MANSFIELD – Kudos to you 2024.
You were one heck of a year for Richland County sports. You had it all from state titles to historic performances and success beyond belief. And 2024 deserves a proper look-back. This year, instead of running a ranking list of the top moments, it’s only right that we take a look at the year than way month by month to really grasp the incredible year we are about to wrap up.
Let’s get started
January
The first month of 2024 was a busy one. Shelby’s Alex Bruskotter got things started with a historic 53-point performance in a win over Ashland. Bruskotter dropped 53 points in an 84-61 win while making 12-of-19 3-pointers, tied for the ninth-most in an Ohio high school boys basketball game in the history of the sport prompting a humble response from the Division II Ohio Player of the Year. It was the fourth-highest single-game scoring night in Richland County history and Shelby boys basketball history.
It was just the start of some basketball history. Clear Fork’s Annika Labaki became the program’s career 3-point record holder a year after setting the single-season record. The single-season record might be in trouble this year.
January was also a month for some coaching milestones. Crestview’s John Kurtz picked up win No. 400 in a victory over Northwestern as the legendary coach helped the Cougars break the school record for most consecutive wins later in the year with a victory over Lucas.
Speaking of Lucas, Taylor Iceman earned win No. 150 in a victory over St. Peter’s where we learned he was on the kidney transplant list prompting an inspirational performance from his players. It was one of the best stories of 2024 as he later helped the Cubs win a sixth straight Mid-Buckeye Conference title.
In wrestling, the crown jewel of area wrestling tournaments saw another chapter written as area grapplers competed at the 61st JC Gorman at Mansfield Senior. It featured some of the top talent in the area and the entire state. Ontario’s Mason Turnbaugh won the 138 title while Clear Fork’s Blake Schlosser won at 175, Ontario’s Landon Campbell won at 215 and Crestview’s Caleb Cunningham won at 285, more on him later.
February
The top story in February was from the pool. Lexington’s Ivan Prykhodko became the first Minuteman to win an individual state championship as he took first in the 100-yard breaststroke. Prykhodko ended up with three state medals and All-Ohio honors in four races as Lex scored 131 points to finish second to the 274 scored by repeat champion Hunting Valley University School, an all-boys private academy in Shaker Heights, near Cleveland. He and Trey Nickoli went 1 and 2 in the breaststroke to power Lex to a runner-up team finish, the best finish in school history. Lexington won its seventh straight district title the week before and took the program to new heights.
The next biggest story came at the state level where the Ohio High School Athletic Association announced basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and soccer would undergo division expansion. In Richland County, Madison cherished the move going from a very small Division I school to divisions much more suited to its size.
In basketball, there were plenty of big storylines. Shelby broke the program record for wins in a season and captured its fifth straight Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship. Lexington’s Scott Hamilton earned win No. 200 during a season he piloted the Minutemen to the Ohio Cardinal Conference crown.
Tow individual hoopers also achieved some impressive milestones as Mansfield Senior’s Kiersten Bradley joined the 1,000-point club and Lucas’ Logan Toms became the boys basketball program’s all-time leading scorer. 2024 was already off to a hot start.
March
March was arguably the best month for Richland County sports in 2024.
The biggest story came from Crestview as Caleb Cunningham won the 285-pound Division III state wrestling championship using just 98 seconds of the title match to pin his way to the crown becoming just the fourth state champion in Crestview wrestling history. He headlined a state meet that saw 14 medalists from the area and included a state runner-up in Ontario’s Aiden Ohl.
Then came the epic run the Shelby boys basketball team went on. It won just the fourth district championship in program history before going on to win the first regional title ever beating the No. 1 ranked team in Lutheran West. They did fall to Maysville in the state semifinals, but it was one of the most epic seasons in Shelby boys basketball history. And it has some amazing stories from Casey Lantz joining his mom as family members to play at state to assistant coach Todd Kehres enjoying the state experience as a player and a coach in his lifetime and even Bryson Baker getting bragging rights over his historic sisters. And not to mention legendary Shelby Daily Globe sports reporter Chuck Ridenour was inducted into the Ohio Prep Sports Media Hall of Fame on the same weekend. It was just special.
March ended with the 45th News Journal All-Star Classic. It was the charity game’s most successful year ever raising $16,796.42 for Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Crisis Services Department at Catalyst Life Services. And what made things even better was the 2020 alumni who had their game canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic finally got to play their game before the main event.
What a crazy month.
April
April is typically a slow month because Mother Nature likes to play tricks on spring sports, but things happened at a much wider scale.
Lexington native Cade Stover got drafted by the Houston Texans with the 123rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and is having a solid year so far.
Electronic communication came to high school baseball which brought in a new era of how the game works.
