By Maurice Patton

With Aedan Turner leading the way, 60 athletes from Maury County were recently recognized by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association for participating in three or more TSSAA-sanctioned sports during the 2019-20 school year.

Based on eligibility reports submitted by each school for each sport, Columbia Academy had 20 such athletes – including Turner, the county’s lone five-sport participant who bowled, ran on the cross country and track teams and played golf and soccer for the Bulldogs.

CA’s Franklin Walker took part in four sports, running track in addition to playing baseball, basketball and football.

Zion Christian Academy had 17 athletes appearing on three or more rosters, including Max Brown (baseball, basketball, football, soccer) and Madison Hayes (basketball, soccer, tennis and volleyball).

Mt. Pleasant (eight three-sport athletes) and Spring Hill (three) each boasted a four-sport participant as well – Keshawn Hudson (baseball, basketball, track and football) for the Tigers, Kevin Carabello (cross country, track, football, wrestling) for the Raiders.

Each of the county’s athletic programs had at least one three-sport athlete.

Printable certificates commemorating these athletes’ accomplishments have been distributed by the TSSAA state office to each school. Distributing those to the athletes, in light of the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, may not be possible, according to officials. 

Of the 83,000-plus athletes at TSSAA member schools, a total of 3,036 participated in more than two sports – less than four percent.

“If the pandemic has reminded us of anything, a child’s school days are precious,” TSSAA executive director Bernard Childress said. “That’s why our principals and athletic directors need to create an environment in their schools where students can experience as many different sports as they want.

“Telling a kid they can’t do something just because one coach or another doesn’t want them to is basically cheating them out of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Across the state, five schools reported 25 or more athletes that took part in at least three sports: Battle Ground Academy; Briarcrest Christian; Franklin Road Academy; Pearl-Cohn; and Westmoreland.

“Our athletic programs do not exist to serve college sports programs, but it is worth reminding coaches and parents that college recruiters are looking for students that display a great attitude, work ethic and leadership qualities,” Childress said. “Those are traits that you develop through participating in a variety of activities.”

Maury County’s three-sport athletes:

Columbia Acad. – Bryant Beranek (baseball, basketball, football); Anna Claire Butt (basketball, soccer, tennis); Hallie Butterfield (basketball, tennis, volleyball); Kennedy Chatman (basketball, softball, volleyball); Annabelle Cothran (cross country, softball, track and field); Devon Del Carmen (track and field, football, soccer); Chase Duncan (baseball, basketball, golf); Ella Fuller (basketball, track and field, volleyball); Caroline Graham (basketball, cross country, track and field); Julianna Hanson (basketball, soccer, track and field); Jaelyn Hickerson (basketball, cross country, track and field); Will Jackson (baseball, basketball, football); Graham Lewis (track and field, football, soccer); Collins Malone (basketball, track and field, football); Gavin Morgan (basketball, cross country, track and field); Hayden Morgan (basketball, cross country, track and field), Jacob Perry (baseball, basketball, football); Aedan Turner (bowling, cross country, golf, track and field, soccer); Laney Turner (basketball, softball, volleyball); Franklin Walker (baseball, basketball, track and field, football)

Columbia Central – Lizbeth Tadeo-Vargas (cross country, track and field, wrestling)

Culleoka – Kaydence Humphrey (basketball, soccer, softball); Mary Norton (basketball, cross country, soccer)

Hampshire – Ethan Bowden (baseball, basketball, cross country); Errette Delk (baseball, basketball, cross country)

Mt. Pleasant – Kylie Brewer (basketball, softball, volleyball); T.J. Bridges (cross country, tennis, track and field); Jackson Gary (baseball, cross country, track and field); Baleigh Gray (basketball, cross country, softball); Benjamin Hirsch (baseball, cross country, track and field); Keshawn Hudson (baseball, basketball, track and field, football); Audrey Kittrell (basketball, softball, volleyball); Jakob Smith (basketball, cross country, tennis)

Santa Fe – Elise Adkison (basketball, softball, volleyball), Gracey Bates (basketball, cross country, volleyball), Josh Martin (baseball, basketball, cross country), Terralyn Pemberton (basketball, softball, volleyball); Shelby Rector (golf, softball, volleyball), Ally Warf (basketball, cross country, volleyball), Logan Wilkins (baseball, basketball, golf)

Spring Hill – Kevin Carabello (cross country, track and field, football, wrestling), Katherine Carter (basketball, softball, volleyball), Kemonta Fry (track and field, football, wrestling)

Zion Chr. – Halle Adcox (basketball, softball, volleyball), Jack Brown (baseball, basketball, soccer), Max Brown (baseball, basketball, football, soccer); William Craig (cross country, tennis, track and field); Madison Hayes (basketball, soccer, tennis, volleyball); Becca Hazard (basketball, softball, volleyball); Ana Hudson (soccer, tennis, volleyball); Sarah Joiner (soccer, softball, volleyball); Kathryn Kennedy (basketball, softball, volleyball); Zach Knowles (basketball, football, soccer); Mark Lowery (baseball, basketball, football); Connor Matheny (basketball, football, soccer); Emily Mesko (basketball, soccer, softball); Warren Riggins (basketball, football, soccer); Wesley Riggins (basketball, football, soccer); Dillan Runions (basketball, football, soccer); Peyton White (basketball, softball, volleyball)

Maurice Patton is the editor for Southern Middle Tennessee Sports. He can be reached by e-mail at mopattonsports@gmail.com or on Twitter at @mopatton_sports.