LSHS celebrates new field and track
Lexington City Schools Superintendent Dr. Anitra Wells (left) and LCS Board of Education Chairman Darrick Horton hold scissors, together, as they prepare to cut the ribbon signifying LSHS’ new field and track is ready to be utilized. {Kassaundra Shanette Lockhart/Davidson Local}
Lexington Senior High School hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday afternoon, August 17 at Philpott Memorial Stadium. Celebrating the school’s new astroturf field and track, former and current students and student-athletes, staff, alumni, board of education members, elected officials, Hall of Famers and community supporters gathered to bear witness to the ceremonial “out with the old, in with the new.”
Roland Carter, LSHS staffer, served as announcer for the event. Former Lexington City Schools District Athletic Director and the person credited with the vision for what’s now a reality at Philpott, Ronnie Beverly, was the master of ceremonies. Donning his orange Hall of Fame blazer, Beverly thanked those in attendance and the individuals instrumental in bringing the plan to fruition.
Attendees heard from various speakers including LSHS’ new athletic director, Trevei Foreman, new LSHS principal, Eric Puryear, Sr., LSHS’ all time leading rusher and Hall of Famer, Joe McIntosh, LSHS alumna, track state champion and Norfolk State University student-athlete, Alyssa Thompson-Rowe and boy’s soccer coach, Tom Jackson.
After the ribbon cutting, Dr. Anitra Wells, LCS superintendent shared a few thoughts. Next, all student-athletes were invited on to the field to “run through the banner.” The LSHS cheerleaders treated the crowd to a couple of cheers after a few back flips were showcased by members of the football team.
LSHS’s boy’s soccer players were the first team to christen the new field. A match against Central Davidson High School was held that evening. The game ended in a tie.
Field/Track notes:
The funds to pay for this project were obtained from:
Davidson County Board of Commissioners
LCS Board of Education General Fund Balance
State issued lottery funds
As stated in a press release from LCS:
The success of this project would support the following:
Building a healthy community by providing a fun and safe environment for families to come together and fellowship. This project was designed to strengthen family dynamics and enhance their experience in spending quality time together locally.
Providing extracurricular options to get students more involved. Two factors that come into play when people are researching youth crime are boredom and a lack of supervision. A blooming athletics program and facility gives students a place to belong and helps reduce antisocial behavior.
Providing high quality fields that can generate future revenue for LCS and the city of Lexington through:
AAU tournaments
Conference and state matches
Facility rentals
Videos from the ceremony can be found on our Facebook page. All photos are by Kassaundra Shanette Lockhart/Davidson Local.
