Campus News 

Fourteen seniors have been named National Merit Finalists for the 2011-12 school year. Max Barzel, John David Christman, Jackson Darr, Nathan Feler, Nathan Franklin, Danny Galvin, Eli Goldstein, Garrott Graham, Carson House, Ashish Nathani, John Newman, George Ormseth, Nicholas Rouse, and Lane Sally are part of an elite group of students who are competing nationwide for more than 2,500 scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The finalists, combined with the school’s 14 National Merit Commended Students and two National Achievement Semifinalists, make up 35 percent of the Class of 2012.

The Regional Track Meet’s second day begins at 4:30 p.m. on Hull-Dobbs Athletic Field at Stokes Stadium. After the first day of field events, the Owls are in second place, just 10 points behind Christian Brothers High School. Senior John Sousoulas led the team, placing first in the long jump and second in the triple jump, and sophomore Harrison Williams took second place in the high jump.

Mr. Trey Suddarth, chairman of the Foreign Languages Department and Latin instructor, received the Distinguished Teaching Award during a chapel program on Friday, May 11. Suddarth, who is in his eighth year as an instructor at MUS, has also coached freshmen basketball and Lower School golf and tennis. In addition, he conducts the after-school academic program for Lower School students. In presenting the honor Headmaster Ellis Haguewood praised Suddarth as a scholar, athlete, and leader. He said Suddarth’s ability to make profound connections with his students and athletes is one of his defining qualities.

“He has a way of establishing remarkable rapport with his students,” Haguewood said.

The monetary award, which is supported by a permanent endowment fund, was established by former Lower School Principal John Murry Springfield. It is selected by a committee that includes the headmaster, principals of the Upper School and Lower School, and a member of the Board of Trustees. It has been awarded annually since 1990.

There will be a live webcast for the TSLA Tournament games this weekend. The games will be available to be viewed at: http://atwsportscast.com/

Streaming will begin 30 minutes prior to each game.

Friday, May 18, 2012
TSLA SCD Semi-Finals:
5 p.m.: McCallie vs. Brentwood
7:30 p.m.: MUS vs. MBA

Saturday, May 19, 2012:
3:30 p.m.: State Championship Game

The Owls defeated Father Ryan High School, 18-2, in the quarterfinals match of the Tennessee Scholastic Lacrosse Association’s state tournament. With their win, the Owls advance to the semifinals where they face Montgomery Bell Academy on Friday, May 18. Click here to download the complete 2012 TSLA state tournament bracket.

Senior Britt Colcolough was honored Monday evening by the Memphis Chapter of the National Football Foundation as one of its outstanding scholar-athletes. At the members’ annual dinner, held at Rhodes College, Colcolough was one of 11 high-school football players recognized for his contributions in athletics, academics, and community service. As a starting offensive tackle this past season, Colcolough anchored an offensive line that helped the Owls advance to the state semifinals. He also served as the president of the student council, in addition to his outstanding work in the classroom. Next year, Colcolough will attend Princeton University, where he will play football for the Tigers.

Students in Mrs. Rebecca Keel’s French classes were among more than 3,000 Tennessee students to take National French Exam. Results are scored by rankings, with a perfect score placing the student in the first rank.

Freshman Roberto Olvera scored a 68 on the first-year test, only two points away from a perfect score of 70. This result placed him in the second rank in Tennessee and in the third rank nationally. Olvera was one of only 17 Tennessee students to place in the top three national ranks. Three other freshmen scored in the upper state ranks: Jack Gray made the fourth rank, Preston Roberts the seventh and Marvin Banks the eighth. Junior Wil Rainer placed in the 10th rank in the state in the third-year competition.

Varsity Track
The squad competes at home in the Region Multi-Events Meet at 1 p.m.

Varsity Baseball vs. CBHS
The Owls host the Brothers in the first game of the Regional Championship. The game begins at 7 p.m.

Soccer vs. CBHS
The Owls travel to Christian Brothers High School to take on the Purple Wave. The junior varsity team plays at 4:30 p.m. The varsity squad begins at 6 p.m.

