The Tennessee Sports Writers’ Association released their 2024 All-State soccer teams Thursday morning and Greeneville’s Tanner Myers and Connor Stayton were among those on the class 2A squad.
Both senior members played a pivotal role in the success that the Greene Devils had this year, which concluded with a 14-11-1 record and saw them finish runner-up in the TSSAA State Tournament.
Myers was “Mr. Deniability” in the posts as he used his communication skills to keep his teammates in position, along with his agility and quick reflexes to turn away shots all year and preserve 10 shut-outs on the year. He collected 185 saves in the season, but more impressively stopped fifteen out of eighteen shots in the state tournament. None bigger than the ones that were made during the PK round against Alcoa, where he eventually got the opportunity to take one himself, which found the back of the net and helped propel them to the state semi-finals.
Stayton, who is continuing his playing career at Pellissippi State, saw plenty of action on the defensive side of the ball, but also showed elusiveness as he finished the year with seven goals and four assists. One of those goals came in the state semi-finals against Millington, which started the scoring barrage, allowing the Greene Devils to advance to the state title game.