A family of excellence!

        Terrell, Tia and Tanika Hudgins with their Athlete of the Year awards.         

(click on image to enlarge)

How often does a family's kids all go on to become an Athlete of the Year at their high school? Virtually never.

But Darius and Leslie Hudgins have been blessed with three children that have done just that.

On May 24 when the youngest, Tia, was announced as Rocky Mount High School's 2012 Female Athlete of the Year, the family had pulled off the triple crown!

Sibling Tanika got it started when she won Female Athlete of the Year in 2002, followed by brother Terrell with Male Athlete of the Year in 2005 - which was preceded a few weeks before by the announcement of his NCHSAA Male Athlete of the Year honor.

Then Tia topped it all off on that exciting Thursday evening.

What an athletically-gifted family! And don't forget about the athletic contributions made by their cousins Calvin, Kelly and Ezra Hudgins.

They all have been truly blessed!

Tia has one more high school duty - to play in the N.C. Coaches Association East-West All-Star Girls Basketball Game in Greensboro in July.

Believe it or not, all three will have had that experience by summer's end, too. Tanika was coached by her high school coach Pam Gainey in playing for the East in the girls' All-Star basketball game in 2002. Terrell quarterbacked the East's football team in the 2005 gridiron All-Star game.