Seniors Lee Downen, Michael Green, and Wil Hergenrader, and sophomore Salman Haque competed in the 2012 Programming Challenge at the University of Memphis on April 28. Downen’s project, an Android operating system application written in Java, won first place in the mobile applications event.

Coach Matt Bakke will be the new varsity basketball head coach for Memphis University School, taking over a position held by Coach Jerry Peters for more than 40 years.

Before coming to MUS in 1999, Bakke coached at two Memphis-area schools – Millington High School and Rhodes College – where he guided students in basketball and track. Since starting with the Owls 12 years ago, Bakke has taken on multiple positions in the Athletic Department, from serving as the current department chair to coaching Lower School cross country, track, and varsity basketball. He also serves on the Academic Council and is a member of the Admissions Committee. Because of his dedication to building scholar-athletes of strong moral character, Bakke was awarded the 2011 Distinguished Teaching Award.

Bakke said he fully recognizes the importance of this position. Serving as Peters’ assistant for more than a decade, he watched the longtime coach continually raise the bar for excellence both on the court and in the classroom.

“It is a tremendous honor and privilege to be the MUS head basketball coach,” Bakke said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to continue the great tradition of basketball at MUS, and I’m ready to take on the challenges that lie ahead. Coaching alongside Coach Peters was one of the greatest experiences I have had in my life. He has been a mentor, a role model, and most importantly, a great friend. He provided me with a broader understanding of all the details required to run a successful basketball program, and I will use that knowledge every day as the MUS head basketball coach.”

Bakke said students, teachers, and coaches at MUS are accustomed to striving for excellence in all areas.

“We want to continue to compete at the highest level as all other MUS teams have done in the past,” Bakke said. “We anticipate having a very competitive team this season. The nucleus of our team will consist of an outstanding group of experienced seniors. We will also have several members of last year’s very strong JV team ready to contribute. We will need our best effort each practice and every game because the competition in Division II is extremely strong.”

While Bakke is focused on the upcoming season and player development, he said his first priority is student development.

“Academics come first at MUS,” Bakke said. “All of our sports teams enjoy remarkable success, and athletics are a vital part of a student’s experience here. However, our primary objective is preparing the students for college and beyond.”

As the head varsity coach, Bakke is responsible for providing direction for the entire basketball program. He said the program is in a position of strength, and with the help of his assistants, it will continue to move in a positive direction.

“The MUS basketball program has a very solid foundation at all levels,” he said. “My goal is continue to build and strengthen all of the teams in our program, from the seventh grade to the varsity. The development of these teams is essential to the ultimate success of the varsity.”

MUS received 12 nominations for the upcoming High School Musical Theatre Awards, which are hosted by The Orpheum and will take place on Thursday, May 24, at 7 p.m. The awards ceremony will include 24 participating Mid-South schools and more than 200 individual performers. The winning lead actor and actress will travel to New York City in June to compete at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway.
 
The cast, crew, and designers involved in The Producers, which ran in the Hyde Chapel in April, will compete in these 12 categories:
 
Outstanding Small Ensemble: The Little Old Ladies
Outstanding Music Direction
Outstanding Scenic Design Tier I
Outstanding Artistic Element (for overhead projections by senior Anthony Hodges)
Outstanding Production Materials (for artwork by senior Lee Marshall)
Student Technical Achievement Award, senior Carson House
Outstanding Featured Actor, freshman Baker Ball
Outstanding Musical Production Number, “I Want to be a Producer”
Outstanding Supporting Actor, senior Britt Colcolough 
Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role, Jules Jordan
Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role, junior Sam Shankman
Outstanding Overall Production

The Owls took all the top spots at the Shelby League 7th-8th Grade Tennis Tournament. In the singles finals, seventh grader Frederick Danielson defeated eighth grader Edward Apple, 6-4, 6-1. The team of eighth grader Austin Hord and seventh grader Sloan Schneiter defeated seventh graders Carter Braswell and Maxwell Varner in the doubles finals.

