The Daily Standard
Story Archive
As has been the case year in and year out in the Grand Lake area, the local sports scene has been prolific and productive.
From the start of 2024 until the waning days of the year, area athletes have shined at the highest levels.
The task of compiling a list of the top 10 local sports stories for the year is a bit more difficult this year. Some years have been a struggle to get 10 stories, with several years not reaching that level. But in 2024, there were some challenges for some spots.
Members of the sports department throughout this year looked through the nominations and hammered out the top 10 with a few honorable mentions.
1. #8 FOR #70
The football season for Coldwater began with sadness, but culminated in another great season for the program.
The day before the regular season began, senior All-Ohio center Cale Wenning died from injuries suffered earlier in August from an electric bike accident at the age of 17. Coldwater paid tribute to Wenning with a flag bearing his jersey number 70 that was carried on the field and stayed on the sidelines every game this season.
The team made sure Wenning's legacy would carry them this season as the Cavaliers finished 15-1 and won the program's eighth state football championship with a 31-7 win over Kirtland in the Division VI state title game at Canton's Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
The Cavaliers looked sharp and showed a new look from its traditional Cav-Gun offense by going more under center, a suggestion that Wenning lobbied for during his time as starter. The result was a solid running game from seniors Miles Pottkotter and Cody Depweg that fully complemented a great passing game from quarterback Baylen Blockberger.
The title was the sixth won by Chip Otten as head coach of his alma mater, in a season where Otten also won his 200th career game.
2. FLYERS KEEP WINNING ... AND WINNING
Marion Local continued its dominance in football by simply going out and dominating week in and week out.
The Flyers tied the state record for consecutive wins in Week 9 with a 21-0 win over Minster for their 57th straight win, tying the 1996-2000 Delphos St. John's teams, a streak snapped by Marion Local in the 2000 state semifinals. A week later in the Midwest Athletic Conference title game at Coldwater, the Flyers handed Coldwater its only loss of the season 35-0 to become the new record holder.
Six more wins, including another game against Minster in which the Flyers won 21-7, the closest game the Flyers had all season, followed. The season was capped by an amazing display in the Division VII final, where Marion Local led Jeromesville Hillsdale 33-0 after one quarter and 60-0 at halftime before setting several Division VII title game records for scoring and scoring margin with a 74-0 victory, breaking the all-divisions state record for largest margin of victory held by Delphos St. John's in 2010 when the Blue Jays beat Shadyside 77-6.
3. A PERFECT FINISH
The Coldwater volleyball program had to settle for silver runner-up trophies in 2017 and 2022.
This year, nothing was stopping the Cavaliers as they finished 29-0 and won the inaugural Division VI state championship in sweeping Marion Pleasant in the title match at the Nutter Center.
Led by Stanford-bound Spencer Etzler and senior classmates Morgan Blasingame and Olivia Broering, the squad, which featured several younger players, lost just three sets the entire season, one to Versailles in conference play, another to St. Henry in the district final and then one more to Independence in the state semifinals in Vandalia.
4. THE MAT CHAMP
After finishing fourth as a sophomore at 113 pounds, St. Marys' Tate Hisey set an alarm on his phone for March 10, the date for the 2024 state wrestling championship matches.
When the clock struck 12, Hisey rose to the occasion, becoming not only the first Roughrider wrestler to win a state title when he pinned Indian Valley's Leroy Steagall to win the Division II 126-pound title, but also the first Grand Lake area wrestler to accomplish the feat and just the second to reach a state title, joining Celina's Jim Gray, who finished second at 145 pounds in 1992. Hisey, who is competing for his fourth Western Buckeye League title and a fourth straight trip to state later this season, finished his season at 45-2.
Teammate Bo Hertenstein became the third Grand Lake area wrestler to reach the final a few matches later as he wrestled for the 150-pound title. Unfortunately, Hertenstein lost to Brody Saccoccia via decision to finish second.
5. BACK-TO-BACK ON THE TRACK
In 2023, Marion Local needed a clutch performance in the final event of the day to win the boys' track and field program's first-ever Division III state team title.
Last season, the Flyers had much less drama, clinching the title well before reaching the 4x400-meter relay. Marion led by 15 points going into the relay and finished second to claim the second straight title.
Led by wins from Toby Kremer in the pole vault and the 4x200 relay along with several other podium finishes, the Flyers won by 16 points over Lowellville 51-35 to win just the third state boys track title in MAC history.
