VALDOSTA —
The Valdosta State community is mourning the loss of incoming freshman cross country runner Tajay Hoppines, who drowned Wednesday evening while swimming in the Suwanee River with teammates during a team building event.
The search for Hoppines’ body continued well into the afternoon hours on Thursday, until a search and rescue team from Jacksonville discovered the body late in the afternoon.
“The VSU athletic family is saddened by the loss of Tajay Hoppines, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his cross country teammates and coaches,” said Valdosta State athletic director Herb Reinhard.
Hoppines,18, and fellow Valdosta State cross country runners were training in the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla. Wednesday and decided to go for a swim in the murky waters of the Suwanee River.
“They had been out running on the property at the Spirit of the Suwanee doing training,” Suwanee County Sheriff Tony Cameron told the Suwannee Democrat. “They then went to the river.”
Several members of the team decided to swim across the river at the popular sandbar inside the park. That is when Hoppines went under the water, according to the Democrat. Teammates attempted to bring up Hoppines, but couldn’t locate his body.
The VSU cross country team was set to return home from the Suwanee Park today, but were all back in Valdosta late Wednesday night. Mem- bers of the team will receive counseling from the VSU Counseling Center.
“On behalf of the entire VSU family, our hearts go out to his family, and our gratitude goes out to the law enforcement agencies that diligently conducted the search and recovery efforts,” said VSU President William J. McKinney in a release.
Hoppines was set to compete in his first season with the Blazers and is a native of Dacula. He attended Mill Creek High School in Hoschton. He helped lead the Hawks to a Region 7-AAAAA championship and a state runner-up finish in 2011. He finished 48th in the state cross country meet (38th in Gwinnett County).
Hoppines was also a member of the school’s soccer team, where he helped guide the Hawks to their first-ever state playoff appearance.
In 2012, Hoppines scored 9 goals, four game-winners, and had 10 assists and was named second team al-region.
“This is obviously devastating news,” said Mill Creek principal Jim Markham.
“He was a fine young man.”
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Ron Colvin, right, Deputy David Taylor search the Suwannee River for the body of a Valdosta State University student who went missing in the river Wednesday night in northern Suwannee County. Courtesy: Misty A. Ward
Discussion
VSU runner drowns in Suwannee River
- Local Sports
-
-
VSU softball wins South Region, headed to nationals
For the third time in four years, and second in a row, Valdosta State’s softball team will play in the national championship tournament.
The Blazers won their third South Region championship Saturday, beating Alabama-Huntsville 8-3 in game three of the best-of-three series at Steel’s Diamond at Blazer Park. -
VSU baseball season comes to an end
Delta State scored seven unanswered runs to defeat Valdosta State 7-2 in an elimination game of the NCAA South Region Tournament at the UT Baseball Field Saturday afternoon.
-
Blazers take 1-0 series lead
Angela O’Connor launched a pinch-hit two-run home run over the left-field fence, tying the game against Alabama-Huntsville in the bottom of the sixth inning, and sparking the Blazers and their fans along the way.
-
Blazer baseball stays alive, beats Stillman
Valdosta State scored five runs in the first inning to defeat Stillman 6-2 in an elimination game of the NCAA South Region Tournament at UT Baseball Field Friday morning.
-
Lowndes’ Harwell, Wortham sign with Valdosta State
Lowndes’ Ty Harwell and David Wortham won’t have to go far to play college baseball.
-
Blazers host respected rival UAH in Super Regional
One would expect a matchup featuring two of the top softball programs in Division II to come in the national championship game.
Unfortunately for Valdosta State and Alabama-Huntsville, who have combined to appear in four straight national championship games, they won’t be meeting in title game on Memorial Day in Salem, Va. -
Pop Warner Football coming to Valdosta
Pop Warner Football is coming to Valdosta.
The nationally known organization that puts an emphasis on education and developing American youth has been established in the Valdosta area and will begin playing football this August. -
Blazers lose to Delta State, fall to loser’s bracket
If the Valdosta State baseball team is going to win the South Region Tournament, the Blazers going to have to do it from the loser’s bracket.
The Blazers (33-17) dropped their first game of the tournament Thursday, falling to Delta State 4-2 at UT Baseball Stadium.
VSU will face Stillman College, which lost to No. 1 seed and tournament host Tampa Thursday, Friday at 11 a.m. to advance to the weekend portion of the tournament. The loser will be eliminated. -
Lowndes’ Willis, Breit named Region 1 Coaches of the Year
The All-Region 1-AAAAAA soccer teams were announced Wednesday and Lowndes was well represented.
Lowndes coaches Chris Willis (girls) and Jordan Breit (boys) were named the Region Coaches of the Year, after leading the Lowndes teams to region championships and going undefeated in region play. -
Vikings commit 4 errors, fall to Roswell, 5-2
The small things matter in baseball, especially in a winner-take-all game three.
On Wednesday, Lowndes’ baseball team made too many mistakes on the little things. The Vikings committed four errors that led to five Roswell runs and were eliminated in the Class AAAAAA state playoffs with a 5-2 loss to the Hornets. - More Local Sports Headlines
-
