Congratulations to the Jackson Academy Lady Raiders volleyball team for winning the MAIS Overall Volleyball Championship. It is the team’s seventh state title since the program began at JA in the 2011-12 school year.
Congratulations to the Lady Raider Soccer Team for winning the MAIS Division I girls’ soccer championship! With their 1-0 win over Jackson Prep Monday afternoon, the Lady Raiders secured the team’s fifth state title in school history.
JA cheerleaders and dance teams demonstrated their hard work, skill, and school spirit last Wednesday at the MAIS Spirit Competition held at the Mississippi Coliseum. JA spirit teams brought home two championship titles, two runner-up positions, and two All-Star recognitions.
Jackson Academy 2021 graduate Alice Williams was named USA Today’s “I Am Sport” recipient for Mississippi. “I Am Sport” is the largest high school sports recognition program in the country.
Jackson Academy conducted a special ceremony Thursday that focused on the school’s Honor Code. Upper School students and faculty members joined Head of School Palmer Kennedy, Head of Upper School Brandi Richardson, Honor Council Advisor Sandra McKay, and Honor Council Chair Connor Gee in the Performing Arts Center as these leaders presented the ideals of the Jackson Academy Honor Code.
When JA eleventh grader Olivia Claire Williford began looking for summer internships, she never imagined she would end up in Quantico, Virginia at the FBI National Academy Associates’ Youth Leadership Program.
Members of the Jackson Academy coaching staff look forward to a 2021-22 athletic season filled with great competition and great opportunities. As incoming Head of School Palmer Kennedy begins his transition to the leadership of JA in June, interim athletic leadership positions for the year have been filled. A plan for hiring additional posts and structuring the coaching staff is underway.
Lance Pogue will serve as interim athletic director, overseeing the administration of JA’s athletic programs. He will continue as varsity head football coach, a position he held during the 2020-21 school year. Before that, he served JA for three years as defensive coordinator. Brandt Walker will continue to serve with Pogue as associate athletic director.
Priyadarshini “Priya” Ray is no stranger to accolades. The Jackson Academy Class of 2021 valedictorian won a place in the JA Hall of Fame, as a National Merit Finalist and STAR Student, and now adds recognition as a Jackson Free Press Amazing Teen to her growing resume of accomplishments. Having reaped the rewards of academic excellence throughout her years at JA, Priya continually reflect the spotlight directed at her toward classmates and teachers she leaned on and supported.
In its 36th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade announced Parker Bracken of Jackson Academy as its 2020-21 Gatorade Mississippi Volleyball Player of the Year. Parker is the third JA student to receive a Gatorade Player of the Year award in recent years. Parker has been named Gatorade Player of the Year two years in a row. JA will recognize Parker at a ceremony Wednesday, May 12 at break.
Last week saw Raiders in action on the field and court Wednesday and Friday through Saturday vying for state championship titles. The JA tennis teams competed in singles and doubles play throughout the day on Wednesday. Congratulations to the girls’ tennis team for claiming their sixth title in a row, and twelfth title overall, and to the boys’ tennis team for earning runner-up! On Friday and Saturday, JA track and field athletes claimed multiple state titles in individual and team events.