Baylin Navarro Bob Jones High School, 4.38 GPA Hockey / Lacrosse Team Captain – Charger Travel Hockey, NAHA Rec Hockey / Led Team to Past 5 Championships / Varsity Lacrosse Starter & MVP “A” Honor Roll / National Honors Society / Dual Enrollment @ UA-Huntsville / AP & Honors Class Workload Hockey Youth Coach Volunteer / Volunteer Lacrosse Coach / New Leash on Life Volunteer / AROTC Member...

HUNTSVILLE- The Bob Jones swim and dive team took third place honors in both boys and girls at the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) State and Diving Championships held at the Huntsville Aquatic Center. Overall, local teams won eight medals by finishing in the top three of the individual races including John Choung of James Clemens winning the lone state championship among the local schools. Choung, a sophomore for the Jets, took the state title in the 100-yard breaststroke with a finish time of 57.35 seconds. For Bob Jones, the 2020 squads featured a continued rebuilding mode after losing a large amount of seniors in 2018. Last year, the Lady Patriots finished 13th in the state meet and were looking for a top 10 finish in 2020. The Pats had swimmers in 15 events and took advantage of super efforts for a unexpected third place finish behind state champion Huntsville (230 points) and runner-up Westminster Christian Academy (180) by totaling 174.50 points just missing one of the state meet trophies handed out to the top two teams. The boys had its best finish since 2015 by taking third place with 204 points finishing behind first place Huntsville (332) and Auburn (258). The Patriots entered the 2020 campaign with thoughts of finishing among the top three teams and qualified participants in 22 individual events and three relay races, which was the most in head coach Wade Thaxton’s tenure since taking over the program in 2017. For Madison Academy its lone qualifying athlete for the state meet did not disappoint as seventh grader Bella Daniel finished third in the 1A-5A 200-yard Individual Medley with a time of 2:24.88 and seventh in the 100-yard Freestyle at 59.43. Runner-up finishers at the state meet included Samantha Chan of James Clemens in the girls 100-yard Butterfly, Riley Groves of Bob Jones in the boys 100-yard Butterfly, Beau Broussard of James Clemens in the boys 100-yard Backstroke and the James Clemens boys in the 200-yard Medley Relay. Here are the complete results of the local teams at the state meet: Boys: 200 medley relay- 2. James Clemens, 1:35.07, 4. Bob Jones, 1:38.45; 200 freestyle- 8. Joe Palenapa, 12, Bob Jones, 1:47.33; 200 IM- 4. John Choung, 10, James Clemens, 1:57.91, 5. Jake Palenapa, 12, Bob Jones, 1:59.50, 15. Justin Roh, 8, Bob Jones, 1:05.81; 50 freestyle- 8. Michael Tretyakov, 9, Bob Jones, 22.19, 11. Cade McComb, 8, James Clemens, 22:34, 15. Boone Ramsey, 11, Bob Jones, 22.78, 24. Ben Woods, 10, Bob Jones, 23.40, 25. Josh Chubb, 9, James Clemens, 23.42, 26. Josh Lin, 12, Bob Jones, 23.45; 100 butterfly- 2. Riley Groves, 10, Bob Jones, 50.22, 5. Beau Broussard, James Clemens, 51.20, 10. Joe Palenapa, 12, Bob