FASD, expecting success, preps for spring sports

Although not the largest of our six school districts, Fairfield Area School District (FASD) brings a vibrant sports program to the table. The Fairfield Area Knights are a small district with big dreams.

As the spring sports season opens, FASD is fielding junior varsity and varsity boys’ baseball, varsity girls’ softball, and boys’ and girls’ varsity track and field teams. The district will also field a junior high track and field team as well as girls’ volleyball and coed soccer.

Andrew Kuhn

“We have a wide range of opportunities, especially for our middle school athletes,” said Athletic Director Andrew Kuhn. “We expect a lot of big things out of our spring athletes this year.”

Kuhn, originally from Windsor, Pennsylvania, joined Fairfield in April of last year after serving as the assistant athletic director at York City School District. Kuhn’s duties include scheduling games, working with the budget, making sure the school is getting the right equipment, and constantly checking grades. As Kuhn says, “academics come first.”

“My firm belief for the athletic department is we need to be successful first and foremost in the classroom,” Kuhn said. “Then that transitions into success on the field and hopefully win some championships.”

Over the past year, Fairfield’s sport teams have seen some success that Kuhn hopes to continue into this season. Last fall, the boys’ and girls’ varsity soccer teams made district playoffs. And so did the boys’ basketball team in the winter, for the first time in 15 years, losing against the eventual champions, Lancaster Mennonite.

“We played [Lancaster Mennonite] pretty tough. We were pretty excited about that and getting the kids to that point,” Kuhn said.

Last spring, track and field athletes and the softball team went to districts.

Softball

Kuhn said there is a lot of experience coming back to the girls’ softball team this year creating excitement and hopes to surpass their success from last season.

One of these athletes is Kira Weikert, daughter of head softball coach, Terry Weikert.

“She’s a senior pitcher, so we’re relying heavily on her,” Kuhn said.

“They have some good leadership. We’d like to see them go pretty far in districts and make a district title run,” Kuhn said.

Baseball

Fairfield’s varsity baseball team also has talent and hopes for success this spring. Kuhn is hoping the team can sneak into the playoffs.

Kuhn said if everyone stays healthy, then there should be some success for the softball and baseball teams.

Track and Field

When it comes to track and field, Kuhn hopes the team can resume the success they had last spring and continue to build from it with more athletes making districts and states.

Girls’ track athlete Emma Dennison, might be one of the keys. A senior multisport athlete, Dennison has also played on the girls’ soccer and basketball teams and will be a member of the girls’ soccer and track teams for Seton Hill University next year.

“She’s one that you’ll hear a lot about this year,” Kuhn said.

On the boys’ side, Peyton Stadler will also be one to watch. Like Dennison, Stadler is a senior multisport athlete, having played on the football and boys’ basketball teams.

Coaching

In addition to promising athletes, Fairfield also brings notable coaches to the upcoming season.

“Terry Weikert, our softball coach, this is his 30th year. He’s seen a lot of success and seen a lot of change and growth through the years. He’s definitely one to watch,” Kuhn said.

Along with Weikert, girls’ track coach, Grant Smith will also be key for Fairfield.

“Grant Smith does great things. He’s been working all summer and all winter with our athletes. We’re really excited to have him around and help build the program,” said Kuhn.

Smith, a graduate and former track athlete at Shippensburg University, has title aspirations for his team.

“I know one of the goals for the girls’ track program is to win the teams’ district championship,” Kuhn said. “They have the opportunity to do that in the double A classification.”

Rivalries

As far as rivalries go, Gettysburg Area High School is one of the schools that, when the two face off, is always a match to watch.

“That’s always a rivalry because the kids know each other. Small towns, they all migrate to Gettysburg because it’s bigger,” Kuhn said.

The girls’ softball team will travel to Gettysburg April 21st, with a 4:15 p.m. start time. The boys’ and girls’ track teams will also travel to Gettysburg for the Adams County Track Classic Friday, April 22nd, starting at 3:00 p.m.

Due to the close proximity of the schools, Bermudian Springs and Biglerville are also considered rivals to the Fairfield Knights.

“[The kids] know each other so a lot of them play each other in rec ball, so when you get them together in division play, Bermudian and Biglerville are the two big ones that we see some competitive rivalries with, and it’s always good,” Kuhn said.

Both the baseball and softball teams will host Bermudian and Biglerville Wednesday, March 30th and Thursday, April 28th respectively. All four games start at 4:15 p.m. The boys’ and girls’ track teams will travel to Biglerville March 29th for the opening meet of the season, and hosts Bermudian a week later on April 5th. The meets start at 3:45 p.m.

For a lot of senior athletes, the upcoming spring season will be the last time they will step foot on a high school field. Kuhn appreciates the athletes and cannot wait to see them not only compete at the next level, but succeed academically as well.

“It’s a very strong senior class with a lot of athletic kids. We’re going to greatly miss those kids moving forward after this year,” Kuhn said. “The big thing is seeing a lot of those kids having success at the collegiate level. That’s going to be exciting to see.”

“They’re definitely going to be lost next year because they’re very athletic and very involved in all of our sports, so we’re definitely going to see a little bit of a hit next year,” Kuhn said.

“You really don’t hear too much about Fairfield,” Kuhn said. “It’s a little school, but there’s definitely a lot of good things happening here, and hopefully we can continue that.”

To view Fairfield’s full spring schedule for middle school and high school sports, visit https://arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=7234.

Featured image: Fairfield Area High School Athletic Director, Andrew Kuhn. [Fairfield Area School District]

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Hello! My name is Michael Donegan. I am currently a senior at Shippensburg University undertaking an internship at The Gettysburg Connection. I'm studying journalism with a concentration in electronic media and a minor in English. My interests and hobbies include sports (football, basketball and soccer to watch/tennis to play), videogames, reading, and I love to write in my free time. The internship gives me an opportunity to learn about Gettysburg and Adams County and I am always happy to learn new information.

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