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| March, 2009 | An On-Line Publication of the Athletic Department of Mount Juliet Christian Academy | Archive | MJCA Home |
PRESLEY TO TAKE OVER WOMEN'S BASKETBALL:
Athletic Director, Paul Christensen, announced Coach David Kitchen's replacement as high school women's basketball coach last week. After three years with the Lady Saints, Coach Kitchen has to step down for work related reasons. During his time at MJCA, Kitchen was the all-time leading scorer in school history (1890 points), was an assistant coach with the men's team, and has had a successful time as the women's coach. Coach Kitchen will definitely be missed, but MJCA is thrilled with his replacement. Before arriving at MJCA two years ago, Coach Presley coached at Milan Middle School, where he led his teams to incredible records (22-0, 23-1). He also coached a Miss Basketball finalist, who later signed with Purdue University. Presley was named The Jackson Sun's West Tennessee Coach of The Year. After one year of teaching in the Metro-Nashville school system, Presley was hired to teach fifth grade at MJCA and coach fifth and sixth grade girls basketball. Although his teaching responsibilities have remained a constant, he has moved up one level every year that he has been at MJCA. His second year (this year), he coached the middle school girls team. After a slow start, the girls improved dramatically by the end of the season. Presley will take over the program immediately. He has expressed a great deal of excitement with the challenge of his new program. MJCA feels strongly that Coach Presley will be running this program for a long time and will lead the girls into a bright future in D2.
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BASEBALL WINS TWO OUT OF THREE IN FLORIDA: The Saints baseball team took their show on the road this spring break. This year it was to the state of Florida. The trip proved to be a successful one, as the MJCA team won two out of the three games that they played there. On Monday (3/23), the Saints played a double header against East Hill Christian School (Pensicola, FL). The Saints won the first game by a score of 13-4. In the second game East Hill Christian School took revenge by beating the Saints by a score of 15-6. On Tuesday (3/24) MJCA played West Florida Baptist Academy (Milton, FL) and won 4-2 behind a complete game of pitching by T.J. Roberts. MJCA was scheduled to also play Rocky Bayou Christian School (Niceville, FL) on Thursday, but that game was rained out. After the trip, MJCA's high school baseball record is 5-2. The Saints will re-enter district play on Monday (3/30) as they will travel to Lebanon to face Friendship Christian School. Their next home game will be Tuesday (3/31) against non-district opponent, Pleasant View Christian School at 4:00. MJCA'S 1st BASEBALL WIN OVER CLASS AAA SCHOOL: Mt. Juliet Christian Academy is a small class A size school that competes against many schools of many sizes and classifications. MJCA's baseball teams have recorded wins over class A and AA teams. However, until this year, they have never beaten a class AAA team. In a 1:00 assembly game on the Billie Friel Field at MJCA, the Saints played Antioch High School. Naturally, the Saints were the underdog, but it was expected to be a good game. Antioch jumped out to an early lead, but MJCA rallied late to tie the game going into the later innings. Big hits by Aaron Webb (sophomore) and Drew Hutchison (freshman) gave the Saints a 7-5 lead going into the last inning. Chris Frazier was on the mound, in relief of starter Drew Hutchison. The first three batters reached base. So, the bases were loaded with nobody out. Two fly ball outs to Josh Hamilton (RF), and the Saints were back in control of the situation. With those two fly balls, Frazier (senior) went on to get the last three batters out to secure the big win for the MJCA baseball program. __________________________________
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STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE MONTH:
MJCA Junior, Leanna Sanders, is the Student-Athlete of the Month. Leanna has played volleyball, basketball, and softball during her high school career at MJCA, and she has done very well at all three. In basketball, Sanders received the team's Most Improved Player award. She was a starter on this year's team and helped lead the Lady Saints to ten wins on the year. In softball, she has played short stop, pitcher, first base and catcher. Sanders is also batting clean-up and is the Lady Saints biggest offensive threat. She has recieved her team's Most Valuable Player and Best Offensive Player awards. Along with the athletics, Leanna has been involved in fine arts and other activities at MJCA. She is a member of the National Honor Society and is considered a great citizen of the academy. MJCA is proud to present Miss Leanna Sanders with this honor. ______________________________ HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER STARTS OUT ON FIRE: 2009 is the second year for Matt Swallows as the head coach of the high school soccer team. Last season, the Saints seem to be on the brink of being a really good team. They just seemed to be a little short of experience. However, Coach Swallows was confident that this year would be a good one for MJCA soccer. So far, he was right. In the first game of the season, the Saints played a very talented Middle Tennessee Christian School team. That game ended in a 3-3 tie. In their second match, MJCA played region foe, Merrol-Hyde, and lost a close one due to a penalty kick. That final score was 2-3. The third game put the Saints against the traditional high school "power house", White House High School. In this game, MJCA proved that they could play with the "big dogs". It ended in a 2-2 tie. During Spring Break the Saints played Jackson County (class AA). MJCA shut out JCHS by a score of 5-0. On Saturday (3/28), the soccer team went to Antioch to play Lighthouse Christian School, and won by a score of 9-1. As you can see, the Saints are gaining momentum with every game. It should be an exciting team to watch, as they come down the home stretch of the season. ____________________________________ |
| Mount Juliet Christian Academy | 735 North Mount Juliet Road | Mount Juliet, Tennessee 37122 | 615-758-2427 (v) | 615-758-3662 (f) |
