Tannehill wins MVP at national football camp in Texas (August 2019)
Over summer break, many students go off to different camps and retreats. Junior Jack Tannehill was one of these students, but instead of a church or academic camp, Tannehill attended a football camp. Taking place in Arlington, Texas, the camp was hosted by the U.S. National Football Team.
“The camp was invites from regionals to go to Arlington, Texas to try out for the national team,” Tannehill said. “There were multiple kickers, multiple punters and multiple long snappers. Really it was just a combine for the kickers the whole time.”
At the end of the camp, which took place in early July, each position group had one player that was named MVP of the group. For the kickers and punters group, Tannehill was announced as the winner.
“I didn’t know much about the camp going into it, except that it was a tryout for the national team. I didn’t necessarily know that there would be an award for top kicker or punter or anything,” Tannehill said. “At the end of the camp, they were awarding MVPs to each position, and I just heard them say ‘all the way from Mississippi’ which freaked me out and excited me.”
Tannehill, ranked as one of the top kickers in the class of 2021, competed and trained with other high school kickers and punters at the camp. In addition, he was able to train with coaches experienced in working with kickers and other special team players.
“There were some really good kickers there. One of them was a Navy commit who’s in the grade ahead of me. A couple of them were my age, a couple were younger than me, but all of them were really capable of kicking and playing,” Tannehill said. “The coach that was assigned to kickers really helped me with my form. I was in somewhat of a slump while I was there but was still able to piece together kicks with him and his tips.”
In his junior season, and third on varsity, Tannehill will once again be a big part of the 2019 Charger football team. Head coach Chris Cutcliffe has been coaching Tannehill for all three of his varsity years.
“Jack is our starting kicker, punter and kickoff guy. So he has several roles that he plays and has done a great job in those roles,” Cutcliffe said. “Last year, we were perfect on extra points, which is always a goal. Jack was very consistent kicking field goals last year. I know one goal he has for himself is to increase his touchback percentage on kickoffs.”
Cutcliffe, formerly an offensive coordinator and now known as a more offensive-minded coach, recognizes the importance of special teams.
“The way that we approach special teams is that we think it’s an advantage for us. Our starting field position in several big games last year was about 20 yards better than our opponents, due to our special teams play,” Cutcliffe said. “We have goals of making big, game changing plays on special teams like big returns and blocked kicks. Typically, when you make big plays on special teams, you win the game.”
Back in Oxford with his camp MVP award, Tannehill has his own goals and awards he wishes to achieve for the Chargers this season.
“My personal goals are to have all touchbacks and to not miss a single field goal, but these are my goals every season. Of course, it’ll be super hard to attain this, but those are my expectations for myself,” Tannehill said. “For the team, I think that the whole team agrees that we should win state this year.”
Kendricks wins IAAF Pole Vault World Championship (October 2019)
Oxford native and OHS graduate Sam Kendricks, at the IAAF World Championships, defended his title in the men’s pole vault competition, becoming the second man to ever achieve the feat. In addition to his latest world championship, Kendricks also holds the American pole vault record, clearing 6.06 meters back in July. But growing up in Oxford, Kendricks just wanted be a part of the high school team.
“I went to Bramlett, Oxford Elementary, Central, all those schools where the bus routes everyday went to the high school, where I got off because my dad was a coach and teacher. Me and my twin brother, Tom, would hang out at the track and get to see the best athletes at Oxford High School every day,” Kendricks said. “I didn’t have much potential and I was a small kid, so I just wanted to be a part of the squad.”
Once on the squad, Kendricks turned out to be quite the pole vaulter for his father’s track and field team. Winning the state championship in both 2010 and 2011, Kendricks was named Mississippi’s Gatorade boys track and field athlete of the year in 2011.
“I really, really wanted a medal the Mississippi state meet. Every year I would drive down to Pearl or Jackson and watch the state track and field meet,” Kendricks said. “Even if I could contribute just six points to the team at state I would be happy. I saw it all happen in my 9th grade year when I got a medal. Now, there are 15 years of pole vaulting in there between when I started and where I’m at now.”
Following high school was college, where Kendricks walked on to the University of Mississippi track and field team. His coach, Scott Kendricks, who also happened to be his father, followed him to be a volunteer coach at Ole Miss and later on in his career as well. Not being able to get a scholarship didn’t deter the father and son pair from continuing to work on Kendricks pole vaulting.
