Collegiate Cougars Celebrate Homecoming

The warm-than-usual fall day featured food and friendship as a sea of green-and-gold-wearing Cougars mingled in the stands and along the walkways adjacent to Grover Jones Field to celebrate Collegiate. The previous evening, nearly 400 alumni enjoyed each other’s company, oysters and music by Emma White ‘11 at the 34th Annual Oyster Roast, hosted by Sue and Tad Thompson ʼ66 at Tuckahoe Plantation.

 

The festivities carried over into today, as alumni caught up at the Legacy Society Lunch (for Cougars who graduated in 1915-1966) in the newly renovated McFall Hall and the 50th Reunion Luncheon in the Craigie Board Room in Sharp Academic Commons, as well as around food trucks and tents near the Lower School playground.

 

Betty Delk ‘67 was thrilled to return to Collegiate to reconnect with her classmates from 50 years ago, share fond memories and take a tour of campus.

 

“I got the best education here,” she said. “And Collegiate has really blossomed.”

Lucy Correll ‘67 traveled all the way from Amsterdam for the reunion lunch and was excited to see her friends in person.

“We follow each other on Facebook, but I haven’t seen some of them in 50 years,” she said of her classmates. “It’s great fun.”

Margot Deck ‘59 and Carolyn Gray Allen ‘62 chatted at the Legacy Society Lunch.

Mrs. Allen, who lives in Wyoming, says she makes a point to come back to Collegiate to see former classmates, even those she hasn’t seen in years.

“It’s like we never left each other,” she said.

Jo Ellen Constine ‘87 and Sarah Gray Innes ‘05, members of the Collegiate Alumni Board, called themselves the “spirit squad” as they welcomed fellow alumni back to campus.

“Collegiate is like family, and coming back is like seeing my sisters and brothers,” Ms. Constine said. “I always say it’s the happiest place on earth, and I feel like I’m home here.”

Before the game began, Claud Whitley, currently the School’s longest-serving employee, was honored for his upcoming 70th birthday. Collegiate’s special events and projects supervisor Wilbur Athey and campus mail assistant Ray Crouch escorted Claud onto the football field, where they were joined by Collegiate’s football captains for the coin toss to determine who would start the game.

 

The first half was all Collegiate, with the Cougars putting 35 points on the board to lead Norfolk Academy 35-0. At halftime, 18 senior players processed onto the field with their parents and the Homecoming Court was introduced: Ellie Angle, Lauren Brizzolara, Kate Ferrell, Caroline Hall, Wescott Lowe, Harper Zaun, T. Brewer, Evan Clark, David Hugo, Travis Reifsnider and Joseph White. Homecoming King Spencer Lyons was crowned at the all-school Pep Rally on Friday morning. Caroline Hall was crowned Homecoming Queen before the capacity crowd at Grover Jones Field.

 

The Cougars continued to dominate in the second half and added a seventh touchdown to bring the score to 42-0 at the game’s end, improving the team’s record to 7-1.

 

It was a great day to be a Cougar!