Jones, 53.53, 15. Mason Holtcamp, 11, James Clemens, 54.59, 18. Bryson Tesseneer, 11, Bob Jones, 56.88; 100 freestyle- 10. Michael Tretyakov, 9, Bob Jones, 49.26, 15. Cade McComb, 8, James Clemens, 50.00, 24. Boone Ramsey, 11, Bob Jones, 51.50, 29. Ben Woods, 10, Bob Jones, 52.31, 30. Josh Lin, 12, Bob Jones, 52.35; 500 freestyle- 18. Nathan Johnson, James Clemens, 5:21.96; 200 freestyle relay- 4. Bob Jones, 1:30.57; 100 backstroke- 2. Beau Broussard, James Clemens, 50.27, 4. Riley Groves, 10, Bob Jones, 52.52, 13. Bryson Tesseneer, 11, Bob Jones, 56.71, 18. Mason Holtcamp, 11, James Clemens, 57.81, 20. Alex Kulkarni, James Clemens, 59.91; 100 breaststroke- 1. John Choung, 10, James Clemens, 57.35, 6. Justin Roh, 8, 1:00.02, 12. Jake Palenapa, 12, Bob Jones, 1:01.83, 22. Zach Mendenhall, 9, James Clemens, 1:05.06; 400 freestyle relay- 3. Bob Jones, 3:15.38. Boys team scores- 6A-7A, 3. Bob Jones, 204, 8. James Clemens, 123. Girls: 200 medley relay- 4. Bob Jones, 1:50.85, 8. James Clemens, 1:54.02; 200 freestyle- 8. Jayme Simmer, 11, Sparkman, 1:59.87, 10. Anna Mead, 11, James Clemens, 2:00.97, 11. Hallie Mitchell, James Clemens, 2:01.78; 200 IM- 5. Samantha Chan, 9, Bob Jones, 2:10.26, 11. Jessica Nguyen, 10, Bob Jones, 2:19.33; 1A-5A 200 IM- 3. Bella Daniel, 7, Madison Academy, 2:24.88; 50 freestyle- 10. Constance Wang, 10, Bob Jones, 25.03, 12. Meli Mbuko, 7, Bob Jones, 25.14, 15. Regan Baker, 10, Bob Jones, 25.23, 16. Anna Chubb, 9, James Clemens, 25.58, 17. Sarah Shirley, 11, James Clemens, 25.61, 25. Lucy Ramsey, 11, Bob Jones, 26.22; 100 butterfly- 2. Samantha Chan, 9, Bob Jones, 56.19; 100 freestyle- 9. Regan Baker, 10, Bob Jones, 55.24, 12. Sarah Shirley, 11, James Clemens, 55.61, 14. Meli Mbuko, 7, Bob Jones, 55.66, 16. Constance Wang, 10, Bob Jones, 56.01, 17. Anna Chubb, 9, James Clemens, 56.13; 1A-5A 100 freestyle- 7. Bella Daniel, 7, Madison Academy, 59.43; 500 freestyle- 6. Jayme Simmer, 11, Sparkman, 5:17.39, 8. Anna Mead, 11, James Clemens, 5:35.83, 9. Emma Williams, 11, 5:37.24; 200 freestyle relay- 6. Bob Jones, 1:43.06, 8. James Clemens, 1:46.19; 100 backstroke- 9. Emilie Tesseneer, 7, Bob Jones, 1:00.86, 19. Hallie Mitchell, James Clemens, 1:04.31; 100 breaststroke- 8. Jessica Nguyen, 10, Bob Jones, 1:10.49, 15. Clara Choung, James Clemens, 1:14.60; 400 freestyle relay- 4. Bob Jones, 3:41.45, 9. James Clemens, 3:48.87. Girls team scores- 1A-5A, 13. Madison Academy, 28; 6A-7A, 3. Bob Jones, 174.50, 8. James Clemens, 118.50, 22. Sparkman, 24. In the diving competition, Ashley Ahrens of James Clemens took third in the 1-meter event. The sophomore tallied 342.40 points. Jessica Swartz, a junior at Bob Jones finished No. 12 with 265.65 points, Maggie Lawley, an eighth grader was No. 19 with 164.85 points and her grade and squad teammate Ana Lara-Lemus was No. 20 with 152.80 points. In boys, the final results included 6. Alec Benzek, 11, James Clemens, 336.95, 13. Griffin Gilmartin, 11, Bob Jones, 262.10, 17. Nolan Blakely, James Clemens, 164.40, 19. Mason Puhalovic, 8, Bob Jones, 151.25, 20. Nikolas Barnhart, 9, Bob Jones, 149.15....

