The 2021 calendar year in sports was a unique one, as COVID-19 restrictions, protocols, illnesses, responses and mandates affected the nation, upended entire schools and impacted high school sports as well. The Ohio School Athletic Association recommended policies to follow and offered legal consequences of non-compliance. State and federal mandates affected athletes, practices and scheduling.
Some teams were quarantined on several occasions, and games and events across all programs saw cancellations, postponements, league changes and agenda alterations. Additionally, all teams had to practice social distancing, mask use and other changes to normal procedure.
With varied success and scheduling in track and field, wrestling and girls and boys soccer, spring sports got late starts, and fall and winter sports were impacted.
Knox County high schools embrace many sports, and, while impacted as well, the student-athletes who performed across multiple venues made their schools and communities proud. In addition to the marquee sports mentioned in this recap, there were sparkling and sterling performances in wrestling, bowling, track and field and golf.
Some highlights for the year included the following:
Football
This year’s KMAC co-champions were East Knox (8-2, 5-1) and Highland (7-3, 6-1), with Northmor (8-2, 5-2) as the runner-up, and six schools made it to playoff competition, three schools advancing (one in each division/region) into semifinals: Highland, Northmor and East Knox.
In Knox County, there were plenty of players who stood out, led by Highland’s Dane Nauman, who rushed his way to a record-setting season on the gridiron. The sophomore running back was first team in Division IV, and in 12 games, he ran the ball 262 times for a Highland-record 2,532 yards with 24 touchdowns, averaging 9.7 yards per carry and 211 yards per game. His total was more than 150 yards greater than the previous record, thanks to posting two 300-yard games, including a 366-yard performance against Mount Gilead. Nauman also played well on defense, with 33 solo tackles and 26 assisted tackles.
Elsewhere, there were 31 football players from five Knox County high schools who earned All-District honors. Mount Vernon High School senior linebacker Zach Mullins and sophomore running back/cornerback Jonny Askew were named to the first team for the 2021 Ohio Cardinal Conference. Senior defensive tackle/guard Nate Stradley and senior defensive end/wide receiver Jesse Foster were named to the second team, and honorable mention was given to junior running back/linebacker Evan Owens, senior wide receiver/cornerback Dylan Dowell and junior quarterback/strong safety Joel Hubbard.
In Division VI, Centerburg senior quarterback Jack Gregory earned first-team honors. He went 133 for 220 passing with 1,645 yards, 17 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Fredericktown junior running back Teegan Ruhl was first team All-District D6. He ran the ball 144 times for 933 yards with 11 rushing touchdowns. He also threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns and had 276 yards and a touchdown on kickoff returns.
In Division VII, East Knox senior Peyton Lester earned first-team all-district honors for his play at quarterback.Lester completed 115 of his 179 passes for 1,922 yards, 22 touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran 70 times for 186 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Cole Delaughder earned first-team honors for his play at running back. Delaughder tallied 925 rushing yards, 290 receiving yards and 20 total touchdowns during the regular season. Senior Shane Knepp received first-team honors for his play at defensive back, having recorded 81.5 tackles (42 solo) and two interceptions.
In Division VII, Danville junior Kaiden Colony was first-team for his play at wide receiver. He had 49 catches for 635 yards and six touchdowns.
Baseball
In the KMAC, Highland and Fredericktown each went 13-1 in conference. The Flying Scots finished 24-2 and the Freddies 11-4. In a shortened season, Mount Vernon played only a few games in the OCC.
Ty Hatfield of Fredericktown won Player of the Year, while Ryan Hathaway of Fredericktown and Don Kline of Highland each won Coach of the Year.
Cardington-Lincoln senior Trey Brininger was the top hitter in the conference, leading the league with a .462 batting average, four homers, 11 doubles and 36 RBI. Fellow senior teammate Avery Harper was also impressive with a .432 average, three homers and 10 doubles. He was also second in the league with 30 RBI. Harper was also a force on the mound with a 1.99 ERA.
Taking first team All-Conference honors were Harper and Brininger; Brock Hurtt and Dakota Baer of Centerburg; Weston Melick and Bryar Householder of East Knox; Caleb Sheriff and Brady Lester of Fredericktown; Rider Minnick, Blake Jodrey and Dom Carter of Highland; Carter Kennon of Mt. Gilead; and Max Lower of Northmor.
Softball
Cardington-Lincoln was dominant, going 9-0 in KMAC play and 22-1 overall, outscoring opponents 193-47. Highland went 10-4 and 21-6 overall, and Danville finished 20-8 after going 9-5 in KMAC. The Player of the Year, Highland’s Savannah Fitzpatrick, led the conference in batting at .512 with seven homers, and Danville’s Taryn Mickley hit six bombs. Three KMAC softball players received All-Ohio recognition: Cardington-Lincoln freshman pitcher Genevieve Longsdorf was a first-team pick in Division III, while Highland catcher Savannah Fitzpatrick, a senior, was named to the Division II second team, and Northmor senior infielder Morgan Wiseman received honorable mention recognition in Division IV.
Mount Vernon won the OCC softball championship with a perfect 10-0 record in conference and 19-4 overall, outscoring foes 274-67. Highlights included a 22-0 romp over Mansfield in April and a 28-1 demolition of New Albany two weeks later. Ohio Cardinal Conference Pitcher of the Year was Emma Jones of Mount Vernon, and Ohio Cardinal Conference Coach of the Year was Jackets coach Ryan Pentz. Yellow Jackets players Brooke Radermacher, Emma Jones, Layne Cook and Makaylia Schlosser were named OCC First Team.
