Top Portage County high school sports memories from 2022
Any year-in-review story is tricky.
As the hit musical "Rent" spelled out: "525,600 minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?"
It's a hard question to answer, so I'll just say this, this list is surely imperfect, but simply consider it a compilation of some of my favorite memories from another incredible year of Portage County sports:
1. Aurora’s Dylan Fishback, Tyler Lillard earn state titles
Dylan Fishback and Tyler Lillard's state championships weren't exactly surprising. Both Greenmen seniors had long been among the best wrestlers in Northeast Ohio. Still, both champions were remarkable in their own way.
For Fishback, perhaps the most remarkable part of his 2022 state title was simply the way he dominated his competition. Not only did the Aurora senior post an undefeated season, but at the state meet, where famously nothing comes easy, Fishback pinned his way to the finals before winning an epic title match against Indian Creek's Austin Starr, in which Fishback had four takedowns but never could quite pin or get a near fall.
Lillard's journey to a state title was remarkable for any number of reasons, from overcoming epilepsy and a tumor on his optic nerve to going from St. Edward's to Aurora to Wyoming Seminary back to Aurora. His state title match was remarkable as well as he broke a tie with the go-ahead reversal 34 seconds into the third period.
Together, the duo helped power the Greenmen to their second state runner-up finish in three years.
2. Marty Hill retires
On one hand, this item seems out of place.
Here's a coach retiring in the midst of a list of champions.
And yet it makes perfect sense, because Portage County basketball will never have a greater champion than Windham's Marty Hill, who retired at the end of the 2021-2022 season. And it isn't just the 13 league titles and three regional championships. It's the way Hill represented Windham over 47 years of leading the school's boys basketball program. To put it simply, Hill was class, humility and excellence personified.
3. Mogadore’s Michael Lowe seizes moment, earns state runner-up honors
Michael Lowe had never made state prior to his senior season.
Nagging injuries had always held the Mogadore wrestler back.
As a senior, Lowe overcame those injuries, and once at the Schottenstein Center, he took the Portage County wrestling world by storm, becoming the Wildcats' first state finalist since 1997.
His Columbus journey included a 17-0 tech fall of Bryant Pfeifer, a 48-win senior out of Bucyrus, in the quarterfinals, followed by a comeback win over Harrison Central sophomore Lucas Thomas in the semifinals as he nearly pinned Thomas before deftly getting behind him for the go-ahead points in the second period.
4. Mogadore cross-country captures regional title
Progress doesn't always occur in a linear fashion in sports, especially not in cross-country, a sport in which injuries and something as simple as an iron deficiency can change a season in an instant.
That said, the Wildcats' rise has been remarkably consistent, from a couple of standout runners (like Hope Murphy and then Katie Lane) carving out a path to Columbus, to a team on the rise that captured its first PTC title in 2021, to the magic of 2022.
The goal entering 2022 was simply to get the whole team down to state, after Mogadore came a point shy of sending the squad down to Fortress Obetz last year. The Wildcats did that and more, capturing the Boardman Regional championship by 21 points.
5. Garfield senior Riley LaPorte earns state runner-up in the shot put
Among Portage County's 13 podium finishes at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, only one local track and field athlete earned a top-three finish and that was G-Men senior Riley LaPorte.
The state runner-up in the Division II shot put in 2021, the thrower (and stellar offensive lineman) repeated the feat in 2022, even improving his top mark substantially (from 55-10.50 at the 2021 state meet to 59-5 in 2022).
6. Garfield girls basketball earns back-to-back district titles
For the past decade, the G-Men have been among the best girls basketball programs in the area, winning league and district titles and sending numerous student-athletes to play at the next level. But even the great Garfield teams led by Grayson Rose (Northern Kentucky basketball) and Lauren Jones (Oklahoma track and field) never won back-to-back district championships.
The 2021-2022 G-Men became the first in program history to capture back-to-back district titles. After a powerful Class of 2022 led by Caitlin Lutz, Jenna Smith and the Seaman sisters (Sarah and Sydney) won a district championship as juniors, they did it again as seniors, and against the same team no less, their new Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference rival Champion.
After a solid regular season in which Garfield went 11-3 in the MVAC Gray Tier, including splitting two games with Champion, the G-Men put forth a dominant run, winning all four sectional and district games by at least 17 points.
7. Waterloo girls soccer captures first league title in program history
The Vikings had never won a league title until 2022.
Nor were they particularly close for many years. Indeed, Waterloo was a sub-.500 team as recently as 2020, including a 2-12 mark back in 2018.
The 2021 season saw the Vikings contend for the first time, as they went 3-0-1 in their first four league games. But back-to-back losses to Crestview and Springfield in mid-October doomed Waterloo's title hopes.
Nothing would stop the Vikings in 2022, as it posted an undefeated regular season (conference and overall), led by another brilliant campaign from Kaira English (with an absurd 54 goals), an increasingly balanced attack (including contributions from Olivia Boyle, Rose Couts and Sydney Jackson) and a vastly improved defense.
8. Waterloo girls basketball goes undefeated in the MVAC
Waterloo's girls soccer title was no surprise, in part because the Vikings had championship DNA that they developed over a 20-game win streak during basketball season that saw the MVAC Scarlet crown come to Atwater Township for the first time.
Despite having a small roster and minimal bench, Waterloo girls basketball prevailed in one close MVAC game after another, led by strong defense and ball movement, powerful post play from English, stellar 3-point shooting from Abby Mazur and tenacious guard play from Lilly Foster and Couts.
9. Mogadore football records perfect regular season, advances to Region 21 title game
It's hard to call the Wildcats an underdog, especially when they were led by the program's first Division I commit in ages: Mason Williams (Ohio University). Still, with one of its smallest rosters in years, at fewer than 40 players, and after barely getting past Field in its 2022 opener, it wasn't clear what to expect from Mogadore.
