Loveland, Ohio – LHS Gymnasium – On the evening of Thursday, March 15, Loveland High School held their seasonal sports awards. Athletic Director, Julie Renner, hosted the winter sports awards– a chance to recognize top-performing high school athletes and teams in the District.

After commending parents, coaches, team liaisons and student athletes with a GPA above 3.5, Renner announced All-Conference winners in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. They are as follows:

Honorable Mention:

• Riley Bullock – Dive
• Vaughn Richter – Boys Swim
• Courtney Mennen – Girls Swim
• Drew Vanderhorst – Wrestling
• Kate Garry – Girls Basketball
• Jalen Greiser – Boys Basketball
• Ethan Bell – Boys Bowling
• Malorie Scharfenberger – Girls bowling

Second Team:

• Cole Swartz – Academic Team
• Brandon Day – Boys Swim
• Sarah Klenke – Girls Swim
• Cade Smeller – Wrestling
• Dominic Ferreri – Wrestling
• Jillian Hayes – Girls Basketball
• Mitch Robinson – Boys Basketball
• Mitch Suder – Boys Basketball
• Wyatt French – Boys Bowling
• Aaron Autin – Boys Bowling
• Caitlyn Campbell – Girls Bowling

First Team:

• Henry Daumeyer – Academic Team
• Richard Mendoza – Wrestling
• Colin Durham – Wrestling
• Blake Poteet – Wrestling
• Nate Lawry – Wrestling
• Ian Knabe – Wrestling

As the night progressed, Renner presented the sportsperson of the season awards to athletes on each team that stood out as players and teammates. Renner read personal bios written by coaches of honored athletes.

Wrestler, Nate Lawry:

Nate is epitome of hard work, leadership, and loyalty to a team. Nate has been part of the wrestling team for the past 4 years. Nate has not always been a varsity starter. Undeterred by this, Nate always knew his role and place on the team. He has always worked hard and led by example. If someone needed extra work- Nate would volunteer, if someone got injured- Nate would step in. If someone was not working hard- Nate would give them a gentle reminder. It is through this kind of determination and dedication that Nate finally became 152 LB starter for the wrestling team this year.  Nate’s leadership was invaluable part of the wrestling team’s success and ECC championship. Nate achieved many milestone’s this year; Team Captain, League Champ, Sectional Placer, and won 28 matches as a Senior. All of these are great achievements. However, it is his dedication to the wrestling program that separates him from the rest of his teammates. It is an honor and a privilege for the Loveland Coaching Staff to name Nate Lawry the Wrestling team’s Sportsman of the Year.

Mens swimmer, Vaughn Richter:

Vaughn is someone who could set his mind to a task and accomplish it. He came into the program and was a pleasant surprise to myself and my fellow coaches with his pure speed. Not only has Vaughn shaped into a good swimmer over the past 3 years, he is a good person outside of the water. Vaughn is intelligent, hardworking and dedicated which make him the perfect swimmer for Sports Person of the Season.  Congratulations Vaughn.

Womens basketball, Anna Cooper:

Anna is a first year varsity letter winner. She stepped into the starting point guard role and earned the respect of her teammates and coaches. She quietly led by example with a positive attitude on and off the court. She handled the pressure of playing the point guard position and persevered through tough games. Anna’s character sets the example for the all athletes in the program by representing the CORE Values of respect, responsibility, integrity and pride at Loveland High School. Anna was a pleasure to coach and has another year to be an impact player in the program.

Womens swimmer, Reagan Patton:

Reagan’s dedication to the team is hard to be matched. Throughout her 4 years as a varsity swimmers she has grown in and out of the water. Reagan is a natural leader and a positive role model to her fellow athletes. She is someone I could count on and someone who I depended on during the season. Reagan embodies the Swimming Sports Person of the Season with her impeccable work ethic and determination. Congratulations Reagan as being the recipient of Sports Person of the Season.

Academic team, Grant Leever:

Grant has been on academic team all four years of high school and has been on the Varsity team since his sophomore year. Grant is incredibly dedicated to the team. He is the only member of the team who takes post-secondary classes, therefore, many times he has to come back to school from his college courses to attend practices and meets. This shows amazing dedication to the team. In addition, Grant is always willing to help the team out by being flexible with what rounds he is playing in as well as switching what he is studying for the betterment of the team. He is an excellent role model and exemplifies what it means to be a Tiger.

Cheerleader, Tess Locasto:

When someone says Tess’s name a few words come to mind: leadership, optimism, spirited and passion. I’ve been fortunate enough to coach Tess the last 3 years and it’s been apparent that her leadership skills have only grown stronger. She is always the first to take initiative and get her teammates to start stretching and/or practice without having to be told, the first to teach her team and the underclassmen new material or even to refresh the old material and to even get Tiger Nation involved. Her optimism and positive outlook for our competitive team, knowing and encouraging her teammates to put their best performance out and to leave it all on the mat, helped us to take second place this year. Her spirit and passion for the sport can so easily be read all over her face while she is cheering. There is not a time you could look at the team and not see her happy to be there, genuinely smiling and enjoying what she did on the field, court or on the mat. Our hope is that she continues to strengthen these qualities and to utilize them as she moves on to hopefully cheer at the University of Cincinnati.  She has been such an asset to Loveland High School and to our Cheer Program and will be missed.

Womens bowler, Carlie Hicks:

Carlie was an integral part of the bowling team this past season. Outside of her consistent, and solid play, she was a fantastic teammate. Carlie was constantly supportive to those who needed it. This attitude did not only include our team, but any team we were playing. She would hand out high fives, and offer words of encouragement to our opponents as well. Carlie is a model teammate and this level of leadership will be hard to replace.

Mens bowler, Cameron Bender:

Cameron has been a member of the Boys’ Bowling team for four years.  And whether his role was manager, JV member or a Varsity contributor, he always did what was asked of him with no hesitation. We can’t substitute in and out as freely as some other sports. So there were times when Cameron found himself as a supporter and not a participant…but he never complained. Instead, he accepted his role by always being prepared to give his best when called upon. It’s been a pleasure to coach Cameron over the past few years.

Mens Basketball, Mitch Suder:

Mitch led the team in rebounding, field goal percentage, and was second on the team in scoring.  He was also chosen to the All ECC 2nd Team. His dedication to working hard during practices pushed his teammates to do the same.  Mitch leads by example and, with many teammates who were underclassmen, this is the type of respect and responsibility a team needs modeled each day. His leadership, communication, hard work, coachability, and positive attitude are greatly appreciated by all his coaches.

Diver, Joe Carver:

Throughout his four years on the diving team at Loveland High School, Joe has always put his teammates first.  He made an effort to get to know all of his teammates on a personal level and made attending all team functions a high priority. He is the type of athlete that always went out of his way to ensure that every member of the team felt welcomed and included. Furthermore, Joe took his diving career and physical fitness to a new level this season. He went from being cut after 5 dives at sectionals last season to qualifying for the district meet this season and placing 4th in the ECC meet. Joe trained continuously throughout the off season and attended numerous out of town training trips. Joe’s leadership, work ethic, and positive attitude will certainly be missed next season. Congratulations and best of luck next year at the University of Cincinnati!

Academic team and the wrestling team were both honored for their success this year. Academic team ended third in the ECC, along with winning the ECC tournament. Wrestling saw success, with a number of wrestlers competing in state along with a generally victorious season. The team was awarded ECC Conference champion.

To end the awards ceremony, Chris Switzer was awarded the 2017 ECC Wrestling Coach. Switzer broke his 150th win, along with helping the team achieve exceptional success throughout the season.