Fourth quarter progress reports are now available online. To access them, login to U Connect and click on "Check Grades / Schedule" on the left. If you have forgotten your username or password, go to U Connect Registration / Forgotten Password. If you have a question about a grade, contact that teacher.

Owl athletes who have earned a varsity letter may now order their letter jackets. The order form is here. The form and payment (cash or check only) needs to be turned in to Ms. Beth Taylor in the Business Office. Checks must be made payable to Memphis University School. Ms. Taylor has sample jackets for students to try on for size.

The 2012 Summer Reading List for each grade is now available online.

Did you know that most of our varsity teams “tweet” game updates and scores? Follow us on Twitter to get the latest information on game updates and final scores! Contact Mrs. Rebecca Greer in the Communications Office if you need help or more information.

Registration for MUS summer programs has begun. We have new subjects as well as returning favorites, with courses ranging from graphic novels to sports, and from ancient Greece to robots. Register, pay, print application forms, and read about each course online.

In addition to our printed publications, our emailed parenting newsletter, and our news emails or RSS feed, our Facebook pages offer extra news and fun tidbits you'll not find elsewhere.

Senior Eli Goldstein received the Commercial Appeal's Academic All-Stars award in the Mathematics category today. Selected from a field of 16 of the top math students in the Mid-South, Goldstein was among the seniors honored in 10 categories at a luncheon held at the Hilton Memphis.

"I enjoyed receiving this honor… and I appreciate it," Goldstein said.

He offered "extra thanks" to math instructor Mr. Steve Gadbois and Mrs. Nancy Gates, chairman of the Mathematics Department, for their guidance.

“I have taught gifted mathematics students for more than 30 years, and Eli Goldstein is one of the most talented students that I have taught in my career,” Gates said.

Among his many accomplishments in academics, athletics, and the arts, Goldstein earned a perfect 36 on his ACT and a perfect score on the SAT in both Critical Reading and Math.

In their first year of competition, Mr. John Knaff’s economics class battled their way through the state competition and into the national semifinals of the 2012 National Economics Challenge. Over 5,700 students from 325 schools took part in the competition. The Owls placed ninth in the nation.

The MUS a cappella choral ensemble, Beg To Differ, won the men's choir division and a gold medal at the recent New York Heritage Music Festival. Mr. John Hiltonsmith, acting chair of the Fine Arts Department and Beg To Differ director, said the group received a combined score of 94 out of 100 and an invitation to attend the Festival at Carnegie Hall next year. Members include seniors Nathan Feler, Eli Goldstein, Garrott Graham, David Lee, Ashish Nathani, Aaron Noble, David Protheroe, and Lane Sally; juniors Tripp Crews, Fraser Humphreys, Christian Patterson, and Sam Shankman; sophomores Andrew Counce, Rashaan Jiles, Samuel Ostrow and Paul Stevenson; and freshmen Andrew Elsakr, and Sherman Tabor.

Owls recently earned more than 8 percent of the gold medals and more than 10 percent of the silver medals awarded in the 2012 National Spanish Exam, which is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

In the Level 1 competition junior Marshall Sharp placed second and freshman Andrew Elsakr placed 10th in the state. Sophomore Alec Carro took first place in the Outside Experience category, with sophomore Josh Douglass following at fourth place. Sophomore Harrison Williams placed second in the general Level 2 category, with sophomores Aditya Shah at sixth and William Lamb at 10th. In the Level 3 exam, junior Blake Smith took the eighth spot in the state.

MUS students earned a total of 18 gold, 33 silver, and 23 bronze medals as well as 59 honorable mentions in the 2012 National Spanish Exam. Gold medalists scored at or above the 95th percentile.  About 144,000 students in sixth through 12th grade took the test nationwide.