6. ZAHN, CAVS SHINE AT STATE
Coldwater's Izzy Zahn had a career performance in two days at the Division III state track meet in Dayton.
On the opening day on May 30, Zahn set the division state record in the 200-meter dash, then won the long jump via a tiebreaker to claim her first state title of the day.
On May 31, Zahn defended her 200 title from the year before, then wrapped up her day by teaming with Becca Wenning, Audrey Alig and Kiersten Keller to win the 4x400 relay.
The effort by the Cavaliers led to the team finishing second in the team standings, the highest finish for the program since winning the third of three straight title in 1996.
7. NEVER GIVE UP
Timing is everything. Just ask the Fort Recovery baseball team.
The Indians finished 9-12 in regular season play as they got ready to make their way through the tough Division IV tournament.
But as the postseason began, the Indians turned the page as Caden Grisez, who was unable to pitch for a large portion of the season, returned to give Fort Recovery a 1-2 punch on the mound with Alex Dues. Grisez's postseason heroics were highlighted by a 5 ⅓ inning performance in the district final against Marion Local as the Indians won 11-3 to reach the regional for the first time 2016.
The Indians then swept the regional to reach state for the fourth time in school history, then won the semifinal 3-1 over Jeromesville Hillsdale to reach the championship game for the first time since 1953. Fort Recovery's season came to an end a day later in a 3-2 loss to Berlin Hiland.
8. A GREAT RUN
After having several strong seasons halted in the postseason, the Minster softball team looked to return to state for the first time since finishing as state runner-up in Division IV in 2014.
Led by solid hitting up and down the lineup and pitching by Brooklyn Osterloh, the Wildcats defeated Tri-Village 5-3 in the regional final to advance to Akron's Firestone Stadium for the state semifinals in setting a school record for most wins with 29 and entering the final four on a 26-game winning streak.
In the state semifinal against two-time defending state champion Strasburg-Franklin, Minster scored a run in the top of the first, but Tigers pitcher Amelia Spidell shut down the Wildcats the rest of the way in pitching a seven-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Strasburg-Franklin scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth and added six more the rest of the way in a 10-1 victory as Minster finished 29-2.
9. A CHALLENGING TITLE
The Minster girls cross country team are perennial members of the top 10. The Wildcats entered the season having won three straight Division III state titles and have a state-record 16 titles in their history.
But coach Jessie Magoto had some decisions to make this season after having three seniors graduate from the 2023 team. Junior Annie Hemmelgarn was then lost for the season due to a torn ACL.
The Wildcats blended three returning runners along with varsity newcomers, which took some time before finally clicking at the MAC meet, then cruised through the district and regional meets to reach the state meet again. At Fortress Obetz, Minster fended off the challenges of Summit Country Day and Rittman, winning the 17th state title in school record with 135 points, five fewer than Summit Country Day and nine ahead of Rittman. Senior Maria Niekamp finished seventh overall and sophomore Claire Bohman finishing 20th to both earn All-Ohio accolades.
10. BOYS OF SUMMER
The Minster baseball program has had a strong reputation with three state championships and a runner-up showing in its history, but the summer program had not won an ACME Baseball Congress title in its history.
The team made an incredible run in spite of losing a 12-inning opening game of the District 4 tournament that took two pitchers out of pitching the rest of the tournament due to pitch counts. Minster rallied to defeat Fort Loramie twice in one day to win the district title and secure a spot in the state tournament in Coldwater.
The Wildcats defeated Kalida in the quarterfinals, then had its semifinal against Defiance delayed in the fourth inning by storms that prompted a restart the next day. Minster rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Defiance in eight innings, then returned later in the day to face Van Wert in the championshp game. The game was scoreless until the top of the eighth when the Wildcats plated three runs to secure the program's first ACME title and the first for any local team since Coldwater won in 1994.
• Celina and Fort Recovery girls bowling teams qualified for state tournaments for the first time.
• Celina graduate Kaylie Dameron, running for Wright State University-Lake Campus, won the United States Collegiate Athletic Association's national cross country race.
• Celina graduate Payton Bertke helped St. Thomas University reach its first-ever NAIA volleyball quarterfinals, earning Setter of the Year honors in the Sun Conference and winning conference Setter of the Week honors nine times during the season.
• St. Henry and University of Dayton graduate Ryan Mikesell leading MLP Academics Heidelberg (Germany's Basketball Bundesliga) in scoring this season.
