MS Fall Sports Season Recap

Throughout the fall, the TFS middle school teams found themselves finishing strong. That seemed to be the mantra for each, and quite fittingly, the MS season ended with three championships. The teams that achieved the ultimate success were the boys tennis team and both cross country squads, as each earned hardware for the trophy case.

The Indians tennis team was as dominant as ever - and that's no understatement. The boys were a flawless 11-0, claiming the Southern Mountain League Championship to earn a 3-peat. They were an unbelievable 47-4 in sets played overall. Within the perfection included a mind-boggling eight shutout wins. Only one match all season was really in the balance.

The singles lines combined for 31 total wins, with Turner Lander going 11-0 at 3-singles, and Javier Crespo (1-singles) and Matteus York (2-singles) each going 9-1. Jase Cox, who also earned a couple of singles wins, went 6-1 at 1-doubles with Halen Van Doornum, and Isaac Helgeland and Ethan Alderfer went 6-1 at 2-doubles. The boys rolled through the SML tournament with a 3-0 win over Banks County in the semifinals and 3-0 over Rabun County in the championship match.

The middle school cross country teams were stellar all season. The Lady Indians came in first in five of their six meets, and won the Tri-State Championship by a large margin, with six of the top-10 runners being from TFS. Naomi Russo and Marylane Dickey were consistently atop the pack. The girls claimed back-to-back conference titles.
The boys meanwhile came in first or second place in all but one meet. Saving the best for last, Kai Hanifan-Wagner won the individual Tri-State title and the boys were ahead of the rest, claiming the first championship since 2018. Lincoln Penland joined Hanifan-Wagner as the top two boys runners in each meet, and Elliott Echols was right behind them.

The Lady Indians tennis team completed a 5-6 season that included making a deep run in the tournament. The girls improved significantly, and had a strong showing by Ruby Sue Anderson (6-1), Joanna Neeley (7-3), and Spring Lin (4-1) at the singles spots.

The softball team registered a 2-9 season, but grabbed two wins in its last three outings. The Lady Indians scored 35 runs in their final three contests, and only had one game in which they failed to score more than one. Up and down the lineup, TFS had individuals that were pounding out hits and driving in runs.

The volleyball team (3-8) won three matches at the A-Team level. Several newcomers got valuable experience for the future, and wins came over Stephens (twice) and Rabun, with TFS competing in the Georgia Mountain Southern Volleyball League tournament.