Tee'Ara Copney Adams: (2005-2009) Tee’Ara played Varsity Basketball all four years that she was at Roberson. During her four years as a starting player, Roberson teams won 100 out of 118 games. Tee’Ara led her teams to three regular season conference championships and four conference tournament championships. She also led her team to a 3-A Regional finals. She is the current career leader in points scored for Roberson. She also holds school records for steals in a game (10), steals in a season (137) and most three-point field goals in a season (61). Tee’Ara was a 2-time Conference Player of the Year. She was named the WNC Player of the Year. She received the MAAC “Little Pigs of America” award for Best Female Athlete of WNCA. After graduation from Roberson, Tee’Ara played Basketball for four years at USC-Upstate. She was named the A-Sun Conference Freshman of the Year. She was a 4-time All Conference selection. She finished her career at Upstate as 2 nd all-time in minutes played with 3,616. She is 3 rd all-time in scoring with 1,635 points. She is the career leader in 3- point shots made with 199 and is the career leader for steals with 281. She was named the A-Sun Player of the Week numerous times in her career. Tee’Ara graduated from Upstate with a degree in Sociology in 2013. For all her basketball accomplishments at Upstate, Tee’Ara was inducted into the USC-Upstate Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023. Tee’Ara teaches PE in Middle School and is the Head Varsity Coach at Ben Lippen School in Columbia, SC. She and her husband, Tony, have 3 children: Karter, 7, Karsyn, 5 and Kori Grace, 2.
Dave Culp: (2000-2015, 2016-2019, 2022, 2023) Coach Culp coached girls Cross Country, Girls Indoor and Girls Outdoor Track from 2000 through the present track season. Many of those years were served as a volunteer to the Roberson running program. He began as an assistant to the Girls Cross Country team from 2000 to 2003 and served as the Head Coach of that team from 2004 to 2015. Coach Culp also assisted the Girls Track teams from 2001 through 2019 and in 2022 and 2023. He actually began assisting the Roberson Cross Country program in the late 1980’s with Coach Norman Blair. As an assistant coach, Roberson Girls Cross Country teams were 2-time 3-A State Champions, one 3-A State Runner-up and one 3 rd place finisher. As Head Coach, Roberson Girls Cross Country teams were 12-time Conference Champions and 5-time 3-A State Champions. The team was also 2-time 4-A State Runner-up. During his coaching career, Coach Culp coached 30 individual and team State Champions in Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track. He also coached 23 team and individual State Runner-ups in those sports. During his coaching career, Coach Culp has coached 85 All State performers (top 10 in Cross Country state meets and top 4 in state track meets). Those included 23 All State Cross Country runners, 32 All State performers in Outdoor Track and 30 All State performers in Indoor Track. Coach Culp’s athletes broke standing State Meet records 5 different times and have set new school records in 9 different events. Coach Culp helped to establish the WNC Cross Country Carnival and then directed that event from 2009-2015. Many of Coach Culp’s Cross Country teams received national recognition. The 2009 team was ranked #36 in the nation while the 2013 team was listed in the top 50 by several rating services. Several other teams were listed in the top 100 by those listing services. For his work and his teams’ many accomplishments, Coach Culp has received numerous awards and recognition. Among those are the RRCA (Road Runners Club of America) Outstanding Volunteer Award for over 2,000 hours of service to the sport of running, Conference Coach of the Year many times and the WNC Coach of the Year several times. He was a finalist for the Brooks National Inspiring Coach of the Year in 2014. Coach Culp has recently retired from his work at Steelcase as a Resident Engineering Manager. He and his wife, Barbara live in Arden.
Brian Greenwood: (1998-2014) Brian and his wife, Carolyn, operated the Band Booster concession stand in 1998 and 1999. Brian operated the game clock and scoreboard for soccer, football, JV basketball, and wrestling from 2000-2014. Brian began this “athletic career” at Roberson with the soccer program. When asked to help out with the other sports that use a game clock and/or scoreboard operator, he readily agreed to branch out to those sports as well. Brian also was an active member of the TC Roberson Band Boosters and helped in the Band Boosters concession stand. Brian has been active in Boy Scouts, earning the Eagle Scout award and then serving as Cub Master and Scout Master. He has served as a soccer official. He served his country in the US Army 4th Infantry Division and the 1st Calvary Divison-7th Calvary – Korea. Since concluding his volunteer work at Roberson, Brian has become an accomplished woodcarver and is a member of the Asheville Woodcarving Club. He has won more than 120 woodcarving show awards. Brian lives in Arden with his wife, Carolyn. For all of his dedication to Roberson athletics, Brian Greenwood is the Tommy Koontz Heart of Gold recipient for 2023.