Boys basketball
A late start and a schedule into the spring saw Fredericktown on top of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference in 2020-2021, finishing with a 12-1 conference record and 19-3 overall. Second place was Centerburg, followed by Cardington-Lincoln, East Knox, Mt. Gilead, Highland, Northmor and Danville.
Player of the Year went to Carter Jones of Centerburg and Coach of the Year was Derek Dibling of Fredericktown.
First team honors went to Ty Hatfield and Caleb Sheriff of Fredericktown; Matthew Bland of Mt. Gilead; Weston Melick of East Knox; and Trey Brininger of Cardington-Lincoln.
Second team honors went to Lincoln Cunningham and Kaid Carpenter of Fredericktown; Jordan Bellamy of Highland; Mason White of Cardington-Lincoln; Elijah Chafin of Mt. Gilead; and Shane Knepp of East Knox.
Honorable mentions were Graesin Cass of Northmor; Thomas Caputo of Fredericktown; Brock Church of Highland; Levi Houck of Centerburg; Avery Harper of Cardington-Lincoln; Terry Jacobs of East Knox; Wyatt Weckesser of Danville; and Jackson Huffer of Mt. Gilead.
Hatfield was named All Academic as well.
Mount Vernon basketball finished 6-6 in the OCC, and Blake Meyer was named to the OCC first team. Beau Bridges, who is leading the team this year, was named to the second team.
So far, this winter 2021-22 season has seen Centerburg with a 9-0 start. Mount Vernon boys are 5-3 and 3-0 in OCC play.
Girls basketball
Last season into spring of this year, Cardington-Lincoln was undefeated in the regular season and had a 22-1 record overall, going 14-0 in conference to take the top honor for the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference. Placing second was Fredericktown with a 17-6 record and 11-3 in the conference, followed by Mt. Gilead, Danville, East Knox, Highland, Centerburg and Northmor.
Player of the Year was Brooklynn Hess of Danville, and Jamie Edwards of Cardington-Lincoln was Coach of the Year.
First team All-District honors went to Beth Hardwick of Cardington-Lincoln; Lexi Wenger of Northmor; Holly Gompf of Mt. Gilead and Gabby Daniels of Fredericktown.
Second team honors went to Audrey Bouton of Fredericktown; Candace Millisor of Mt. Gilead; Chloe Coulter of Centerburg; Emma West of Highland; Dana Bertke of Cardington-Lincoln; Kambry Edwards of Cardington-Lincoln; and Alexandria Magers of East Knox.
Honorable mentions were Mikayla Links of Cardington-Lincoln; Clara Johnson of Centerburg; Ella Proper of Danville; Shanda Melick of East Knox; Jacklyn Nussbaum of Fredericktown; Brylinn Tuggle of Highland; Madilyn Elson of Mt. Gilead; and Reagan Swihart of Northmor.
In girls basketball so far this year, the big story continued to be the Cardington-Lincoln Lady Pirates, who are off to a 10-0 start, running their regular-season consecutive winning streak to 48 games and their unblemished KMAC winning streak to 62 games.
Volleyball
Cardington-Lincoln took first place in the KMAC with a 21-4 record, followed by Northmor with a 19-6 record. This was followed by Fredericktown, Centerburg, Danville, Mt. Gilead and East Knox.
Taking the KMAC Player of the Year honors was Audrey Brininger of Cardington-Lincoln. Coach of the Year was Josh Lehman of Northmor.
Brininger had 411 kills and a 46.6 kill percentage while also posting an 88.9 serve percentage. She also played well defensively with 193 digs, good for second on her team.
First team honors went to Lindsey Boeshart and Audrey Bouton of Fredericktown; Stella Weisbrod and Gwyn Sands of Centerburg; and. Reagan Swihart and Lexi Wenger of Northmor.
Second team were Izzy Wickline and Jadine Mills of Cardington-Lincoln; Sydney Wilson of Danville; Grace Sipes of Fredericktown; Grace Mowery of Mt. Gilead; Kylie Schaeferle and Kennedi Glenn of Centerburg; and Shanda Melick of East Knox.
Honorable mentions were Maggie Wade of Cardington-Lincoln; Amani Marshall of Centerburg; Sierra Arnal of Danville; Isabelle Schlaegel of East Knox; Riley McCoy of Mt. Gilead; Lizzie Erlsten of Northmor; and Katie Mull of Fredericktown.
Mount Vernon girls took second place in the OCC with a 9-3 conference mark. Emma Summerfield was named to first team status, and Maddie Sinsel was placed on second team for Mount Vernon.
Boys track and field
Runner of the Year for boys cross-country was Landyn Albanese of Highland, while Ben Riegel of Centerburg was Event Athlete of the Year. Mt. Gilead's Lauren Huelsman won Coach of the Year.
First team KMAC athletes included Nathan Streby, Samuel Whitney, Dillon Moreland, Chase Darr and Scott Bates of East Knox; Landon Remmert, Gavin Hankins, Mason Duncan, Joel Roberts and Landyn Albanese of Highland; Quade Harris, Seamus Walsh, Storm McGinniss, Kyan Davis, Owen High, Michael Snopik and Matthew Bland of Mt. Gilead; Mason White of Cardington-Lincoln; and Steven Tumbleson of Fredericktown.
The 2022 sports season is filled with promise and scores of talented student-athletes.
