The latest class to be inducted into the Christian County High School Athletic Hall of Fame has been announced. School officials released the names of the 11th class on Thursday afternoon.
Those being inducted this year include:
Anthony Hickey Jr. (Basketball) – Hickey Jr. was named Mr. Basketball after leading Christian County to the 2011 state basketball championship. Hickey averaged 18 points, 4.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and four steals during his senior season. He was named the Sweet 16 MVP and the Kentucky Associated Press Player of the Year. Hickey played his college basketball at LSU and Oklahoma State and has been playing overseas since 2015.
Maxie Stamps Jr. (Basketball) – Stamps led the Colonels in scoring his senior season at 19.8 ppg. and rebounding at 10.5 rebounds. He signed to play college basketball at Three Rivers College out of high school. Stamps finished his CCHS career just shy of 1,000 career points.
Derrica Jones (Basketball/Track) – Derrica was a standout in two sports and helped the Lady Colonels win 107 games in her four years under coach Don Dillard. She was named All-State Honorable Mention her senior season and was named to the Kentucky All-Star Team. She was also a state champion in the discus throw in 2002 and still holds the school record of 121-feet, 9-inches. She signed to play her college basketball at Southeast Illinois College in 2003 and transferred to Hutchinson College (Kansas) before finishing at Murray State University.
Vashun Banks (Football) – Banks helped lead Christian County to the 2008 state championship game, where he scored a pair of touchdowns in the loss to Highlands. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in both his junior and senior seasons and played in college at Campbellsville University.
Keith Tandy (Football) – Tandy left Christian County as the career record holder in passing yards (8,609 yards) and touchdowns (90) and held the school record with 528 yards and eight touchdowns in a game. Tandy played his college football at West Virginia, where he was a three-time Big East Academic All-Star and led the Big East in interceptions as a junior. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and played seven seasons with the Bucs and Atlanta Falcons. He later joined the Tampa Bay coaching staff, where he was an assistant special-teams coach for the Super Bowl champions in 2020.
Dr. William Sweet (Football) – Dr. Sweet, who helped launch the St. Luke’s Free Clinic in Hopkinsville three decades ago, has been a long-time contributor and supporter of Christian County athletics and the football team.
Mike Pyle (Football) – At 5-10 and 160 pounds, Pyle played offensive guard for the Colonels from 1963-65. He also played linebacker on defense. Following his senior season, Pyle received the first Dennis Wiley Memorial Award for outstanding lineman of the year.
Jimmy (Doc) Johnson (Football) – Standout player for the Colonels in the 1960s.
Tammy Hancock Hightower (Softball) – Hightower was a key member of Christian County’s state champion slow-pitch softball team in 1994 and the fast-pitch state champion team of 1996. She picked up three wins in the circle in the 1996 state tourney, including a three-hitter in a semifinal win over Daviess County.
Kayce Fields Brown (Softball) – Brown teamed with Hightower to handle the pitching for Christian County’s 1996 state championship team. She tossed a five-hitter in Christian County’s championship win over Ryle and added two hits in the 9-1 win.
Griffin Joiner (Softball) – Joiner was the 2011 Miss Softball and the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year while earning All-State honors. She graduated as the school record holder with 293 hits, 30 home runs, 66 doubles, and 216 RBI. She later played at the University of Kentucky, where she was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team and Second-Team All-SEC. After her playing days, she became an assistant coach at the University of Louisville.
Brett Duncan (Baseball) – Duncan was considered the Colonels’ best pitcher from 1993-95. As a sophomore, he was 8-4 with a 2.23 ERA as the Colonels won the region title. He struck out 82 batters in 10 games as a junior and was 10-6 with a 2.05 ERA as a senior, which included a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts in the 1995 region championship win over Webster County. Duncan signed with Dallas Baptist after high school.
Darren Parker (Wrestling) – Darren won a state wrestling title in 1988 and finished the season with a 31-10 record as the Colonels won the state championship. This came after a region runner-up finish.
Arvel Banks (Wrestling) – Banks was a region runner-up for the 1988 Christian County state championship team in the 135-pound class and finished sixth at state. He would claim a state title the following year as the Colonels finished second as a team. He finished his senior season with a record of 36-3.
The 1996 Fast Pitch Softball Team – The Lady Colonels, in just their second season of fast-pitch softball, captured the school’s fourth state softball championship with a 9-1 victory over Ryle. The Lady Colonels, under Hall of Fame Coach Jim Perrin, finished the regular season with a 17-7 record but won nine straight postseason games to claim the state title.
As a part of the ceremonies, Hickey Jr. and Joiner will see their jerseys retired.
The recognition of the class will take place Friday, September 5th, before the Colonels’ football game that night at the Stadium of Champions. A reception for the class will be held that evening at 5 pm.
