The 39th annual Greenville High School Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held Saturday beginning with a noon banquet at the Olde Factory Warehouse followed by the presentation of plaques prior to the boys varsity basketball game against Versailles. Three new inductees were welcomed by a large and appreciative crowd at the GHS gymnasium.
The first inductee from the Class of 2012 was Jonathan Edwards. The winner of six varsity letters, he was a true standout on the wrestling mats. A four-time D-II sectional champion, as a 103-pound freshman, he placed eighth at the state meet. As a 152-pound senior he was a district champion, Greater Western Ohio Conference champion, GWOC North Wrestler of the Year, and a state qualifier, finishing his season with a 44-3 recod. He holds GHS career records for wins with 166, technical falls, and takedowns.
He played shortstop and pitched for the 2011 Wave baseball team, which was regional runner-up in D-II, and was a second-team GWOC choice as a senior the following year. After high school he played baseball for three years for the Wright State-Lake Campus squad before transferring to the main campus. The holder of a Bachelors Degree in Sports Science, he is currently a regional sales representative for the Cintas Uniform Company. A resident of Greenville, he and wife Sydney are the parents of daughter Myla and are expecting a second daughter within the next few weeks.
The second honoree from the Class of 2001 was Shane Gibson. A two-sport star for the Green Wave, he excelled in track and field and on the gridiron. He was a four-time D-I regional qualifier in the discus throw, being a district champion as a sophomore and finishing sixth at the state meet as a senior. His senior year, he was also the Greater Miami Valley Conference champion in both the disc and shot put, qualifying in both for the state meet, and was named Darke County Track Athlete of the Year.
In football he was a hard-hitting linebacker, earning GMVC first-team honors two years a well as second-team All-Southwest Ohio laudits. He still holds GHS records for most tackles in a game with 28 and is second in single season tackles with 164. In addition he still sets the standard for most Green Wave weight room records. After GHS, he attended the University of Cincinnati for a year before transferring to Ohio University, where he was a member of the Bobcat track team. He is currently the National Director of Sales for Rogue Fitness, a company that specializes in creating world-class training spaces for top athletes as well as collegiate and professional teams.
A resident of the Columbus area, he and wife Rachel are the parents of five-year-old daughter Emerson and two-year-old son Beckam.
The final inductee of the evening was Paige Keller, from the Class of 2014. Excelling for the Lady Wave in both track and gymnastics, she was a four-year member of the track squad, earning first-team GWOC honors in the pole vault as a senior, and was on the 4×100 relay team that still holds the school record.
But it was in gymnastics that she truly made her mark, being instrumental in having gymnastics approved as a varsity sport after having only club status in her freshman year. She was a three-time all-state selection in the vault and uneven parallel bars as well as the 2013 National YMCA vault champion. Her senior year, she again qualified at the state level in the uneven bars but also was the 2014 State Champion in the vault, one of only six GHS athletes to win individual titles in school history. In addition, she was also the 2013 Greenville High School Homecoming Queen.
Following graduation she attended Manchester University in North Manchester, Indiana. She continued her track career and still holds school records in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault as well as being a member of the 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams that are atop the record boards at Manchester. Graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Physical Education and later a Masters Degree in Community Health and Prevention Science, she is currently a middle school physical education and health instructor for the Forest Park School District near Cincinnati and is engaged to be married this June to Tyler Waddell.
The total membership in the Hall of Fame now numbers 127. Nomination forms for next year may be obtained by contacting the Greenville High School Athletic Department.
