The disappointment of missing out on what could have been a record-breaking senior season was lessened slightly for Brevin Sims on Monday when the Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences star was named Gatorade boys' track and field athlete of the year for Tennessee.
The future Syracuse University runner is the first athlete from CSAS to be recognized with a Gatorade state award and also becomes a finalist for the national athlete of the year, which will be announced later in July.
Despite not having a track season this spring due to the coronavirus, Sims already owns nine state titles, including state records in the 110-meter hurdles and 60-meter indoor hurdles, an event in which he broke his own record in February. His time in the 60-meter event (7.76 seconds) also ranks No. 1 nationally among prep runners this year.
"After not getting to run this spring, it was definitely a little pick-me-up when I found out that I had been selected," Sims said. "It means a lot. I was nominated last year and didn't win, which kind of bummed me out, so this was a goal to earn this award as a senior.
"I'm at peace with us not getting to have a season because I know I had a successful high school career. But another part of me wanted to see what I could've done, and maybe I would have ended with a grand senior year."
The Gatorade award recognizes not only athletic success but also high standards of academic achievement as well as character. Sims is the president of the CSAS student government and a two-year member of the honor society, graduating with a 3.88 GPA.
"Brevin puts in more effort than any athlete I have seen in a long time," said CSAS track and field coach Brandon Lowry. "He pushes for excellence on and off the track."
Sims has not lost an individual event since his eighth grade year and his state-record time of 13.68 in the 110-meter hurdles in 2019 also ranked sixth-fastest nationally that year. He earned All-American honors at the 2019 New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet and represented the United States in a junior national event last summer in Cuba, winning the 110 hurdles and helping the 4x100 relay team finish second.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.