Loveland, Ohio – Loveland Magazine photographer Andrew Sichak was on the sideline for FC Cincinnati’s thrilling 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Union last Wednesday. He snapped some amazing photos of the squad as they improved to 12-3-3 (39 points) on the season after the win.
The game itself was one of the best of the year for FCC as it was a back and forth tilt with some amazing goals on both sides. For FCC Luca Orellano launched a 60-yard beauty that beat the Union keeper Oliver Semmle.
After the Union tied it up in stoppage time in the second half, Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta came through like the all-star he is and took it upon himself to win it all for FCC.
After checking out the amazing videos of FC Cincinnati’s win, please take a look at the wonderful photographic work of Andrew Sichak and look out for much more from him in the future.
As of now, FC Cincinnati sits at 12-4-3 with 39 points and trail Inter Miami by just 2 points in the Eastern Conference. They face Dallas at Toyota Stadium in Texas on June 29 where they will look to bounce back from a 2-1 loss to New England this past Saturday.
Hey readers… have an opinion about sports? How about a topic you’d like to see written about in Loveland Magazine or a thought about one of our articles?
Just need to vent and get out your frustration about the Reds, Bengals, or any other sports issues?
Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.
Loveland, Ohio – For this week’s podcast episode, Chris and Mark analyze just what is going wrong (once again) with the Reds’ offense. They also bring you the latest on Tee Higgins’ contract situation, and the benefit his being present for workouts this summer will help the Bengals avoid their notoriously slow starts to the season. Mark also breaks down exactly how the Bearcats’ basketball team is constructed and how that roster construction will help set them up for success in 2024. Chris and Mark also tackle Caitlin Clark and what she means for the WNBA before finishing with a brief recap of the amazing FC Cincinnati win on Wednesday night.
All this and more on The Queen City Sports Podcast, take a listen and don’t forget to leave your comments and feedback!
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Hey readers… have an opinion about sports? How about a topic you’d like to see written about in Loveland Magazine or a thought about one of our articles?
Just need to vent and get out your frustration about the Reds, Bengals, or any other sports issues?
We would love to hear from our readers, and we thank you for your support and engagement.
Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.
Soccer, girls volleyball, basketball, baseball and softball adding divisions starting in 2024-25
A Press Release from the Ohio High School Athletic Association
After months of discussion and meetings around Ohio to gather feedback, the Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors unanimously approved a proposal Thursday morning to utilize a new formula to determine how many divisions will be offered for postseason tournaments. The change affects OHSAA General Sports Regulation 17 and will result in girls and boys soccer now having five divisions, while girls volleyball, girls and boys basketball, softball and baseball will all have seven divisions. In those sports, Division I and Division II will only include 64 schools.
The new divisions will go into effect with the fall of 2024. The board will continue to discuss additional sports, noting several recent meetings regarding track and field. There are no changes to the number of football divisions, which is already at seven. In addition, any changes to the current deployment of the Competitive Balance process would need to be voted upon by OHSAA member schools during the annual referendum voting process.
Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director, praised the board’s decision as a step toward to level the playing field of OHSAA tournaments.
“It’s the right thing to do for the student-athletes who have been competing at this disadvantage,” said Ute. “For too long, the largest schools in our divisions have been so much larger than the smaller schools in the same division, which has resulted in many schools accepting that they realistically have little chance at making a run in the tournament. In some of our sports, there have been more than 200 schools competing for a state title in that division, which is significantly more than what most other states do, and what we do in many of our own sports.
“We know that there is a lot of work to do in the coming months to prepare for additional divisions this fall,” Ute said. “We have already started working on the details to accomplish this, but one thing we know for sure is that having two or three more state champions in these sports doesn’t water them down or diminish winning a state title. And we anticipate that this new format will be revenue neutral, since every school makes the tournament already.”
