Athletics

Cannon School shuts the door on Charlotte Latin’s title hopes, wins NCISAA rings

BY LANGSTON WERTZ JR. CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, FEBRUARY 22, 2020

Cannon School coach Che’ Roth said he would rather not have played Charlotte Latin at Charlotte Latin Saturday to win a state championship.

“That wasn’t exactly our choice,” Roth said after watching his team beat the Hawks 71-69 in the N.C. 4A Independent Schools final. “I would’ve liked to have played them on a neutral site, just because Latin’s so good here, and we’ve just been here a month ago, but beggars can’t be choosers. We’re just glad to have been here and have come away with a really hard-fought win.”

Cannon (27-6) finished the year on a nine-game win streak and won its first state championship in 14 years. The Cougars denied Charlotte Latin (22-8) its first title in 16 years.

Roth’s team led, pretty much, from start to finish, after winning the first quarter 19-7. But led by 6-foot senior guard RJ Johnson, who finished with 36 points, Latin made a big push in the fourth quarter.

Johnson, signed to Holy Cross, scored the Hawks’ first 10 points in the fourth quarter and tied the game at 55 on a 3-pointer. But Cannon sophomore Jaden Bradley (27 points) answered with backto-back 3s that pushed the lead back to six.

But four times in the final 3 minutes, 35 seconds, Latin trimmed the lead to 1, including after Johnson hit two free throws with 17.3 seconds left.

After Cannon’s Jarvis Moss hit a free throw, still with 17.3 seconds left, Latin had a final possession to win or tie.

Johnson got a screen and moved to his left. Then he took a step-back jumper, a three-pointer that likely would’ve delivered a championship, on a sold-out, standing room only kind of Saturday afternoon crowd that included former Hawks’ great Anthony Morrow. Swimmer Cam Abaqueta ’22 was named to the Charlotte Observer Boys’ First Team in the 50 freestyle. At the NCISAA championships, Cam finished first in the 25 freestyle, setting a new meet record, and first in the backstroke, setting a new state record. Basketball player Reigan Richardson ’21 led the Cougars to the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 4A semifinals this winter, averaging 22.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 2.4 assists per game—all Charlotte Independent Schools Athletic Association, made the NCISAA’s all-state team for the second year in a row, and was named a second-team selection on MaxPreps.com’s North Carolina All-State Girls Basketball Team. Boys’ varsity wrestling finished third overall at the NCISAA championships where Caleb Campos ’22 placed first in his weight class and was named NCISAA wrestler of the year. Coach Michael Helfant was named NCISAA Coach of the Year, and Charlie Carr ’23 finished first in his weight class. When Johnson left the shot go, the Latin crowd stood. It was just slightly short.

There was a collective sigh from the Latin side.

Cannon stormed the court in celebration. History was done.

Congrats Cougars! State Champs!

CISAA All-Conference First Team: Jaden Bradley, (unanimous player of the year); DJ Nix

Winter Student-Athlete Spotlights

Cam Abaqueta ’22

team highs. She was chosen as the player of the year in the Cam Abaqueta ’22

Second Team: Jarvis Moss

Boy’s Varsity Wrestling

Due to COVID-19, spring athletics experienced an abbreviated season. This was difficult for all our studentathletes and was perhaps most acutely felt by our seniors. “It was extremely disappointing to see our softball season cut short,” said Katie Grissom ’20. “The part that saddened me most was having to accept that my time with all my wonderful teammates had come to an end. All of the girls on the Cannon softball team are caring, competitive, and hardworking. I will miss the never-ending laughs and smiles!” Here’s a look at how the spring teams were faring until play stopped on March 13, 2020.

Boys varsity baseball: 7-1 • Boys Middle School baseball: 2-0-1 • Boys varsity golf: 0-0 • Co-ed Middle School golf: 1-0 • Boys varsity lacrosse –4-1 • Boys Middle School lacrosse: 3-0 • Girls varsity soccer: 7-0 • Girls Middle School soccer: 0-3-1 • Girls varsity softball: 3-0 • Girls Middle School softball: 1-1 • Boys varsity tennis: 3-3 • Boys junior varsity tennis: 0-0 • Boys Middle School tennis: 2-2 • Co-ed varsity track & field: 0-0 • Co-ed Middle School track & field: 0-0

Athletics Hall of Fame

The Cannon School Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 2019 in partnership with the Office of Alumni Relations and Athletics Department to honor athletes, coaches, teams, and contributors who have made a positive impact on Cannon Athletics, either through excellent athletic achievements or excellent contributions to athletic programs, while exemplifying the core values of Cannon School.

The nomination process for this inaugural class was highly competitive, with many Cannon alumni, coaches, teams, and contributors submitted for consideration. We are grateful to the members of our Cannon community who shared compelling nominations and to the members of our selection committee whose thoughtful deliberations selected this distinctive and deserving group.

