Pinecrest Academy to start athletic Hall of Fame

Article & photos courtesy of Forsyth County News –> Original Article Here

The establishment of Pinecrest Academy’s Paladin Athletic Hall of Fame would seem to be perfect timing, as it falls on the year of the school’s 25th anniversary.

That wasn’t exactly the intention, however, according to athletic director Chris Kane.

Kane had been working on the project for about eight months, drawing inspiration from area schools like Wesleyan, Marist and particularly Blessed Trinity, whose athletic director, Ricky Turner, has been a mentor to Kane.

He didn’t realize the serendipitous timing until later, though.

“It’s sort of just a perfect coincidence, I guess,” Kane said.

It’s worth noting, of course, that the timelines of Pinecrest’s existence and that of the Paladins’ status as a true high school athletic presence in the region don’t overlap perfectly. Pinecrest didn’t graduate a high school class until 2007, and it played its early years in the GISA until transitioning to GHSA competition in 2010.

Because of that, the members of this first hall of fame class, to be selected from graduating years 2007 to 2010, will largely be notable due to their role in simply getting the Paladins to the status of being competitive.

“We want to just not forget our past,” Kane said.

Possible candidates include Annelise Nevarez, a multi-sport standout who played college soccer at Christian Brothers University in Memphis; Michael Metz, who played basketball at CBU and one of the first members of a Paladins family dynasty; and Eric Quintana, who helped start Pinecrest’s soccer team and now serves as an assistant coach for the Paladins.

The inaugural class will be recognized at halftime of Pinecrest’s football game against The Walker School on Sept. 15 and will be inducted at a banquet the next day. Nominations can be made online.