The halls at Jackson County High School are growing busier each year, and so is the volleyball court.
As the county’s population surges, more students are filling classrooms, lockers and tryout lists. The squeak of sneakers and the thud of volleyballs echo through the gym as coaches call out drills, a reflection of how fast the community and its competition are growing.
With more players trying out than ever, coaches and athletes have had to adjust to a more selective environment that’s reshaping team dynamics. As the Panthers close the book on their season, which included a second-round playoff run for the second straight year, Laura Keefer is already reflecting on what she learned in her first year leading the program.
“So when I came for tryouts in May, we had 72 girls here for tryouts, and that was a lot,” Keefer said. “I’ve been at a smaller private school for the past nine years, but even when I talked to other friends in public high schools and I told them how many girls we had, they said that’s a really big number, too.”
Over the past decade, Jackson County has been one of Georgia’s fastest-growing areas. The high school, which opened in 2021 to accommodate the surge in population, has already hit capacity. Public development director Jamie Dove said the county’s growth is fueled by its location and livability.
“There are just a lot of things to drive people here,” Dove said. Jackson County is an interstate drive away from Atlanta and Greenville, S.C., “and I’m a day trip to the beach and a two-hour drive to the mountains. So it’s a gem of a location.”
Jackson County’s population jumped from 75,907 in 2020 to an estimated 93,825 in 2024, according to the development department.
For two years in a row now, we have been the fourth-fastest-growing county in the country,” Dove said.
At Jackson County High, that growth has led to what students call “learning cottages,” temporary classrooms used to handle overflow. Siena Berthold, a senior at Jackson County and member of the volleyball team, mentioned this.
“They’re called learning cottages,” Berthold said, “but they’re not learning cottages — they’re trailers.”
SOURCE: Georgia High School Association, ghsa.net. (Graphic/Ellie English)
Keefer brought two decades of experience from smaller schools and club teams to Jackson County High’s volleyball program. Now that the season is over, Keefer said the tryout and cut process is still on her mind, especially as she thinks ahead to next year.
“The positive side of that is I had a lot of talent in the gym to choose from,” Keefer said. “The hard part is I don’t think everybody realizes it’s truly a gut-wrenching process for me. I had to cut a lot of talent.”
For players, the population boom means that earning a jersey is no longer guaranteed. The competition drives everyone to push harder and succeed.
“It’s just a great group because everyone wants to play volleyball,” Berthold said. “You have more competition, so everyone wants to play better.”
The volleyball team’s rise mirrors growing community pride. Home matches now draw bigger crowds. Jackson County Schools have also made athletic and academic expansion a strategic priority.
“Our board of education does a great job of letting us hire earlier than other school systems,” Hooper said. “It’s a daily tracking of enrollment, and for human resources, it’s a daily tracking of students.”
So far, the volleyball program has not faced gym or scheduling conflicts with other sports. Keefer said the athletic department’s collaboration has been essential to that success.
Our administration does a fantastic job and really all of our teams together,” Keefer said. “We support each other.”
As Jackson County prepares to open Hoschton High School in 2027 to accommodate population growth, the volleyball program at Jackson County High School may eventually face a split, with players and families drawn toward the new school. This shift could reshape existing rivalries and create new opportunities for athletes across the county.
After one season coaching in Jackson County, Keefer said she now better understands how deep that talent pool runs, and how a future school could split and reshape it.
“I imagine most of the upperclassmen would stay and want to finish out and graduate where they’ve been,” Keefer said. “As far as the long term, obviously the pool of talent like we’ve had these huge numbers coming in right, that’s going to be divided now.”
Ellie English is a student in the undergraduate certificate program at the Carmical Sports Media Institute at UGA.
Women’s Track & Field Rookie of the Week – Lola Gitlin
Lola Gitlin won the 3,000-meter race by more than 12 seconds at Cornell’s Southern Tier Invitational as she clocked a time of 10:37.55. Gitlin’s time is good for 24th nationally.
Women’s Track & Field – Field Performer of the Week – Lily Seyfert
Lily Seyfert placed third in the shot put at the Cornell Southern Tier Invitational with a mark of 12.72 meters, which is just shy of her top mark of 12.78 this season (17th in Division III). Seyfert also finished third in the weight throw at 16.20 meters and ranks eighth in the country after that performance.
Men’s Track & Field Rookie of the Week – Raphael Campanile
Raphael Campanile placed fifth in the pole vault with a mark of 4.50 meters at the Cornell Southern Tier Invitational on Saturday and currently ranks 25th in Division III with that performance.
HONOR ROLL
Matthew Zenker totaled 44 points on 18-of-31 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds and three steals in a 1-1 week for Ithaca. Zenker netted 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting in a 101-72 win over RIT and followed up with 24 points and eight rebounds as he shot 10-of-15 from the floor in a loss to Union.
Junior forward McNamara delivered a pair of strong performances despite setbacks against RIT and Union. Against the Tigers, she was flawless from the floor, going 3-for-3 while adding seven rebounds and two blocks. She carried that momentum into the Union matchup, coming just shy of her first career double-double with nine points and eight boards.