Laura Hoer: (2006-2010) Laura ran Cross Country and outdoor Track all four years that she was at Roberson. She also ran Indoor Track her last three years. In Cross Country, Laura was part of two 3-A State Championship teams and one 4-A State Runner-up team. She was named to the All Conference, All Region and All State teams in Cross Country. In her senior season, Laura was the conference and 4-A Regional Champion. She also was the 4-A State Champion that year. In addition to being an All- State performer, Laura was ranked 15 th in the nation by Mile-Split. She was named to the First Team All-Southeast at the Nike Cross Country National Regional Championship, placing 3 rd individually. She placed 45 th in the country at the national race in Eugene, Oregon. For all her accomplishments in Cross Country, Laura was a 2-time MVP of her Cross Country teams. She was also a 2-time Conference Runner of the Year. In outdoor track, Laura was part of a 3-A State Championship team and a 3-A State Championship Runner-up team. She was part of a 3-A State Championship 4 x 800 relay team that set a state record. She was the 3-A State Champion in the 1600m and set the state record in that event. She was also the 3-A State Runner-up in the 800m. In her junior year, Laura was named the WNC Runner of the Year and received the TC Roberson Most Outstanding Athlete in an Individual Sport. She also received the Bob Waters Award for the highest academic and athletic performance from the MAAC. In her senior season, Laura was the 4-A State Regional Champion in the 1600m run and the 3200m run. She then was the 4-A State Champion in the 3200m run and was the 4-A State Runner-up in the 1600m run. She also placed 4 th in the Penn Relays in the 3200m run. Laura was ranked 2 nd in her graduating class and was named Salutatorian. She also received the Jim Stickney Memorial Award for the Most Outstanding Athlete in an Olympic Sport by the MAAC. In indoor Track, Laura was the 3-A State Champion in the 1000m run in her freshman season. She was the 3-A State Runner-up in the 1000m run in her sophomore season. Altogether, Laura earned All-State honors in Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track 11 times. She set school records for the 800m, 1600m and as part of the 3200m relay team. She set the 3-A State Meet record for the 1600m. She was part of the 3200m relay team that holds the 3-A State Meet record. After graduating from Roberson, Laura attended NC State University where she ran Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track. In Cross Country in her freshman season, Laura won the Wolfpack Invitation, breaking the course record. She finished 4 th place at the NCAA Pre-Nationals and was the ACC Champion and ACC Rookie of the Year. She was the NCAA Southeast Regional Champion and the NCAA Southeast Region Athlete of the Year. Laura was an All-American, finishing 21 st at the NCAA National Championship. She was named the Women’s Cross Country team’s Most Valuable Performer. Laura was named the NC State Female Rookie of the Year as well as the Female Performer of the Year. She was also named the USTF and Cross Country Coaches Association Women’s Athlete of the Year in the Southeast Region. In her sophomore season, Laura was named to the All-regional team at the NCAA Southeast Region event. In 2012, Laura finished in 3rd place in the ACC Championships in the 3k and 5k runs. Laura graduated from NC State with a BS degree in Human Biology and Nutrition and a MS in Physiology. After working for several years in a medical lab and in clinical research, Laura went back to school to earn a BS in nursing. She lives in Raleigh and works as a nurse at Duke Hospital.
Kenny Smith: (1998-2002) Kenny played Baseball all four years that he was at Roberson. While playing for Roberson, Kenny’s teams won 3-A State Championships in 2000 and 2002. Kenny was named the Conference Player of the Year after his senior season. He was also selected to the All State Baseball team that year and was named the North Carolina Player of the Year by the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association. After graduating from Roberson, Kenny began his collegiate playing career at UNC-Wilmington where he played for three seasons. While Kenny was at UNC-W, he led the Seahawks to the Colonial Athletic Conference Championship. The Seahawks made two NCAA Regional appearances during his three years at UNC-W.. After graduating from UNC-W with a degree in accounting, he transferred to Western Carolina University. Kenny was named the 2007 Southern Conference Player of the Year. He hit a team-high 20 home runs and set WCU single-season records in both RBI’s and Total Bases, earning him second team ABCA All-American honors. Kenny led the Catamounts to the championship game of the Chapel Hill NCAA Regional finals and earned a spot on the All Regional team. He graduated from WCU with a Masters in Accounting. Following his collegiate career, Kenny was drafted in the 20 th round of the MLB draft by the Texas wife, Bridget and two Children Remington & Adalyn, in Clemmons, NC.