Gashaw Duhamel, who ran cross country for Oak Ridge High School in the fall and track for Tennessee School for the Deaf this spring, has been named one of three male athletes of the year by the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame. Duhamel, left, an Oak Ridge resident and senior at Tennessee School for the Deaf, finished second in the Class A-AA 3,200-meter run in the state track and field meet in Murfreesboro on Friday, May 27, 2016. (File photo by Kindell Moore)
Gashaw Duhamel, who ran cross country for Oak Ridge High School in the fall and track for Tennessee School for the Deaf this spring, has been named one of three male athletes of the year by the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.
Duhamel, a high school senior and Oak Ridge resident, was selected based on his track accomplishments, said Jimmy Hyams, sports director at WNML Radio Knoxville.
Also selected were Sevier County pitcher Zach Linginfelter and Fulton High School football/basketball player Kentell Williams, who made All-State twice in two sports, Hyams said.
Duhamel finished second on May 27 in the boys’ state championship 3,200-meter run in Class A-AA in the state track and field championship meet in Murfreesboro. Before that, he finished second in the Class A-AA East Section Finals on May 19 at Christian Academy of Knoxville.
Duhamel has been signed by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to run for the Volunteers. He attends Tennessee School for the Deaf in Knoxville, and he’s reported to be the first athlete from that school to earn a Division I scholarship.
Duhamel was the top runner for the Oak Ridge Wildcats at the state cross country meet in Nashville in the fall, finishing 10th in the 5,000-meter, or 5k, race. Oak Ridge was the state runner-up in the Division I Class AAA boys race at that meet.
The Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony is July 26 at the Knoxville Convention Center.
Oak Ridge cross country and track coach Allen Etheridge said Duhamel could be the first Oak Ridge athlete to be named athlete of the year by the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, “which is pretty huge.”
Etheridge will attend the banquet with Duhamel along with TSD Coach Jordan Cooper.
“This is a big deal for ORHS athletics because it’s a huge award that none of our athletes have ever won, but it’s also a testament to Gashaw’s extreme persistence,” Etheridge said. “His is a story like few others’.”
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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