Alumni Athletes Named to HIES Wall of Fame

by Dunn Neugebauer

Six outstanding Golden Bear alumni athletes from Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School (HIES) were inducted into the school’s Wall of Fame on Oct. 16. Holy Innocents’ established the Wall of Fame in 2008 to honor outstanding HIES varsity athletes, coaches, and/or contributors who have demonstrated excellence in their athletic pursuits.

This year’s Wall of Fame Induction was during halftime of a home football game. At the ceremony, each inductee received a commemorative plaque as well as a “free ticket for life” to any HIES sporting event.

Below are some brief bios on Holy Innocents’ former stars:

Bentley Heyman ‘08, Baseball. Bentley Heyman was a four-year letterman, two-year captain for the HIES baseball teams, and captain of the 2007 state championship squad. Some of his many awards and records include best offensive and defensive player in 2007, two-time All-State and three-time All-Region. He still holds school records for highest career batting average and most hits. Heyman graduated from Wake Forest University and co-founded Siftit Inc., where he oversees the development of new technology products for restaurants.

Meg Yanda ‘09, Volleyball. Meg Yanda was named to the All-State Volleyball team (2008), the Senior All-Star team (2008), and the All-Area Team (2006, 2007, 2008), and was team MVP twice. In Georgia, she is #6 all time for individual season attack and #2 all time for individual career attack. Some of her HIES records include: #1 in single match attack percentage; #3 in all time total blocks; #2 for all time kills in a season; #1, #2, and #3 in a season for record attack percentage and #1 in a season for kills per game. After high school, Yanda went on to play volleyball at UNC for three years, until being sidelined by a knee injury, She majored in journalism and currently lives in Raleigh, NC, where she does marketing and communications for Red Hat and is an assistant account manager at Fitzgerald & Co.

Jack Farrell ‘09, Football. Jack Farrell started all four years as a tight end, and he still holds the all-time HIES record in receiving yards. He helped the team to a Sweet 16 finish in both 2008 and 2009, and was named 1st team All-Region in 2008 and voted captain his senior year. Farrell also played collegiate football at Duke for three years until an injury ended his playing career. After graduating, he was accepted into the highly selective Venture for America program.

Wills Aitkens ’10, Football. Wills Aitkens was a four-year starter at running back at Holy Innocents’. He remains the all-time leader in rushing yards, and is still second in career receiving yards. Aitkens was the first Golden Bear to gain 1,000 yards in a season. He was team MVP in 2009, and Region Player-of-the-Year and 1st Team All-State while captain his senior season. While at HIES, he was also was a four-year starter on the varsity baseball team, where he helped lead Coach Dylan Deal’s squads to many postseason appearances as an outfielder. He was the leading base stealer and one of the leaders in hitting during his tenure. Aitkens attended the University of Georgia and has worked as a loan officer.

Darius Bowling ‘10, Lacrosse. Darius Bowling, a four-year varsity lacrosse veteran at HI, was a two-time First-Team All-State defenseman and two-time High School All-American. He holds the school record for single game and career ground balls. After graduation, he was the only player selected from Georgia to compete in the National High School All-Star tournament in Orlando, a selection that was unanimous. Bowling went on to play four years of Division 1 lacrosse at Ohio State, often matching up against some of the best offensive players from the strongest lacrosse programs in the country. He is currently giving back to HIES by serving as an assistant on the Golden Bears Middle School team, and he is employed as a buyer for Kloeckner Metals in Roswell Ga.

Kelly Moore ‘09, Soccer. Kelly earned many awards while a four-year varsity performer on the HIES soccer team. As a freshman, she was named All-Area First Team and Player of the Year, and as a junior, she earned the Most Valuable Defensive player award for the Bears. Moore was team captain and MVP as a senior, and in 2006, she helped lead the Lady Bears to a state championship; she still holds the single-season shutout record. Moore recorded 462 saves and also holds the mark for most saves in a season. As a member of the Gold Tophat ’09 soccer team out of Atlanta, she helped her squad to back-to-back state titles and a runner-up finish in 2008. After high school graduation, Moore was a back-up keeper her freshman and sophomore seasons at University of Colorado-Boulder. She will graduate is a humanities and pre-education major, and she hopes to follow her mother’s footsteps and become a teacher.