2021: The Year in Area Sports

The year 2021 is quickly drawing to an end, and it's been an amazing year for area sports.

From emotional victories to representing the United States on the international level, the Grand Lake area has had plenty of moments to remember.

Of all the great stories in area sports this year, eight really stood out to make our list.

1. Celina shines on international stage

Mindy Cook reached the highest levels of international sports with the United States women's goalball team that won a silver medal at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in September.

Cook, a 2007 Celina High School and 2011 Ohio State University graduate, was born with aniridia, a genetic condition where the iris of the eye does not develop, limiting her vision.

Cook took up the game of goalball, which was designed specifically for vision-impaired athletes, in 2016 and was named to the six-member women's team.

Cook played in two matches and made her biggest impact in the semifinals against Brazil when her save in the final round of penalty shots secured Team USA's berth to the gold medal match against Turkey.

2. Minster boys reach the 'Topp'

The Minster girls track and field team has won 13 state team titles in the program's history, but the boys' team has never been able to reach the top of the podium.

Until this past June.

The Wildcats clinched its first-ever state track title with a victory in the 4x400-meter relay to overtake McDonald to win the title.

The title was the first for longtime Wildcats coach Larry Topp, who has been head coach for 35 seasons and has spent 40 years in the program.

3. Flyers make it an even dozen

Marion Local completed its sixth undefeated football season - and first-ever 16-win football season - in winning the program's 12th state championship with a 42-7 win over Newark Catholic in the Division VII state final in Canton.

The 12th title breaks the tie the Flyers had with Cleveland St. Ignatius for most state football championships.

Led by quarterback Peyton Otte and a blistering defense that allowed just 28 points in six postseason games, the Flyers average margin of victory this season was 24.6 points per game this season with the closest games coming against two teams that eventually also played in state title games, Versailles (a 19-17 victory in Week 3) and Coldwater (a 24-21 win on Kevin Partington's game-ending field goal).

The Division VII title, added with Versailles winning the Division V state title for its eighth championship, raises the total of state football titles won by Midwest Athletic Conference teams to 39 - and the 145th overall state team title in MAC history. Coldwater's drive for another state title was halted by Carey in the Division VI state final.

4. New Knoxville's emotional run to first title

The emotions of playing for a state championship are intense, but New Knoxville's run to its first-ever state volleyball championship was made even more tumultuous as Ryan Lageman, the husband of Rangers coach Meg Lageman was killed in an automobile accident several days before the team's regional semifinal. The Rangers won to advance to the regional final - which was played just hours after the funeral - and defeated defending Division IV state champion Tiffin Calvert in four sets to reach the state final four for the first time since 2006. New Knoxville won over South Webster to reach the championship match, where MAC rival St. Henry was the opponent after the Redskins, playing its first state final since 2015, defeated Monroeville. The final was a dominant showing as the Rangers spotted the Redskins the opening set before taking the next three to capture the state championship, the 21st for the Midwest Athletic Conference in the history of the league.

5. New Bremen' boys basketball run to regional.

From big shots to big performances, New Bremen' boys basketball team did it all in the 2020-21 season.

After going 14-8 in the regular season, the Cardinals rallied from six points down in the final 90 seconds to force overtime and then defeat Marion Local in the sectional final. Then at the Wapakoneta district, the Cardinals' Reece Busse hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give New Bremen a 40-39 win over MAC champion and top seed Minster. In the final, the momentum from the semifinal win carried over as New Bremen jumped out to a 16-3 lead on St. Henry and picked up a 47-41 win to send the Cardinals to the regional for the first time since 2006.

At the Van Wert regional, the Cardinals led early against Antwerp before the second-ranked Archers rallied to take a five-point lead with under three minutes to play in regulation. The Cardinals came back again, with Trevor Bergman hitting a 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to force overtime. New Bremen then took control in the extra session to reach the regional final for the first time since 1977. In the final, Columbus Grove picked up the win as Dan Homan's tying layup bounced out win the final seconds, and the Cardinals finished 19-9.  

6. Minster girls CC continue state success

Another year, another great run to a title for Jessie Magoto's Minster girls cross country program.

The Wildcats had two All-Ohio finishers in the Top 10 and won the championship with a final tally of 66 points, 42 points ahead of runner-up Liberty Center. Sophomore Maggie Hemmelgarn finished third overall with teammate Taylor Roth taking ninth.

The title was the fifth in six seasons for the Wildcats and the 14th in the history of the program, the most by any team boys or girls in the history of the state meet.

7. Cavs strike for another title

Coldwater earned a state championship in bowling for the fifth time after the Cavaliers took the title in Division II this past March in Columbus.

Rick Hartings' squad earned the top seed into the eight-team championship bracket out of qualifying and defeated Worthington Christian, Hubbard and then Springfield Greenon in the title match in three straight games to capture the title. Cavalier Alison Fox was the individual state runner-up after bowling a 665 series in qualifying.

8. Lonsway drafted by Giants

After returning to pitch for Ohio State for a conference-only slate in 2021 after a halted 2020 season due to COVID-19, Celina graduate Seth Lonsway was drafted in the sixth round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by the San Francisco Giants.

Lonsway, who went 3-5 with a 4.27 earned run average and a team-high 98 strikeouts in 68 innings, was assigned to the team's minor league complex in Scottsdale, Arizona and played for the Giants' Orange team in the Arizona Complex League for rookie players. Lonsway started four games and pitched five innings for the Orange Giants, striking out 10 and not walking a batter with a 7.20 ERA.