“Athletically, I wasn’t good enough to get a scholarship at an SEC school, even after winning the state championship twice in high school. I still wanted to train at my time at Ole Miss and I wanted to pole vault, so I walked on to the Ole Miss track team,” Kendricks said. “It was a great situation for me because I got to live at home, got to train myself ragged everyday at the track and got access to everything I needed because I was part of the team.”
Without a guaranteed scholarship or future in pole vault, Kendricks had a back-up plan with the military.
“You never know how far your career is going to go, so you make other plans. I wanted to be an army officer,” Kendricks said. “I continued for four years in ROTC and commissioned in 2015.”
At Ole Miss, Kendricks excelled. In just his freshmen year he broke the Ole Miss pole vault record, and continued on to win both the 2013 and 2014 NCAA Championships.
“More than anything, going to Ole Miss has been one of the greatest decisions that me and my coach and my family have come to, rather than going off somewhere to chase glory, why not bring some glory to Oxford, to your hometown,” Kendricks said.
After three years pole vaulting for the Rebels, the two-time NCAA champion decided to turn professional.
“After three years at Ole Miss, I stepped away and became a professional. I got a contract and I had my hometown here to support me,” Kendricks said. “Being from Oxford became the biggest asset I had, because I had everything here in my hometown to help me.”
As a professional, Kendricks competed in and won multiple events, eventually being able to try out for the Olympic trials.
“In 2012 I went to the Olympic trials, thinking I had a spot at the trials. I got on the ground in Oregon and they had added another guy, and I became the 25th guy and no longer had a spot,” Kendricks. “At the 2016 Olympic trials, I brought my whole family to come watch me jump. I was the number one guy, the five time USA champion coming into it, so all I had to do was defend it to go to the Olympics.”
Kendricks qualified for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and eventually won a bronze medal, clearing 5.85 meters. While the Olympics were a big event for him, Kendricks was already accustomed to competing in championships.
“The Olympics were amazing, but I had already been in so many other championships. I had been to one in Russia, I had been to the NCAA championships, so the environment wasn’t that different for me,” Kendricks said. “Everybody wants me to talk eloquently about how beautiful and amazing the Olympics were, but they weren’t all that, except for the competition.”
Throughout his career, Kendricks has two state championships, two NCAA championships, back-to-back world championships and a bronze medal at the Olympics. With those 15 years of pole vaulting behind him, Kendricks is still in his athletic prime and wishes to continue in the sport for at least eight more years. After his pole vaulting career comes to an end, the former Charger says that he wants to settle down in Oxford.
“When I finally retire, I want to be able to transition to something, hopefully, here in Oxford. This is a growing town, so there might be a niche for an Olympic athlete turned small business owner, or something like that,” Kendricks said. “Something cool here where I could give back to the community would be great.”
Boys' Cross Country competes in state meet, finishes third (November/December 2019)
With just two seniors, a major injury and a team full of young runners, the Oxford Boys Cross Country team finished third in the state. Led by senior captains Walt Johnson and Sam Shelton, the team was able to place a spot higher than they did in last year’s competition at Choctaw Trails in Clinton. Sophomore Luke Johnson placed the highest on the team, running a 16:59 to secure his fifth place finish.
“Obviously, you know, we didn’t win it all like we had wanted,” Shelton said. “But with how hard we’ve trained this season and how lots of guys stepped up for this, I’m happy with how we did.”
Going into the meet, Walt Johnson was the favorite to win the whole thing, with his personal record being 15:20. He started off the race in the top three and, as the runners came around a corner for the final straightaway, Johnson was not where he was expected to be. He finished the state meet in 12th place, narrowly making the top 14.
“Even though it’s a really hard course and I wasn’t expecting to PR or anything, 12th was not what I expected,” Johnson said. “I finished third at this meet last year and really thought I had a chance to win it all because last’s year’s winner, Alexander White, had some respiratory problems during the season.”
Johnson’s problem was his foot. He had been running on an aggravated foot for some time and in the biggest meet of the year, it gave out. After the race Johnson went to the doctor and, as it turns out, he had been running on a foot with a hairline fracture for two weeks, which finally had broken.
