“The past 31 years have just been unbelievable,” Anne Horton told the large crowd filling Columbus Academy’s dining hall for her retirement celebration on May 14. “Mugz and I have been talking for some time that if I could walk when Kyle walks, that would be ideal. So here we are at this event combined with his graduation in a couple of weeks so it’s definitely bittersweet.”
Anne’s record as a head coach – 12 state titles in field hockey, 3 state championships and a midwest title in lacrosse, national field hockey coach of the year, Ohio Lacrosse Hall of Fame, just to name a few – are unprecedented but her legacy is in all the young women she helped to develop in so many ways. A large number of them attended in-person or sent in their well wishes from afar, making the event a memorable one.
The program included an introduction by former Athletic Director Dominic Facciolla followed by remarks from Head of School Melissa Soderberg, greetings via Zoom from former players and friends as well as comments from former assistant coach Dani Sparks before Anne shared her own thoughts on her career at Columbus Academy. The event also included a special tribute video of messages from field hockey and lacrosse alumnae, parents and friends.