TSSAA Spring Fling: State track athletes find value playing multiple sports

MURFREESBORO — There are worries the multi-sport high school athlete is fading away. A sign of the times due to more single-sport specialization.

The rise of year-round training and development has made it harder for more students to devote time in multiple sports with the pressure of earning a scholarship. Yet there are still many who enjoy a fully rounded high school experience.

Harding quarterback Ty Kimberlin could have easily ended his prep athletic career after a shoulder injury in his final football game. But after surgery in February, the senior quickly recovered to resume running track in the spring.

On Friday, he ran the 400 meters while also doing the long and triple jump at the TSSAA Division II State Track Meet at Middle Tennessee. The love of both sports made it hard to say no to one last season.

“I love this too much. It’s my senior year and I got to make the most of it,” Kimberlin said after winning his second consecutive Division II-A long jump title.

Kimberlin said track taught him about mental toughness after also having surgery his junior year. He could have easily said no to football to focus on getting a track scholarship but didn’t want to have any regrets about his last year.

MUS junior Dorian Hopkins, a standout linebacker who also wrestles and runs track, said playing three sports was about pushing his body to the limits and developing a stronger work ethic.

“I gain a sense of knowing the only person who can stop me is me,” said Hopkins, who did the triple jump, discus and the decathlon at state. “To make state in three different sports, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication and brings out a true moral character in you.

Some enjoyed playing multiple sports for the social aspect. Lausanne senior Nyle Love had done football and track since middle school and won state titles this school year in both.

But the best part of playing multiple sports? Meeting people and learning things he never knew before.

“Different people like to do different things so I like to branch out and see what other people like, not just in my circle,” said Love, who won Division II-A state titles in shot put and discus Friday.

Coaches have also helped by encouraging athletes to try another sport or allowing time for them to adjust with practice schedules. Briarcrest junior Alyiah Wells said that with volleyball only practicing twice a week in the spring, she had more than enough time to practice for the shot put and discus.

Harding teammates Kimari Terrell and Lauren Deaton took their friendship in volleyball to discus because they loved spending time together. It’s strange imagining how field events help improve in volleyball but Wells, Terrell and Deaton each said they can relate to how both require attention to detail.

“It’s the same focus,” said Terrell, who won the Division II-A discus throw with a school record of 112 feet, 1 inch. “Track makes me have to work even harder than I do for volleyball.”

Wells, who won the Division II-A shot put title and was second in the discus, acknowledged she was uncomfortable trying discus this spring. She took on the challenge and was better for it.

With another prep season closed, taking those risks and leaving no regrets is why the multi-sport athlete continues to thrive.

"I believe that everybody should try to just do more than one sport," Wells said, "I love track because it's a social event and you are pushed to make relationships and be more competitive."