Top 25 sports events: Around here, individuals rule — teams, not so much

1.For the second straight year, we have three state wrestling champions from this side of the Maumee River. While Genoa senior grappler Jay Nino and Central Catholic senior Nate Hagan (an East Toledo native) repeated as state champions, Clay junior Matt Stencel won his first title. Stencel rolled through four opponents en route to claiming the Division I title at 195 pounds. Nino won a D-III title at 220 and Hagan won a D-II championship at 138. Meanwhile, the Clay wrestling team finished eighth in D-I.

111GraceWinckowski1 111JayNino1
Left, Clay senior hurdler and future state champion Grace Winckowski wins at Three Rivers Athletic Conference championaship.
Right, Genoa senior wrestler Jay Nino on his way to a second straight Division III state title. (Press file photos by Scott Grau/
TRACSports.org and Harold Hamilton/HEHphotos.mugmug.com)

2.Clay senior Grace Winckowski wins the D-I state title in the 300-meter hurdles, becoming the first Clay track athlete to ever win a state championship. She finished in 43.5 seconds at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, just under one-fifth of a second faster than runner-up Sydney Stokes (43.67), a senior from Gahanna Lincoln. Meanwhile, the Eastwood boys track team finished third in D-III for the second year in a row. It was the fifth time in eight years (2008-2015) Eastwood placed third or higher as a team, which includes two state championships.

3.Wayne State University senior diver Dylan Szegedi, an Oregon native, wins his second national title at the NCAA Division II Championships at IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis. The 22-year-old won the 3-meter competition and placed third on the 1-meter board. Szegedi, a 2011 graduate of St. Francis de Sales, was a three-time state qualifier in high school, placing fourth as a senior. He has been diving since he was 6 years old.

4.For Indianapolis Fever 6-foot-3 forward Natasha Howard (Waite/Florida State), plays in the WNBA finals in her second year of professional basketball was a dream realized. Howard was a key role player for the Indianapolis Fever, which fell in the fifth and final game to the Minnesota Lynx in front of a national ESPN television audience.

5.Under the tutelage of Ohio State synchronized swimming coach Holly Vargo-Brown, a Waite graduate, the Buckeyes win the U.S. Collegiate National Championship for an unprecedented 29th time. The synchronized swimming title was the Buckeyes’ fourth national championship in 2015. The others came in football, wrestling, and pistol shooting. On the strength of season-best performances across the board, Ohio State was able to top defending champion Lindenwood, 93-89.

6.The City of Oregon changes its name to “Oregon, Ohio Buckeyes on the Bay, City of Duck Hunters” for one day, Monday, January 12 — when the Ohio State University Buckeyes and the University of Oregon Ducks played for an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision national championship. The idea to show Oregon, Ohio was supporting the Buckeyes was spurred by Oregon natives Matt Squibb and Mark Rabbitt, and quickly went viral on social and national media. Mayor Mike Seferian found himself giving multiple interviews on ESPN and Fox Sports, and the city also designated May 5-12 as “The Ohio State Buckeye Week in Oregon, Ohio.”

7.University of Kentucky thrower Brad Szypka, a 2011 Genoa graduate and Curtice native, began to hit his stride as a junior at UK, winning the Southeastern Conference indoor title in the shot put with a throw of 63 feet, 10½ inches and then finished third in the outdoor competition his senior year with a toss of 63-9. In March 2015, Szypka, who graduated with a degree in education, had a throw of 63-6 at the NCAA D-I national indoor competition, good enough to finish fifth and earn All-American honors for the second time.

8.Kent State wrestler Ian Miller (Oak Harbor) became the Golden Flashes’ fourth two-time All-American. Miller, a 157-pound junior, was seeded seventh and took fifth place at the NCAA D-I Championships held March 19-21 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. He joined Dustin Kilgore, Nic Bedelyon and Don Horning as Kent’s only two-time All-American wrestlers. Miller took fourth place the previous season at 157. He went 15-3 during the regular season and 5-2 at the NCAA tournament.

