By Garth Shanklin
Sports Editor
This is the time of the year where the melting of the snow and warming of the temperatures would signal the end of the winter sports season, but for the most part the area didn’t receive all that much snowfall this year. Nonetheless, the winter sports season has come to an end, and as such local athletes earned postseason awards for their play this year.
In boys’ hoops, Amelia’s Ryan Turner and Glen Este’s Brad Gardner were both named honorable mentions by the Cincinnati Enquirer in Division I.
In Division II, Goshen’s Ryan Wake earned second-team all-city honors. Teammate Tony Moore was an honorable mention, as was Batavia’s Collin Sammons and New Richmond’s Jonathan Lang and Gage Kramer.
Bethel-Tate’s Trenton Weeks earned first-team honors in Division III. Teammate Tommy Bingamon was an honorable mention, joining Clermont Northeastern’s Chris Coleman and Grant Fishback. Williamsburg’s Jacob Wells was also an honorable mention.
Felicity’s Dominic Ruwe led the city in scoring en route to a first-team all-city nod in Division IV.
Glen Este’s Jasmine Hale led all locals in Division I girls basketball, earning a spot on the second-team all-city squad. Teammates Aleixs Starks and Kaylin Burick joined Amelia’s Lindsay Buten and Kasey Broughton as honorable mentions. Milford’s Tori Gilman was also an honorable mention.
Goshen’s Lady Warriors placed two hoopsters on the second-team all-city squad: Paige Garr and Anna Dowd.
Batavia’s Maggie Mehlman earned an honorable mention, as did new Richmond’s Anna Hamilton and Olivia Taulbee from Goshen.
In Division III, Bethel-Tate’s Allison Parks and Williamsburg’s Jessica Chase both were named to the second-team all-city squad. Williamsburg’s Alexis Chase and Peyton Fisher were honorable mentions.
Felicity’s Kylie Sponcil earned second-team all-city honors in Division IV, with teammate Morgan Horn an honorable mention.
On the mats, Milford’s Jimmy murphy earned second-team all-city honors in the 132-pound class.
Brian Stears earned wrestler of the year honors in Division III, with Bethel-Tate head coach Tom Donahue earning coach of the year honors by leading the Tigers to the team dual state tournament for the first time in school history.
Matt Hall (138) and Wyatt O’Neil (195) earned first-team honors for Bethel-Tate. Goshen’s Chase Huff (106), New Richmond’s Gavin Clark (145) and Ryan Buckley (195) and Batavia’s Daniel Greiner (170) were all second-team honorees. Stears (285) and Wyatt Lefker (152) were named second-teamers from Williamsburg, with Kermit Beckworth (285) and Jordan Newberry (160) joining the second-team squad from Bethel-Tate.
Several locals earned honorable mentions. Batavia’s Elijah Waters, Goshen’s Brice Briggs and Jacob Kube and Williamsburg’s Ezra Wallace, Trevor Berry and Gavin Barnhart were all honorable mentions. Clermont Northeastern’s Sam Patterson and Joey Groeber joined New Richmond’s Ryan Wolf, Jacob Noble and Trent Fells on the honorable mention squad. Five Bethel-Tate Tigers, Trey Sander, Robby Perkins, Jonah Blankenship, Owen Holtke and Bradley Lewis all earned honorable mention honors.
Amelia’s Nic Huber was the lone local representative on the Division I first-team all-city bowling team. Glen Este’s Elijah Dunigan joined Milford’s Noah Dolezal and Nathan McGeorge as honorable mentions.
Kevin Briggs earned Division I coach of the year honors after leading the Lady Trojans to a 12-2 record and a ninth-place finish in the state. Courtney Chaffin was named the bowler of the year for her regular-season average of 197.8. She also was the conference bowler of the year and the 30th-overall finisher at state.
Chaffin and Milford’s Jessica Haines earned first-team honors. Danielle Cooper, Taylor Neal and Milford’s Alynna Hook were named to the second team,
The only local boys’ swimmer to earn all-city recognition was Milford’s Tyler Babinec, who earned a first-team nod.
Amelia’s Morgan Southall and Glen Este’s Bethany Berger were both named to the Division I second-team all-city. Bethel-Tate swimmer Gracyn McQueary was a first-team all-city swimmer in Division II, along with New Richmond’s Jordyn Torrens.
Finally, Clermont Northeastern’s Carson Fishback earned honorable mention honors as a gymnast this winter.