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High school athletes, coaches and teachers were honored Thursday during the 46th annual Kiwanis All-Stars Awards at the Chariot.
Started originally as a way to honor students active in sports other than major ball sports, the semi-annual event honored athletes in golf, tennis, wrestling, soccer, swimming, softball and track.
North Henderson High School was prominently represented in the 2012 Kiwanis awards.
The winner of the Ricky Sparks Spirit Award was Dot Case, a popular teacher at North.
She was introduced by John Whitmire, a longtime coach. "I coached junior high, Jayvee and varsity basketball and Jayvee football and I cannot remember any time that Dot Case was not at my ballgames. She was always there."
A history and government teacher at North Henderson, Case was the Region 8 teacher of the year in 2010.
Ricky, a special-ed graduate of Hendersonville High School, was known as the Bearcats' biggest fan. From the front porch of the family home on Ninth Avenue he would clap and shout every afternoon as the players walked from the high school to the middle school, where practice is held. The murders of Ricky and his mother, Connie, a longtime lunchroom worker who served thousands of local children at Hendersonville Junior High, shocked the community. Two local teenagers were convicted of the murder and sent to prison for life.
Since the death of their mother and brother in 2007, the Sparks family has started a scholarship in their names and donated made other contributions that lift up the memory of Ricky and his unmatched enthusiasm for his beloved Bearcats.
"When I heard I was being given the Ricky Sparks award my main thought was how could anybody live up to the tradition and spirit of Ricky Sparks," Case said. "Ricky Sparks definitely had passion. I'm passionate about many things -- about teaching, about kids that I teach and kids that I have taught. We say the Pledge of Allegiance at North every day and sometimes I can't make it all the way through the pledge because they have passion. I get choked up."
The winner of the Lou Ann Morgan Award was Wade King, a longtime coach at North.
"I have been honored to work with the athletes in the Edneyville and Apple Valley community," he said. "I all my years of teaching I've learned two things about kids. They want love and they want discipline."
Special recognition winners were Colby Langford, A NHHS junior who has won two straight state championships in wrestling; Mitchell Langford, a freshman at NHHS who won a state championship in the 106-pound class; Bryan Wallace, an HHS junior who won a state title in the 145-pound class; and Rhett Hoy, an HHS junior who won a state title in the 220-pound eight class.
The recipient of the Lou Ann Morgan Leadership Award was Wade King. A physical education teacher and coach at Apple Valley Middle School, King has coached baseball, football, golf, cross country and basketball and taught phys-ed for 29 years.
The high school athletes honored were:
Men's golf
John Jackson, HHS
Alex Yarborough, HHS
Bryce Caldwell, NHHS
Ben Justus, NHHS
Michael Dunn, NHHS
David Capps, WHHS
Men's Tennis
Colton Jarvis, EHHS
Brackin Kirkland, HHS
Charles Colhoun, HHS
Ben Brewer-Bowman, HHS
Samit Patel, NHHS
Michael Tyrlington, WHHS
Adam Greer, WHHS
Wrestling
Bryan Wallace, HHS
Rhett Hoy
Matthew Parce, HHS
Zach Houston, NHHS
Colby Langford, NHHS
Mitchell Langford, NHHS
Daniel Mehaffey, NHHS
Jesus Vera, WHHS
Daniel Carroll, WHHS
Women's Soccer
Alexis Green, EHHS
Anna Huntley, HHS
Courtney Altman, HHS
Sierra Lyda, NHHS
Abigail Nelson, NHHS
Samantha Holmes, WHHS
Jenna Sharits, WHHS
Maddie Havener, WHHS
Men's Swimming
John Jackson, HHS
Jacob Schandevel, HHS
Andrew Baber, HHS
Andrew Cass, NHHS
Lee Fullam, WHHS
Dylon Johnson, WHHS
Women's Swimming
Anna Fosberg, HHS
Cassie Born, HHS
Allie Bushelli, NHHS
Kala Ellsworth, WHHS
Emily Albea, WHHS
Bethany Grayson, WHHS
Women's Softball
Taylor Bryant, HHS
Megan Smith, NHHS
Ellie Caldwell, NHHS
Kim Cannon, NHHS
Taylor Richardson, NHHS
Natalie Rice, WHHS
Sierra Bishop, WHHS
Men's Track & Field
Kyle Malone, EHHS
Steffon Hill, EHHS
Grant Rivers, HHS
Tristen Endaya, HHS
Caleb Lyda, NHHS
Kaleb Barner, NHHS
Saban Nuw, WHHS
Zach Bryant, WHHS
Women's Track & Field
Ashley Culberton, EHHS
Marian Rock, EHHS
Raven Thompson, HHS
Hailey Cook, HHS
Daphne Hill, NHHS
Catie Byrd, NHHS
Melissa White, WHHS
Ashley Heywood, WHHS
Angela Gross, WHHS