MADISON- The prestigious High School Heisman Scholarship, presented by Acceptance Insurance, is regarded as one of the most coveted and enduring honors a high school student-athlete can win. The award is open to both boys and girls in every one of the 48 school sponsored sports recognized by the National Federation of State High School Associations. The national award takes into consideration more than just athletics. Nominees must have an impressive grade point average and be proven leaders at their schools and communities. The system is set up for school winners to possibly be chosen state winners and those advancing to regionals winners and finally to the National Finalists. Both Bob Jones and James Clemens high schools chose school winners of the national award for 2020. Bob Jones At Bob Jones, volleyball great Joy Robinson and soccer star James Sieja were chosen as school Heisman winners. Robinson, a 5-foot-9 outside hitter for the Patriots, is speaking with several colleges about playing volleyball and possibly completing a degree in accounting as she will carry a 3.93 grade point average through her senior year at Bob Jones. On the volleyball court, she was the team’s and area’s MVP and was named to the Class 7-A First Team All-State Team. The daughter of Corey and LaTonya Robinson began volleyball in the seventh grade and actually had little experience in sports prior to her taking up the sport that will lead her into college. Born in San Diego, Cal., her family moved to Madison when she was seven years old. “I appreciate the award as I was hoping I would win the coveted honor as there are so many others at our school who could have easily taken my place,” said Robinson. “I found out I had won when I visited the award’s website and saw my name. It was shocking and my family celebrated with a big dinner at home.” Robinson has put in about 20 hours of a week of volunteer work at the Madison Public Library and has volunteered to assist in numerous events at her church including recent voter registration. Her efforts in volleyball came close to never occurring as at age six she fell off a set of monkey bars in a park, broke her left wrist and wore a cast for months. She somehow overcame the injury to become a star performer. This recent senior season, Robinson also played through a left shoulder injury, which required physical therapy on a regular basis. The 5-10, 155-pound Sieja has received an academic scholarship to study business economics at Mississippi State. He has a grade point average of 4.8, which ranks him No. 21 among the 450 seniors at Bob Jones. He does not plan on playing college soccer, but will continue to play on intermural leagues once at Mississippi State. “I wasn’t expecting the Heisman award as this means a lot to me and I’m very happy to be so honored,” said Sieja, son of Thomas and Linda Sieja and has four siblings. “I’ve played soccer since I began to walk and winning the Heisman for my school is like a nice payoff for my years of playing soccer.” Sieja and his family moved to Madison when he was in the second grade arriving here from California. He played recreation and club leagues before playing on the Discovery Middle School team and made his way to the high school varsity team and quickly became a starter for the Patriots. He was an All-State honorable mention last season and earned an All-Metro honor along with being chosen for the AHSAA North-South All-Star contest. “I’m part of some clubs at school and I have worked volunteer events at my church along with numerous community projects,” said Sieja, who looks to become a business analyst after college. James Clemens At James Clemens, both Heisman Award winners possess a grade point average of at least 4.0 and look to academic scholarships to get them into college. Jackson Quarles has a 4.0 in his studies and wants to earn a degree in education to where one day he would love to become a school superintendent. Nicknamed “Action Jackson,” the 6-5, 182-pound three-sport athlete partakes in the school’s cross country, track and basketball programs. He underwent shoulder surgery in May for an injury and at one time didn’t think he could play basketball this fall, but he fought his way back to make the team roster. Once the indoor and outdoor track seasons get underway he will concentrate on his talents in track, where he runs the 200, 400 and 4X400 events and is ranked No. 1 in the region in the 400-meter. The son of Darrell and Yonka Quarles is as busy away from his sports as he is in his athletic prowess. He’s President of the SGA, a member of the FCA, Student-2-Student and several honor societies, a distinguished school leader and was chosen as the 2020 Homecoming King and as Best Personality among his senior class. “I applied for the