Claire Bartlett
Kamri Chester BusbyMichal Howick, Claire Bartlett and Kamri Chester Busby were inducted into the Girls Preparatory School Athletic Hall of Fame during the recent Alumnae Weekend.
Tennis star Bartlett and multisport standout Busby both ended their Bruisers careers in 2008. Howick was a four-time All-American cheerleader who graduated in 2003 after cheering for McCallie football and GPS and McCallie basketball.
Howick also was the first recipient of the GPS headmaster's award for elite athletic performance. She went on to cheer at the University of Tennessee and since 2013 has been the director of cheerleading and head coach of the coed varsity and all-girls varsity teams at GPS.
"Anyone lucky enough to have watched Michal cheer got to experience poetry in motion," her predecessor as coach, Terri Tucker, said in a GPS release. "Her unbridled energy, joy and ability to defy gravity captivated and excited an entire stadium full of people. She is truly gifted."
Bartlett led the tennis team to three state championships and won three individual state titles and then played a year at Virginia. Transferring to Florida, she helped the Gators win Southeastern Conference and NCAA titles in 2010 and 2011.
Coming from a family of exceptional tennis competitors and teachers, Bartlett has become a coach and organizer. Among other achievements, she created a social tennis league for young adults and a sport psychology consulting business and now works for USTA Southern as the tennis service representative for Tennessee.
"Her discipline and drive pushed others at GPS and in our community," said Sue Bartlett, Claire's mother and the GPS tennis coach.
Busby was a setter on the 2007 state volleyball champions and a key basketball player, but she went into the GPS hall for softball, which she went on to play for the Memphis Tigers. At GPS she was on two state-title teams, was a three-time all-state selection and for her career batted .397 with 25 home runs, 33 doubles, seven triples, 40 stolen bases, 131 RBIs and 121 runs scored.
She is a registered nurse working in the intensive care unit at Erlanger East.
"Kamri's athletic skills were great, but her ability to be a great teammate, friend and leader far surpassed anything else," said GPS softball coach and former basketball coach Susan Crownover. " I count myself a lucky coach who can now call her my friend."