Each year, the Board of Directors would still have final authority in determining how many divisions to be used that school year, but the proposal calls for the following scale to be used to guide the board’s decision on the number of divisions for girls volleyball, football, soccer, basketball, softball and baseball, however note that the sports of lacrosse, field hockey, ice hockey and boys volleyball would not change from their current division numbers:
199 or fewer teams: 1 Division
200 to 299 teams: 2 Divisions
300 to 399 teams: 3 Divisions
400 to 499 teams: 4 Divisions
500 to 599 teams: 5 Divisions
600 to 699 teams: 6 Divisions
700 and more teams: 7 Divisions
For girls volleyball, soccer, basketball, softball and baseball, the largest 64 schools would be placed into Division I. The next largest 64 schools would be placed into Division II. The remaining schools would be divided as evenly as possible into the remaining divisions. The OHSAA already does something similar to this in football, in which the largest 10 percent of schools are placed into Division I and the remaining schools are divided evenly in Divisions II through VII.
The proposal does not call for a change to the formula that the OHSAA uses for individual sports to determine the number of student-athletes required for team designation, which includes five in bowling, five in cross country (who score for their team at the district tournament), four in golf, three in girls gymnastics, seven in swimming and diving, four in tennis, nine in track and field and seven in wrestling.
The proposal calls for the following number of divisions to be used for individual sports:
200 or fewer teams: 1 Division
201 to 450 teams: 2 Divisions
451 to 700 teams: 3 Divisions
701 and more teams: 4 Divisions
OHSAA member schools vote to determine any changes to the bylaws or constitution via the referendum process each spring. Member schools also vote for representatives for their District Athletic Boards, who are then selected to serve on the State Board of Directors on a three-year term. The Board of Directors are then charged with reviewing and approving the General Sports Regulations on behalf of the OHSAA membership. The OHSAA General Sports Regulations do not go to the member schools for voting and are posted at: https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/GeneralSportsRegulations.pdf
The OHSAA will announce structural and dates changes for future state tournaments at a later date.
Cincinnati, Ohio – FC Cincinnati lost 0-2 to the Colorado Rapids last Saturday night at TQL Stadium. The contest was the first sellout in the history of the stadium.
Colorado Rapids (5-2-1, 16 pts.) struck first in the 21st minute when Michael Barrios snuck in behind the FC Cincinnati defense and laid the ball off to Diego Rubio, who slotted it home. Jack Price’s through ball in the 72nd minute found Jonathan Lewis, whose left footed shot gave the match its final score line.
The contest was the first sellout in the history of the stadium.
FC Cincinnati (1-5-1, 4 pts.) outshot Colorado Rapids 22-7 and had seven shots on target to Colorado’s two, but were not able to find the back of the net. Both the team’s 22 shots and seven shots on goal were season-highs.
On Wednesday night, Álvaro Barreal’s 50th minute free kick game-winning goal was one of a club record 12 shots on goal as FC Cincinnati defeated the hosts Chicago Fire SC, 1-0, at Soldier Field.
Orange and Blue look ahead to Saturday night matchup with Toronto FC in Orlando
FC Cincinnati looks to win its third road contest of the season Saturday night when it takes on Toronto FC from Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Kickoff is set for 7 PM ET, and the game will be televised on WSTR 64, carried on the radio on ESPN 1530, streamed regionally on fccincinnati.com/stream, out of market on ESPN+, while an audio stream will be available via the iHeartRadio app.
Read the SCORING SUMMARY of the Colorado Rapids matchup, MISCONDUCT SUMMARY, and POSTGAME QUOTES below…
Colorado Rapids 2, FC Cincinnati 0
TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio June 19, 2021
SCORING SUMMARY COL – Diego Rubio (Michael Barrios) 21’ COL – Jonathan Lewis (Jack Price) 72’
Colorado Rapids: William Yarbrough, Keegan Rosenberry, Lalas Abubakar (Drew Moore 70’), Danny Wilson, Auston Trusty, Sam Vines (Braian Galvan 90’), Kellyn Acosta, Jack Price, Cole Bassett (Nicholas Mezquida 84’), Michael Barrios (Nicholas Benezet 46’), Diego Rubio (Jonathan Lewis 46’)
Bench: Clint Irwin, Oliver larraz, Andre Shinyashiki, Collen Warner
COL – Kellyn Acosta (caution) 23’ CIN – Brenner (caution) 45’ CIN – Edgar Castillo (caution) 45+6’ COL – Lalas Abubakar (caution) 45+6’ COL – Jack Price (caution) 61’ COL – Danny Wilson (caution) 90+2’
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Ast. Referees: Eric Boria, Adam Wienckowski
4th official: Danielle Chesky
VAR: Guido Gonzales Jr.
