Athletic News
ATHLETIC
News
FWCD Ranked SPC Top School in Tarrant County
Since 1986, the Davey O’Brien Foundation has provided more than $550,000 in scholarships to high school seniors. Recipients are chosen on the basis of scholastic achievements, community service, character, leadership and varsity sports participation.
Founded in 1977 to honor and remember the strong character and leadership of football great Davey O’Brien, the foundation is widely known for its Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. The foundation recognizes champions on and off the field through awards programs encouraging academic and career success. The Davey O’Brien Foundation has given away more than $850,000 in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field to leadership in life. To read more about Meghann, who was named the Class of 2013 salutatorian, see page 35.
Kristin Vaughn
Meghann Kasal ’13 earned a $2,500 scholarship as a finalist for the 2012 Davey O’Brien High School Scholarship Award. The scholarship is presented by The Davey O’Brien Foundation and partially underwritten by Higginbotham and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. As one of five finalists, Kasal was also in the running for a $30,000 scholarship.
Meghann Kasal ’13
Lisa Koger
The Southwest Preparatory Conference comprises 19 like-minded independent and private schools throughout Texas and Oklahoma. There are 16 coeducational schools and three singlegender schools. Fort Worth Country Day competes within the co-ed category. Each year, the SPC ranks schools based on their season finish for every sport. FWCD is consistently at the top of the list every year. This year was no exception, as the School was the topranked school in Tarrant County.
Field Hockey Players Honored Six Fort Worth Country Day scholar-athletes were recognized by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) for their outstanding work on the field and in the classroom. Seniors Grace Cowan, Maddie Relyea, Lilly Cowan, Haddy Self, Elizabeth Pruitt and Megan Ray and were named to the 2012 Gladiator by SGI/NFHCA High School National Academic Squad. They each earned this award based on their participation as a varsity player and their overall, unweighted GPAs.
50
FALCONER
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.
St. John’s School The Kinkaid School Episcopal High School Greenhill School Episcopal School of Dallas Fort Worth Country Day Houston Christian High School The John Cooper School Holland Hall St. Andrew’s Episcopal School All Saints’ Episcopal School Trinity Valley School St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Casady School St. Mary’s Hall The Oakridge School fwcd.org
makes FWCD students special,” Gendusa noted. “They strive to be the best in whatever activity they take part in, whether it is in their academic coursework, on a team or as part of the theater cast.”
something new. FWCD athletes do not specialize. The coaches want students to experience a variety of sports. “We ultimately need participation in multiple sports to be successful as a team,” he said.
Gendusa said his staff makes all the difference in the School’s athletics program. “Our coaches work hard; they are committed to the students and their successes,” he said. “We want all of our student-athletes to succeed and reach their goals. We feel like their goals are our goals.”
To determine the rankings, sports earn points based on how they finish a season. The school with the lowest total number of points is the winning school. “What is important to note about the schools that place ahead of Fort Worth Country Day is their size,” Gendusa said. “Those schools are larger than us. For FWCD to rank sixth and not have an SPC championship title this year speaks to the strength of our program.”
To foster success, the athletics team works in tandem with division heads and performing and visual arts directors. As a result, FWCD students compete on three teams, as well as have the opportunity to take part—and excel—in band, choir, school plays and musicals, within extracurricular leadership activities, and more.
Gendusa does admit there are challenges. One of which is football—especially in Texas, where “Friday Night Lights” can stop a town for the evening. “We work our athletes hard and create a love of the game,” he said. “We emphatically do not recruit. We love our loyal families, and we don’t bring in outside influences for the purpose of a winning season.”
FWCD’s well-balanced program and competitive athletics require scholarathletes to compete at a high level—in the classroom and on the field. “That’s what
The key: sharing—which is something the School does exceptionally well. “Because of our smaller student pool, we share the wealth,” Gendusa added. Another key to the program includes its commitment to allowing athletes to try
With the School’s recent Middle School Expansion, there are now many more entry points for students, giving athletes the opportunity to begin to understand the athletics experience and what is expected as seventh- and eighth-graders. “But at the end of the day, our program is about the personal successes of our student-athletes,” Gendusa said. “Yes, everyone likes to win, but there are more ways to assess a win, and I feel like our standing within the competitive SPC shows what a winner FWCD is.”
Tiffini Crum
Meghann Kasal Named a Davey O’Brien High School Scholarship Award Finalist
The cornerstone of the Fort Worth Country Day experience is the breadth and depth of opportunity. The School is built upon the three A’s: academics, athletics and the arts. FWCD values its ability to give students the opportunity to succeed in all aspects of school life. This year, FWCD athletics ranked No. 6 in the Southwest Preparatory Conference out of 16 schools—and No. 1 in Tarrant County. Athletic Director Frank Gendusa says that year in and year out, the FWCD Falcons fare well in this ranking.
SPC All Conference: Reagan Smith ’14, Adele Elkind ’16, Christina Paulus ’15, Isabella Chieffalo ’14, Alex Chieffalo ’16, Crosby Lipscomb ’14, Shane Markwardt ’14, Turner MacLean ’15, Campbell Bishop ’13, Morgan Pergande ’13, Clinton Harlin ’14 and Brandon Evans ’16
SPrinG/SUMMER 2013
FALCONER
51