Ryan Leger---HENDERSON DAILY DISPATCH
The Wall of Fame at Kerr-Vance Academy was started in 2006, reserved for student-athletes who excelled in the classroom, as well as, on the field or court. It’s difficult enough for someone to be nominated for the Wall of Fame, nevermind actually getting your name onto the banner.
Once nominated, each student-athlete must also be approved by his peers during a secret ballot. Therefore, one must be a great student, phenomenal athlete and an even better person to receive the honor of having their name stitched into the Wall of Fame banner that hangs in the Spartans’ gym. The last two years nobody has even been nominated and the last Spartan to make the wall was Brandon Dickerson in 2013, who was excellent on the basketball court and the soccer pitch, along with several other sports.
After two years without any nominees, there will be three names etched into the banner from the 2016 class of graduates. Jordan Smith, Daniel Wilkerson and Joseph Burnette were all freshman when Dickerson made the Wall of Fame, but all took note of his achievement and hoped to one day be in his place.
Daniel Wilkerson played varsity baseball all four years at Kerr-Vance, being named to the 1A Carolina Independent All-Conference three times and the NCISAA 1A All-State team twice. Wilkerson also played varsity basketball during his senior season, while somehow keeping his grade point average at an incredible 4.14. The Spartans’ co-MVP has committed to play baseball at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia next year, and the right-hander will most likely be pitching or playing shortstop for the Division III program next spring.
“I’ve been walking through that gym for years now and me and my buddies have always wondered how you get up there on the wall and thought it would be really cool. The names that are up there like Brandon Dickerson are guys I’ve always looked up to,” Wilkerson said. “To get my name up there with them and be honored like that feels amazing and I’m really grateful for it. I just want to thank my coaches and teachers over at KVA, they’re always pushing you to fulfill your potential and I’m so appreciative. They want you to succeed and if you need help they have nonproblem staying late and helping you out.”
Jordan Smith made a living as the starting goaltender in several sports for the Spartans, starting in net for the soccer team as a freshman through his senior season. Smith also was the starting goalkeeper for the Kerr-Vance varsity lacrosse team from seventh grade through his junior season, before taking his senior year off. He also played varsity basketball during his senior season, but most importantly kept good grades throughout his high school career.
“At KVA academics definitely comes before athletics. I always pushed myself really hard in the classroom because I never wanted to be one of those kids on the sideline watching my teammates play because my grades weren’t good enough,” Smith said. “I always knew I had to hit the books and study hard before I could go show off my talents on the field or the court.”
Smith was named to the NCISAA 1A All- State team for soccer both his junior and senior seasons and received several offers to play at the collegiate level. Academics was more important to Smith however, as he chose to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall instead of pursuing a college career in soccer.
“Ever since I started playing sports at KVA in seventh grade, my goal was to get on the Wall of Fame. I saw Brandon Dickerson play and to be on the same wall with him is just an honor because I see him as such a superb athlete compared to me,” Smith said. “I see the wall almost ever y single day, so that was my goal from the get-go. I wanted to leave a lasting impact on KVA because it’s been such a huge part of my life. Out of the three sports, I knew that soccer was my ticket to get there, so I always trained really hard. Luckily I had a great coach [Devon Honeywell] and he helped me out tremendously. I think my work ethic and all the help I received from coaches and teachers was what really got me onto the wall.”
Joseph Burnette was named to the NCISAA 1A All-State golf team his junior and senior seasons, the 1A Carolina Independent All- Conference golf team his junior and senior years and was also named the conference player of the year as a junior. Burnette would’ve been named the 1A Carolina Independent Conference player of the year again as a senior if not for his teammate, junior Tommy Alicardi.
The senior also played varsity basketball and soccer at Kerr- Vance, being named to the All-Conference soccer team as a midfielder his junior and senior seasons. Bur net te earned an honorable mention for basketball as a junior, before missing his senior season due to injury. Despite being the only one of the three student-athletes to play three varsity sports every year, Burnette still managed to keep his grades high enough to be nominated for the Wall of Fame.
“When I started playing spor ts in seventh grade making the Wall was definitely one of my goals and making it just shows how all that hard work paid off,” Burnette said. “I was willing to do whatever I needed to on the field, the golf course or the court to get my name up there. The academic part took a little extra time outside of class, but luckily the teachers here are really flexible about letting you make stuff up to keep your grades high.”
This proves just how special the Spartans’ senior class is this year, not just athletically but all-around. Three more names will be added to Kerr-Vance Academy history and future student-athletes will look up and wonder how they can get their name up on the banner with the likes of the legendary Wilkerson, Burnette and Smith.
“It just shows how hard we pushed each other to get where we needed to be,” Burnette said when asked how all three seniors made the wall. “It was a goal for all three of us to get up there and our hard work paid off.”
