OurboysState CrossCountryteamstarttheirracesstrong atthe State meetin October2024 Top finisherTobyVan de Ven placed 5th overall,with ourteamcoming in 6th outofnine teams.
Dear Prospective Students and Families,
Greetings from St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School! Today’s newsletter is designed to paint a clear picture of athletics at SAS and what makes our programs special compared to other schools regionally and nationally. Athletics are close to my heart as they were instrumental in my own development as a student, an athlete, a coach, and, most importantly, a person.
What is the purpose of participating in athletics? Is it to gain a scholarship, win an award, win a state championship, get your name in the paper, or any other similar outcome? Here at SAS, we help you achieve your goals, whether that's qualifying for state or mastering a new sport, and grow as a young adult in the process, simply by having access to different sports and a love for playing the game with your friends and teammates.
When athletics are done well, student-athletes begin to value the lessons learned in hard-earned victories, as well as the tough defeats, and learn the value of teamwork, dedication, and being a good teammate. Championships and accolades come by focusing on the process, which delivers a tremendous skill set to be applied in any and all aspects of life as we grow. Last, the resilience and grit that we develop through athletics just may be at the very core of the purpose of playing. We do that here!
At SAS, our athletes win close games, lose close games, enjoy dominant wins, and suffer dominant losses; we compete for state championships, and we win state championships. What is most important is our attention to focusing on the process, allowing the results to take care of themselves, and we coach our athletes to handle all of it with dedication, grit, resilience, class, and grace. By allowing a child to explore something new, and be coached with care and toughness alike, we achieve results.
And, for many of our athletes, their journey only starts in high school. SAS consistently sends student-athletes to compete at the college level year after year. Being home to the three-sport athlete, our students avoid getting burned out on any one sport. Many still have the fire and the drive to continue their athletic career at the college level. Our teams are made up of students that have the skill level to develop into college athletes or who have the courage to try a sport for the first time, and we welcome all of them.
There is perhaps no better example of SAS athletics than our boys cross country team, pictured above in the opening sprint at the State Meet in October 2024. We highlight our 2024-2025 state-qualifying cross country team because they finished 6th among the 9 schools good enough to field a full team of 7 runners in the TSSAA DII A division.
If you look at the top five runners on our team, we have two three-sport athletes, an athlete focused solely on running track and cross country, an athlete who joined the team for the first time this fall, and an 8th grader who had such an amazing season that he was asked to "run up" and compete for the high school team.
Our top finisher, senior captain Toby Van de Ven, placed 5th out of nearly 80 runners. Enjoy this article about Toby, (a fine scholar, 3-sport athlete, and incredible musician), who was recognized as one of the top five runners in the Chattanooga area by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association. Toby will continue his cross country career at either an Ivy League or NESCAC university–Not Too Shabby!
Facilities
As you make your way around our athletic website, pay careful attention to our quality facilities, highlighted on our website and in this short video. And remember, part of our Sewanee Experience is having access to the facilities at the University of the South, where we utilize excellent facilities for swimming, golf, and tennis. Currently, we are building a new home for our mountain biking and climbing teams that will house our outdoor sports and education programs, a bike shop, indoor climbing walls, and a pump track outside the facility to enhance mountain biking skills. Learn more about our new facility on page 10 of our most recent SAS magazine.
Part of growing as a school means that we recognize we must always keep our building and improving all aspects of our athletic facilities. In addition to the outdoor learning complex, we have plans to add an adjunct gymnasium that will provide a second home for volleyball, basketball, and physical education.
Athletic Snapshot
In grades 6 through 12, we offer 11 sports and host 26 teams. Take a look at the teams and schedules here to gain a sense of our competition and study our PEAK programming to learn which seasons host different sports. Enjoy our philosophy of scholastic athletics here, outlining our beliefs, our purpose of athletics. And we remain proud of our outcomes including our state championships, and we celebrate our student-athletes who have gone on to compete at the college level. Beginning on page 14 in our SAS Alumni Magazine, we celebrate some of last year's athletic accomplishments including two students signing their letters of intent to compete at the college level in swimming and wrestling.
Thank you for reading and learning more about St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School. I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter regarding athletics and continue to see how the SAS experience sets itself apart from so many schools.
Reminders and Opportunities!
Come to Broadway in Sewanee! The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, Friday, January 31stSunday, February 2nd. It’s on us! Simply email our admission office today to reserve your spot at admission@sasweb.org.
Coffee and Tours Every Thursday at 10am with no RSVP required
Student Shadow Days available at your convenience. Call us at 931.463.2116 or email us at admission@sasweb.org to schedule your visit.
Preferred Deadline for admission applications and tuition assistance is tomorrow, February 1st. Reserve your spot by applying today! After this date, applications and tuition assistance will be determined on a rolling basis.
As always, please take time to review our snap-shot of SAS and our most recent SAS magazine, which does a wonderful job painting a picture of life here at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School.
Setting us Apart: Enjoy this library of former admission newsletters throughout the year:
October Open House
The Sewanee Experience
Outdoor Sports and Education
Happy Holidays!
The Arts
Academics
Challenge. Balance. Joy.
Just Come See Us!
Robert Robert S. Black Director of
Enrollment
St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School
rblack@sasweb.org
Ashley Close, Associate Director of Admission/Director of International Recruitment
Lucy Rudman, Admission Counselor
Tonya Wockasen, Administrative Assistant for the Admission Office
Admission Reminders
Apply Today!
We are now accepting applications for the 2025-26 school year. It’s never too early to start! This year, our preferred application deadline is tomorrow, February 1, with admission decisions going out on February 28.
You can learn more about the admission process here.
To learn more about tuition assistance and affording the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School experience, please study our website for more information here. The 2025/2026 Financial Aid Application is LIVE.
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