By MINDY TATE, Editor
mtate@williamsonherald.com

Patrick Price of Brentwood High School and Kelly Kerlin from Currey Ingram Academy are the winners of the John Maher Builders and Williamson Herald Scholar Athletes Awards for December.

Price is a senior captain on the Bruins basketball team, according to Coach Randy Hatley.   He is the son of Cristy and Wayne Price and has a GPA of 3.85, Hatley said.

Kerlin is the daughter of Trudy and Kip Kerlin of Franklin. She has a 4.0 GPA and is involved in cross-country, softball, soccer, volleyball, basketball and cheerleading, according to Julie Littlejohn, assistant to Currey Ingram’s athletic director and volleyball coach.

Of Price, Hatley said he may not be one of the more well-known players on the team due to season-ending injuries in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He plays point guard and shooting guard for the Bruins.

“During his injuries, he would attend practices and watch during games,” Hatley said. “Sometimes he would help keep the clock during practices, keep shooting charts and stats during games, and other miscellaneous tasks during the games.

“As an recent example of his attitude and character, after a tough overtime loss Friday night (where Patrick was our leading scorer) I called him to help me hang a couple of goals for my little girls’ basketball practice,” Hatley said. “He was working out at the YMCA and came over to help me when he finished his workouts.”

Off the court, Hatley said Price helped with the team when it adopted an angel for the holiday. He is also involved in DECA and helped with a recent fundraiser for the Make A Wish Foundation.

“We are 6-1, 4-0 in District 11AAA,” Hatley said Dec. 12. “He is a huge reason for this. He is averaging five assists a game and 10 points.”

Still studying his options after high school, Price has a 30 ACT score and “is being recruited by Birmingham Southern and Berry College.

“With his high GPA and 30 ACT score, he is a valuable commodity for college coaches,” Hatley said. “Sometimes he may appear to go unnoticed, but he is one of four special seniors that make me a very proud coach.”

Kerlin is no stranger to being honored for her athletic prowess. She was the CIA Female Athlete of the Year in 2005 and 2006 and the MVP for the co-ed soccer team in 2005.

She currently plays point and guard on the Lady Mustangs basketball team, while serving as varsity cheerleading squad captain.

“Kelly is a talented, natural athlete eager to improve her skills,” Littlejohn said. “Since August, she has attended every practice and game for cheerleading and volleyball. As her volleyball coach, people will ask, ‘Who is that girl who smiles all the time?’ I answer, and they often comment, ‘She is really good!’”

While Kerlin stands out among her fellow athletes, she also stands tall.

“Volleyball is a team sport, but a team is only as effective as its players,” Littlejohn said. “Kelly is one of those individuals who can strengthen a team, as she proved this year by contributing to Currey Ingram’s TVAC championship and 13-2 season. Her empathetic leadership style and strong teamwork skills made her a key player.”

She was named 2005 and 2006 Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference MVP in volleyball.

Outside Currey Ingram, Kerlin has competed in volleyball and swimming, as a member of travel volleyball for Williamson County Select Volleyball Club. For 10 years, she has been of a member of the Cottonwood Swim Team in the Williamson County Swim League, Littlejohn said.

In 2004, Kerlin earned the Shelia Tuberty Award for efforts above and beyond expectations. With stitches still in her foot after a surgery, she kept competing at meets, Littlejohn said.

In the area of community service, during her eighth-grade year at Currey Ingram, Kerlin was elected by her peers to serve as one of two eighth-grade Student Council representatives. In that position, she helped coordinate a "penny war" between grades to raise hurricane relief donations for the Red Cross. She also helped organize a gently used blue jeans collection for a Ukranian orphanage.

“Kelly is also a dedicated student,” Littlejohn said. “In the first academic quarter of the 2006-07 school year, Kelly qualified for the Head’s List honor roll with a 4.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

“Kelly earned this honor while balancing a demanding load of practices and games as varsity cheerleading captain and a top hitter and setter in varsity volleyball,” Littlejohn said. 

Posted on: 12/21/2006