Loveland, Ohio – On Saturday, June 3rd, Loveland High School spring sports came to an end with track athletes competing at State.
Loveland came in first in the ECC for baseball, with an 11-3 conference win/loss and a record of 21-8 overall. The team narrowly bested their nearest conference rival, Anderson, by one win. “The season went great. It was really good to win the ECC, and I had a pretty good year. It was really fun just being around all the guys all year,” baseball player and graduate, Luke Wadell explained.
Loveland Womens Lacrosse also won the conference with a strong 5-0 season, besting Turpin by one win. The team had an objectively successful overall 15-2 season. “The top two obvious standout players were Katie McElveen and Taylor Fox. They both broke records–I know Taylor broke her own record of saves […] The other player that was kind of an underdog was Morgan Naber. She came out and really just killed it this season and started taking the draw. She did incredibly well and will do exceptionally well next year, and I think will be one of the leaders of the team next season,” graduate and Womens Lacrosse player, Karlin Holley said.
Perhaps Loveland’s biggest success this season was the mens and womens track, with individuals finding considerable success, with three State-competing athletes.
Loveland mens track won the ECC regional competition. For Men’s track, Zion Wynn ended at #2 in the 100-meter dash, #1 in the 200-meter dash, #1 in the 400-meter dash, #2 in the long jump. Vaughn Richter held #5 in the 100-meter dash and #8 in the 200-meter dash; Brett Kluge came in #4 in the 400-meter dash and #7 in the 800-meter dash. Caleb Davis held #3 in the 800-meter dash, #4 in the 1600-meter run, #2 in the 3200. Jacob Korniak ended at #9 in the 800 and #6 in the 1600; Greg Ballman came in #10 in the 1600, #8 in the 3200 and Juliano Aquilino holds #5 the 110 meter hurdles. Nate Webster came in #5 in the 300-meter hurdles and #9 in the long jump.
In shotput, Colin Flanagan is in #2; Quinn James is at #7 and Graham Martin is at #8. In Discus, Graham Martin is at #2 and Colin Flanagan is at #3. Quinn James is in #9 and Josh Elfers at #10. Drew Kluender is at #2 in the high jump and Cade Smeller is at #6; Cooper Smeller is at #2 in pole vault and Joe Carver is at #4.
“State went well. It didn’t go as planned, but just to make it there was a blessing. Being a runner-up is still a great achievement– it’s just sad it was my last time going [to Columbus] to race,” explained Mens track athlete Zion Wynn. Wynn consistently ranked top in races throughout the spring season. Zion Wynn came in first in the 100m dash at regionals, first in the 400m and first for the 200m. Wynn came in first place in all three of his regional races.
For Womens track, Jordan Morrison ended in #7 for the 100 and #5 in the 200. Kayla Hartzler came in #6 for the 3200; Aiden Dial sits at #4 in the 100 meter high hurdles. Skyler Fallon ended the season at #7 and Carson Sarver at #10. In shotput, Kennedy Bontrager holds #1 and #2 in discus; Maddie Craft is at #4 in discus and #9 in shotput. Ally Kluender came in #1 for discus. In the long jump, Lauren Williams ended at #7 and Caroline Wagner is at #10. Kendall Ewert is at #1 in the high jump, Sarah Klenke is at #3 in high jump and Riley Massey is at #3; In the pole vault, Hailey Florence held #3 and Rachel Crum #5.
On June 3rd, Zion Wynn, Ally Kleunder and Kennedy Bontrager represented Loveland at State. Wynn came in 3rd place in the 200m and 2nd in the 400m. Kennedy Bontrager came in 13th for Shotput. Ally Kluender placed 7th in discus.
We are so PROUD of our Kennedy Bontrager placing 13th overall here in the DI Girls STATE Shot Put. Thank You…Go Tigers! pic.twitter.com/UWk5k1jy3L
— LovelandAthletics (@Renner_AD) June 3, 2017
Wynn and Kluender were unable to attend graduation, as they were competing at state. Both receieved their diploma on the podium at the state competition.
Cool way to wear your Cap and Gown. Go Tigers! pic.twitter.com/pxwCe71Vno
— LovelandAthletics (@Renner_AD) June 3, 2017
In the DI girls' discus @Renner_AD Ally Kluender places 7th w/ a throw of 126-09 @mlaughman @ECC_Sports pic.twitter.com/2TyjOVztwg
— Snodgrass (@JSnodsEnq) June 3, 2017
“The season was good. It took a while to get the pieces together, but we finally did which helped us win the ECC. With the team being young, I believe we can win it again next year,” Zion Wynn claimed.
Mens lacrosse ended tied for first in the conference with Kings and Milford. All three had a 4-1 record for the conference season. Overall, Loveland ended with 13-6 win/loss for the season.
Mens tennis also saw success, tying with Walnut Hills for second in the ECC. Both ended with a 4-2 record.
Other athletes saw considerable success this season, too. Softball player, Maggie Bailey broke the school home-run record early in the season and continued to excel.
“I felt that my season went well, especially returning from an injury. I did break the record for career home runs and home runs in a single season, as well as some others last year, like batting and slugging percentage for a season. I had a goal to bat above .400 and to contribute to my team both at and behind the plate and I believed I achieved both of those,” Maggie Bailey explained.
Loveland softball came in 5th in the ECC, with 5 wins and 9 losses. Overall, Loveland ended with 10 wins and 12 losses.
“We did alright. We had a really young team so there were areas that needed some improvement, but I’m very confident that the underclassmen will continue to grow like I watched them do throughout the season,” Bailey finished.
