The Get Busy Livin’ Foundation, along with Mytown Media and Kpreps.com, is pleased to announce Denzel Goolsby of Bishop Carroll High School has been named the 2014 Get Busy Livin’ - Kpreps Player of the Year Award.
The annual award, which is in conjunction with the Get Busy Livin’ Foundation, is in honor of Dylan Meier, a former All-State quarterback at Pittsburg High School and starter at Kansas State University who died during a hiking accident in 2010 at the age of 26. The award goes out to one Kansas high school senior who not only has shown excellence on the field but also has demonstrated the values that Dylan embodied and Get Busy Livin’ (GBL) strives to promote: adventure, fitness, curiosity and a daily zest for life experiences.
“I think Dylan defines what it means to be a true man,” Goolsby said. “This award is a daily reminder to me to be that type of man. He was someone who put others before himself and someone who sought adventure every day. He never took life for granted. Hearing his story and knowing how he lived every moment to the fullest that is something that inspires me.”
A four-year starter at Bishop Carroll, Goolsby helped the Golden Eagles to the 5A state championship last fall. He rushed for 1,641 yards and 31 touchdowns on only 162 carries. Goolsby also caught 16 passes for 251 yards and seven scores. He was equally effective on special teams in returning five punts and a kickoff for touchdowns. He was a Kpreps 5A All-State selection last season at running back and will play collegiately at Kansas State.
Off the field, Goolsby remains active in his church and his community. He has volunteered for Catholic Charities working the Lord’s Diner providing meals for the needy and has helped with the Center of Hope to provide groceries to those in need. He has visited children at Levy Special Education Center and with elderly at Via Christi Clinic. He assisted with the Bishop Carroll football camps in helping coach grade school and middle school kids.
In addition to the award, the GBL will host the fifth annual Dylan Meier 5-kilometer run on Saturday, April 18th at Hutchinson Field in Pittsburg. For more information, go to getbusylivin.org.
The other finalists for the award were Blue Valley offensive lineman A.J. Harris, Ell-Saline lineman Evan Morrical, Horton tight end Trey Dishon, Pittsburg running back Alex Barnes, Pittsburg lineman Sage Mahnken, St. Thomas Aquinas fullback Kyle Bollig and Wellsville running back Brett Osbern.
“I know most of the other finalists personally,” Goolsby said. “They’re all great individuals, so knowing that was very humbling for me as the winner. Plus, getting an award that honors Dylan Meier adds a lot to it. It’s not something I take lightly and something that’s very special to me. This is much more than just an award. Being All-State in 5A and being Top 11 in the state, those are awards that I’m very thankful to get. But to me, an award like this means so much more because it deals with athletic ability but also the character of the person.”
Past winners of this award were Shawnee Mission West’s Austin Chambers in 2013, Lawrence’s Brad Strauss in 2012 and Madison’s Kole Schankie in 2011.
A number of players from each classification were originally selected as candidates based on exceptional on-field performance. Fan nominations also were gathered through Kpreps.com. Coaches were then solicited for information about the players’ character, school performance, community involvement and hobbies.
From those submissions, the GBL Foundation narrowed the group to eight finalists. Each of the finalists’ answered a series of questions. From the questions, the Meier family and the GBL Foundation board selected Goolsby as the winner.
The award is made possible by Mytown Media and Kpreps.com. As part of the award, Mytown Media will make a donation of $1,000 on behalf of the winner to the Dylan Meier Get Busy Livin’ Foundation.
ABOUT DYLAN MEIER & THE GET BUSY LIVIN’ FOUNDATION
Dylan Meier, a 2002 graduate of Pittsburg High School, was a two-time All-State quarterback for the Purple Dragons. He continued his football career at Kansas State University and started 11 games from 2004-06 as the Wildcats’ signal caller.
On April 19, 2010, Meier died at the age of 26 in an accident while hiking with family in Arkansas.
In addition to his time in Kansas, Dylan played professional football in Germany and Italy, served as a bodyguard for Italian fashion models, worked in a vineyard overseas, ran with the bulls in Spain and went skydiving in the Alps. His next plans included coaching football in Europe, teaching English in Korea and possibly a return to Kansas State as a graduate assistant.
“He had a real zest for life,” Merle Clark, Dylan’s high school coach and family friend said days after the accident. “He lived a lot in his 26 years.”
That zest for life is the basis of the Get Busy Livin’ Foundation that was established in Dylan’s honor. The mission is to provide support for individuals and groups that embody the values that Dylan pursued: adventure, fitness, curiosity, generosity and a daily zest for life experiences.
The GBL Foundation is determined to break down the boundaries that keep people from living life to the fullest, whether those boundaries are social, economic or imaginary.
GBL uses donations to promote these values in the following ways: student/athletic scholarships, sports camp sponsorships, student travel abroad scholarships, community service needs and other activities that inspire and build character.
For more information, please visit http://getbusylivin.org.
See more at: http://kpreps.com/kansas/news/
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