Home Latest Stories Loveland recognizes fall-season student athletes

Loveland recognizes fall-season student athletes

Nov 21, 2016

On Wednesday, November 9, the Loveland fall sports awards were held in the Loveland High School auditorium. The awards seek to recognize exceptional Loveland athletes. After each season ends, Loveland holds sports awards to salute Tiger athletes.

The students were recognized by LHS Athletic Director Julie Renner who provided this narrative to Loveland Magazine.

The Easter Cincinnati All Conference Awards were given to the following students:

Honorable Mention

Womens XC – Sydney Cree
Football – Gunner Tuttle
Womens Tennis – Megan Dakoske
Mens Cross Country – Mitchell Laifook
Womens Golf – Allison Rountree
Womens Soccer – Caitlin Elam
Mens Golf – Austin Huynh
Mens Soccer – Aiden Voellmecke
Womens Volleyball – Maggie Dowd

Second Team

Womens XC – Kayla Hartzler
Football Offense 2nd Team: Zion Wynn, James Meckey
Football Defense 2nd Team: Andrew Hesse, Calvin Whitaker, Ryan Batsch, Colin Flannagan
Womens Tennis – Peyton Geers and Peyton Beller
Me’s Cross Country – Jacob Korniak and Thomas Gear
Womens Soccer – Lauren Parker, Brooke Harden, Brice Grieshop, Danielle Kenyon
Mens Golf – Garrett Fasig and Jonathon Geist
Men’ Soccer – Andrew Hartman
Womens Volleyball – Kim Bailey and Rachel Blumberg

First Team

Football Offense 1st Team: Luke Waddell, Braden Watts
Football Defense 1st Team: Cameron Beck, Drew Grafflin
Womens Tennis – Andrea Wittekind and Anna Svitkovich
Mens Cross Country – Greg Ballman and Caleb Davis
Womens Golf – Alejandra Bonet, Lindsey Bachmann and Olivia Horrigan
Womens Soccer – Rachel Ernst, Colleen Swift, Claire Beran and Megan Schuster
Mens Golf – Drew Docherty and Pete Matuszak
Men’s Soccer – Zach Robbins and Josiah Pokopak
Womens Volleyball – Marie Plitt and Megan Kirlin

Edward Jones, located in the business district of Old Loveland and owned by Jeff Atkinson, honors student-athletes for the fall, winter and spring seasons. One male and one female student-athlete was chosen to represent Loveland High School Athletics as the Edward Jones Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Season:

Greg Ballman is a 2-year Varsity member of the Loveland Boys Cross Country team. As a sophomore, Greg excelled on the cross country course and was named the Most Valuable Runner on the team. He was among the top 10 finishers in 7 invitational races. His 3rd place finish at Lakota East led the team to a 1st place finish, and his 4th place finish at Kings and 7th place finish at Tippecanoe led the team to 3rd place finishes. Greg placed 3rd at the ECC meet posting a season best 16:23 and earning All-Conference 1st Team honors. His season best time of best 16:23 also makes him the 7th fastest runner in the history of Loveland Boys Cross Country. Greg placed 13th at the District Meet and helped the team qualify for the Regional Meet for the first time in 11 years. Greg has an overall GPA of a 4.139.

Varsity Womens Golf team member and Junior, Alejandra Bonet was given the Edward Jones Award. Alejandra is the No1 player on the Varsity Team and the 2016 Varsity Womens Golf Captain. She was regular season medalist– twelve times. Bonet was named the ECC Medalist in the Pre-season shoot-out, ECC Medalist in the Championship Tournament, ECC First Team Honors and ECC Player of the Year. Bonet was a bember of the record setting ECC Championship Team and member of the Varsity Womens Golf Sectional and District Team. (This was the1st time a LHS Womens Golf Teams qualified for district competition.). Alejandra Bonet was named the 2016 Varsity Womens Golf Team MVP and maintains an overall GPA of a 4.15.

