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Mount Rushmore of Arnold High: Vote for a fifth sports great for the Marlins

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Coaches with the innate winning gene and record-breaking stars are the lifeblood of Arnold athletics.

Today is the second part of the News Herald’s “High School Athletics Mount Rushmore” series. The series will feature all six Bay County schools, highlighting the significant and quintessential figures of the athletic programs at each school.

Lifting dynasty 9 years undefeated, how Arnold’s girls weightlifting has become ‘One Team, One Family’

Last second heroics The best for last: Arnold wins state soccer title after goalie saves final kick of shootout

The players and coaches who grace the mountain are determined by the impact they had on the program, the community and beyond. We at the News Herald appreciate our readers and would love to get you involved.

Accompanying each article is a poll where you can vote for someone you believe would be right for a fifth spot on the mountain.

James Hale

The first football coach at Arnold, Hale set an outstanding precedent in his 13-year tenure. Finishing with an 80-52 record, he coached the Marlins to their first postseason berth in 2003. Hale reached the region semifinals three times and in 2008 led Arnold to an 11-1 record, earning coach of the year from the National Federation of High School Coaches Association.

Hale helped coach 40 football players to sign college scholarships and also served as an assistant coach on the Marlins weightlifting teams, which won state championships in 2006 and 2007.

Jonathan Hammond

Hammond has built the Marlins soccer program to be a staple in Bay County and statewide. The Marlins defeated Gulliver Prep to win their first state title in 2020. Arnold finished the season invincible, with a 25-0-2 record, and has been pegged as the “team to beat” since. Four years later, Hammond led the Marlins to two more state title appearances, winning his second this past season.

Arnold has not lost to a Bay County opponent in six years and was ranked the No. 1 team in Florida this winter. The recent graduating senior class was the most successful with an 87-4-6 record, two-time FHSAA state champions, four-time Bay County champions, three-time district champions and three-time regional champions.

Donka and Joshua Flaig

Winning a state title in weightlifting at Arnold feels almost inevitable, especially when you’re under the leadership of Donka and Joshua Flaig. The coaching couple has constructed a dynasty in both girls and boys weightlifting, culminating in broken FHSAA records and multiple state champions.

The Marlins have won nine straight girls district titles and three-peated as Class 2A state champions from 2018-21. The boys team has won six straight district titles and crowned a recent state champion in the traditional lift with Chance Jenkins, who earned gold in the 169-pound weight class.

Jeremy Hester

At only 5-foot-6, Jeremy Hester played four times his size at the running back position. A two-time letterman in weightlifting, three times in track and field and three times in football, the 2008 football season was a breakout year for Hester. As a sophomore he blitzed all competition, rushing for 2,305 yards and 39 touchdowns. The historic year earned Hester All-County and All-State honors.

He would finish his senior season rushing for 1,479 yards and 17 scores, earning a three-star ranking as a prospect in the 2010 class. Hester committed to Southern Mississippi where he was used primarily as a kick returner, but would finish his career rushing for 514 yards and three touchdowns.

Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.

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