INAUGURAL 2020 CLASS

Mary Dudley Bertram Tramazzo ’05

A highly competitive runner both in cross country and track, Mary Dudley established many of the earliest running records at Cannon School and served as the teams’ captain from 1999-2005. She went on to run competitively at the University of Richmond, finishing her career as a four-time varsity letter recipient. Mary Dudley still runs competitively in her local running community.

Dominick Reid ’07

Dominick led Cannon School to its first state championship for basketball in 2006, and he currently serves as the Assistant Coach for Cannon’s 2020 State Championship Boys’ Basketball Team. Dominick finished his career at Cannon with 1,079 total points and was recognized with NCISAA All-State Team and All-Conference honors in 2006 and 2007. After graduation, Dominick went on to play at Catawba College, where he earned and holds eighteen awards and records. Krista Gross ’09

Krista received NCISAA All-State Girls’ Basketball honors each year she was at Cannon, 2005-2009, and still holds the current Cannon School records for high jump and long jump. She was the leading scorer on the girls’ basketball team with over 4,000 points and was selected as the Cougar Club Senior Athlete award winner. Krista went on to play basketball at UNC Chapel Hill and then professionally on the European circuit with teams in Italy, Finland, and Sweden.

Jarell Eddie ’10

Jarell is the top leading scorer in Cannon’s basketball history with accolades including 2006 State Champion and NCISAA AllState honors in 2009 and 2010. He went on to be a starting player at Virginia Tech with ACC AllConference honors his junior and senior years. After graduation from Virginia Tech, he signed with the NBA, playing contracts for the Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks, and others. He now plays professionally with UCAM Murcia in Spain.

Vicky Bruce ’12

Vicky was a member of Cannon’s varsity girls’ soccer team, 2008- 2012, serving as the team’s captain her senior year. She received All-Conference, All-Region, and All-State honors her sophomore, junior, and senior years. During her high school career, she received many recognitions in her club league, such as placement on the USA Women’s National Team. After graduation, Vicky played two years at UNC Chapel Hill and two years at Davidson College prior to playing professionally in Europe. She is currently signed with Fortuna Hjørring in Denmark. Read an exciting update about Vicky in Class Notes!

Will Gordon ’15

Will was a member of Cannon’s 2015 NCISAA Boys’ State Golf Championship Team and was a three-time NCISAA All-State Athlete. He also set the golf records for both 18 and 9 holes at Cannon School. Will went on to play at Vanderbilt University, where he was selected to compete for the USA in the Arnold Palmer Cup, and received All-SEC, All-American Vanderbilt, and All-Academic honors. After graduation, Will joined the Korn Ferry Tour and Mackenzie Tour, pursuing golf professionally. Read an exciting update about Will in Class Notes!

Anna Redding ’15

Anna is a four-time NCISAA All-State Golfer as well as an individual State Medalist and a State Champion with her 2014 Cannon girls’ golf team. She was also named a Charlotte Observer Player of the Year. After Cannon, Anna signed to play at the University of Virginia. Her junior year, she was named to the All-ACC Team and during her senior year, Anna was selected to compete at the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur, being the first woman ever to tee off in competition at Augusta National. She’s currently playing professionally as part of the Symetra Tour. Bill Drake, Coach

Bill was instrumental in starting Cannon School’s cross country and track teams, serving as their coach in both the Middle and Upper School for the boys’ and girls’ teams. He organized Cannon’s Cross Country Invitational that has been an integral part of each season for the past twenty years. He coached the 2001 boys’ cross country team to a state title—the first in Cannon’s history—as well as the 4x400 boys’ relay team and several other state titles. Bill has coached many incredible athletes during his tenure at Cannon while also teaching Spanish.

Beth Jaszewski, Contributor

Beth was the first Cannon parent to take over the concession stand as part of the Cougar Club and built it from the ground up. She worked to establish the indoor concession stand and game day concessions, which increased revenue for Cougar Athletics incredibly. She managed every aspect of the concession stand, including purchasing and inventory to make the concessions run smoothly. Beth even has an award named in her honor that is given each year to a volunteer who exemplifies the same dedication and passion. Beth’s two sons are graduates of Cannon, Sam ’09 and Kevin ’10.

SELECTION COMMITTEE Non-Voting Members Todd Hartung Director of Advancement

Voting Members Russ Campbell 2019-2020 Interim Director of Athletics for Strategy and General Oversight Cathy Diehl 7th Grade English Teacher (Faculty Representative) Christopher Jones Head of School Carla Moyer Head of Middle School (Member at Large) Sydney Ross Manager of Alumni and Alumni Parent Relations

Deb Otey Head of Upper School Rod Rachal 2019-2020 Interim Director of Athletics for Operations Steve Schattner Head Coach, Boys’ Lacrosse (Coaching Representative) Joe Trojan Associate Dean of Students, Upper School (Coaching Representative)