One Varsity Student-Athlete from each Fall program was chosen as the Sportsperson of the Season. These are the students who demonstrate respect and responsibility for their community, school, team and above all their character. The following were named Sportsperson of the Season:

Womens Tennis: The tennis sportsperson of the season is Peyton Geers. Peyton is a 3rd

year Varsity letter winner who truly embodies the spirit of competition and

sportsmanship. She has played the top spot, the challenging 1st singles for 2 years in a

row. Match after match she faced the best competition not only in the league and the

city but in the state of Ohio, yet still attained a winning record of 10-7. As captain of the

tennis team this year she was a leader, an organizer and a driving force in practice and

in play. She leads by example. This year she was voted by the the Division 1 tennis

coaches association to receive the Sportsmanship award, an honor given to only one

player in all of Division 1 Cincinnati schools. Peyton Geers is a most deserving recipient

of the Sportsperson of the Season.

Cheerleading: Olivia Cox – This Cheerleader never fails to have a smile on her face and

she has stepped into her senior year with determination and strong leadership. Olivia is

a great representative of the school as she shows great pride in all that she does on and

off the field. She is constantly looking to find new material for the season and uses

creative ways to involve the crowd. She works with the Spirit Squad to make sure we

are all on the same page when it comes to game day and cheering our boys on. Olivia

has been a senior that the others look up to for her leadership and has shown great

responsibility by leading her team with a positive attitude, always being where she is

needed, and stepping up to help at all fundraisers and booster events. Olivia works until

she achieves her goals. She is not only a leader to her teammates but a respectful,

hardworking young lady, and a pleasure to coach.

Volleyball: Jacalyn Parsley has a positive attitude and an overall concern for the success

of the team. She is hard working and has the ability to communicate with both

teammates and coaches. She was a co-captain in all aspects of the name. She quietly

leads by example, helping others to understand the challenges that this team faced in

order made school history. We appreciate how she lives the CORE Values of respect,

responsibility, integrity and pride here at Loveland HS. Jacalyn exemplifies what all

coaches look for in an athlete.

Mens Cross Country: Sam Wenger is a junior and 2nd year varsity member of the mens

cross country team. In addition to his work ethic that made him a part of the varsity,

Sam displayed great leadership qualities with the younger members of the team. Sam

made sure all members, including freshmen and less experienced runners, felt included

as part of the running family regardless of their ability. Sam also made sure the new

runners were safe on the runs and finished as part of the group which greatly helped

the bonding of this team.

Mens Golf: Senior Captain Drew Docherty averaged 39.19 strokes this season, was

medalist 6 times, had 4 top 10 finishes in 18 hole tournaments, lead the team to

districts at the sectional tournament with a back 9 two under par 34 at Glenview.

Drew’s natural leadership, responsibility and positive attitude helped carry the men this

season, almost to the state tournament. His respect for the game, his competitors and

his teammates goes without question. His integrity is a model for all student athletes,

and the pride he takes in his game and his teammates accomplishments is justified

through his and the team’s hard work together.

Womens Golf: Senior: Olivia Horrigan…If you ask the question, “Where do you see yourself

in 5yrs, 10Yrs….. Olivia would have an answer for you! Once Olivia decides on a path,

she sets a goal and goes for it. She demonstrates her drive in the classroom, on the Golf

Course and in the community. On the golf course, Olivia devoted her off season to

tournaments and practice. She was a leader on the team, serving as captain and played

a key role in the success of the 2016 season. In the Community, Olivia was the Project

Leader in “Bike for Brains” She created the program and secured the support of

Children’s Hospital and Montgomery Cyclery to put on a Bike-A- Thon to raise awareness

and funds for traumatic brain injury. She raised over $4,000 dollars for the head injury

clinic at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Olivia is a born leader with much respect for

others.

Mens Soccer: Senior Zach Robbins elected captain by his teammates, Zach has always led

by example. Zach has represented himself, his family, and his school and community

with pride. Zach made the unselfish decision to do what was in the best interest of the

team in his senior season. Zach has been a goalkeeper for most of his soccer career and

played keeper for the varsity the past two seasons. He saw a need for a field position

player in the defense and decided to give it a try. Zach’s work ethic is what propelled

him to have success at a new position. He continues to give back to the community by

volunteering his time to help coach and train the next generation of Loveland soccer

players for the LYSA. He has left a lasting impact on the players from our program as

well as the young players in the community.