9.Six-foot-6, 300 pound Ohio State lineman John Glesser, a 2011 Clay graduate, was asked his senior year by Coach Urban Meyer’s staff to join the Buckeyes, which won an FBS national championship. This might have been the No. 1 sports item of the year had he seen action during a game, but he was on the sidelines when Ohio State defeated Oregon, 42-20, for the national title. His parents, Rita and Philip, received four tickets and attended the game, too. Coaches say the role John played all season simulating opposing defensive and offensive lines in practice was vital to Ohio State’s success. He dressed for every game after OSU’s 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech in week two.

10.Olympic wrestling hopeful and Oak Harbor native J.D. Bergman gets the unique experience of working on the movie “Foxcatcher,” which stars Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo. He played a wrestler. Ruffalo has been vital in promoting Bergman’s social media campaign to raise funds for his journey to the Olympics. In one scene, Bergman did his Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, but it was cut in the final edit. The film is based on the true story of two Olympic champion brothers, Mike and Dave Schultz and wrestling enthusiast John du Pont, who developed a complex relationship with the men before things turned hostile. Du Pont ended up shooting and killing Dave Schultz on Jan. 26, 1996. Ironically, Bergman is not the only Oak Harbor wrestler with ties to the movie. Chuck Biggert, who graduated from Oak Harbor in 1974 following a standout wrestling career, competed against Mark Schultz in college. Biggert was a three-time state tournament qualifier at Oak Harbor, going 29-1 and placing third at 145 pounds his senior year. He wrestled at Ohio University as a freshman before transferring to the University of Toledo.

11.Eastwood senior football player Brennan Seifert receives the Tim Berta Courage Award at a National Football Foundation banquet. Seifert had to overcome injuries to his left ankle as a sophomore and a torn labrum in his shoulder as a junior and senior, but also was dealing with a bigger problem at home. His father Doug had been battling prostate cancer since 2009 and he passed away the morning after Brennan scored two third quarter touchdowns to tie unbeaten and fourth-ranked Marion Pleasant at 28-all in a D-V playoff game. A video screened at the NFF dinner showed Brennan looking toward his father on the sideline, and his father was ambulanced to the hospital at midnight that same evening.

12.The Genoa baseball team, for the third time in the program’s history, advanced to the state tournament, but saw their dream season fall short of attaining the ultimate goal, falling 6-4 to Cincinnati Summit Country Day in a D-III semifinal at Huntington Park in downtown Columbus. Behind seven seniors, Genoa finished the season 24-5, won the Northern Buckeye Conference, and gave baseball-rich community memories that will last for years. In addition, several seniors will continue their baseball careers at the collegiate level.

13.Two football teams, Gibsonburg and Lake finish 10-0 seasons, but both lose in first round playoff games. Lake senior Branden Short, a 5-foot-9, 200-pound halfback, rushed for 2,011 yards, is named first-team All-Ohio in D-V. Lake’s career rushing leader with 4,181 yards and 66 rushing touchdowns, Short is only the fourth Lake football player to make the first team, joining Rick Patton (1983), Todd Robson (1980) and John Obrock (1972). The Flyers lost to regional finalist Doylestown Chippewa, 42-35, in its playoff opener. The Golden Bears outscored opponents 452-183, shut out two opponents and defeated two playoff teams (Tiffin Calvert and Hilltop) during the regular season before falling to eventual regional finalist Van Buren, thanks in part to four turnovers, 45-16, in a Division VI regional quarterfinal.

14.Ohio State thrower Carly Pendleton (Woodmore) joined three sisters in qualifying for the NCAA D-I national track meet. Pendleton realized her goal to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships June 10-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. She competed in the discus for OSU, finishing 23rd out of 24 competitors. She was to graduate from OSU in August with a degree in strategic communications. Carly comes from a long line of standout throwers – particularly in the discus – in her family. Her older sisters, Emily and Erin, threw at the University of Michigan and qualified to the national meet seven times between them. Younger sister Megan, who will be a junior at Eastern Michigan this fall, broke the school record in the discus last season. The Pendletons’ father, Mike, taught all of his children how to throw the discus.

