Loveland, Ohio – Four Loveland High School alumni will be inducted into the Loveland Schools Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 21.
David Evans (Loveland High School Class of 1969), Wesley Jackson (‘94), David J. Litteral (‘80) and Janet Rich (‘71) are the recipients of the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award – a lifetime award honoring graduates who have used their Loveland education to better their communities at the local, national or global level.
“This event, which is open to the public, is an opportunity for us to recognize and give back to Loveland graduates who stand out in their service to others,” said Loveland Schools Foundation Executive Director Linda Slusher. “It is also a way to show the Loveland community the high caliber of students that the Loveland Schools produce.”
David Evans has coached the Midland Redskins since 1990 and has won the Connie Mack World Series 12 times. He has coached more than 80 major league players, including Ken Griffey Jr., David Bell and Barry Larkin.
Wesley Jackson earned three university degrees with majors in biology, microbiology and biochemistry from Miami University, Wright State University and the Medical University of South Carolina. He is currently working as a research scientist for the Eli Lilly Company, where some of his research has led to medical patents for which he is accredited.
David J. Litteral, Command Sergeant Major in the U.S. Army (ret.), gave 32 years of honorable service in the United States Army Medical Department, culminating as commandant of the Army’s Medical Noncommissioned Officer Academy.
Janet Rich taught 35 years at Loveland City Schools. Among others, she served 33 years as chair for the Health and Physical Education Department, 17 years as student council and class advisor, and 24 years as cheerleading coach. Rich was named Grand Marshall of the 2012 homecoming parade for her service to Loveland Schools.
The Distinguished Alumni Awards Banquet begins at 6 PM at the Oasis Golf and Conference Center, with awards recognitions scheduled to start at 8 PM.
Tickets ($45/person) include dinner and must be purchased prior to the event. Please contact Linda Slusher at slusheli@lovelandschools.org for more information. No tickets will be available at the door.
Loveland, Ohio – It’s no secret that here in Loveland there is no shortage of phenomenal athletes. A 2017 Loveland High School grad and nationally recognized baseball player, Luke Waddell, received the news on June 5th that he was drafted in the 32nd round of the MLB Draft to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Many celebrated the news voicing how excited they were for Waddell on twitter and facebook, but no one celebrated more than the Loveland Tiger supporters! Below were some of the tweets posted after the 32nd round draft results were released.
The Assistant Principal at Loveland High School said…
Waddell, who was born and raised in Loveland, excelled in baseball, football, and basketball at Loveland High School. Waddell racked up a number of accolades with the Tigers some of the most prominent being baseball honors. In 2017, Perfect Game rated Waddell as the number 3 shortstop and the number 11 overall prospect in Ohio. Waddell also received an All-American Honorable Mention nod in 2017 in addition to becoming the ECC Baseball Athlete of the Year. Waddell, a 4 time ECC first team all-conference selection and 2-time all-state selection, still holds the Loveland High School Baseball record for career games played, hits and doubles.
Waddell did not shy away from other sports in high school just because he was so gifted in one sport, which in his case was baseball. He also lettered in football and basketball at Loveland. In 2013 when the Loveland Tigers Football team grabbed the state championship title, district title, and the ECC conference title, Waddell aided in the Tiger’s success tremendously setting records in career rushing yards, receiving yards, touchdowns, points scored, and the most rushing yards and touchdowns in a single season. In fact the day Waddell broke Loveland High School’s 49-year-old, single-game rushing record he didn’t even realize he did it until record keeper and facilities manager, Kevin Taylor told him after the game. He told Loveland Magazine at the time, “I was honestly shocked. I knew I had a good game, but didn’t know I broke any records. So, it was pretty exciting.”
Waddell was also named by MaxPreps, second-team freshman All-American in 2013 and first team all-conference by the ECC for all for 4 years of his high school football career.
The Midland Redskins summer baseball team got the pleasure of having Waddell for 3 seasons before he took off to play collegiate baseball at Georiga Tech. In Waddell’s freshman season with GT in 2018 he played in 42 games starting in 31 of those games. Waddell had quite the impressive stat sheet as a freshman hitting a .283 batting average and posting an on-base percentage of .348. In 2019 Waddell had an even more successful year playing in 57 games hitting a .328 batting average. Waddell’s on-base percentage also improved to a .442. The 2019 results Waddell brought in for the Yellow Jackets earned him 20th best batting average in the entire ACC.
After years of hard work and dedication to improving his craft, Luke Waddell was selected last Wednesday in the 32nd round of the MLB draft to join the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Although Waddell is thrilled with being drafted he has made the decision to return to Georgia Tech for his junior year season. Waddell’s former coaches, teammates, and classmates are still very excited to hear about Waddell being drafted. Included below are thoughts from Brian Conaster, Loveland High School Athletic Director, and Ken Reed, Waddell’s former high school baseball coach, about Luke Waddell.
“Luke is an incredibly talented player who was a pleasure to coach at LHS. Not only was he one of the most productive players in the state of Ohio, but he was also a great teammate. The Loveland community should be very proud of how well Luke has represented the town,” Ken Reed said.
“Luke Waddell was not only a record-breaking high school stand out multiple sport athlete, but a person of high character in and out of the classroom. Luke always embodies the Loveland core values of respect, responsibility, integrity, and pride,” Brian Conaster said.