Walsworth Publishing Company has inducted the 2012 yearbook into its Gallery of Excellence, a collection of the company’s best yearbooks. This honor recognizes Editors Will Forsythe, Mark Sorensen, and Ross Warner and their work in all areas of the creative process – from the photos and layout, to themes and written content. As an inductee in the Gallery of Excellence, The Owl will be used by Walsworth as a model for other schools to follow in their creation of yearbooks. This is the third time in the last four years that our yearbook has been chosen.

The Owls won their fifth consecutive state championship at the 56th annual Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention. The event was held in Murfreesboro, April 13-14, and more than 800 students from 35 schools attended. MUS boys scored 1,497 points, surpassing the record set last year of 1,238 points.

The Commercial Appeal has announced its finalists and teams named to the "Best of the Preps" list, which recognizes the best high school athletes in Memphis. Senior Crews Wellford and junior Pace Clark were named finalists in the swimming category, in addition to making the cut for the Best of the Preps Boys Team. Bryan Parker, the swim team’s head coach, was honored as the Boys Coach of the Year. Junior Noah Thomas earned a spot on the Preps Boys Team for bowling, the basketball team had a share of selections, with senior Danny Galvin and junior Nourse Fox being named to the Private School Boys Team.

Ten seventh graders recently participated in Duke University’s Talent Identification Program. TIP identifies students who score in the 95th percentile of their grade-level achievement tests and asks them to take the ACT or SAT in seventh grade in order to assess the country’s academic potential. Those recognized by the program have access to summer enrichment programs, learning tools, and online classes.

Five Owls, Albert Alexander, Henry Holmes, David Jordan, Ramiz Somjee, and Jacob Suppiah qualified for state recognition. Holmes, Jordan, Somjee, and Suppiah also qualified to participate in Duke’s Center for Summer Studies, and Suppiah’s scores earned him the nationwide Grand Recognition.

Junior Andrew Raves is one of only 45 students chosen to attend the National Rifle Association’s National Youth Education Summit, taking place this summer in Washington, DC. The program is a weeklong educational experience in the nation’s capital. As part of the curriculum, sophomores and juniors from across the United States study the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in order to develop a keen understanding of government and the importance of being an active member of a democracy.

The varsity baseball team fought their way to a second-place finish in the USA Classic, held April 4-7. The Owls defeated Arlington High School in the semifinals, then fell to Utah’s Bingham High School in the finals.

Junior Pace Clark qualified in the 200-meter butterfly for the 2012 Olympic Team Trials, clocking a time of 2:03.52. Clark will attend tryouts in Omaha, NE, on June 27.

The fencing team took first place at the Tennessee Secondary School Fencing Championships held on Saturday, March 31, in Franklin. Twelve teams battled for Tennessee’s top honors. The Owls took the overall championship by winning both epee and saber team events as well as a second-place finish in the foil team event.

Every student in Mr. John Knaff’s economics class qualified for the 2012 Tennessee EconChallenge after completing online tests, handwritten exams, and quiz-bowl style competitions that all were designed to tests the students' knowledge of microeconomics, macroeconomics, and international economics. In qualifying, the Owls’ two teams placed among the top five teams in the state.
The A Team consisted of seniors Daniel Cunningham, Edward Francis, William George, and Daniel Harris. The B Team was comprised of seniors Victor Cole, Jackson Darr, and Jake Greenstein. Both teams will travel to Nashville on Wednesday, April 11, to compete in the State Finals.

Latin students across the country took the 2012 National Latin Exam in March. Eighteen Owls received perfect scores on the test, and 99 students were awarded Summa Cum Laude Gold Medals for scoring among the top 10 percent nationwide. Owls also earned 31 Maxima Cum Laude Silver Medals, 20 Magna Cum Laude awards, and 15 Cum Laude recognitions.

Students in French and Spanish classes competed in the University of Memphis’ annual Language Fair, held on Saturday, March 31. The fair included many different competitions and events, such as dance contests, poetry recitations, language tests, and quiz-bowl competitions, which showcased foreign languages and cultures. More than 750 students, from 22 high schools, participated in the day’s festivities. Of the 10 MUS students who attended, two took home awards: freshman Jack Gray won third place in the French I Vocabulary Quiz, and freshman Xavier Greer placed third in the Spanish I Vocabulary Quiz.