May
May was like March. A lot of success came to Richland County high schools headlined by Crestview’s Wade Bolin winning two Division III track and field state titles in the shot put and discus. It was the crown jewel of a very successful state track meet that saw Clear Fork freshman Davis Hoeflich take second in the Division II high jump, and Shelby sophomore Madison Henkel take third in the Division II long jump.
May also saw the Lexington boys tennis team add another historic chapter to its program’s history as Ethan Remy and Dylan Catanese became the first doubles team to bring a state title home to big Lex. The Minutemen also made a run to the final four of the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association team tournament. But it wasn’t the only history made in Richland County as Ontario brothers Pablo and Hector Sanchez Vidal became the first state qualifiers in Ontario boys tennis history.
On the diamond, Clear Fork baseball picked up a Division II district championship as the No. 1 seed cruised to a run-rule win over St. Marys Memorial in the title game. It was their first district title since 2017 and a very meaningful one for the program. Lexington softball followed suit winning the Division II district championship for the second time in three years and even won a regional semifinal game slugging four home runs.
Earlier in May, Madison softball coach Tim Niswander picked up win No. 250 with a 14-3 victory over Wooster. He is already the winningest coach in program history and led the Rams to the Division I district championship game.
Oh, and a young man by the name Bodpegn Miller, who we will get to know a lot more, picked up an offer to The Ohio State University.
June
June was a light month as the final day of the 2024 state track and field meet taking place was the lone highlight. Lexington’s Elyana Weaver took third in the 800-meter run and Lexington boys’ 4×400 team ended up taking third capping off a very successful state track meet.
July
July was slow with no high school sports going on but still, some interesting things happened. Some Richland County natives saw their names appear in the new College Football 25 video game which is always cool. Clear Fork native AJ Blubaugh was named to the MLB Futures All-Star Game as a member of the Houston Astros minor league system. At the youth level, the Richland County Junior Golf tournament continues to show progress.
August
August brought us a little bit of history in the 91st News Journal Tennis Tournament. Ethan Remy beat little brother Cooper in the finals of the mens singles championship, the first meeting between brothers in the finals since 1968. It was a heck of a headline for the nine-decade strong tournament.
September
As fall sports starting welcoming themselves back, there were three great headlines in September. First, Lucas’ Chloe Sturts kept breaking her own school record while running with some extra motivation. Then, it was announced Chuck Ridenour would be forever honored with his name on the press box at the Whippet Athletic Complex. It was later revealed during a home football game.
Finally, the 1964 undefeated Ontario football team held its 60th reunion bringing back a plethora of memories on an unforgettable night.
October
October was a month of championships.
Shelby football won its 30th league title taking the Mid-Ohio Athletic crown, Mansfield Christian boys soccer won a district championship for the second time in three years and 11th time since 2006, Ontario girls soccer won its first district title since 2016, Clear Fork girls soccer won a district championship for the first time since 2014 and Shelby volleyball won a district championship for the first time since 1990.
Not only did the Whippets win the district, they took home the first regional crown in 34 years and played in the state semifinals of the Division II tournament for an unforgettable season.
A St. Peter’s Spartan made some school history as the first female state qualifying golfer when Joy Kim etched her name in the record books. She finished 13th in the Division II girls state golf tournament ending her freshman season on a high note.
November
There may never be another November like the one in 2024.
The highlight of the month was when Ontario beat Shelby in arguably the greatest high school football game any of us in Richland County has ever seen. And with Arlin Field as the backdrop to boot. The win led the Warriors to their first regional championship game ever and helped Bodpegn Miller secure an Ohio Mr. Football nomination where he finished third in the voting.
The Shelby Whippet volleyball team saw their magical postseason run end in the state semifinals while the Lexington Minutemen had a strong postseason football run of their own beating Rocky River in the regional quarterfinals.
In cross county, Richland County enjoyed another special year with six All-Ohioans at the state meet including one of the most impressive stories in Mansfield Christian’s Riley Patrick taking 15th in Division III in her first year running. The Lexington Minutemen boys team ended up taking second overall thanks to an inspirational effort from junior Latrell Hughes who took runner-up individual honors.
November was also postseason honors time for fall sports and while there were a lot of honorees, one stood out with Clear Fork’s Mel Blubaugh picking up all-state honors in soccer making it her third sport she was named All-Ohio in.
December
If December is any indication on hos 2025 is going to go, it is going to be another crazy year. The month started with Mansfield Senior football coach Chioke Bradley stepping down from his post after 15 years and more than 100 wins bring an end to an unreal era in Tyger football history. The search for the next coach is underway and it will be a tough act to follow.
Individual success came in December with Cade Stover making his first NFL touchdown catch, Bodpegn Miller making his signing with OSU official, Crestview’s Justice Thompson joining the 1,000-point club, Mansfield Senior’s Marquis Sykes earning win No. 100 and Jerry Hallabrin, Joe Balogh and Elle Lawrence being inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.
2024 was quite the year and an amazing one to follow.
Cheers to you 2024 and to an even better 2025.