AVAR: Jeff Muschik
Weather: 80 degrees and partly cloudy
Attendance: 25,054 (sellout)
GAME NOTES
Head coach Jaap Stam made three changes from the previous match against New England, with Edgar Castillo, Alvaro Barreal, and Isaac Atanga replacing Ronald Matarrita, Caleb Stanko and Jürgen Locadia.
Edgar Castillo started for the Orange and Blue to make his first appearance with the club. The 34-year old U.S. International, and former Colorado Rapid, played 77 minutes in the left back spot.
Franko Kovačević made his first appearance for the Orange and Blue this season, and just his second appearance in total, coming on for Brenner in the 82nd minute.
With the loss, FC Cincinnati’s record this season through seven MLS matches comes to 1-5-1 (4 points). FCC’s all-time record against the Rapids drops to 0-2-0.
Zico Bailey, Calvin Harris, and Maikel van der Werff were all excluded from the matchday squad due to injuries.
Luciano Acosta wore the captain’s armband for the third time this season.
The Orange and Blue utilized the maximum five substitutions for the third time this season.
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam
“It’s a little bit from our side tonight unbelievable that we are sitting here on our side and we haven’t scored a goal. I think in how we played, how we started the game, how we went forward first half as well, sometimes impressing as well sometimes defending in a block. Doing that very well, creating very good opportunities to score ourselves. We didn’t pull the trigger ourselves.
I think we gave that goal away because one ran in behind and that ball went over the top and he was through. It’s a goal you can’t concede like this but it happens. That’s a little bit of the situation sometimes that we are in now as well in the stepping stones that we need to make and the process that we are, that sometimes we are making little mistakes and wrong choices, that’s going to cost us.
On the other hand we create we go forward you create opportunities and you can’t finish them off. Second half we kept on pushing, we spoke about what to do in the second half. We dominated big parts of the game, we created quite a few opportunities to score. Even opportunities sometime that you need to pick someone else up who’s in a better position to score.
We couldn’t do that and on the break, I believe they score that second goal and I think that’s their only shot of the second half on target. It went in, I still need to see it back. It’s all about and we spoke about it in other games as well, other games that we’ve been losing, for example, the Miami game here at home. Come back into the game you get opportunities but you give away a third goal and you cannot score yourself enough goals. New England towards the end of the game as well you create the opportunities but we cannot unfortunately pull the trigger so you don’t get a point out of it as well. Today I think we should’ve had more but should’ve could’ve it’s about…. If you get the opportunities you need to finish them off yourself as well. We also know, where we are. You’re always talking about things that go wrong but it’s not a thing that you need to write always because it’s easy also to write my comments and everybody thinks oh they must’ve played a bad game and that’s not the case because I think we played very well. We did very well. we created a lot and even in that we could’ve done better its very positive in how we approached the game and what we achieved eventually and that’s a part of what we are looking for and making progress and eventually I’m very confident we’ll get there.
Also in making these steps and making changes and maybe there’s more you never know what’s going to happen. You start here and then you’re building your way up there. It’s a lot better to start here and ending up there. That’s not building and we all know how that goes. We try to work on that every day, every game. Also you’re working with human beings, like you guys don’t always write the same piece. Players don’t always make the same decisions on the pitch. That’s at times how it goes as well.’’
On the credit he gives to Rapids keeper:
“Yeah I give him credit also we sometimes make it easy because we shoot that ball against him so he doesn’t need to do a lot if you pick an angle and you take a corner then it goes in probably but that also got to do with players when you’re under pressure. Sometimes you don’t have the time to make a decision and you just need to shoot and pull the trigger. So that happens as well but he made good saves. The difference is that we give them two opportunities and they score two. We get seven very good opportunities and I’m still very on the low side maybe and we cannot score and that’s unfortunate.
When you see the plays as well everyone is very disappointed down, because also we speak about it every week the players feel that they are close. If you can’t reward yourself then it becomes more difficult at times to get that boost to make that next step and that’s what we are looking for.’’
On two opposing shots becoming two opposing goals.