The quiz bowl team faced off against seven schools in the Tupelo High School Academic Invitational Quiz Bowl Tournament on Saturday, March 31, and finished second overall. The team consisted of juniors Farhan Kathawala, Andrew Raves, and Amit Shah, and sophomores Shivam Bhakta and Aditya Shah.

County Commissioner Heidi Shafer presented Coach Jerry Peters with a resolution on Monday, March 26. Surrounded by alumni and family, Peters accepted the resolution honoring his 52 years of service at MUS, his deep roots in the Memphis community, and his 1000th-win milestone reached on January 30, 2012.

The school hosted the MUS Open fencing tournament on Saturday, March 24, and the Owls defended their home floor well, taking more medals than the competing teams from Christian Brothers High School, Collierville High School, and St. George’s Independent School. Junior Drew Hutson won a gold medal in the saber division, and freshman Jeffrey Zheng placed second, earning silver. Zheng also placed in the Open Foil competition, where he fought his way to a bronze medal. In the Y-14 foil division, seventh grader Mackey Alexander received a silver medal, and seventh graders Dylan Riggs and Will Tomes won bronze.

Junior Sam Shankman has been accepted to the Musical Theatre Studio program at Emerson College in Boston, MA. For five weeks during the summer, Shankman will train in an intensive course of study that includes master classes in singing, dancing, and acting.

The varsity tennis team traveled to the Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach, CA, during Spring Break and won the Consolation Championship of the National Invitational Boys Team Tennis Tournament. The Owls went 4-1, and sophomore Walker Sims was named to the All-Tournament Team. Go, Owls!

Senior Carson House has been named a Cellular South Academic All-Star in the Career-Technical category. House designs sets for theater productions, where he works with both power tools and design software. House was an integral member of the school’s championship-winning team in the 2012 [WREG] News Channel 3 Knowledge Bowl. He is also a keen mathematician, placing among the top five competitors in the University of Tennessee’s Pro2Serve Math Contest. He has qualified twice for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination, a test for the nation’s best math students. House has been inducted into the math, Spanish, and Latin honor societies as well as the school’s most prestigious academic honor society, Cum Laude.

The Knowledge Bowl team defeated Munford High School, 290-140, in the finals of the [WREG] News Channel 3 Knowledge Bowl Tournament. Munford started strong with a 50-0 run, but the Owls closed the gap and eventually outpaced the Cougars. Knowledge Bowl team members are seniors Jackson Darr, Eli Goldstein, Carson House, and Nicholas Rouse. Senior Ashish Nathani served as an alternate. The finals match will air on News Channel 3 on Saturday, May 26, at 9 a.m.

Sophomore John Richardson and freshmen Alex Carruthers and Preston Roberts were formally recognized for achieving the Boy Scouts of America’s highest honor, the rank of Eagle Scout. On Sunday, January 29, BSA Troop 55 hosted an Eagle Scout Court of Honor, where the boys were commended for their accomplishments and received their awards. Headmaster Ellis Haguewood, who earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1960, presented the invocation.

Junior Nathan Vogt has been accepted to the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Sciences. The program will provide an introduction to scientific reasoning and an in-depth elective course in biology, chemistry, mathematics, or physics. It will take place June 3 through July 7 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Along with the recent acceptances of juniors A.J. Kharbanda (School for the Arts) and Amit Shah (School for International Studies), Vogt’s acceptance to the School for the Sciences results in the greatest number of MUS students selected in a single year by the Tennessee Governor’s Schools.

On Saturday, February 25, MUS hosted fencers from Christian Brothers High School, St. George’s Independent School, Memphis Fencing Club, and University of Mississippi for the MUS Open, and the Owls defended their home turf well.

