Late spring arrives with school graduation parties around West Central Ohio for family and friends, while also presenting area fans the opportunity to celebrate teams and individuals who have advanced in OHSAA tournaments to both the regional and state levels. Let’s take an abbreviated look at the past weekend’s outcomes in the various prep sports:
—Greenville’s Lady Wave softball team makes a fifth state appearance since 2007 after winning a D-II regional championship by defeating Western Brown 4-0 behind the shutout pitching of sophomore Ella Oswalt and timely hitting. Coach Jerrod Newland’s crew, which is on a 31-game win streak, will face Carroll Bloom-Carroll in a state semifinal contest Friday at 12:30 in Akron’s Firestone Stadium as they seek the school’s second state crown.
—In D-IV, defending state title holder Springfield Kenton Ridge puts a 62-game winning streak on the line against Mogadore Field, while in D-V, Miami East, conquerors of Arcanum’s Lady Trojans in the regional final, tackles Wheelersburg.
—Defending state champion Tri-Village came up just short of a return trip to Akron in D-VI falling to Danville 1-0, ending another great campaign for the Lady Patriots.
High school baseball enters regional play this coming weekend, with these southwest district champions advancing:
—Butler and Tipp move along in D-III while Bethel continues in D-IV.
—Arcanum and Versailles seek D-V a regional trophy, with Fort Recovery doing the same in D-VI.
—In D-VII Russia, Newton, and Fort Loramie all vie for the right to go to Canton for the state semifinals.
Track and field competitors gather in Columbus this weekend at Jesse Owens Stadium following regional qualifying. A special shoutout to Ansonia’s boys’ track team for winning a regional championship in D-V! Here’s a list of area regional titleists:
—Will Strong of Tipp in D-II 100- and 200-meter sprints.
—Elias Courter of Russia in the D-V 400-meter run.
—In the 800, Luke Campbell of Butler in D-II, Cade Schweikhardt of Bethel in D-III, and Zack Heath of St. Henry in D-V.
—Landon Kimmel of Tipp won both the 1,600 and 3,200 in D-II, while Bennett Lehman of Ansonia did the same in D-V.
—The 110 hurdles saw wins by Aiden Rose of Coldwater and Gideon Beasley of Versailles in different D-IV regionals, and Ansonia’s Cade Shellhaas in D-V.
—Covington’s Day’Lynn Garrett claimed D-IV honors in the 300 hurdles.
—St. Henry’s 4×200 relay team won a D-V crown.
—Freshman Jonah Gruss of Coldwater cleared 6’6” in the high jump in D-IV.
—Carson Holtvogt of Piqua took home D-II pole vault laurels while Max Deckard of Tipp won the D-II long jump competition.
On the girls’ side of the ledger:
—Sydney Baker of Franklin-Monroe won the 200 in D-V, while London Reichert of Ansonia was first across the line in the D-V 400.
—Audrey Alig of Coldwater claimed D-IV honors in the 800, with Elizabeth Waltz of Troy Christian winning the D-V high jump.
—In the D-IV pole vault, Versailles’ Chloe Steinbrunner and Coldwater’s Ava Schmitmeyer each took home titles at different regional meets.
—Finally, Adalynn Hines of Tri-Village won the D-V long jump to advance.
In addition to other area athletes moved on: for complete results go to the OHSAA website and look under Athletics.net.
Levi Brumbaugh of Milton-Union deserves recognition for a strong second-place finish in state D-II tennis action this past weekend!
Just happened to come across the fact that the famous Golden Gate Bridge opened in May of 1937, one of the world’s most recognizable structures. A few other notable spans in the US include the Mackinac Bridge (the Mighty Mac), which opened in November of 1957; New York City’s Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge from November of 1964; and the Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in May of 1883 and unbelievably, is still an integral part of the New York transportation system. It always amazes me how these historic bridges, along with many others, continue to serve the public thanks to constant maintenance and continued improvements.
With New York City in mind, I remembered the Empire State Building, another icon of engineering feats and world history. First opened to the public in May of 1931 it was the world’s tallest building, reaching 1,250’ with another 204’ to the top of its tower and antenna, and remained so until the North Tower of the ill-fated World Trade Center was topped off in 1970. World-famous, it was the site of classic movies over the years, including the original King Kong in 1933; Sleepless in Seattle (1993); and Independence Day (1996). As of 2025, it is now the 8th-tallest building in NYC, the 10th-tallest in the US, and the 59th-tallest in the world. Here’s today’s trivia question—what was the world’s tallest building prior to the opening of the Empire State Building?
Is it just me or did anyone else have little interest in the NBA conference finals this past week or so? Man, I just couldn’t get motivated to watch a competitive series between the Spurs and Thunder. Not sure the Knicks-Spurs title series does much for me either!
Fred Troutwine gave me copies of his father Deo’s Miami University yearbooks from 1937 through 1940, knowing I’m an avid Miami alum. It was interesting browsing through the pages, seeing familiar older buildings and marveling at the changes that have taken place over the past eighty-plus years in both physical facilities and the student body! But what gave me pause for thought was looking at all of the faces of the college men who had no way of knowing that many of them would soon be engaged in combat around the world as America was about to become involved in World War II. As the anniversary of D-Day on June 6th approaches, I wonder how many of them never returned home safely and paid the ultimate price.
Finally, in May of 1930 the Chrysler Building of art deco design fame opened as the world’s tallest building at 1,046’, a claim it held for less than a year. The architects of the Empire State Building purposely hid their final plans until after the Chrysler opened in order to achieve the height of 1,454’ and nab the title of “world’s tallest”!! Stay active and healthy this week!
