First Presbyterian Christian Academy celebrated its athletes during the school’s annual sports banquet Monday at First Presbyterian Church.
Multi-sport athlete Brooke Standard received a big surprise when the school retired her soccer jersey and number. Standard’s father, Durand Standard, said having her jersey and number retired was an honor.
In looking at the list of accolades and accomplishments, it is easy to see why soccer coach Tom Sukaratana and the school’s administration made the decision. Standard started playing soccer for FPCA as a fifth-grader on the junior-varsity squad and made the varsity squad by the time she entered the seventh grade. She was named to every All-Region team since the eighth grade and each All-State team since her freshman year.
Standard earned FPCA’s most valuable player award for her freshman, junior and senior years, was named best offensive player her sophomore year and best defensive player in eighth grade. For the past four seasons, she served as the team’s captain or co-captain.
Standard helped the Lady ’Landers to region championships in 2012 and 2013, a state runner-up trophy in 2012 and a state championship in 2013. She repeatedly was selected for All-Tournament Teams after various state and local tourneys.
Standard represented the Lady ’Landers while playing on the 18-and-under Carolina Elite Soccer Academy team in Greenville, S.C. The team competes in the Elite Clubs National League, which is considered the top women’s league in the country. Recently, she signed a letter of intent to play soccer for Armstrong Atlantic State University.
Standard also excelled in other sports at FPCA. She played softball for three years and basketball for five. She was named to the All-Region basketball team for her junior and senior years and was Highlander MVP for her junior year. In softball, she made the All-Region teams her freshman and sophomore seasons.
Standard also excelled in the classroom and missed only one day of school from kindergarten through her senior year. The honor student recently was chosen as one of Liberty Life magazine’s “Top 12 Shining Seniors.” As a sophomore, she was selected to participate in Young Adult Liberty Leaders program.
She is a member of the National Honor Society and was on FPCA’s student council. Standard volunteered every summer to assist with the LCRD and FPCA soccer camps.
FPCA went on to honor all its athletes, as each sport’s coach introduced their team and presented certificates of merit and awards.
Darrius Tilghman was recognized for being the only Highlander baseball player selected to the 2014 All-Region team.
The following student athletes were honored:
Cross Country
Varsity
Highlander — Hannah Floyd
Most outstanding runner — Hannah Burkett
Most improved runner — Arianna Burkett
Middle School
Highlander — Lauren Gerst
Most outstanding runner — Cleveland Dargan
Most improved runner — Mark Alan McGarry
Volleyball
Varsity
Highlander — Elise Letnaunchyn
MVP — Alexandria Moses
Middle School
Highlander — Haley Stuart
MVP — Cassidy Buchman
Boys’ Basketball
Varsity
Highlander — Ahman Muhammad
Offensive player — Miguel Pineda
Defensive player— Wallace Smith
Middle School
Highlander — Liu Zixuan
Offensive MVP — Jah’leen Allen
Defensive MVP — Cleveland Dargan
Football
Highlander — Dylan McGarry
Offense MVP — Domonique Kirkley
Defense MVP — Ahman Muhammad
Girls’ Basketball
Highlander — Brooke Standard
Best offensive player — Troianna Murray
Most improved player — Julianna Hensley
Varsity Track and Field
MVP — Asyria Daniels
Middle-School
Track and Field
Highlander — Will Magan
Varsity Baseball
Highlander — James Phillips
MVP — Darrius Tilghman
Most improved — Nathan Burriss
Boys’ Golf
Highlander — Casey Rearley
MVP — Bolden Crane
Most improved — Keaton Eason
Girls’ Golf
Highlander — Jada Rodgers
MVP — Julia Hedrick
Most improved — Mariana Foster
Girls’ Tennis
Highlander — Julia Snipes
MVP — Erika Nakai
Most improved — Chandler Zabel
Boys’ Tennis
Highlander — Patrick Robinson
MVP — Tyler Causer
Most improved — Brantley McCorkle
Middle-School
Girls’ Soccer
Highlander — MacKenize Buckley
MVP — Madison Buckley
Most improved — Lloya Stevens
Middle-School
Boys’ Soccer
Highlander — Zander Hill
MVP — Cleveland Dargan
Most improved — Alexander Pagan
Varsity Girls’ Soccer
Highlander — Bethany Lormis
MVP — Brooke Standard
Most improved — MacKenzie Buckley
Varsity Boys’ Soccer
Highlander — Clark Sukaratana
MVP — Stanford Graham
Most improved — Nate Hart
Cheerleading
Football Cheer
Calvin Miclat
Basketball Cheer
Hannah Osteen
Competitive Cheer
MacKenzie Buckley