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Bob Von Kaenel, longtime Dover High School Boys Basketball Coach, will be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 Class. The 17th Annual Induction Ceremony will take place Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris, located at 8700 Lyra Drive. Von Kaenel launched his coaching career in 1978 at alma mater Strasburg High School with both the Girls Reserve Basketball team and 7th grade Boys Basketball team. After moving to Tuscarawas Valley, he contributed 11 years as the Head Boys Basketball Coach, Girls Track Coach, and four years as Assistant Football Coach. While at Tusky Valley, he led his team to a Division III State Runner-Up finish in 1988. In 1991, Von Kaenel became Head Boys Coach at Dover where he has amassed a coaching record of 761-274 through the 2023-24 season. The impressive record lands him among the top five winningest Boys High School Coaches in Ohio history. He took his 24-3 Tornadoes to the state tournaments in 1998 when they finished as Division II State Runner-Up. The 2004 team earned a 22-4 record and returned to the Final Four. In fact, every Dover team had a winning record across his tenure and in 11 seasons they finished with 20 or more victories. Von Kaenel’s highlights include 19 Conference, 22 Sectional, and 9 District Championships over the course of his storied career. He’s been named AP State Coach of the Year three times—in 1988, 1995 and 1999. At the local level, he was selected as Conference Coach of the Year 14 times and District 5 Coach of the Year 12 times. He coached in the District 5 East-West All-Star Games, Ohio North-South All-Star Game, Ohio-West Virginia Classic, Wendy’s 4-State Classic, and the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game. In 2005, he was named the OHSAA Sportsmanship, Ethics, and Integrity Award Winner for Boys Basketball in the State of Ohio. That same year, he was also selected by the National Federation Coaches Association as the 2005 Ohio Coach of the Year and Mideast Region Coach of the Year. Von Kaenel earned the coveted Paul Walker Award for outstanding coaching and service to the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association in 2006. He has been secretary since 2001 and served as president from 1998-2000. He was enshrined in the OHSBCA Hall of Fame in 2016 and in the OHSAA Officials Hall of Fame in 2017.  Another tie to Dover, Dan Hughes, a Fort Frye High School and Muskingum University graduate, coached the Crimson Tornadoes Boys Basketball team for a season in the early 1980s. Hughes had a tremendous coaching career in the WNBA where he led the Seattle Storm to two championships and is second in all-time wins for a WNBA coach. The rest of the Class of 2024 inductees are Sylvia Crawley, Don DeVoe, Craig Ehlo, Jack Greynolds, Tyrone Hill, Thurman Leggs Jr., Kirk Martin, Mel Nowell, Bev Oberding, Lauren Prochaska and the 1976 AAA State Champion Barberton High School Boys team.
Dover High School boys head basketball coach Bob Von Kaenel will be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame April 20, but another with ties to Dover will have a big hand in the honor. Dover native and 1997 graduate Sheila (McCombs) Fox is the Executive Director of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. “One of the things I love most in my work with the Hall is the relationships I’ve made and how gracious and kind all the inductees are,” said Fox. “When my 12-year-old daughter was in 3rd grade, she had a Black History Month research project & presentation and she decided to learn more about Wayne Embry. He graciously agreed to meet with her on Zoom while she interviewed him. (during COVID) Later that year, Miami University dedicated a statue in his honor, and I took her with me for the celebration. They have had a special relationship ever since.” A 2001 grad of Ohio University, Fox was originally hired to oversee the annual Induction Ceremony in 2010. Through her work and experience with non-profit organizations, the Executive Board named her the first-ever Executive Director in 2014. Since beginning her work with the OBHOF, Fox created the Strategic Partnership Committee, which is working to build partnerships with individuals and organizations. She also established their social media presence, oversaw a brand and website redesign, and developed new membership levels and benefits. In addition to working with the OBHOF, Fox also runs her own event planning firm, Event In Site, LLC, which she launched in 2007. She lives in Worthington with her husband and two daughters. Founded in 2005, the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame recognizes the remarkable achievements of both male and female athletes across high school, college, and professional basketball – along with phenomenal coaches and individuals who’ve impacted the game along the way. Together with a dedicated collection of coaches and basketball enthusiasts, Doc Daugherty and the late Don Henderson led the charge to establish the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame with a mission of preserving legacies, celebrating greatness, and honoring excellence. The annual Induction Ceremony, hosted in Columbus, celebrates basketball and its rich legacy. As of 2023, 284 individual inductees representing over 30 Ohio colleges and universities and 120 Ohio high schools have been recognized. The list of charter inductees of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame includes Embry, Jerry Lucas, Katie Smith, Jimmy Jackson, Oscar Robertson, Clark Kellogg, Bill Hosket Jr., Fred Taylor, Paul Walker, Jay Burson, John Havlicek, Bob Knight, and Nate Thurmond. Another tie to Dover, Dan Hughes, a Fort Frye High School and Muskingum University graduate, coached the Crimson Tornadoes boys’ basketball team for a season in the early 1980s. He had a tremendous coaching career in the WNBA where led the Seattle Storm to two championships and is second in all-time wins for a WNBA coach. The rest of the Class of 2024 inductees are Sylvia Crawley, Don DeVoe, Craig Ehlo, Jack Greynolds, Tyrone Hill, Thurman Leggs Jr., Kirk Martin, Mel Nowell, Bev Oberding, Lauren Prochaska and the 1976 AAA State Champion Barberton High School boys’ team. The 2024 Class will be enshrined on April 20 at the Hilton Polaris in Columbus.
