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ST. MARYS - Ohio Northern was just perfect for Jace Turner when it comes to his future plans.
Same for Tanner Mele and Siena Heights.
The St. Marys seniors formally confirmed their college plans on Wednesday as Turner will head to Ada to play basketball for the Polar Bears while the Saints gain a standout wrestler.
St. Marys' Jace Turner, center, will attend Ohio Northern University and play basketball for the Polar Bears. Seated with Jace are his parents Derek and Jill Turner. Standing are sisters Claire and Macy Turner.
It was the mechanical engineering program at Ohio Northern that attracted Turner.
"They have a real good program for mechanical engineering," said Turner. "They just happened to reach out and ask me if I wanted to play basketball there. So it all worked out and it's not too far away from home."
The Polar Bears are usually among the upper division teams in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Second-year coach Neal Young led ONU to a 13-12 record last season and went 8-10 in OAC play with just one senior on the roster and the majority of the team freshmen and sophomores.
"They're really young. They had a lot of freshmen who were able to play," said Turner. "I got to meet a lot of (players). They seemed to be all together and sounded like a fun program to be part of."
In his three years in the lineup for the Roughriders, Turner was a key inside presence. Two of those seasons saw Turner, Evan Angstmann and future Ohio State player Austin Parks provide a formidable post presence. This past season, with Parks at Ohio State, Turner and Angstmann picked up their games.
His senior year, Turner averaged 13.3 points, nine rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 57.4% from the field. Turner was a second-team All-Western Buckeye League and All-Northwest District third-team selection.
"We went hard at it every year, all year round," said Turner. "I'm hoping that will help me get ready for the college game."
St. Marys' Tanner Mele, center, will attend Siena Heights University and wrestle for the Saints. Seated with Tanner are his parents Tom and Kelley Mele. Standing is St. Marys assistant wrestling coach Tim Hisey.
Mele admitted that the Adrian, Michigan, NAIA school was not on his radar when thinking about his post-graduation plans.
"I wasn't sure about going into college 1,000%," said Mele, who is undecided about a major but expressed an interest in criminal justice. "But when they contacted me, they gave me a lot of (financial incentive) to go."
The Saints, competing in the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference, finished sixth last season in the WHAC tournament held at Indiana Tech, where Mele's former Roughrider teammates Trevor and Tyler Hisey compete for the Warriors.
"They're younger and don't have a lot of (wrestlers at) bigger, heavier weights," said Mele.
Mele, who was a starter on the offensive line for the St. Marys football team and is a thrower for the track team, had to bide his time to move into the varsity lineup thanks to a deep program. This past season he reached the finals of the 215-pound weight class at the WBL tournament, losing to eventual state runner-up Jace Knous of Wapak in the final.
A week later, the two met again at the Defiance Division II sectional, with Knous getting the win again. Unfortunately, Mele was unable to compete at the district tournament, ending his season at 25-15.
Mele knows the work he put in with the wrestling team will help him at the college level.
"The coaches (at St. Marys) push us in practice with our physical conditioning and mental conditioning," said Mele.
