BEDDINGFIELD ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL HALL OF FAME CLASS

WILSON—Beddingfield High School has announced its inaugural class for the Beddingfield Athletic Hall of Fame announced its inaugural induction class.

Members of the charter class include Kim Austin, Dennis Barron, Everette Brown, the late Gloria Burks Bynum, Lin Green and Tommy Hawkins. They will be honored on Saturday, April 9, at Willow Springs Country Club.

The Wilson Times provided the following information about the Beddingfield Hall of Famers: 



Austin was a track star in the 1980s, becoming a one-person force at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4-A women’s championship in 1986. As the only member of the Lady Bruins track and field team competing in the state meet in Raleigh, Austin claimed MVP honors by winning the long jump and triple jump and finishing second in the 100-meter hurdles. She scored 28 points to finish tied for second in the team standings with Greensboro Grimsley.



Barron, part of Beddingfield’s first-four year graduating class, was the 1982 Wilson Daily Times Athlete of the Year. He earned a football scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned three varsity letters. Barron was also a formidable high school wrestler but his longest lasting legacy as a Bruin was in track and field. His shot put of 63 ft., 6.5 in., during his senior season was one of the best in the nation and still stands as the longest in state high school history, per NCPrepTrack.net.



Brown just completed his second season as a defensive end with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers after an All-America career at Florida State. At Beddingfield, Brown, who was also a basketball standout and a track-and-field competitor, was the 2004 Wilson Daily Times Ironman of the Year.



Burks Bynum, who died in early 2010, was Beddingfield’s first girls basketball star, leading the Lady Bruins to the NCHSAA 4-A Eastern Regional championship game in 1981. She holds the school single-game scoring record with 50 points and later played at Norfolk State University and Atlantic Christian (now Barton) College.



Green came to Beddingfield in 1981 to coach varsity boys’ basketball after leading Bunn to the state 2-A title the previous spring. Green served in many capacities throughout his 20-plus-year career at Beddingfield, including athletic director, boys’ soccer coach, volleyball coach and junior varsity football coach.



Hawkins was Beddingfield’s first athletic director, a position he held for more than a decade. A fixture at Saratoga Central High, Hawkins bridged the gap between city and county teams during the early years after the Wilson city and county school systems merged in 1978. He was Beddingfield’s first girls basketball coach (for whom Burks played) and later took the reins as varsity baseball coach. He guided the Bruins to the NCHSAA 3-A Eastern title in 1997 and their only state finals appearance.