By Britt Smith, Principal, J.R. Arnold High School
Arnold High School prides itself on providing our students with a Triple-A educational experience! These A’s represent Academics, Arts, and Athletics. The success of our Marlins can be seen in the various awards bestowed upon them each year. This month we spotlight our Marlin Athletic programs and their success in both competitions and in the classroom!
Athletically, Arnold High School once again had the highest achieving sports program in Bay County and in the Panhandle. The Florida High School Athletic Association awards the Floyd E. Lay Sunshine Cup All-Sports Award to schools based on the level of success of all sports programs. Overall, Arnold High School placed fourth in 5A Class rankings for the Sunshine Cup. Our Lady Marlins finished third in the state while our Marlins got sixth. We are proud to say that we are the highest-ranked public school in Florida’s 5A classification!
Last year our Marlins achieved several feats that no other school was able to achieve. For example, both our boys and girls soccer teams played for the FHSAA State Championship. Our Marlins earned the State Champion title while our Lady Marlins were the State Runner Up. In weightlifting, our Lady Marlins earned the State Championship title and the boys team got the second-highest point total during the Championship match. This was the first time that a school in Bay County had a single high school win FHSAA State Championships in both boys and girls sports during the same year.
Our boys and girls teams were consistently performing at the highest levels throughout the year. Over 90% of our sports teams competed in the FHSAA State playoffs. Four Arnold student-athletes earned individual state championships.
While our teams and individual athletes have had tremendous success athletically, they are also excelling in the classroom. For example, Arnold earned the highest GPA award for all Winter Sports Teams and during the school year, seven of our athletic teams earned the highest GPA for all teams during the time their sport was in season. The overall grade point average for Arnold athletes was 3.53. These grades represent the pride and dedication our athletes, their coaches, and the teachers have in being a “student-athlete.”
For many of our Marlins, this success in both athletic competition and in the classroom resulted in a dozen of our seniors earning college scholarships to continue their sports and academic careers at the next level.
The 2021-2022 school year looks to be another excellent opportunity for Marlins to demonstrate their championship-caliber skills as scholars and athletes! #GoMarlins
