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Cannon Courier's Sports of Hall of Fame honored four distinguished athletes and 22 CCHS students Tuesday, May 23 at the Arts Center.
This year's Hall of Fame recipients were basketball star Tara Solomon James, sports contributor Mitch Wilson, Harold "Toot" Jennings, a double sports star at Woodbury High School in the 1950s, and Randy Gannon, a member of the undefeated 1974 football team.
Tara James, introduced by her brother Aaron Solomon, was a key member of the 1989 CCHS Girls State Champion team. She played in three consecutive state championship games winning the state title in 1989.
At college at Kennesaw State, James was All-Conference in basketball and cross country. After college, she coached the CCHS Lionettes for five seasons. Now at Providence Christian Academy in Murfreesboro, she has coached for the past four years and succeeded Cannon Courier Hall of Fame winner Randy King as athletic director.
"Toot" Jennings was introduced by Charlie Harrell, who played football with him at Woodbury High School.
Jennings was the first player to letter in both football and basketball. In 1954, he was captain of the basketball team and won a spot on the All-Tournament team. On the gridiron, that same season, he was named All-Central Middle Tennessee Conference as defensive end. He refereed middle and high school basketball for more than 25 years.
Randy Gannon, was a member of the "Magnificent Seven," the undefeated 1974 football team. He was introduced by teammate Bruce Todd.
Gannon was a placekicker and tackle on the undefeated team. During his senior year, he was named Honorable Mention on the All-State Team. A key victory came when Randy kicked a game-winning field goal with 19 seconds left to beat Cornersville, 9-8.
Mitch Wilson, introduced by Jason Melton, is a long-time sponsor and coach of youth basketball teams in Cannon and Rutherford County.
Wilson's coaching career began in 1982 and last lasted more than a decade. He worked a number of years as a football sideline official at CCHS home games.
Wilson, through his job as a State Farm Insurance Agent, is best known as sponsor of the annual Thanksgiving Classic Basketball Tournament, which is the largest in Tennessee.
In addition to honoring the new Hall of Fame members, the Courier also honored CCHS student athletes. The recipients included Preston Campbell, Trey Fann, Maika Fonoti, Devin Gilpatrick, Justin Hall, Alli Howard, Anton Knox, Cort Litchford, Joie McCrary, Kallie McCrary, Jonah McMackins, Raquel Novoa, Landon Parton, Kirsten Pledger, Tori Russell, Sam Schau, LeAnn Scott, Maleah Scott, Chandler Todd, Bradly Vickers, Jake Walkup and Hannah Whited.
