Four teams, 20 individuals, foundation among Tuscarawas County Sports Hall of Fame inductees

Several former high school softball standouts from the Big Time Sports coverage area will be showcased on the national college stage later this week. Brooke Albaugh (Tusky Valley), Emma Gilkerson (Strasburg), Melissa Holzopfel (Perry), Meridith Rankl (Tuslaw), Kylie Gorsuch (Green), Sophie Spellman (North Canton Hoover) and Kiera Frascone (Tuslaw) helped lead Cleveland State University to the 2024 Horizon League Softball Championship which concluded Sunday in Youngstown. A marathon day capped a marathon week as Cleveland State emerged victorious by capturing the program's third Horizon League Championship and the first since 2009 with a 6-1 victory over Northern Kentucky in the second game of the day at Youngstown State's Softball Complex. Cleveland State advanced to the championship final as the winner's bracket representative, needing only one victory to claim the title. NKU forced the deciding “if necessary” game with a 5-4 win in the first game of the day before the Vikings captured game two to claim the tournament title and NCAA Division I Tournament bid. Cleveland State (22-24) will play host and No. 2 seed Oklahoma (49-6) Friday at 8 p.m. in a double-elimination regional contest in Norman. The game can be seen on ESPNU. Holzopfel was named the Tournament MVP after a stellar performance both in the pitching circle and at the plate. Albaugh, Gorsuch, Frascone and Becky Horosky joined Holzopfel in earning All-Tournament Team honors. Cleveland State used a five-run outburst in the fifth inning of game two to seal the championship victory. The game was tied 1-1 going into the fifth before the Vikings strung together six hits to bring home five runs in the bottom of the inning. Gorsuch and Frascone recorded back-to-back singles to put two on with one out. Albaugh followed with the first of two key hits in the inning as she roped a line drive down the right field line for a triple which scored both runners and gave the Vikings a 3-1 lead. Jenna Deang kept the rally going with a single that scored Albaugh to give CSU a three-run cushion. Holzopfel followed with the knockout blow, a two-run home run to left field that was gone the moment it left the bat. Holzopfel retired six of the final seven batters she faced to finish off the game and claim the victory. She went the distance in both games, allowing just four hits and one earned run in the clincher. Holzopfel earned Tournament MVP honors after throwing 40 total innings and allowing just five earned runs for the week (0.87 ERA) along with 35 strikeouts. Offensively, she hit safely in every single game including the home run in the clinching victory. In the first game, NKU jumped out to a 4-1 lead early before the Vikings rallied in the sixth inning. Two of the first three batters reached on a hit and a fielder's choice which put two on with one out. Hurosky launched a home run to dead center field which cleared the bases and tied the game at four apiece. NKU responded with a run in the top of the seventh to re-take the lead 5-4. Cleveland State was one hit away from claiming the title with two runners on in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, but NKU was able to work out of the jam to force the deciding second game. Hurosky had a huge week offensively, totaling five hits including three for extra bases, and five RBI. Albaugh recorded seven hits, including a 3-for-4 effort in the clinching game, and drove in four runs. Gorsuch recorded five hits and an RBI, including a multi-hit game in the semifinal win over Robert Morris. Frascone hit safely in every game, totaling six hits for the tournament. Cleveland State was up to the task on Saturday morning as the Vikings defeated Robert Morris 7-0 to advance to the Horizon League Softball Championship Game. Albaugh led off the bottom of the first with a single, and Hurosky followed with an RBI hit to score Albaugh to open the scoring. A walk to Gilkerson loaded the bases, which brought Peyton Mueller-Stentz to the plate. She reached on a fielder's choice to bring home the second run of the inning. Spellman reached on a dropped third strike, which allowed Hurosky to score on a wild pitch. Gorsuch followed with an RBI single to plate the fourth run of the inning as Mueller-Stenz scored on the play. Cleveland State continued the offensive momentum with two more runs in the second inning. Holzopfel helped her own cause with an RBI single to left field to score Albaugh. Two batters later, Gilkerson reached on an infield hit which brought Holzopfel home and expanded the Viking advantage to 6-0 through two innings. Gilkerson provided the game-winning home run in the sixth inning to propel the Vikings to a 2-1 victory in their tournament opener last Wednesday. The win was the first postseason victory for CSU since the 2015-16 season. Gilkerson delivered the deciding blow with one out in the bottom of the sixth, as she launched a solo shot to left center field to break the 1-1 tie. It was her team-leading sixth home run of the season. After a weather delay washed out play on Thursday, it took extra innings to finally determine a winner between Cleveland State and Oakland in a winner's bracket semifinal on Friday afternoon. The Vikings prevailed 2-1 in 12 innings thanks to timely hitting and a stellar performance in the circle from Holzopfel. The game began with both teams scoring single runs in the first inning. Albaugh led off the game with an infield single and was sacrificed to second. With two outs, Hurosky laced a line drive down the right field line which carried just far enough to score Albaugh from second base, as she slid into the back of the plate just ahead of the relay throw. The play was reviewed and upheld as video replay showed Albaugh slide in just ahead of the tag from Oakland catcher Jen Krizka. The Golden Grizzlies responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the first, but there was no more scoring until the 12 th when the Vikings scratched out a run for the 2-1 victory. Holzopfel became the first student-athlete to be named to the Horizon League first team as both a pitcher and a position player. Holzopfel finished the season with strong numbers in both pitching and hitting categories. She led the league in strikeouts with 117 and is second among league participants with a 1.84 ERA. Opponents hit just .186 against her which was good for the third-best mark in the league. Offensively, she finished with a .382 batting average in league play, while ranking third in the league with 23 RBI and eighth with a .632 slugging percentage. Albaugh was also named to the first team after hitting .402 in league games, which ranks eighth among all eligible position players. Albaugh led the league in runs scored with 25 and in doubles with 12. She ranks second with a .671 slugging percentage and fifth with a 1.122 OPS. Gilkerson earned second-team all-league honors as she finished with a .391 batting average in league play. She ranked third in the league with a .500 on-base percentage and fourth with a .656 slugging percentage. Albaugh was also named to the Horizon League Softball All-Academic Team earlier this month. The award combines academic excellence and athletic performance and is voted on by the league's Faculty Athletics Representatives. Albaugh earned a spot on the All-Academic team for the first time after being named to the league's Academic Honor Roll for four consecutive semesters. She has been named to the Dean's List in seven straight semesters and holds a 3.97 GPA as a Health Science Pre-PA major. Albaugh leads the team with a .321 batting average and ranks first in the league doubles with 14. Meanwhile, the University of Toledo softball team almost pulled off a come-from-behind win but fell 9-7 to Ball State in the win-or-go-home third round of action at the 2024 Mid-American Conference Tournament Friday evening at Firestone Stadium in Akron. After trailing by eight runs, the No. 4 seed Rockets (26-23) rallied to score six runs in the final two frames but could not complete the comeback. Tuscarawas Central Catholic High grad and Toledo junior Sophia Knight (15-12) started and took the loss, giving up three runs on seven hits. Another pitcher came into the circle in the third and gave up six runs on four hits before Knight re-entered in the sixth. Toledo finished its season with a 26-23 record following its first appearance in the postseason since 2019. Toledo nearly pulled off a big upset over No. 1 seed Miami on Thursday, but after nine hours and three rain delays, the RedHawks rallied from four runs down to pull out a 5-4 walk-off victory in the bottom of the seventh in second- round action. Knight came in as relief in the third and struck out five batters while giving up five hits in the loss. The Rockets took down No. 5 seed Central Michigan, 6-3, to open the tournament Wednesday and advanced to the winners’ bracket in the double-elimination tournament. Knight allowed three hits and one run in four innings pitched for the win.

