Winners of the 13th annual Punt, Pass and Kick championships were crowned recently at White Sulphur Springs Elementary School during the first 9 weeks awards. One hundred and thirty-five (135) students in grades three through five competed during PE classes for school championships in Boys and Girls grade and overall categories.
Students were allowed three tries each in punting, passing and kicking a football for distance and accuracy, with the highest total of all three winning the Grand Champion prize. Winners of the individual events were the longest and most accurate in each grade and sex category.
“The two-week contest followed a teaching unit on football,” said WSSES PE teacher Tracy Asbury. “As you would expect, younger children do not know much about the game of football, but what amazed me most were the number of students that didn’t even know which end of the ball to hold onto when throwing a football,” he said. This was our 13th year for the contest and there were seven new school records set.
The PE classes are now involved in 7-on-7 flag football games where each student is assigned a pass pattern to run. “Playing the games at the end of the unit really helped me evaluate how well the students grasped the instruction,” Asbury said. “I believe that most students are stigmatized by the perceived violence of football. Once we broke the game down into small chunks of information for them, they understood the finer points of football, not just the collisions. We are having some very competitive games in class, fun to watch.”
Notable performances were third grader Addie Miller winning four events and setting three girls school records, including the Pass at 56’ topping the previous record from 2011! Henderson Bostic won three events in boys 4th grade, Kayleigh Golden set a new mark for 4th grade girls Punting 64’2”and 173 total points, and Karsen Counts kicked 76’ to break an 11-year-old third grade record! All students gave their very best effort and that is what the challenges at WSSES are all about. Whether you fall short or climb high, your effort tells the truth.
WSSES would like to dedicate this year’s Punt Pass and Kick contest to Ronald Edward Asbury a wonderful father and youth sports coach that led many youth down the right path of life, and instilling a passion for sports and personal discipline, coaching for 57 years and parenting for 63 years!
2022 WSSE Punt Pass & Kick – Boys
Third Grade
Grand Champion: Karsen Counts, 143’
Punt Champion: Aiden Hambrick, 57’
Pass Champion: Henley Anderson, 52’
Kick Champion: Karsen Counts, 76’
(new school record)
Fourth Grade
Grand Champion: Henderson Bostic, 222’
Punt Champion: Henderson Bostic, 71’
Pass Champion: Henderson Bostic, 79’
(new school record)
Kick Champion: Ryker Adwell, 72’
Fifth Grade
Grand Champion: Colton Anderson, 204’9”
Punt Champion: Emil Applegate, 59
Pass Champion: Caleb Clendennin, 69’
Kick Champion: Colton Anderson, 91’3”
2022 WSSE Punt Pass & Kick – Girls
Third Grade
Grand Champion: Addie Miller, 165’
(new school record)
Punt Champion: Addie Miller, 45’
Pass Champion: Addie Miller, 56’
(new school record)
Kick Champion: Addie Miller, 64’
(new school record)
Fourth Grade
Grand Champion: Kayleigh Golden, 173’
(new school record)
Punt Champion: Kayleigh Golden, 64’2”
(new school record)
Pass Champion: Kayleigh Golden, 59’
Kick Champion: Kayleigh Golden, 50’
Fifth Grade
Grand Champion: Korynn Huffman, 179’
Punt Champion: Caitlynn McMillion, 54’
Pass Champion: Korynn Huffman, 77’4”
Kick Champion: Caitlynn McMillion, 61’