Heisman Award as a way to earn scholarship money and bring recognition to James Clemens,” said Quarles. “I heard I had won, but wasn’t expecting to do so. I’m very grateful for the honor and for my school.” Quarles was among almost 100 student-athletes who were nominated and school principal Dr. Brian Clayton personally called him to tell him of his winning. He added, “My winning is a blessing. I never thought I’d represent my school in this way when I first came to James Clemens.” His community work has included helping families with COVID-19 and was part of an effort to raise over $1,000 in school supplies for the Downtown Rescue Mission. As for college, he does want to run on a college track team and has spoken to several schools for that purpose. Claire Congo nearly missed her junior season of soccer at James Clemens when she became severely dehydrated and doctors weren’t sure of what was causing her condition. After at least two months of battling fatigue, she finally got her health condition under control and played her season that was cut short last spring due to COVID-19 and is looking to her senior season next spring as a way to make up for her shortage of play over the last year. “I found out I won the award when I received an e-mail from the Heisman Award committee and I was really surprised and excited as the award shows my hard work has paid off,” said Congo, daughter of Brent and Christina Congo. “I immediately sent my family group message the news.” Congo carries a 4.72 grade point average, which puts her No. 25 among the 514 seniors at James Clemens. She will attend Auburn University with academic scholarships where she will study nutrition science. She indicated her dream job is to become an orthodontist and has already prepped for her college studies as part of the James Clemens’ Bio-Medical Academy with an internship. She’s a member of several clubs and honor societies and won the Ms. James Clemens Award. She’s also a part of the Distinguished Young Woman of Madison County and will soon compete in state competition and has gone through extensive interview training for that award. “I volunteer at my church and its youth camp and have assisted with the North Alabama Food Bank and at Madison Hospital,” said Congo. “For a hobby, I do hand lettering and make greeting cards for friends.” Print Article COPYRIGHT © 2020, The Madison Record ...

The Bob Jones Cross Country Team finished a great season full of major accomplishments at both the team and individual levels. The season ended on a hot day in Oakville, AL with the Boys Team finishing 10th in the state and the three Girls team members running hard in the state championship. The 2020 season was filled with team wins and personal records for the entire group of BJHS and Discovery MS students representing the Patriots in Boys and Girls Varsity and JV. The Varsity Boys opened the season with back to back 1st place wins, with the JV Girls finishing 1st in their opener as well. By mid-season, every Bob Jones team had finished at least as high as 3rd and brought home a trophy! That’s no small feat considering the tough competition in events that often drew teams from over 30 schools. Over the season we had a couple of individual wins, numerous individual top 10s, countless top 20s, 140 Personal Records, and enough trophies to fill an entire trophy case! It was truly a fantastic year for Bob Jones Cross Country! With Coach McIlwain at the helm the boys team earned a 7A state championship bid for the second time in as many years and three Girls team members qualified to compete in the 7A State race. However, perhaps Coach MacIlwain’s greatest accomplishment this season was carefully and safely navigating the team through the COVID19 pandemic and managing to complete the season from the first race through the state championship. Many of our amazing XC athletes will transition directly to Track and Field competition in the 800, 1600, and 3200 meter races. Running year-round has produced positive results for the Patriots as evidenced by their continued improvement year over year. We will graduate a great group of seniors this year, and we wish them all the best! Remember your achievements here at BJXC and keep running! If you’re a 6th through 11th grader who would like to be part of one of the fastest and definitely the most fun Cross Country team in the state, come run with us during summer break and next season as we continue our quest for a state championship. If you want to get a head start on next year’s season, consider running one of the distance events in indoor and/or outdoor track. Coach Jefferson and the entire Track and Field coaching staff (including Coach McIlwain) will be there with direction and professional coaching to help you improve. ...

