Jackie Hamilton of Calvary Day won the Girls Overall Coach of the Year Award Monday at the Coastal Empire High School Sports Awards, presented by Georgia Ports.
The show was produced with support from Chatham Orthopaedic Associates.
Other finalists were Steve Ricciardi of Savannah Arts cross country and Deedee Colter of the Savannah Christian track and field team.
Hamilton is a Calvary Day man through and through — from his days as a star multi-sport athlete with the Cavaliers to his stellar career as a coach at his alma mater.
This season was his last leading the Calvary Day girls basketball team — and the Cavs sent their leader out in style as they won the Region 3-3A regular season and tournament titles before making a memorable playoff run to the state semifinals.
He closed out his career with 429 career wins, with five Final Four appearances and a Class A State championship in 2008. But Hamilton’s influence and impact went far beyond the basketball court. He made lifelong relationships with his players and their families, and taught lessons about everyday life — which made him a coach that players loved to compete for.
Ricciardi lead the Panthers to the Class 2A state championship, as the Panthers became the first girls team from the Greater Savannah area in GHSA state cross country history to win a state title since the competition began in 1975.
The Panthers were coming off a second-place finish at the Class 3A state meet the year before and had a team stacked with talent from top to bottom.
Senior Margaret Wade won the individual title by nearly 20 seconds and won all her races all season, except for one — a national caliber race where she was second.
Lyric Olson and Ava Coffey were also All-Greater Savannah first-team selections under Ricciardi, who has been selected as the All-Greater Savannah coach of the year four times combined, with one coming as the Panther’s boys coach.
Colter, in her 16th year leading the Savannah Christian track and field program, had another excellent campaign.
She was able to see her junior long jumper Jadyn Singleton win the Class 3A state gold medal and then go on to finish third in the Wingfoot Night of Champions in Atlanta against state champions in all enrollment classifications with a personal best jump of 18-9.
Senior high jumper Maggie Byrd finished second in the state meet for the Raiders and on the boys side, Jamari McIvory won gold medals in the 200 meters and 400 meters.
In all, the Raiders came home for the Class 3A State track and field meet with 10 medals, including medals won by relay teams.