The Wall of Fame at Kerr-Vance Academy was started in 2006, reserved for student-athletes who excelled in the classroom, as well as, on the field or court. It’s difficult enough for someone to be nominated for the Wall of Fame, nevermind actually getting your name onto the banner.
Once nominated, each student-athlete must also be approved by his peers during a secret ballot. Therefore, one must be a great student, phenomenal athlete and an even better person to receive the honor of having their name stitched into the Wall of Fame banner that hangs in the Spartans’ gym. The last two years nobody has even been nominated and the last Spartan to make the wall was Brandon Dickerson in 2013, who was excellent on the basketball court and the soccer pitch, along with several other sports.
After two years without any nominees, there will be three names etched into the banner from the 2016 class of graduates. Jordan Smith, Daniel Wilkerson and Joseph Burnette were all freshman when Dickerson made the Wall of Fame, but all took note of his achievement and hoped to one day be in his place.
Daniel Wilkerson played varsity baseball all four years at Kerr-Vance, being named to the 1A Carolina Independent All-Conference three times and the NCISAA 1A All-State team twice. Wilkerson also played varsity basketball during his senior season, while somehow keeping his grade point average at an incredible 4.14. The Spartans’ co-MVP has committed to play baseball at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia next year, and the right-hander will most likely be pitching or playing shortstop for the Division III program next spring.
“I’ve been walking through that gym for years now and me and my buddies have always wondered how you get up there on the wall and thought it would be really cool. The names that are up there like Brandon Dickerson are guys I’ve always looked up to,” Wilkerson said. “To get my name up there with them and be honored like that feels amazing and I’m really grateful for it. I just want to thank my coaches and teachers over at KVA, they’re always pushing you to fulfill your potential and I’m so appreciative. They want you to succeed and if you need help they have nonproblem staying late and helping you out.”
Jordan Smith made a living as the starting goaltender in several sports for the Spartans, starting in net for the soccer team as a freshman through his senior season. Smith also was the starting goalkeeper for the Kerr-Vance varsity lacrosse team from seventh grade through his junior season, before taking his senior year off. He also played varsity basketball during his senior season, but most importantly kept good grades throughout his high school career.
“At KVA academics definitely comes before athletics. I always pushed myself really hard in the classroom because I never wanted to be one of those kids on the sideline watching my teammates play because my grades weren’t good enough,” Smith said. “I always knew I had to hit the books and study hard before I could go show off my talents on the field or the court.”
Smith was named to the NCISAA 1A All- State team for soccer both his junior and senior seasons and received several offers to play at the collegiate level. Academics was more important to Smith however, as he chose to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall instead of pursuing a college career in soccer.
“Ever since I started playing sports at KVA in seventh grade, my goal was to get on the Wall of Fame. I saw Brandon Dickerson play and to be on the same wall with him is just an honor because I see him as such a superb athlete compared to me,” Smith said. “I see the wall almost ever y single day, so that was my goal from the get-go. I wanted to leave a lasting impact on KVA because it’s been such a huge part of my life. Out of the three sports, I knew that soccer was my ticket to get there, so I always trained really hard. Luckily I had a great coach [Devon Honeywell] and he helped me out tremendously. I think my work ethic and all the help I received from coaches and teachers was what really got me onto the wall.”
Joseph Burnette was named to the NCISAA 1A All-State golf team his junior and senior seasons, the 1A Carolina Independent All- Conference golf team his junior and senior years and was also named the conference player of the year as a junior. Burnette would’ve been named the 1A Carolina Independent Conference player of the year again as a senior if not for his teammate, junior Tommy Alicardi.
The senior also played varsity basketball and soccer at Kerr- Vance, being named to the All-Conference soccer team as a midfielder his junior and senior seasons. Bur net te earned an honorable mention for basketball as a junior, before missing his senior season due to injury. Despite being the only one of the three student-athletes to play three varsity sports every year, Burnette still managed to keep his grades high enough to be nominated for the Wall of Fame.
“When I started playing spor ts in seventh grade making the Wall was definitely one of my goals and making it just shows how all that hard work paid off,” Burnette said. “I was willing to do whatever I needed to on the field, the golf course or the court to get my name up there. The academic part took a little extra time outside of class, but luckily the teachers here are really flexible about letting you make stuff up to keep your grades high.”
This proves just how special the Spartans’ senior class is this year, not just athletically but all-around. Three more names will be added to Kerr-Vance Academy history and future student-athletes will look up and wonder how they can get their name up on the banner with the likes of the legendary Wilkerson, Burnette and Smith.
“It just shows how hard we pushed each other to get where we needed to be,” Burnette said when asked how all three seniors made the wall. “It was a goal for all three of us to get up there and our hard work paid off.”
