Athletics
Bob Wood is USJ's athletic director; Mickey Marley is the athletic coordinator. The Bruins Club is the parent support group for USJ athletics.
Sports schedules & results
Click here for any athletic events scheduled for today and during the individual sports seasons. Results are posted after each game.
Upper & Middle School teams
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.
Athletes of the Year
Seniors Megan Latimer and George Smith were recognized as USJ’s Athletes of the Year at the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame banquet.
The Bruins selected Megan as the female athlete of the year for her exploits in softball and basketball. In softball, she earned All-District, All-Region, and All-West Tennessee honors. As a pitcher, she recorded 40 career wins, while hitting over .415 the past two years. She has signed to play softball at UT Martin.
George Smith, USJ’s male athlete of the year, found his fame on the football field. In his junior and seniors years, George recorded over 290 tackles while playing linebacker for the Bruins. He was selected as All-Region and All-State while playing in 2006. He also was team captain for the Bruins. George will attend Rhodes College.
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.
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.
• Bob Wood, athletic director at University School of Jackson, was the first high school tennis coach inducted into the National Federation High School Hall of Fame. His induction was in July 2005 in San Antonio, Texas. Wood’s honor is based on his 37 years as a tennis coach at University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., and his contribution to athletics in that state.
• Don Newman, a longtime tennis and cross country coach at University School of Jackson, is a member of the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame. Under his coaching at USJ, Newman’s tennis players won seven boys district championships, 10 girls district championships, three boys regional championships, four girls regional championship, one boys Chattanooga Rotary championship, and two girls Chattanooga Rotary championships. In 1985, Newman began as the cross country coach at USJ. During his tenure, his teams won 57 invitational meets and 13 Best of the West meets. The girls’ teams have won four regional meets.
• Dan Rudesill, husband of
USJ
Lower
School
teacher Louise Rudesill, is a member of the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame. Rudesill, who taught history and coached boys and girls basketball at
Old
Hickory
Academy
from 1972-74, had a stellar high school and college basketball career.
