Five new members will be inducted into the Liberty County Athletic Hall of Fame on April 25 at the Liberty County’s East End Complex, as will one state championship team — and one member of the original class of 20 inductees who did not make the inaugural event.
This year’s class includes Jackie Roberts from the old Liberty County High School, Josh McNair, Kathryn Carter Aspinwall and Cole Martin from the more recent Liberty County High School, and Bradwell Institute alum George Waters.
Also honored will be the First Presbyterian Christian School state championship boys basketball team of 2010 and Bradwell legend John Stewart, considered one of the best running backs ever in the Coastal Empire. Stewart was a member of the inaugural class of inductees and will accept his induction next week.
Jackie Roberts
Jackie Roberts played football at Liberty County High School from 1964-67 and started at fullback and middle linebacker from 1965-67.
As the coaches separated the team into groups by position for their first practice, no one answered the call for fullback. So Jackie Roberts, who started out trying out for offensive line, was reading how professionals were playing the position and he eventually took the position. Coach James Hall had players play other positions to maximize their potential and to help the players find themselves.
He was co-captain for his final two seasons and was known for being a hard-hitting linebacker and for having many big games running the ball as a fullback.
Roberts was named to the All-State Football Game in 1967 and received a full scholarship to Clark in Atlanta and lettered all four years there in football.
A retired department manager for Giant Foods, LLC, Roberts now lives in Waldorf, Maryland, and is chairman of the deacon board at First Rock Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., where he is involved in many church activities. He is a grandfather of two and great-grandfather of two.
George Waters
George Waters was a star in the late 1960s for the Bradwell Institute Lions.
A member of the class of 1971, Waters was a four-year letterman in football and a four-year starter for the Lions.
He was named an honorable mention all-state Class A selection in 1968 and was named to the Class A all-state first team offensive line in 1970 by the Atlanta Journal- Constitution. He was also named best defensive player.
He attended Cumberland Law School at Samford University and was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1979. He lives in Richmond Hill, where he has his law practice.
Cole Martin
Cole Martin played a number of sports at the Liberty County Recreation Department but it was in baseball where he made his mark in high school and college.
He was a two-time scoring champ in LCRD soccer and an all-star in baseball for seven years. He lettered four years in baseball at Liberty County High School and three years in football. He was named best defensive player in baseball in 2001, best offensive player in baseball in 2002, baseball MVP in 2003 and also received the Coach’s Award and the Male Athlete of the Year in 2003.
He was the left fielder and leadoff hitter for the Chain baseball team that won the USSSA World Series in 2003, along with being named to the Georgia Dugout Club’s Southeast all-star team in 2003 and being named all-Coastal Empire.
He played at Gordon College for two years after signing a scholarship. He was a two-year starter, leading the team in batting average, home runs, runs batted in and stolen bases as a center fielder and cleanup hitter in 2005. He was chosen to participate in the Georgia Junior College Athletic Association sophomore showcase and was named to the GJCAA all-conference team in 2005.
From there, Martin signed a scholarship with Columbus State University. He missed the 2006 season because of a torn labrum and was a member of the Cougars team that lost in the NCAA Division II championship game in 2007. He finished his CSU career as the team leader in most of the offensive categories his senior year in 2008.
He now resides in Fleming Island, Florida.
Josh McNair
Josh McNair was one of the most decorated track and field athletes in Liberty County High School history.
He was a two-time state champion in the discus and received a full track scholarship to Kennesaw State University.
While at LCHS, Mc-Nair was team captain for three years, along with being named to the all-region and all-state teams for three years. He was never beaten in any meet in the discus during his high school career.
He was first team all-Atlantic Sun Conference for indoor track and field in the shot put in 2010 and second team in the weight throw. He was second team all-conference in the shot and weight throw in 2009, first team all-conference in the shot put and weight throw in 2008 and third team all-conference in the weight throw in 2007.
McNair still holds the best, third-best and fourth-best shot put result in KSU indoor track history and is seventh and eighth all-time in the weight throw. He has the No. 2 and No. 3 best distance in KSU in the shot put in outdoor track and field and is second and sixth all-time in the discus. He also still holds the 10th best mark in KSU history for the outdoor hammer throw.
In the 2009-10 season, McNair took first in the shot put at the Atlantic Sun Conference indoor and outdoor championships.
Kathryn Carter Aspinwall
Kathryn Carter Aspinwall starred in the circle for the Liberty County High School softball and the Valdosta State University Blazers.
She ended her LCHS career with an earned run average of 1.87, 277 innings pitched and 317 strikeouts in 74 games. As a senior, she posted an ERA of 1.46, with 111 strikeouts in 91 innings. She also hit .420, with 13 home runs and three doubles in 88 plate appearances.
Aspinwall was named first-team all-region all four years at LCHS and was named all-Greater Savannah for all four years. She was named region pitcher of the year following her junior and senior campaigns.
At Valdosta State, she was named all-Gulf South Conference second team as a freshman. She pitched 152 2/3 innings, posting an ERA of 3.35 and striking out 41. She went 19-4 with four shutouts and 12 complete games, starting in the circle for 22 of her 33 appearances.
She was named second- team all-Gulf South Conference as a sophomore, going 17-4, with seven complete games and one save. She had an ERA of 2.85 in 130 1/3 innings, striking out 46. She went nine innings against Tampa and struck out six for a season-high against Columbus State.
Aspinwall redshirted in 2019 and her 2020 season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
FPCA boys basketball team
The First Presbyterian Christian Academy boys basketball team made it two in a row with their 2010 GISA Class A state championship.
And for the second year in a row, the Highlanders topped Bethesda to win the title.
Senior A.J. Ansley and juniors Jordan Johnson and D.J. Felder were named to the GISA Class A all-state team and coach David Jones was named Class A coach of the year. Ansley, Johnson, Felder and seniors Hakeem Golden and Michael Brown were named to the all-Region 2A team.
Brown and Ansley also were chosen for the Team Georgia Class A-AA All-Stars, along with Coach Jones and Coach David Einderman.
FPCA beat Praise 9428 in the first round of the state tournament and then beat Terrell Academy 6439.
The Highlanders beat Oak Mountain 60-50 in the semifinals and topped Bethesda 55-46 in the championship game. Bethesda handed FPCA one of its only two losses in the regular season.
FPCA finished 26-2 and topped the 100-point mark in three games. Their two losses each came by two points, and their average margin of victory in their 26 wins was 38 points per game.
John Stewart
John Stewart was one of the most dominating offensive players in Georgia during his career and rewrote the Bradwell Institute record books.
His career rushing mark of 5,145 yards still stands as the school’s all-time standard, as does his single-season record of 2,186 yards, set during his junior year. As a sophomore, he ran for 1,321 yards and 13 touchdowns. During his junior year, he ran the ball 333 times and scored 20 touchdowns, helping lead the Tigers to a Class AAAA South Georgia championship appearance. He was also named the Atlanta Journal-Constitutions offensive player of the year for the 1986 season. His single-game record for rushing yards 238 - stood for 32 years.
As a senior, “Big John” amassed 1,521 yards rushing and finished his BI career with 50 touchdowns and again helped lead the Mighty Tigers to the South Georgia championship game.
He was a two-time all-state selection and his career rushing yards were the most in Class AAAA history when his high school career ended. He signed with Auburn University where he played for two years before injuries ended his football career. Although football was over for John, he remained on scholarship and obtained his degree from Auburn University.