The Bob Jones Varsity Boys Cross Country Team raced their way into the State Championship race today with a state-qualifying finish at the AHSAA 7A Section 4 competition. The boys team finished 2nd of 8 teams in Section 4, just behind Huntsville (the seventh ranked XC team in the nation). James Clemens HS and Florence HS also head to state with 3rd and 4th place finishes. James Garrison finished 8th and Ryan Bender 13th earning “All Section” honors. Mateo Santiago finished 20th and Isaac Allen 24th. Collin Spindle, Wade Bucy, and Ryan Goldsmith rounded out the points scoring in the state-qualifying effort. Owen Crow, Jackson Lozano, and Matthew Pimmel complete the sectionals/state roster as they face off against the other best 7A teams from across the state on November 14h at the Jesse Owens Course in Oakville, AL. While the Bob Jones Girls did not qualify for state as a team, Hannah Thuss, Kricket Johnston, and Lorin Carter earned individual spots at the 7A state championship. Hannah Thuss earned “All Section” honors. The Girls team deserves praise this year as they increased their state qualifying numbers by 300% over last year. Kricket Johnston, Corinne Wilhelm, Ebba Detulleo, and Rachel Pennell did a tremendous job moving up from JV to compete at sectionals in this rebuilding year. Elaine Bao, Alexa Douthitt, Jillian Pennell, and Mackenzie Edwards also represented BJHS well today in the sectional race. Coach Bill McIlwain’s leadership and training regimen significantly moved the Bob Jones Cross Country Program forward again this year. Back-to-back State Championship race qualifications for the boys’ team after an eight-year drought before his arrival and triple the number of girl state qualifiers year over year. State bound athletes will continue training this week as they look for their season best performance at the State Championships next week. With one more race to go, it has been a great season for the growing and improving Bob Jones Cross Country Program. Coach McIlwain and the entire team can be proud of the 2020 season! If you’re a 6th through 11th grader who likes to run and work hard to be a part of something great, start running now and look for more information this Spring about how you can be a part of Bob Jones Cross Country! ...

MADISON - Traditional sports programs were virtually geared towards male participation, but over the last 40 years female athletics has grown at an unbelievable rate. The rise in female athletics has also increased the success rate of women in life and in the business world and a recent study discovered nearly 90-percent of women in high-level positions at work have a sports background. “Being athletic is mental health and important as a major contributor to healthy lifestyles and being successful in the current work force,” said Sylvia Lambert, principal of Bob Jones High and a former multi-sport all-star athlete. “I thrive on the team concept with my administration and teachers as a positive team sets the stage for a healthy environment.” Those successful in business know when adversity strikes those rich in life-long experiences in sports can work around whatever comes their way. For women, tackling athletics at a young age gives them confidence, mental toughness and resiliency, all of which are a must to be successful at work and in life. “The emotional benefits of playing a sport helped me to learn to be a team player and succeed at team projects,” said Merrill Wright, 25, interim director of the Madison Chamber of Commerce and one-time volleyball player and 2013 graduate of Bob Jones High School. “In sports, once you have that taste of winning you strive to be a constant winner and that emotion has carried over to my working as an adult.” Gina Turner, Director of Emergency Operations Imaging and Cardio Pulmonary at Madison Hospital, feels strongly about how playing sports as a young girl and into college paved her road to success as a registered nurse and her current position in the field of medicine. “Absolutely, as sports helped me in many areas as an adult, especially in the work force, as those years of hard work in sports helped me in my leadership role,” said Turner, 45, and mother of three children. “One area that really helps me today is forming strategies. In sports, you come up with sort of a game plan and in the work arena where I am a director of a department I go into a meeting with strategies in hand. It’s much like what I went through while participating in sports.” In any sport, at any age, sports teach how to solve problems. When things don’t go correctly you have to think about how to get out of that situation. The same will happen in everyday life, family or work. Playing sports builds consensus of team thinking and you learn to strive to get better every single day. It’s a matter of pride to be the best. “It’s the resilience that makes you want to succeed and be a better person, supervisor and employee,” added Wright. Women have utilized athletics to help succeed in many of the traditional male dominated businesses. For most, it’s not a physical assertiveness in the work place, it’s truly mind over matter. “There’s no ‘I’ in team and no ‘I’ in workplace,” said Turner. Lambert, in her sixth year as principal for the Patriots, continues to be active in athletics as she somehow finds time to run and enjoy cycling. She feels fitness is very important to her well-being and understands commitment to teamwork at work is a must for success, which she learned as a participant in basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming, softball and racquetball. “I understand positive culture comes from sports and that’s what we have here at Bob Jones,” added Lambert ...