Football: James Meckey, a senior offensive and defensive lineman for the football

team, is an incredible example and representative of Loveland High School. On the field,

James off-season work ethic helped him become a two way player as an offensive and

defensive lineman. His determination is contagious, making everyone around him a

better player, more important, a better person. As a student-athlete, James is a great

teammate and leader who values the importance of respect, responsible, integrity and

pride. These core values are important to James and how he values the way he lives his

life. The character in which he brings everyday, he brings with a purpose. Jame’s

character sets the example for other student-athletes, always looking to do the right

thing. He is proud to wear our colors, and lives his life by example and all that we stand

for.

Womens Cross Country: Kayla Hartzler is a 4 year varsity member of both the cross country

and track team. She is our captain and the heart of our team in so many ways. She is an

unbelievably dedicated runner, both in and out of season, doing the work 12 months

out of the year without being asked, running in all seasons in all conditions. Other

members of our team look up to her and feed off of her fire, determination and

competitiveness. Kayla has been 1st or 2nd team all conference all four years in cross

country and has been a stellar student athlete, maintaining honor roll status. Kayla is

deserving of this award, for her dedication to the program, her outstanding running

achievements and her role model status as a leader on our team.

Womens Soccer: Megan Schuster during her four years on varsity, she has exemplified the

values of both the athletic department and the womens soccer program. She has

earned the respect of her teammates and coaches both on the field and in the

classroom by being one of the best players we have had and also one of the best

students. She has always done what was asked of her while also putting her teammates

before herself as their captain and leader. Megan is a young lady the coaching staff

could trust to ensure that things got done and that players were doing the things

necessary to be successful in preparing for practice, matches, and even in the classroom

to help make this program a success. The integrity she has and has shown in her four

years is a tremendous example for other players to follow as she represents the type of

player we want in our womens soccer program. Megan is a fantastic player and an

even better person.

Awards for All-City, All SWOhio and All State:

Greater Cincinnati Tennis Coaches Association Awards:

Peyton Geers – Distinguished Singles

Peyton Geers – Sportsmanship

Andrea Wittekind and Anna Svitkovich – Distinguished Doubles

Drew Doucherty – honorable mention in the Southwest District in Mens Golf

Alejandra Bonet – 3 rd team All Southwest Ohio in Womens Golf

Lindsay Bachman and Olivia Horrigan – honorable mention in the District in Womens Golf

Greg Ballman and Caleb Davis – honorable mention for Southwest Ohio in Mens XC

Zach Robbins – All SWOhio in Mens Soccer

Marie Plitt – 2nd team All District in Volleyball

Megan Kirlin – 3 rd team All District in Volleyball

Kim Bailey – selected to the SW Senior all star match

Rachel Blumberg – selected to the Senior show case

And Coach Julie Plitt – received the Coaches Achievement Award for SWOhio

Coach, Todd M. Kelly – All-City and SW Ohio Coach of the Year

Claire Beran – 1st Team All-SW Ohio and playing in the Senior All-Star Game

Colleen Swift – 1st Team All-SW Ohio and 2nd Team All State

Rachel Ernst – 1st Team All-SW Ohio, playing

High honor awards from the ECC for Player of the Year and Coach of the Year:

Womens Golf – Coach of the Year – Barb Orsinelli

Womens Soccer – Coach of the Year – Todd Kelly

Womens Golf – Player of the Year – Alejandra Bonet

Womens Soccer – Player of the Year – Rachel Ernst

Rachel Ernst:

Most games played – 81
Most games started – 81
Most games consecutively started – 81 (NEVER missed a start in her 4-year career)

Womens Golf Team – Presentation of their ECC trophy and first time in school history, District qualifiers

ECC Championship Medalist Honors

Alejandra Bonet – Silver Medalist

Lindsey Bachmann – Bronze Medalist

Varsity and JV were ECC Champions

Womens Volleyball Team – Womens volleyball were Division I Sectional Champs and District Champs, and making it to the Regional semi-finals game marks the furthest a womens volleyball team has made it in the OHSAA State tournament in school history.

Womens Soccer Team – Our Girls are ECC champs, Division I Sectional Champs and Districts champs, making it to the Regional Finals this year in the OHSAA State tournament.