Local boys’ basketball teams were well represented with this year’s All-District 11 selections, notably in Division III led by Fredericktown with two first teamers, a second team, an honorable mention and Derek Dibling as the District 11 Division III Coach of the Year.
“Winning an accolade like this is humbling and an honor but it really speaks to how top-notch my coaching staff is and how committed and hard working our players are,” said Dibling, who also won the award in 2021. “It's really a program award that just happens to have my name on it.”
Major pieces of said program were sophomores Gavin Toombs and Blake Sipes, who were named first team All-District 11 this season.
Toombs was the team’s top scorer with 17 points per game, which ranked ranked him second behind Grant Bentley of Northmor in the KMAC leaders. Bentley was selected as the District 11 Division IV Player of the Year and was also KMAC Player of the Year, in a season he averaged 19.4 points.
Toombs led his conference in boards at 9.1 per game, just barely missing a double-double average per game. He also had just under two assists, 1.5 steals and a block per game.
Blake Sipes played in all 22 games in what was a productive and efficient season, averaging 14.3 points with an incredible shooting percentage of 59.6%. He was also second on the Freddies in rebounds with 5.9 boards, 2.2 assists, and about two steals per game.
“Blake and Gavin were the foundation for us all year,” Dibling said of his two top players, who were first team All-KMAC, as well. “Everything we tried to do centered around their strengths and their ability to make good decisions. They were really consistent scoring the ball all year but also did a great job securing rebounds and chipping in in other areas that don't necessarily show up on the stat sheet.
Carson Rinehart was another young player who showed that there is plenty of success in the future for the Freddies, as he was second team All-District 11 and All-KMAC in his freshman year.
Rinehart just missed double digits in scoring at 9.4 points per game, and served as a consistent third option throughout his freshman season. He averaged 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals, and one block per contest. He was also second team All-KMAC.
Trevor Bellman was selected as an honorable mention for All-District 11. He averaged 7.5 points, 3.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, and was on the court every game during his senior season. He had a team high 26 threes and hit them at a clip of 30%, which also led the squad.
“Trevor and Carson were really steady from the guard position and did a great job staying even keeled all year and leading by example,” Dibling said. “Their consistency was something we really relied on down the stretch, and was a big part of our success in bringing home another KMAC Championship.”
All-District-11 Division III
Player of the Year: Carson Mallernee (Northridge)
Coach of the Year: Derek Dibling (Fredericktown)
First Team: Carter Mallernee (Northridge); Grayson Reynolds (Centerburg); Trey Booker (Marion Pleasant); Roman Gamble (Utica); Gavin Toombs (Fredericktown); Blake Sipes (Fredericktown); Jaxon Duston (Heath); Ben Mason (Heath); AJ Brehm (Cardington-Lincoln)
Second Team: Trevin Harris (Centerburg); Preston DeVito (Heath); Carson Rinehart (Fredericktown); Rowan Fitzpatrick (Mount Gilead); Carson King (Marion Pleasant); Isaiah Sule (Centerburg); Warren Garrison (Cardington-Lincoln); Tomas Winter (Liberty Union); Luke Williams (Liberty Union); Ethan Payne (Northridge)
Honorable Mention: Brody Elder (Amanda Clearcreek); Kalin Briggs (Cardington-Lincoln); Bennett Hill (Centerburg); Bryer Korosec (East Knox); Trevor Bellman (Fredericktown); Jordan Kaminsky (Heath); Noah Shook (Liberty Union); Gage Baker (Mount Gilead); Drew Bingham (Northridge); JT Snively (Marion Pleasant); and Dylan Yates (Utica)
All-District 11 Division IV
Grant Bentley wrapped up his career at Northmor High School as the second leading scorer in the team’s history with 1,420 points. He was named by the District 11 and KMAC Players of the Year. Like Fredericktown, the team had two first teamers with the other being Jax Wenger, after a season where he returned from injury to average 14.2 points, five boards, 4.5 assists and a pair of steals.
Northmor also had a second teamer in senior Hunter Fulk, who led his team in steals with 2.6 per game. He also averaged 8.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game. Drew Hammond made honorable mention, averaging 7.7 points per game. It was a solid season for the two seniors, who led the Golden Knights to share the KMAC title with Fredericktown.
The Danville Blue Devils was also recognized with a pair of sophomores getting nods. Ashton Spaulding was a second teamer and Wesley Payne was named honorable mention. They were also both All-KMAC as second team and honorable mention, as well.
Player of the Year: Grant Bentley (Northmor)
Coach of the Year: Alex James (Fisher Catholic)
First Team: Grant Bentley (Northmor); Hyde O’Rielley (Fisher Catholic); Andrew Benvie (Granville Christian Academy); Eric Gottfried (Ridgedale); Kaden Minier (Liberty Christian Academy); Jason Wells (Millersport); Stephen Castillo (Marion Elgin); Griffin Urdarovski (Newark Catholic); Jax Wenger (Northmor); JP Vance (Fairfield Christian Academy)
Second Team: Gabe Scherer (Delaware Christian Academy); Hunter Fulk (Northmor); Peyton Owens (Fisher Catholic); Ashton Spaulding (Danville); Evan Ricketts (Ridgedale); Ty Johnston (Millersport); Bentley Johnson (Granville Christian Academy); Jaxon Holman (Newark Catholic); Donaven Stith (Marion Elgin); Sam Workman (Fairfield Christian Academy)
Honorable Mention: Austin Snyder (Berne Union); Wesley Payne (Danville); Andrew Yoby (Delaware Christian School); Danny Blair (Fairfield Christian School); Sam Tencza (Fisher Catholic); Zack Leija (Granville Christian Academy); Carson Crabtree (Liberty Christian Academy); Nate Freshour (Marion Elgin); Brenden Jakeway (Millersport); Owen Helms (Newark Catholic); Drew Hammond (Northmor); Landon Murphy (Ridgedale)
Local Athletes selected in Divisions I, II
Mount Vernon’s Jack Marhefka was an honorable mention for the Division I All-District team in his senior season. This season he was also first team All-Ohio Cardinal Conference.
In Division II, Aron West of Highland was also an honorable mention as a senior. West was also honorable mention for All-MOAC.