“It probably wasn’t the best idea to run on an injured foot for two weeks,” Johnson said. “I just trained too much and too hard on it and it probably would’ve been smarter to just rest it.”
On the girls side, Oxford finished in eighth place overall with Payton Tulchinsky and Beckham McCord finishing the highest. Tulchinsky finished just .03 seconds ahead of McCord, with the two finishing in 26th and 27th place. Ahead of the boys team were Pearl and Ocean Springs, who got first and second last year as well.
“Pearl and Ocean Springs are always towards the top and usually winning,” Shelton said. “Last year it was Ocean Springs but this time around Pearl won it all. I’m pretty sure they had five guys finish in the top 15, which is crazy.”
Johnson and Shelton are done with Oxford cross country, with Johnson going to run for North Alabama. Luckily for the team, the rest of the runners are all young runners who still have years left in high school. Underclassmen Luke Johnson, Mattthew Singletary, John Scott Kendricks and Tamon Matsumura all finished in the top 36 in the state.
“Me and Walt are done with cross country, but not track, so it’s up for these younger guys to step up next year,” Shelton said. “Luke, Matthew, all of them are gonna have a chance to keep the team up there with the Pearls and Ocean Springs in Mississippi next year.”
Cromwell, Meagher to continue football careers at Navy (January 2020)
Following their historic state championship season, senior quarterback John Meagher and senior tight end Clay Cromwell are both set to attend and play football at the United States Naval Academy. For Cromwell, choosing Navy had multiple benefits.
“I chose the Naval Academy because it offered me a chance to play in Division I football,” Cromwell said. “It also allows me to pursue a career in the military, which I have always considered an option anyway.”
For Meagher, the Naval Academy has long been connected to and involved with his family. His father, Pat Meagher, played football at Navy and graduated in 1991. Meagher’s older brother, Conrey Meagher, followed their father’s footsteps as well and attended the Naval Academy. Conrey was even awarded the First Lieutenant Ron Winchester Award in 2018, an award presented to a senior recognized as an overachiever and role model on the team.
“Growing up with dad going to the Naval Academy was really cool because of all the experiences he had while going to the academy,” Meagher said. “I’m definitely thrilled to be able to follow in their footsteps.”
In addition to his family ties, Meagher feels as though the Naval Academy is the best opportunity to complete goals he has for his life.
“The Naval Academy provided me with the best opportunity to accomplish the goals that I had for my future,” Meagher said. “I’ve always wanted to serve my country, and the Naval Academy was the perfect place to go be able to do that. I’ve always wanted to be a pilot. I’ve always wanted to play college football so Navy provided me with the best place to do all of these things.”
Cromwell also has a military background in his family which influenced his childhood and his upbringing.
“I believe I’ll fit in just fine,” Cromwell said. “I grew up around the world on military bases and have been immersed in the military lifestyle and culture my entire life, so that isn’t foreign to me.”
The culture of the Midshipmen’s football program was something else that stuck out to Cromwell when deciding on his future.
“At Navy, it is more than being a part of the ‘team,’” Cromwell said. “It’s actually called the football ‘Brotherhood’ there, so I think I will really enjoy it.”
As a pair, the two often connected on the field since Meagher was the quarterback throwing to Cromwell. The first touchdown of the Charger’s season was a pass from Meagher to Cromwell against Northwest Rankin, which Cromwell caught one-handed. While Cromwell didn’t put up huge numbers in receiving yards from Meagher, he regularly blocked for the quarterback.
“As a tight end, my job a lot of times was blocking for John and protecting him,” Cromwell said. “So I feel like that is a special sort of bond between a quarterback and his linemen.”
Their connection, through Meagher’s point of view, was built off of being able to trust Cromwell while on the field.
“With Clay only playing two years of varsity football, I think we had a great connection,” Meagher said. “Clay is always a good option to throw the ball to or run behind because I know he’s going to get the job done.”
Lots of high school students attend the same in-state schools and go to college together. But, it’s not everyday that two senior football players get to play Division I football together, with this being the case for these two seniors.
“I know it’s rare to have two people from the same school, that are the same age and are both playing football, to be at the Academy together. That doesn’t happen a lot, so it’ll be nice to have someone I’ll know,” Cromwell said.