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Hall of Fame Class of 2018 Announced

  A pair of outstanding high school athletes, a highly successful coach, and a veteran journalist have been selected for induction into the Allen County-Scottsville Athletic Hall of Fame. Former AC-S Lady Patriot coach Garry DeWitt, Patriot basketball player Lucian Graves, sports writer Don Meador, and Scottsville Pointer star Rick Starks are the members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2018

   Garry Dewitt coached girls basketball, baseball, and golf during his career at Allen County-Scottsville. DeWitt, a nativeof Austin Indiana, graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1988. After coming to Allen County Schools in 1989, DeWitt served as an assistant baseball coach for five years before leading the program for two seasons. DeWitt also coached the AC-S golf teams from 1992 until 2001

  However, it was on the basketball sidelines that DeWitt etched his name in AC-S sports history. After three years as an assistant girls’ coach, DeWitt stepped into the head position for the 96-97 season. Within two years, the Lady Patriot basketball program was poised to compete for regional title. DeWitt guided the 1999 Lady Patriots to a 24-6 record and the program’s first Region 4 title in 14 years. A year later, DeWitt’s AC-S team staged comeback-after-comeback to repeat as regional champions and, a year later, the Lady Patriots became the first and only Region 4 team to claim three consecutive crowns. In state tournament play in 2001, AC-S downed Johnson Central in the opening round---the first state tournament win for a Lady Patriot team in 22 years.

  After a 26-7 season in 2001, Dewitt stepped away from the game to move into an administrative role at AC-SH. The coach returned to lead the team from 2004 through 2007. DeWitt retired in 2007 with an overall record of 127-101 over a combined eight year coaching span. DeWitt will soon retire from Allen County Schools after 29 years of service

   Lucian Graves rewrote the basketball record book at Allen County-Scottsville. Moved to the varsity squad as an eighth grader, Graves worked his way into the Patriot’s starting line-up. During high school from 2004 through 2007, Gravesstarted 119 game and helped the Patriots post a four-year record of 87-33. AC-S won District 15 championships in 2005, 2006, and 2007 with the 2005 squad reaching the Region 4 semifinals---the deepest post season run for the Patriots since 1996.   

   In his senior season, Graves scored 599 points---fourth most all-time in season points for AC-S---and finished with a 19.3 points-per-game average. The All-District and All-Region selection finished his career with 1,735 points---the all-time leading scorer for Allen County-Scottsville High School. Graves averaged 14.3 points per game and shot 79.6% from the free throw line from his freshman through senior seasons. He also recorded 385 assists during his final four years of high school play. Graves’ 33 points verses Warren East in 2007 ranks sixth all-time for points in a game.  

   Graves signed with the University of Alabama-Huntsville. In two-years with the Chargers, Graves made four starts and appeared in 53 games. Graves elected to step away from the game in 2009. He would later have a brief career in law enforcement with the Allen County Sheriff’s Department before taking over his father’s construction business in Allen County. 

  Don Meador has been associated with AC-S sports since serving as girls’ basketball and track manager from 1979 until 1981. Following graduationMeador briefly served as color commentator on sports broadcasts for WLCK/WVLE Radio. In 1986, Meador began writing sports stories and shooting pictures for The Citizen-Times in Scottsville. To supplement the newspaper’s coverage, Meador utilized his love for stat keeping and, many times, shared his stats with the boys and girls’ basketball programs as well as football. In December, Meador will start his 33rd year with the local newspaper.    

 Meador has also been involved with AC-SH in additional rolesMeador spent two seasons as a volunteer assistant girls’basketball coach in the late 1990s. For 24 years, Meador served on staff or as the director of the Lady Invitational of the South basketball tournament. In addition, Meador has continued to keep stats for girls and boys’ basketball and, on occasion, football. Since 2007, Meador has been employed by the Allen County School District and currently serves as the District public relations coordinator, a job that includes sport information director duties. 

  Overall, Meador’s dedication to AC-S sports has enabled him to cover a state softball championship game (2011) and state title games in football (2010) and girls’ basketball (2015). Meador has covered AC-S’s participation in 16 state tournament events ithe team sports of girls and boys basketball, football, softball, baseball, and boys’ and girls’ golf. He has also covered numerous individual student-athletes taking part in state championship events in cross country, track and field, tennis, and golf. 

  Rick Starks was a four-year basketball player at Scottsville High School from 1962 to 1966. As a senior in 1966, Starks averaged 24.8 points per game, led the Pointers in rebounds, and was named as the team MVP. Starks was selected to the All-District Tournament Team, the Glasgow Times All-Area team, and Third Team All-State by The Courier-Journal

  Starks signed to play college freshman basketball at Austin Peay State University for 1966-67 season. After one seasonas a Governor, Starks transferred to Western Kentucky University to pursue his college degree, Starks would later receive a Master’s in Public Service from WKU in 1975. 

  Later in life, Starks was a 1988 Graduate of University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute, a 1994 Leadership Kentucky Graduate, and, in 1997, received the Governor’s Economic Development Award from Governor Paul Patton. Starks retired from the Tennessee Valley Authority in 2003 after working in economic development for the public utility for 27 years. Starks currently is a 12-year member of the Farmers National Bank Board of Directors, is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Association, and a board member for the Southern Kentucky Preforming Arts Center. 

  The four will be officially inducted into the AC-SH Athletic Hall-of-Fame on Friday, August 31. The ceremony will take place at halftime of the home season opening football game between AC-S and Greenwood. Prior to the 7 p.m.  kickoff, the foursome will be the honored guests as a pre-induction reception, starting at 6in the north end of Patriot Stadium. Former classmates and athletes, Scottsville and Allen County-Scottsville supporters, and the community are welcome at the meet-and-great reception.