Zoe Johnson’s college softball career has come to an end. The 2019 Garaway High School graduate recently finished a fifth year of softball as she works on her master’s degree in Sports Marketing and Management at the University of Northwestern Ohio located in Lima. The graduate student catcher had another solid season at UNOH, hitting .326 with 10 home runs, 53 RBIs, 34 runs scored and seven stolen bases. On the first day of the double elimination Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference at Pacesetter Park in Sylvania, UNOH split their first two games and had to fight their way through the loser's bracket on day two. The two-seed Racers made quick work of their first matchup against seven-seed Cornerstone with a run-rule victory, 8-0, in five innings. Johnson hit a two-run home run in the first game and drove in four runs altogether. In game two, three-seed Aquinas stormed back from a 5-1 deficit to upset UNOH 7-5. Johnson added another round tripper and drove in two runs in the loss. The Racers season ended at the hands of Cornerstone 2-0 as they were no-hit. Johnson earned 1st Team All-Academic, 1st Team All-Conference & 1st Team Conference Champions of Character in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. The WHAC Champions of Character Team is made up of one player from each school who best represents the five NAIA Core Values: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership. In February, Johnson was given the opportunity to intern at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas as part of UNOH’s Sports Marketing and Management program. It was the second straight Super Bowl Johnson worked. As a senior in 2023, Johnson hit .284 with five home runs, 24 RBIs, 24 runs scored and four stolen bases. Three of those stolen bases came in one game as she tied the program record for most in a single contest against Judson University. Johnson was named the Wolverine-Goosier Athletic Conference Catcher of the Year in 2021. Before attending UNHO, Johnson was a First Team All-Ohioan in 2019 at Garaway after claiming First Team East District and Inter-Valley Conference Player of the Year earlier.

