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MARIA STEIN - Two Marion Local standouts, one in football and the other in basketball, will move from the MAC to the G-MAC in different sports after officially signing their letters of intent with Great Midwest Athletic Conference programs on Sunday.
Carson Bills will take his kicking game to the University of Findlay to play football for the Oilers while basketball center Austin Niekamp will head to Canton to play for Malone University.
Marion Local senior Carson Bills, seated center, will attend the Unviersity of Findlay and play football for the Oilers. Seated with Carson are his parents Jen and Mark Bills. Standing from left are assistant coaches Jacob Sherick, Greg Bruns and Laden Delawder.
Bills didn't have to go far to get input on whether to make the trek north to play for the Oilers.
"Coach (Tim) Goodwin was the one who recommended me," said Bills of his coach, a UF graduate and former lineman for the Oilers. "I went up for a visit and fell in love with the place. It's a lot like small-time Ohio. A lot of people from the MAC and WBL (go there). It feels like home."
Under coach Kory Allen, the Oilers had a big 2024, going 9-2 overall and 7-2 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Junior kicker Cameron Shirkey was 45-of-45 on point-afters last season and 9-of-13 on field goals.
"They're a growing program. They return 20 starters (from 2024)," said Bills, who will major in both business and sports management. "Coach is really nice. They take a big emphasis in strength and conditioning."
After hitting 87 point-afters and a field goal as a junior as the Flyers extended their winning streak to 48 straight games, Bills was on target this season. Bills kicked his only field goal in the season opener against eventual Indiana Class 2A state runner-up Linton-Stockton. The only thing that slowed Bills, who earned first team All-Ohio this season, was a hip injury that he recently had surgery for. While he missed a couple of games and was limited to just PATs during the postseason, Bills still knocked in 77 PATs on the season as Marion finished 16-0 again and won a fourth straight Division VII state to run its nation's-best active winning streak to 64.
"The biggest thing from here is how disciplined we are," said Bills. "I think that will translate at the college level, where some programs aren't as straight-forward and disciplined as we are here."
Marion Local senior Austin Niekamp, seated center, will attend Malone University and play basketball for the Pioneers. Seated with Austin are his parents Kelli and Greg Niekamp. Standing from left are assistant coach Jacob Sherick, head coach Kurt Goettemoeller and assistant coach Laden Delawder.
When it came time to choose his school, Niekamp felt Malone was the perfect fit.
"I really like coach (Charlie) Wallrapp up there. It's a small-town feel, a Christian school. Hopefully, that will further my faith as well as my basketball," said Niekamp, who is currently undecided on a major but has an interest in business. "We went up and took a visit. I really like the campus. Then I took in a game. Love the bench (dynamic), love the coach."
The Pioneers are 10-13 on the season and 6-9 in the G-MAC after a 69-55 victory against cross-town rival Walsh in the Mayor's Cup game on Tuesday.
After averaging 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest as part of an inside tandem with Jack Knapke, who is now on the Ohio State track and field team, Niekamp has been a main presence in the Flyers starting this season 19-1. Niekamp leads the Flyers with 18.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. The 6-8 Niekamp also has a hot hand from beyond the arc, hitting 37.6% of his 3-point attempts (41-of-109) and is averaging just under two assists per game.
"I think we have a great community around here, so I will take some of the values I learned here and take them to Canton."