15.Eastwood and Cardinal Stritch boys’ basketball teams have historic basketball tournament runs — both reaching the regional tournament semifinals, and Gibsonburg completes a perfect 22-0 season, but loses to the Cardinals in a sold-out district semifinal.

16.Also placing at the state wrestling tournament was Genoa seniors Devon Cannon (third, 132 pounds, D-III) and Brandon Bates (fourth, 145, D-III), Clay senior Richie Screptock (fifth, 138, D-I) and Clay sophomore Nick Henneman (sixth, 113, D-I). Also qualifying were Oak Harbor wrestlers Dylan Mansour, Jeremy Balboa, Rhett Petersen, Ben Petersen and Brandon Garber, Eastwood wrestlers Mitchell Davidson and Andrew Caris, Northwood wrestler Jonny Wheeler and Gibsonburg wrestler Dan Henline.

17.Mario Rizo, 39, a 1994 Clay graduate who still resides in Oregon, at the Buckeye Winter Classic power lifting championships in Columbus set state, American and world records in the bench press for his age group (33-39) and weight class (182-198 pounds) in the Raw Division.

18.Clay senior cross country runner Haley Hess qualifies to state for the fourth consecutive year. Hess earned All-Ohio honors for the third time, finishing 14th in the Division I race in 18:25.8. Hess placed 56th at the state meet in 2012, took sixth as a sophomore and finished 10th as a junior in 18:33.94. Clay’s girls’ team took 12th at the Tiffin regional, but Hess won the individual title with a season-best time of 18:06. Also qualifying to state were Eastwood junior Hannah Sponaugle, Woodmore senior Courtney Burner and Northwood freshman Trinity Fowler.

19.Also placing at the state track meet were was Gibsonburg sprinter Colleen Reynolds, a former state champion, who crossed the 400 meter dash finish line in a season-best time of 57.63 seconds, good enough for third place in D-III. Her twin sister, Kendall Reynolds, took fourth in the 100, finishing in 12.55.

20.The Eastwood boys bowling team qualifies for the 16-team state D-II meet and finishes eighth in the preliminaries, good enough for the Eagles to advance to the state quarterfinals to take on No. 1 seed Coldwater. The Cavaliers, led by three All-Ohio bowlers, defeat the Eagles and then down Napoleon and Wooster Triway to finish as state champions.

21.Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press Defensive Player of the Year, Central Catholic linebacker Zach Sandwisch (Woodville resident) leads Central Catholic to a second straight state final, where they lose to Akron Archbishop Hoban, 32-20, at Ohio Stadium. Sandwisch was also named the Associated Press D-III Defensive POY and has signed to play at West Virginia University. In 2015, Sandwisch was a key part of Central’s D-III state championship team in 2014.

22.Oak Harbor senior distance runner Tyler Sievert takes seventh at the state track meet in D-II 1600) and two Oak Harbor girls relay teams (involving Rebekah Rayburn, Alexa Weis, Karis DeWalt Athena Eli, Annie Quisno and Abby Dornbusch) place.

23.Oregon residents Jayme Cox and Stephanie Sylvester lead the second-ranked St. Ursula Academy volleyball team (24-3) to the D-I state semifinals. Longtime coach John Buck said Cox, a junior libero and the Three Rivers Athletic Conference Player of the Year, is the “heart of our defense and a gifted athlete,” and the all-state player is named the Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press POY, also.

24.In the D-II girls diving championships, Oak Harbor’s McKenzie Pluto finishes 17th and Waite diver Anna Campos was 18th in the D-I championships. Eastwood junior Alyssa Decker made it back to the consolation finals in both of her swimming events she qualified for. She swam her personal best in the 200 IM and very close to her PR in 100 fly. She finished 15th in the D-II IM (58.73) and 14th in the fly (2:12.3), but only two and a half seconds were spread between first place and 16th place in the fly. Decker scored a combined five points with her finishes.

25.At the National Rimfire Sporter Match at Camp Perry, in the Tactical Class, Theodore James, 36, of Woodville, fires an outstanding score of 595-37x to claim the match winner title. His performance also set a new national record, beating the previous score of 593-30x set by Ron Villanueva in 2012.

(— Press writers Yaneek Smith and Mark Griffin contributed)

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