Shenandoah University men’s volleyball freshman Simon Bellenbaum was named the ODAC’s Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
The York, Pennsylvania, native accumulated six solo blocks and eight digs in SU’s two matches against Randolph and Regent, with three blocks in each game and five digs versus the Royals.
Boys’ basketball: Sherando 48, Strasburg 44
STEPHENS CITY — Sherando defeated Strasburg for its fourth straight win on Monday. The Warriors are 9-4.
Girls’ basketball: Strasburg 39, Sherando 29
STRASBURG — Strasburg completed a season sweep with a win over Sherando on Monday.
The Warriors (3-11) trailed 18-7 after one quarter, 23-10 at the half and 29-22 after three quarters.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Two Keene State College student-athletes honored by the Little East Conference for their achievements accomplished for the week of January 5-11.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Freshman diver Keegan Johnson (Durham, N.H.) was named the LEC Diver of the Week and the Rookie Diver of the Week from his dives across the Owls’ final two home meets this season over the past weekend. Against Eastern Connecticut State University, Johnson placed first in the 1M diving with a score of 129.75 on Friday afternoon, and on Saturday morning against Norwich University, he placed first in the 1M diving with a score of 141.38 and first in the 3M diving with a score of 170.31.
Johnson and the Owls return to action for a double-dual meet against Brandeis University and Bridgewater State University on Saturday, January 17 at 12:00 PM.
Men’s Indoor Track and Field
Senior Eden Damis (Nashua, N.H.) was named the LEC Field Athlete of the Week from his performance at the Middlebury Snowflake Invitational on Saturday for the Owls. In the long jump, Damis posted a mark of 14.00 in the triple just for a new personal record in his final attempt of the day. His mark became the 21st best mark in NCAA Division III on the season, just one position for qualifying for nationals later this season.
Damis and the Owls return to action at the Panther Invitational I at Plymouth State University on Saturday, January 17, at 10:00 AM.
PITMAN — The New Jersey Athletic Conference announced its women’s indoor track & field weekly honors for the week ending Jan. 11
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
LUCIA GARCIA-BELTRAN • The College of New Jersey
Senior • Hopewell, NJ/Hopewell Valley Central
Garcia-Beltran earned NJAC Track Athlete of the Week honors after setting a new program record in the 60 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The senior sprinter and Rutgers transfer clocked a time of 7.63 seconds, which ranks fifth in NCAA Division III.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
SARAH SCEPKOWSKI • The College of New Jersey
Senior • Garwood, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson
Scepkowski claimed NJAC Field Athlete of the Week recognition after clearing 1.60 meters in the high jump at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The senior’s mark ranks 20th in NCAA Division III and stands as one of the top performances in the conference this season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
AMELIA VITALE • Farmingdale State College
Freshman • Hauppauge, NY/Hauppauge
Vitale was named NJAC Rookie of the Week after posting a time of 2:30.87 in the 800 meters at the Spartan Invitational. The freshman’s performance represents the top mark in the event thus far in the NJAC this season and establishes her as the conference’s early leader in the middle-distance event.
PITMAN — The New Jersey Athletic Conference announced its men’s indoor track & field weekly honors for the week ending Jan. 11.
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
MAXIM RYCHKOV • The College of New Jersey
Sophomore • Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville
Rychkov earned NJAC Track Athlete of the Week honors after setting a new program record in the 400 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The sophomore clocked a time of 47.95 seconds, which ranks sixth in Division III. Rychkov’s record-breaking performance also leads both the NJAC and NCAA Metro Region in the event.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
BRADEN PAULMENN • The College of New Jersey
Sophomore • Monmouth Junction, NJ/South Brunswick
Paulmenn claimed NJAC Field Athlete of the Week recognition after a strong showing in two throwing events at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The sophomore recorded a mark of 15.38 meters in the shot put (third place) and 13.98 meters in the weight throw (fourth place). His weight throw mark ranks third in the NJAC and 10th in the Metro Region. Paulmenn also owns the second-best shot put mark in the NJAC and NCAA Metro Region and is 26th in Division III.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
VICTOR AKINBOBOYE • The College of New Jersey
Freshman • Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty
Akinboboye was named NJAC Rookie of the Week after clocking a time of 35.54 seconds in the 300 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The freshman’s performance ranks 18th in Division III and establishes him as one of the top first-year sprinters in the conference.
Oldani had a match-high and career-high 10 digs in BYU’s season opener Friday night in Provo. He added another three digs on Saturday. Oldani also had five blocks over the two matches, as the Cougars started the season 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season.
Oldani is one of three transfers from Grand Canyon on this season’s BYU squad. He was a key contributor as a freshman last season for the Antelopes and has picked up where he left off with the Cougars.
Oldani and the No. 8 Cougars won in back-to-back sweeps last weekend over Saint Francis and have two more home matches this Friday and Saturday, as No. 10 UC San Diego visits the Smith Fieldhouse.
