A history of winning athletic teams and athletes

2009-2010 Highlights

USJ Athletics teams had an exciting 2009-2010 with many teams and athletes taking top honors in their sport, continuing the school's legacy of champions and making a name for ourselves in Division II sports.

• The USJ Upper School softball team captured the state champion title for the first time, and Miller Martindale took the top title for the Boys 400-Meter Dash at the State Spring Fling.
• For the first time in many years, the football team advanced to the state championship game. It finished the season with a state runner-up trophy.
• The girls soccer team, which had been advancing to the state tournament for the last several years, advanced again this year and finished in the top four teams in the state.
• Both the boys and girls golf teams, which had previously won state titles, again advanced to state. The boys finished second in the state, while the girls finished fifth.
• The girls cross country team finished second in the state, one of its best finishes in school history.
• The girls volleyball team ended its season with a sub-state loss to Knoxville Webb, who went on to be state runner-up.
• Struggling with playing against much larger schools in Division I-AA, both the boys and the girls basketball teams finished seasons in sub-state games.
• In tennis, it was a top four finish in the state for both the boys and the girls tennis teams, as well as for the doubles teams of Colton Norton and James Roland Markos and Scott Melton and Ashton McGuire.
• In the girls 2-mile run, USJ took fifth and sixth in the state.
• Several athletes and teams also finished in the top eight in the state for their sports, these included: Volleyball, Baseball, Boys Soccer, Harrison Norton - boys tennis singles, Madison Patey - girls tennis singles, Morgan Hancock and Madeline Crocker - girls tennis doubles, Hillary Ross ad Emily Mullins - girls tennis doubles, and the boys in the 4x800m relay team.

Individual USJ athletes were also recognized for their achievements in their sport. Jake Overbey was named the Division II-A Mr. Football - Back. Walker McWherter was a finalist for the Division II-A Mr. Football Lineman/LB. John Ross Glover was a Mr. Basketball finalist.

Making All-State teams were Preston Overby (baseball), Kayla Petty (volleyball), Marshall Talkington (golf), E.J. Miller and John Ross Glover (basketball), Audrey Hazelhurst and Shelby Jordan (cross country), and Austin Martindale (track and field). Football All-State team members included Bruins Jake Overby, Austin Martindale, Matt Weiner, Dhun Sharma, Walker McWherter and Lee Mayhall. In softball, Lauren Riddell, Taylor Barclay and Katie Beth Fesmire were named to the All-State Team.

2008-2009 Highlights

USJ athletes had great seasons last year, with athletes advancing to state tournament play in five sports. USJ brought home six state championships.

• Golf: Both the varsity girls and boys teams won state championships. In individual standings, Katherine Bell tied for 2nd in the state; Clay Harbin was 4th in the state.

• Cross Country: The girls team came in 6th in the state; Audrey Hazlehurst finished as runner-up to the state title.

• Tennis: Both the girls and boys teams won state championships. In singles play, Colton Norton won the state championship; Madison Patey finished state runner-up in the girls divison. In doubles play, Hunt Magee and Allison Mansur were the boys runners-up.

• Soccer: Both the boys and girls teams advanced to state, losing in the quarterfinals.

• Track: The girls team advanced to state. The 4x800 meter relay team of Audrey Hazlehurst, Shelby Jordan, Honey Heydari, and Sara Muir captured the state championship title. Shelby Jordan was the state runner-up in the 2-mile run, and Austin Martindale brought home third place in the 400-meter run.

2006-2007 Highlights

In the first half of this year, USJ has brought home a state championship, and five varsity teams qualified for state tournament play.
• In golf, the boys team won the state championship. They also were the District and Region Champions, prior to winning state.
•The girls golf team finished runner-up at the state level and were the Region Champions.
• For the first time in school history, the girls soccer team played in the state championship game and finished as runner-up in the state. The girls were also the District, Region and Substate Champions.
• Also going to state were the girls volleyball and boys cross country teams.
•The girls volleyball team was declared as the District, Region and Substate Champions.
• For the second year in a row, the boys tennis team won the state championship. Hunt Magee and Colton Norton competed in boys tennis doubles.
• Madison Patey was state runner-up in girls tennis singles. The girls tennis team also competed in the state tournament, along with doubles partners Kelly Nelson and Aya Kato.
• The boys baseball team was runner-up in the state for the second year in a row.
• Track and field athletes who competed at state were Ryan Passey in the pole vault and Rachel McLemore, Katie Hayes, Katie Graham, and Sara Muir in the 4x800-meter relay.

The Tennessee Sports Writers Association named the following athletes to All-State teams: Bekah Smith, All-State Volleyball; Lauren Smith and Kacie Fite, second team, All-State Volleyball; Katie Hamilton, Katie Hayes, and Morgan Walley, All-State Soccer; George Smith, All-State Football; Madison Patey, All-State Tennis; Megan Latimer, All-State Softball; and Clayton Gant, Josh Lyles, and Benjie Fesmire, All-State Baseball.

Scholar Athlete

Becca Morris, Class of 2007, was selected by the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame as their scholar athlete and given a $1,000 scholarship. Becca finished as USJ's second all-time leading scorer in basketball with 1,811 career points. She has been All-West Tennessee in basketball the past two years, Class A All-State in basketball in 2005, and All-District and All-District tournament in AA basketball the past two seasons. She has also been first team all West Tennessee in softball for the past four years and was named Class AA All-State in softball in 2006. She is the only female USJ athlete to have been selected first team All-State in two sports. Becca signed a basketball scholarship with Bryan College. She has also been selected to play in the Golden Circle All-Star game this summer.

2005-2006 Highlights

• Boys Tennis players were District, Region, Substate, and Class AAA State Champions. Boys won state in doubles and were runner-up in singles play.

• Girls Tennis players were District, Region, and Substate Champions and finished as a state quarterfinalist. Girls won state in doubles.

• Girls Volleyball players were District, Region, and Substate Champs, ending up in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.

• Boys Baseball played in the state championship game for their third consecutive year, finishing runner-up. They were also named the Substate Champions.

• Boys Soccer players were District, Region, and Substate Champs, and went to the state tournament for the first time in school history.

• In Girls Track, USJ won the 1600-meter run, came in third in the 3200-meter race, and came in third in the 4x800-relay.

• Girls Golf players were Region Champs and qualified for the state tournament for the fourth consecutive year.

• Girls Soccer team went undefeated in district play.

• Middle School teams also excelled with several teams, including the football and girls basketball team, finishing with undefeated seasons.