Timesland boys athlete of the year: Daniel Hamm
Fort Chiswell's Daniel Hamm excelled in football, basketball and track and field to earn the 2012-13 Timesland boys athlete of the year honor.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Forty-eight feet. That is the average width of a four-lane street.
Stand and think a minute before the next time you try to cross one.
Could you triple-jump across it? Could you heave a 12-pound steel ball from one side of the road to the other.
Daniel Hamm can.
Anyone who saw the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Hamm star in three sports at Fort Chiswell High School gladly would serve as a witness.
Premier athletes are difficult to hide during a high school track and field meet.
Hamm exhibited a blend of speed and power not often seen in Timesland.
And he stood out.
The VHSL Group A champion in the triple jump, Hamm covered 48 feet, 6 inches in the event. He also had a top throw in the shot put in 2013 that was even farther, a toss of 48-10 1⁄2.
He also managed a long jump of 21-6 and a high jump of 6-2, which is 4 inches above the top of his head.
Oh, about that head. Hamm pulled a 3.85 grade point average at Fort Chiswell, good enough to land him enrollment at the University of Virginia.
Hamm wants to major in kinesiology.
Meanwhile, he wants to show off some moves in Scott Stadium.
Hamm will join UVa's football team as a preferred walk-on. He earned that spot by running.
As a tailback at Fort Chiswell, Hamm was named the Mountain Empire District player of the year after compiling more than 2,500 all-purpose yards.
He also found time to play basketball, starting at guard for a Pioneers team that reached the 2012 Group A Division 2 semifinals and averaging 12.0 points last winter.
Pull out the yardstick and measure Hamm's accomplishments as a prep athlete.
But don't misplace it. There might be more to come.
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THE ROANOKE TIMES
