Seymour, Karns and TSD add to CSA recognition

By Steve Williams

Head coaches of 23 local high school boys basketball teams submitted a maximum of five players to receive the Careacter Star Athlete award for the 2022-23 season and they are listed in this week's issue of The Knoxville Focus.

The CSA award, which was started 22 years ago by Dave Moore of the CARE program, is based on Attitude, Performance, Careacter, Community Service and Grades.

In addition to the honorees having their name listed in The Knoxville Focus this week, each will receive a Careacter Star T-shirt, a letter of recognition and a certificate.

Coaches from Seymour, Karns and Tennessee School for the Deaf added to the recognition by sending in an example of good character they recalled observing during the season.

The Focus congratulates all the Careacter Star Athletes!

BRANDON CHANDLER

Seymour High School

"This particular student-athlete exemplifies character in every sense imaginable. He was a true leader on and off the court.  He is a four-year player and senior at Seymour High School. He was a leader by example and tried to encourage all teammates as much as possible. He had a heart of gold and really took it personally when we lost. He made everyone around him better by his play, but more importantly, his true love for his teammates and coaches.

"On many occasions, he sat with me (the head coach) and hammered out motivation, encouragement and ideas to help the program and individuals besides himself succeed. He would have definitely been very involved with community programs if asked, but he had to work along with school and basketball. He tried to help his Mother out with bills and expenses as much as possible.

"He might not have the stats or visible things that would cause people to view him as a player that will be missed after graduation. He will possibly be missed more than any other player because of what he did for Seymour Basketball. He is very recognizable by everyone because of his huge beard, but more than that, he is a fine young man!"

Mark Mobley

Head Basketball Coach

Seymour High School

WALKER LOCKHART

Karns High School

"Walker is a natural leader and a great competitor. It is easy to see these 'Careacter' traits and his determination to leave it on the court for his teammates. What you don't see is the leader that he is off the court. Walker is the first guy to show up to kids' camps in the summer to build and mentor with the young Karns Beavers. Walker is the president of the athlete leadership council at Karns High School. This group of young men and women volunteer their time in the community and also here at Karns High to better our campus and make it something to be proud of.

"Walker also is the guy who played injured for 10 games and never complained one time. He continued to show up to practice and games daily and played some of his best basketball while dealing with a serious injury. There are not many students or players in the Knoxville area that I could see having better character than Walker Lockhart."

Chris Hartsfield

Assistant Basketball Coach

Karns High

TSD TEAM

"This is a 'true' post-pandemic team, for we had nine inexperienced players who haven't played a basketball game for two years and yet we managed to win six games this year! They just did not 'give up'!"

Barry Swafford

Head Basketball Coach

Tennessee School for the Deaf

2022-23 BOYS BASKETBALL CAREACTER STAR ATHLETES

AUSTIN-EAST

Justin Pruitt

Noah Djenini

Ryan Seagrave

LeShaud Holloway

Jaxon Young

BEARDEN

Jake Poole

Nelson Karnowski

Cam Butcher

Drew Parrott

Andrew Baker

BEREAN CHRISTIAN

Josh Myers

Christopher Belew

Matthew Palmer

Cooper Mann

Jake Brady

CARTER

Jaxson Shuford

Dylan McGhee

Gage Hutchison

Justus Clabough

Blake Smith

CATHOLIC

Daniel Iverson

Yesan Warren

Ben Sompayrac

Riley Gladwin

Caleb Asbaty

CENTRAL

Keise Perez

Trey Robinson

Josh Brown

Will Meadows

Parker Hampton

CAK

Bennett Simerlein

Brogdon Lundgren

Bryson White

Foster Coleman

Zachary Coffman

CCS

Tyson Zachary

Noah Gilder

John Dunn

Jacob Dunn

Landon Housley

FARRAGUT

Tyson Jackson

Preston Fuller

Dallas Carbaugh

Luke Johnson

Garrick Hrivnak II

FBA

Zachary Helton

Justus Farris

Kyler Lee

FULTON

Travis Ballenger

Travis Turner

Tavon Baptiste

Tyler Lee

Derrick Smith

GIBBS

Mason Melton

Hayden Mills

Zack Turner

Connor Atkins

Brady Hughes

GCA

Camden Mabe

Reed Farmer

Weston Edmondson

Christian Vela

Cameron Mercer

HALLS

Caleb Shaffer

Ethan Shaffer

Ben Thomas

Grayson Bishop

Elijah Elliott

HVA

Hakeem Rashid

Tommy Joseph

Barron Scheetz

Issac Ratliff

Will Fellers

KARNS

Terry Sutton

Walker Lockhart

Warda Apait

Jaylen Roberts

Andy Stamper

POWELL

Bryce Jardret

Keleb Walker

Caleb Heard

Jayden Colon

Nathan Russell

SEYMOUR

Connor Hilton

Brandon Chandler

Eli Williams

Josh Nevins

Jonathan Lane

SOUTH-DOYLE

Nolan Brang

Spencer Reynolds

Derrick Elder

Holden Lowe

Alijah Gracia

TSD

Garrett Burns

Jordan Grimes

Gage Conger

Elijah Echols

Mason Little

TKA

Damjan Simun

Elia Bongiomo

Zeke Connatser

Jack Townsend

Harrison Rollins

WEBB

John Tolsma

Lukas Walls

Lane Shipley

Drake Ingram

Markeis Barrett

WEST

Harlan Dill

Jailon Hill

Hunter Dance

Joe Dupree

Dane Clark

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