Congratulations to ACS senior Dakota (DJ) Hitchner, a standout basketball player on the Lady Cougars Varsity team, who is receiving a full scholarship to King University in Bristol, Tennessee. DJ signed a National Letter of Intent to further her education and continue her basketball career at King University at a ceremony on Friday, December 2 in the ACS gymnasium. DJ is the daughter of ACS Varsity Girls’ Basketball Head Coach Pam Hitchner and her husband Eric pictured above with DJ’s sister and 2008 ACS alumnus Carly Witherow (at left) and sister Casey Hopwood (at right), an ACS middle school teacher.
DJ plans to major in physical education at King University, which is a Division II Christian university in the Conference Carolina. During her ACS high school career, DJ has played point guard, excelling as a team captain and top scorer (1,825 points to date). She led the Lady Cougars to consecutive championship titles for the past two years in the Tri-State Christian Athletic Conference (TSCAC) and was named conference MVP both years. DJ also excelled as a player on two different AAU teams over the past four years – the DM Panthers in Atlantic City and the Atlantic-Cape Wildcats, under Coach Jeff Laster.
During the signing ceremony, DJ thanked God, her coaches, and her teammates for her success. “I thank the Lord for blessing me with athletic abilities and I am thankful for my mom and all the coaches who pushed me and helped me get stronger,” DJ said. “I also was blessed to play on teams that have been successful,” DJ said, noting that she was especially inspired and motivated by ACS 2012 alumnus Shereesha Richards who went on to play for the University of Albany. Richards, a native of Jamaica, lived with DJ and her family while attending ACS and is like a big sister.
Lady Cougars Head Coach Hitchner, in her remarks at the ceremony, described DJ as a “relentless athlete with a great work ethic.” She pointed out that only two percent of high school athletes receive any scholarship money for college. “DJ was persistent, always giving 100 percent, and her hard work has paid off,” Coach Hitchner said.
An article in the December 9 Current newspaper also shared the good news about DJ’s college scholarship.