The Norse News Athlete of the Year is a prestigious award given to the best of the best male and female athletes of the graduating senior class.
The 2025-2026 school year’s SHS Athlete of the Year award has been given to lacrosse face-off and lineman on the football team, Jordan Hale-Atkins (12). His accomplishments over the years not only on the turf, but also in the classroom have had a great impact on the Spartanburg High School community and his time here at SHS will be remembered. He will carry on his academic and athletic career at Lander University as a member of the lacrosse team.
Stephyn Eaton, head coach of the boys lacrosse team, has enjoyed his time with Hale-Atkins over the years and has loved watching him grow into a better athlete.
“This is Jordan’s third year in the lacrosse program, where he has been a two-year starter and served as a team captain this season. As a faceoff specialist, Jordan consistently gave us a tactical advantage on the offensive end. Under Coach Payne’s leadership, Jordan and the rest of the faceoff unit has become a major strength of our program,” Eaton said. “This season, Jordan won over 200 faceoffs with a .704-win percentage. Over 47 games as a Viking, he has won 444 faceoffs with a career win percentage of .685. Jordan’s production consistently set the tone for our success the last couple of seasons. Jordan has earned All-State honors in back-to-back seasons and will represent Spartanburg High School in the North/South All-Star Game on May 16.”
Jackson Pingley (11) is one of the lacrosse team captains alongside Hale-Atkins and has loved being able to practice and play with him.
“It has been a lot of fun being able to play with such a likable guy and player,” Pingley said. “Jordan always makes us laugh, but he is also dedicated and a hard worker.”
One of his most impressive statistics from this lacrosse season was his groundball recoveries. Hale-Atkins racked up an outstanding 127 total groundballs, which puts him in the top 100 nationwide amongst other high school lacrosse players and top 10 in that statistic in South Carolina.
Not only was Hale-Atkins an impactful player on the lacrosse field, but also played an important role for the Vikings on the football field. He recorded a fumble recovery, five solo tackles and four assisted tackles, making that nine total tackles across eight games this past football season.
Patrick Delaney (12) has been a teammate alongside Hale-Atkins in lacrosse for years and has enjoyed being able to work with him.
“Jordan has worked hard the past three years for the team, and all of his work is deserving for the award,” Delaney said. “He always brings a good mentality to the field whether it’s practice or if it’s gameday.”
Hale-Atkins’ passion, dedication and love for his sports shows how hard he has worked and how much time he has spent both in the classroom, and on the field to become the best he can be.