Michael Lesiecki’s senior season at Ohio Dominican has been a solid one. The former Claymont High School pitching standout tossed seven innings with one run allowed on five hits for his fourth win of the season in a victory at Malone University on April 18. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound lefthander has also notched a save for the Panthers (24-20 overall, 15-13 Great Midwest Athletic Conference) this season. The four wins matches the total of teammate Brian Allen for the Ohio Dominican lead. In his most recent start, Lesiecki had a no-decision against Northwood at Frank Damian Field at Panther Valley on Saturday. He pitched 4 2/3 innings allowing three runs on six hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Earlier this season Lesiecki went the distance for his second career complete game in ODU’s 6-2 win over the University of Virginia-Wise in Wise, Va. The southpaw threw seven innings with two runs allowed on six hits. He walked one batter and struck out two. Lesiecki, a son of Thom and Jane Lesiecki, pitched 65.2 innings over 14 appearances (12 starts) for the Panthers in 2023 heading into his senior season. Coming off the heels of a complete game shutout in March of 2023, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference named Lesiecki as the Great Midwest South Division Pitcher of the Week. The left-hander pitched seven shutout innings in 94 pitches (67 strikes) in the first game of a doubleheader against Lake Eric College. He allowed three singles in his outing with one hit batter. Over the course of the outing, he struck out eight batters, setting a career-high in the process. During his days at Claymont, Lesiecki earned 2nd Team All-IVC, 1st Team All-East District and threw two no-hitters as a Mustang. He was also voted class president as well as president of National Honor Society and captain of the football team. Lesiecki was on the Principal’s List every single quarter of high school and the Dean’s List at Kent State Tuscarawas. Lesiecki has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Management from ODU and is working on his Master of Business Administration in Sport and Fitness Administration/Management.

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After a stellar high school running career at Tuscarawas Valley High School, Madisan DeBos has continued her sensational running ways on the next level as a graduate student at Southern Utah University. DeBos came out on top again as the Thunderbirds held their final home meet of the 2024 outdoor season – the Southern Utah University Coliseum Championships - Saturday at Cedar City, Utah. DeBos won the women’s 2000-meter steeplechase with a winning time of 7:06.46. She recently placed first in the 800 meters with a time of 2:15.25 at the Utah Tech Invitational. Meanwhile at the Stanford Invitational, DeBos finished 18th in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:40.00. In the 2024 indoor track campaign, DeBos had a solid season. Among the results: WAC Championships - Finished third in the mile run with a time of 4:56.11; Placed fifth in the 3000m with a time of 10:02.11 BYU Cougar Invitational - Placed fifth in the 1 mile with a time of 5:05.88. Lumberjack Team Challenge - Placed fifth in the 3000m with a time of 10:24.33; Placed 12th in the 1 mile with a time of 5:09.62. UW Invitational - Placed eighth in the 5000m with a time of 16:42.67. DeBos, a daughter of Ken and Sandy DeBos, was a six-time All-Ohioan in track and a three-time All-Ohioan in cross country during her days at Tusky Valley. She is a Human Nutrition major.

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.

In every organization there is a support system that makes life easier for those in charge. The Ohio State men’s basketball team is no different and much of its support comes from their student managers, who devote countless hours and effort to helping reduce the stress players and coaches endure throughout a rigorous, five-month season. Dover native and 2023 Crimson Tornado graduate Ben Hamm is one of those student managers. Hamm, a standout player for Dover High School boys basketball coach Bob Von Kaenel, is in his first year as a student manager. “This is my first year doing this at Ohio State,” said Hamm, a son of Matt and Heather Hamm. “Luckily, Coach Von Kaenel has a lot of connections, so that’s how I got introduced to the job.” “I, along with the other managers, attend every practice setting things up and doing whatever the coaches need from us to keep the practices running smooth,” said Hamm. The student manager also works every game performing various tasks to assist in any way they can. “Specifically, for me, I was in charge of mopping up the court when the players fell or the court got slick on game days,” said Hamm. “As a first-year student manager, I was also able to go on one road trip to Minnesota and Michigan State.” “I was extremely fortunate for this trip because I got to witness the buzzer beater that silenced the crowd at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.” Hamm, who is majoring in Health Sciences, said the position is a permanent gig for as long as he wants to be a student manager. “Overall, this has been a phenomenal experience for me getting to meet new people and stay involved with high-level athletics,” said Hamm. Ohio State is on to the quarterfinals in the National Invitation Tournament. The No. 2 seeded Buckeyes defeated No. 3 Virginia Tech 81-73 in the second round of the NIT last Saturday, extending their season another game. Ohio State will play Georgia in the Elite Eight tonight in Columbus.