But the Wildcats won one close game after another early in the season, including one-possession wins over Field, Liberty-Benton and Lucas. All of which prepared it for its massive Portage Trail Conference opener against Warren JFK, which went on to earn Division VII state runner-up honors. The Wildcats, and specifically Williams, pounced all over the Eagles, with Williams finding the end zone three times in the first quarter.
That set the stage for a perfect run through league play (every other win came by at least 20 points) and a 44th conference championship. That was followed by another long postseason journey, including a tough second-round victory over Canton Central Catholic that came down to the last play.
10. Field softball overcomes youth, records massive season
Coming off back-to-back league championships, it was hard to know what to expect from the 2022 Falcons. Field had a rich history and an intriguing freshman class, but would have to rely on ninth-graders all over the diamond, including on the mound to replace longtime ace Alexsa Hurd.
Would the Falcons be competitive? Probably.
Would they compete for the league? Perhaps.
Well, Field didn’t just compete for the Metro Athletic Conference crown. It posted a perfect season in league play. And the Falcons didn’t just win a game or two in the postseason. Instead, Field won its second district title in three years, including an incredible comeback against Hubbard in the semifinals and a massive upset of top-seeded Marlington in the championship game.
11. Field girls soccer tops Streetsboro in MAC Tournament
For the second straight season, the Rockets won the regular-season match-up of two of the top girls soccer programs in Portage County, and for the second straight season, the Falcons had their revenge in the MAC Tournament.
While Streetsboro controlled the early minutes of this year's MAC semifinal, out-shooting Field 5-0, the Falcons struck first when sophomore Delilah Rahe sent a stellar through ball to senior Cassie Wilde, who won her one-on-one with the keeper. Streetsboro tried to get an equalizer all night, hitting the bar twice and the post once, but never could find the back of the net. (Ultimately, neither team won the conference crown, with Cloverleaf capturing the MAC title.)
12. Rootstown girls programs dominate
Similar to the Falcons' young core of talented female student-athletes that led them to massive success in softball and then soccer, the Rovers' girls have taken over the throne in the Portage Trail Conference.
This past calendar year included Rootstown earning a share of the PTC girls basketball and softball titles (both of which it shared with Mogadore) and an undefeated PTC run in girls soccer. Among the highlights of the Rovers' remarkable 2022 was the softball team's district semifinal win over Champion, long one of the top programs in the state. Meanwhile, both Rootstown track and field teams captured PTC crowns, with the boys' title marking the program's first since 1993.
13. Streetsboro basketball survives Norton, captures MAC
Sports is full of interesting matchups, and in the MAC, for whatever reason, Streetsboro boys basketball has always played well against Woodridge and struggled against Norton, two of its leading rivals. After two losses to Norton put Streetsboro out of the title race in 2020-2021 and an early loss to the Panthers put the Rockets' 2021-2022 title hopes in jeopardy, Streetsboro entered Norton in mid-January badly needing a victory over its longtime rival.
For a while, it seemed the Rockets might rocket away, as Bryce Vecchio drained all four of his 3-point tries in the first quarter, but the Panthers, as they always seem to do, managed to slow the visitors down. In a tense fourth quarter, Brevyn Nobles and Devin Reese put Streetsboro in front with a couple of layups, and the Rockets got just enough rebounds and made just enough free throws to hold on, ultimately winning their last 13 MAC games to capture the title.
14. Abigail Retherford, Dillon Pendergast earn all-Ohio golf honors
The Portage County golf season was capped by a pair of top-ten finishes by Mogadore's Dillon Pendergast and Ravenna's Abigail Retherford.
Making her state debut, Retherford tied for eighth, just seven strokes shy of the state champion. Competing in his third consecutive state tournament, Pendergast earned a top-ten finish for the second straight season. As a result, both golfers earned second team all-state.
15. Crestwood bowling duo earn all-state honors
Just like in golf, two Portage County bowlers earned all-state honors, with Crestwood's Sydney Coburn and Emily Linamen both finishing in the top 10 (out of more than 207 athletes). Linamen, a junior, took fourth with a 595 series, capped by a solid 215 game. Coburn, a senior, finished in 10th, with a 570 series (212 high game).
Top Quotes
As I looked through various stories from 2022, a few quotes caught my eye:
Field softball coach Beth Dyer on a remarkable district semifinal comeback win: "Apparently, we're all just emotional. You would have thought we lost, but I think they're just obviously tears of joy and just pride and so much happiness."
Windham's Marty Hill on retiring from coaching: "That was the hardest part talking to the players and telling them. I'm sure they were a little emotional, but they're kids and life goes on for them, but for me, when I'm looking at their faces, I'm thinking of all the faces I saw over all those years, so that did make it tough."
Streetsboro senior boys basketball standout Bryce Vecchio on finally topping Norton: "I've never beat Norton, not once ever. This feels great. This is the best feeling ever."
Mogadore wrestling coach Duane Funk on state runner-up Michael Lowe: "He always had nagging injuries. I always told him, 'I can't wait to see a healthy Michael Lowe for the whole year.'"
Waterloo girls soccer coach Bill Jackson on the program's first league title: "It means so much for them. They've worked so hard for this. A lot of people doubted it, but they all bought in in June and they bought into the whole chase mentality. It would mean a lot. It's just the first step, but it would mean a lot to put something on that banner."
Mogadore cross-country coach Diana Morris on the program's regional title: "I'm just incredibly proud of them. We've been storming the doors of state as a team, and we just crushed through it today."
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Top Portage County high school sports memories from 2022