It’s not the way Josie Pry wanted to end her college track and field career. And she won’t let it. Pry’s solid senior college track and field season recently came to a premature end when the current South Alabama University and former New Philadelphia High School standout suffered a season-ending right knee injury during practice for an indoor meet. She had already had her senior season of high school taken away by COVID and now her senior season of college has been cut short by injury. But the 22-year-old daughter of Joe and Carla Pry is undeterred. Pry recently underwent surgery to repair her ACL and meniscus and has decided she will take a redshirt year and come back next year as a graduate student. She had surgery on March 21 and will graduate in May with a Biology major with a concentration in Marine Science and will be going into Marine Science for her master’s program. The South Alabama Track and Field program put together an impressive start to its 2024 indoor season at the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational. Before getting hurt, the 5-foot-7 sprinter was part of the women's 4x400 meter relay that turned in a stellar performance, finishing with a time of 3:58.41 to take second place in the event. South Alabama finished third on the women's side at the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Pry was seventh in the 400-meter hurdles with a seventh-place time of 1:02.48, a personal best. South Alabama wrapped up competition at the Crimson Tide Invitational in Tuscaloosa as Pry set a new personal-best in the 100-meter hurdles, recording an eighth-place finish in 14.30 seconds. At the Southern Miss Invitational Pry finished in fifth place in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in 1:06.59. Pry (8.92 seconds) took third and fourth place in the women's 60m hurdles as South Alabama had another strong showing to start the indoor season at the Samford Invitational. Here is a capsulized look at Pry’s other athletic accomplishments at South Alabama and at New Philadelphia. 2022 Outdoor — Set a new PR in the 100m hurdles (14.44s) at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships … Placed first in 100m hurdles at the Jaguar Opener (14.40s) … Helped 4x400 relay (3:49.00) to a sixth placed finish at the conference championships … Season-best 1:03.98 in the 400m hurdles at the 2022 Mississippi State Maroon and White Invitational. Indoor — Set a new PR in the 60m hurdles (8.82s) at the Sun Belt Indoor Conference Championships … Set a new PR in the 400m (1:00.88) at the USA Jaguar Invitational … Placed first at the Samford Invite 2022 60m hurdles (9.03s). 2021 Outdoor — Helped the 4 x 100 medley (47.59s) team to a first-place finish and the 4 x 400 medley (4:02.61) team to a third-place finish at the USA Invitational ... Ran with the 4 x 100 medley (47.21s) team to a runner-up finish and set a personal record in the 100m (12.37s) at the Southern Miss Invitational ... Clocked a personal-best time of 1:03.76 in the 400m hurdles at the Crimson Tide Invitational ... Notched a PR in the 100m hurdles (14.60s) at the Sun Belt Championships. Indoor — Recorded a personal-best time in the 300m (42.83s) at the UAB Blazer Invitational ... Set a PR in the 60m hurdles (8.89s) at the Sun Belt Indoor Championships. High School Lettered four years in volleyball, basketball and track at New Philadelphia … Placed second in the 400m (1:02.90) at the 2020 Mount Union HS Qualifier #1 Meet … Crossed the line at 9.28s in the 60m hurdles at the 2020 OATCCC D1 Indoor State Championships … Won the 100m hurdles (14.76s) and finished second in the 300m hurdles (44.47s) at the 2019 Tuscarawas County Classic … Claimed second in the 100m hurdles (15.62s) and in the 300m hurdles (46.75s) at the 2018 Tuscarawas County Classic.
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