Improved)
- Cheer: Rebecca DiMaio (Showmanship Award); Mikayla Tomlinson (Most Improved)
At the Middle School Athletic Awards program on June 6, students who participated in soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, track and cheer were recognized and honored. Athletic Director Pam Hitchner thanked the coaches for another outstanding year of competition in the Atlantic Cape Junior High League, of which ACS is a member. The middle school boys’ teams came in first place in soccer, basketball, and baseball and the middle school girls took first place in basketball and had winning records in soccer and softball.
In the spring, the Middle School boys’ and girls’ track teams came in first place in the TSCAC Track Meet and at the MACSA Track Meet the middle school girls came in first place and the middle school boys placed 3rd. Notably, 8th grader Mikayla Cubbage took first place in the 200 meter, out of 36 runners, with a time of 29.69 seconds. The relay team of Amelia D’Anna, Mikayla Cubbage, Heather Milstead, and Marley Odell came in first in the 4 x 100 meter relay. Three ACS middle school girls also took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the long jump — Natalia Flores, Heather Milstead, and Amelia D’Anna, respectively.
During the Middle School program, Hitchner also thanked and recognized two new first-year coaches for their efforts — David O’Donnell (boys’ soccer) and Joshua Clark (boys’ basketball). The other head coaches of Middle School teams, who presented medals to their players and spoke about their accomplishments, were: girls’ soccer — Casey Hopwood (unable to attend, but her remarks were read by Hitchner); girls’ basketball — Grant Miller; softball — Mike Bohs; baseball — Charlie Costello; and cheer — Kelly Flynn and Michelle Wheeler (assistant coaches). The athletes and family members enjoyed ice cream sundaes at a reception following the ceremony.