Junior Drew Hutson won the open saber competition, with junior Utkarsh Mishra and freshman Andrew Elsakr tying for third, sophomore Travis Floyd placing fifth, and junior Bennett Mercer finishing eighth. In the epee event, juniors Ben Taylor, Jared Ashkenaz, and Aaron Clifft placed third, sixth, and seventh, respectively. In the foil event, freshman Jeffrey Zheng came in tenth, and sophomore Samuel Ostrow placed 13th. The Lower School Owls dominated the foil event. Eighth grader Kevin Tu won the event, and seventh graders Mackey Alexander and William Bragg tied for third.

Junior Amit Shah was accepted to the Tennessee Governor’s School for International Studies. The international studies program is a rigorous, four-week course of study that covers political science, economics, anthropology, and foreign languages. Shah’s interest in international studies stems from his participation in Model U.N., where he has mediated fierce debates as the General Assembly Vice President. Shah hopes to continue his engagement with global issues, such as governmental debt, in the Governor’s School. The University of Memphis will host the program from June 2 to June 30.

Senior Eli Goldstein wrestled his way to the semifinals of the 2012 TSSAA Division II State Wrestling Tournament, held February 17-18, in the Williamson County Agricultural Exposition Arena in Franklin. While Goldstein lost in the semifinals to the eventual champion, he went on to defeat a challenger from Christian Brothers High School and secured a third-place finish.

Amid their fellow students, family members, and faculty, 21 Owls were inducted into the Cum Laude Society during a chapel ceremony on Friday, February 24. This achievement is the highest academic honor bestowed upon students in a secondary school. As expressed in the society’s motto, “Areté (Excellence), Diké (Justice), Timé (Honor),” eligibility in the Cum Laude Society demands its students meet the highest standards in academic performance, character, and personal conduct.
 
Inductees included seniors Lee Downen, Nathan Franklin, John Grayson, Michael Green, John Newman, Nicholas Rouse, Ross Warner, and Andrew Wilensky; and juniors Jared Ashkenaz, William Hoehn, Farhan Kathawala, A.J. Kharbanda, Andrew Miller, David Montgomery, Andrew Raves, Andrew Renshaw, Brian Ringel, Marshall Sharp, Edward Simpson, Blake Smith, and Nathan Vogt.

Junior A.J. Kharbanda was accepted to the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts. He is one of only 230 students from across the state selected to participate in the four-week residency program for high school students gifted in music, visual art, theatre, dance, and filmmaking. Kharbanda plans to study filmmaking, where he will collaborate with other students in writing, directing, and producing a short film. The 2012 TGSFTA program will take place from June 3 to June 29 at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

At the Junior Olympic National Championships held in Salt Lake City, UT, from Friday, February 17, through Sunday, February 20, junior Ben Taylor finished 3-3 in the first round, equaling our best first-round result ever in the Junior Olympics. Taylor got his third win over Arthur Nemeth, a nationally-ranked fencer, in his final bout. Nemeth, at that point, was 5-0 and had just beaten the eventual silver medalist Nick Hanahan. Taylor finished in 139th place, top-ranked in Cadet Men’s Epee in Tennessee. Other noteworthy achievements from the championships are as follows:
 
  •  Junior Drew Hutson was the overall top-ranked Men’s Saber in Tennessee at 136th.
  •  Sophomore Doug McClew was the overall top-ranked Men’s Foil in Tennessee at 162nd.

The final rounds of Shelby League Tennis Tournament were held on Thursday, April 26, at the Dunavant-Wellford Tennis Center. It was an all-MUS affair. Seventh grader Frederick Danielson claimed the overall singles championship when he defeated eighth grader Edward Apple, 6-4, in the singles finals.

The team of eighth grader Austin Hord and seventh grader Sloan Schneiter defeated seventh graders Carter Braswell and Maxwell Varner in the doubles finals, after a thriller that finished 12-10 in a third-set tiebreaker.

Senior Wil Hergenrader was awarded the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Presidential Scholarship, the school’s most prestigious merit scholarship. The full-tuition award is offered to approximately 75 high-school seniors. Hergenrader was one of only 30 students from outside of Georgia and one of only three from Tennessee to receive the scholarship.

