VHSL Publications

V I R G I N I A H I G H S C H O O L L E A G U E 49 VHSL/www.vhsl.org Class of 2016 Be7e Joe "B.J." Carroll is a giant among her peers throughout the forensics and theatre communi‐ 5es in Virginia. In 33 years of coaching, she has led the Galax High School theatre team to six state championships; three state runner‐up finishes; five third‐ place finishes; 21 district and conference championships; and 13 regional 5tles. In forensics compe55ons, Galax has earned two VHSL third‐place finishes; produced nine individual state champions; and the VHSL record holder, Brandon Farmer, with four individual state champi‐ onships in four different cate‐ gories. Carroll has been awarded Foren‐ sics and Theatre Coach of the Year honors by the Virginia Asso‐ cia5on of Speech, Debate and Drama Coaches (VASDDC). In 2010, she was honored as the NFHS Outstanding Speech, De‐ bate and Theatre Educator Award for Sec5on 2. Her other contribu5ons include hos5ng VHSL district/conference and re‐ gional theatre fes5vals and forensics tournaments; as well as serving a VHSL state theatre fes‐ 5val judge. Be.e "B.J." Carroll Contributor ‐ Galax HS Considered the top track athlete in the Richmond metro area dur‐ ing the 1970's, Cornelious "Bang" Cousins completed his running career at Hermitage High School in 1979 na5onally ranked in four events – triple jump (50‐5); long jump (24‐06); intermediate hurdles (37.07) and high hurdles (13.7). He was a three‐5me state champion in the triple jump, two‐5me state champion in long jump and a state champion in the intermedi‐ ate hurdles. At the 1979 Group AAA outdoor meet, Cousins claimed state 5tles in those three events and a third place finish in the high hurdles, scoring 36 individual points, while lead‐ ing the Panthers to a runner‐up state finish. He earned all‐dis‐ trict, all‐region, all‐state and All‐ American honors in all four events as a senior. His 50‐5 mark in the triple jump was the longest prep jump in the na5on in 1979. He was invited to compete in he pres5gious Inter‐ na5onal Prep Track and Field In‐ vita5onal in Chicago and the Golden West Track and Field Meet in Sacramento; both meets merit an invita5on to only the top eight seniors in each event. A standout triple jumper at the University of Maryland, Cousins was an All‐American and an ACC triple jump champion while com‐ pe5ng for the Terrapins. Cornelious Cousins, Jr. Athlete ‐ Outdoor Track Hermitage HS As the girls basketball coach at J.J. Kelly High School for 24 years (1987‐2011) and for the past five years at Central‐Wise High School (2011‐16), Robin Dotson guided his teams to a 566‐193 overall record; three state cham‐ pionships; three state runner‐up finishes; 6 regional 5tles; and 13 district/conference champi‐ onships. Dotson has received numerous honors including during his ca‐ reer: VHSL girls basketball Coach of the Year; Na5onal Federa5on of State High School Associa5ons (NFHS) Mideast Sec5onal Coach of the Year; Associated Press Group A/2A state coach; Virginia High School Coaches Associa5on (VHSCA) Coach of the Year; and District/Conference Coach of the Year 15 5mes. In addi5on to coaching girls bas‐ ketball, Dotson con5nues to serve as a head girls track coach, assistant varsity football coach, and assistant so&ball coach at Central. He also previously served as boys basketball head coach at J.J. Kelly, as well as, as‐ sistant boys basketball coach, as‐ sistant baseball coach, and head golf coach, Robin Dotson Coach ‐ Girls Basketball Central‐Wise/J.J. Kelly HS Owner of the most wins in VHSL baseball history with 623 wins at Honaker High School, with over 25 district 5tles, four region championships and one state 5tle, Tom Harding is recognized as one of the most respected and successful baseball coaches in Virginia High School League history. In addi5on, Harding has been selected District coach of the year over 25 5mes, Region Coach of the Year twice, South‐ west Virginia coach of the year and Group A state coach of the year. In addi5on, Harding's passion and dedica5on to his athletes was never more evident than at the 2011 state championships. He had heart surgery and checked himself out of the hospi‐ tal on the Saturday of the state 5tle game; changed into his uni‐ form at a local Burger King; and arrived in Radford to coach his team to its first‐ever state cham‐ pionship. In 46 seasons at Honaker, his teams have only had two losing seasons. Tom Harding Coach ‐ Baseball Honaker HS

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