The powerhouse team of eighth graders Witt Fesmire, Grayson Lee, Jason Lin, Saatvik Mohan, Murray Morrison, Patrick Murphy, Patton Orr, and Daniel Tancredi; and seventh graders Brooks Eikner and Alex Salazar took first place at the regional MATHCOUNTS competition on Saturday, February 4. They will advance to the next competition in Nashville on March 17, where mathletes from throughout the state will battle for the opportunity to continue to the national competition. Go, Owls!

The Crusaders of First Assembly Christian School made the Owls work hard last night to earn Coach Jerry Peters’ 1,000th win. MUS faculty, alumni, and students filled Ross Lynn Arena last night and cheered Peters and the varsity team to a 47-36 win.

According to the National High School Sports Record Book, Peters is now a member of an elite group of boys coaches – one of only 11 in history to reach 1,000 victories.

Approximately 680 of the state’s best high school math students competed in the 2011 Pro2Serve competition held on the campus of University of Tennessee Knoxville in October. Of the 50 mathletes who advanced to the second stage of testing, seven Owls held seats: senior Mark Sorensen; juniors Walker Bussey-Spencer and William Hoehn; sophomores Matthew Gayoso and Garret Sullivan; and freshmen Baty Daniel and Richard Ouyang. Sullivan placed in the top five and Ouyang finished in the top ten, thereby naming them state winners and scholarship recipients. Go, Owls!

Senior Britt Colcolough was awarded the 2011 National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Award in Writing. A total of 1,649 U.S. students were nominated, but only 520 were recognized as outstanding writers. Both high school and college English teachers evaluated each nominee’s essay. Within Tennessee, Colcolough was one of only 16 students who were presented this award.

Senior Crews Wellford announced that he will swim for the University of Alabama as he signed his letter of intent on Tuesday, November 15. Wellford is the captain of the 2011-12 swimming team and the first MUS athlete to sign a letter of intent to swim at the collegiate level.

Senior Victor Cole gave a verbal agreement this summer to play baseball for the University of Memphis, but on Friday, November 11, he made it official by signing a letter of intent. Cole is a 2011 Best of the Preps Player of the Year finalist and the Owls’ starting pitcher this year.

Two seniors, Anthony Hodges and Jazz Singh, have been named National Achievement Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Hodges and Singh are two of 1,600 semifinalists who are competing for National Achievement Scholarships.

Fifteen seniors have been named National Merit Semifinalists for the 2011-12 school year. Max Barzel, John David Christman, Jackson Darr, Nathan Feler, Nathan Franklin, Danny Galvin, Eli Goldstein, Garrott Graham, Jake Greenstein, Carson House, Ashish Nathani, John Newman, George Ormseth, Nicholas Rouse, and Lane Sally are part of an elite group of students nationwide who are competing for more than 2,500 scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. These Owls, together with the school’s 14 National Merit Commended Students and two National Achievement Semifinalists, make up 36 percent of the Class of 2012.

The College Board has released scores from its most recent Advanced Placement exams. More than 90 percent of the MUS students who took AP exams scored a three or higher. Even more noteworthy are the results from the Calculus BC exam. Every Owl that took the exam made a perfect five.

The West Tennessee Historical Society recognized MUS with the Paul R. Coppock Award on August 10 for the school’s outstanding commitment to advancing the study of local history. The school has long hosted WTHS events and the campus’ Hyde Library houses a large archive of local history.

Seniors James Akers, Forrest Baty, William Cross, Matt Montsinger, Nathan Prosser, Russell Scott, Carson Smith, Drew Thibado, J.P. Wheeler, and Ben Zambetti, and juniors Charles Belina, Danny Galvin, Eli Goldstein, Wil Hergenrader, Carson House, Daniel McLeod, George Ormseth, Mark Sorensen, and Alex Weinstein were inducted into the Cum Laude Society, the highest academic honor a high school student can receive.