“We are aiming to do that even more, not to concede but to have more shots and opportunities. Yeah and I’ve been there myself as well, it’s very difficult when you play a game against a team and the other teams have quality as well. It’s not like we are playing and we are making progress and we are bringing other players in. The other teams are doing the exact thing and they also started from where they ended last season.’’
FC Cincinnati midfielder Allan Cruz
Note: translated from Spanish to English
On playing in front of the home crowd
“It’s great to be playing at full capacity, unfortunately we weren’t able to get the win for our fans. We just want to take this as a learning opportunity moving forward.”
On the opportunities pushing forward
“As you saw, we had opportunities to finish and score those goals. I think sometimes we were missing just the calmness to finish those plays. With regards to my position, it’s my natural position and I feel comfortable in that position. Sometimes I think I need to be a little more in the box and have more opportunities to score, but overall I like that position. Obviously, (Colorado goalkeeper Yarborough) had some good saves. We had a few opportunities and we didn’t finish them off. When you have those opportunities and you can’t finish them, there is a little bit of frustration.
On his time with Costa Rica during the international break
“I was away but while I was away I was playing. I’m always training when I’m with my national team. Coming back to the team (FC Cincinnati), it’s good to be back, thank God I’m back, we just need to get those wins.”
FC Cincinnati defender Edgar Castillo
On his first appearance and start with the club “I felt a little nervous but I think I did good, just not the result we wanted. I think overall we played good but it’s luck, we don’t have any luck. We created so many chances and it’s a matter of putting it in. It was just unlucky for us but we have to keep our head up and keep going”
On his role stepping into the starting XI in front of TQL Stadium
“We all prepare, I train so whenever Jaap needs us, he needed me today. (You) just have to try to be ready whenever needed. It’s beautiful to have people back in the stands, it’s amazing. It’s unfortunate we did not get a win today.”
Loveland, Ohio – Student-athletes all across Ohio jumped for joy Tuesday when Governor Mike DeWine announced that he will be signing a new Ohio Department of Health order. This order will permit the Fall contact sports of Field Hockey, Soccer, and Football, to move forward with competition against other schools.
Although the Governor confirmed his support for the new health order in a press conference on Tuesday he also said he wanted to ensure that Ohio’s coaches continued to inspire their student-athletes to follow safety precautions. DeWine stated that he hopes that by allowing high school athletes to have a season that will then inspire them to be as careful as they can be.
“I hope that our coaches will use this an opportunity to focus on helping these young people understand what really is at stake,” Dewine said, “Coaches, you, in a normal year, inspire, you mentor, you instruct, you instill discipline and self-discipline in your student-athletes. For all of that, we are very grateful for what you do. You make a lot of sacrifices, work long hours and you inspire our kids. We thank you very much for that. But this year, it’s going to take more. It’s going to be inspiring them in regards to the goal of keeping COVID out of their team,” DeWine added.
Field hockey, Soccer, and Football will now be joining the OHSAA’s previously approved Fall sports, which were Girls and Boys Golf, Girls Tennis, Girls Volleyball, and Girls and Boys Cross Country.
With the majority of high schools in Ohio desperately wanting to play sports this Fall, the OHSAA has been working with the Governor’s Office and the Ohio Department of Health to create a new health order that contains modifications from the previous health orders released. With the new Health Director’s Order comes two separate mandates and recommended best practices documents for schools to follow for competitions. If practices aren’t followed the OHSAA could issue consequences for the violation of these requirements as prescribed in Bylaw 11, Penalties. The new health order will still include symptom assessments, mandated facial coverings, enforcement of social distancing, cleaning and sanitizing, and what to do when faced with confirmed COVID-19 cases or exposure to the virus. The finalized health order will be sent to schools this week.
Bob Goldring, the OHSAA’s Interim Executive Director, also voiced his support of contact sports being allowed to compete in Ohio.
“The OHSAA is moving forward because we want kids to have an opportunity to participate, and the Governor’s Office is providing that opportunity and a chance,” Goldring explained, “So for that, we are most appreciative. It’s important to remember that our student-athletes have been practicing and training with others for weeks and even months, and it has gone well. So, we believe they deserve the chance to move forward, and that the high school space is also different than the collegiate space.”
The OHSAA staff has also been consistently working hard to create sport-specific modifications and recommendations for schools when conducting interscholastic competition. If you would like to read over the updated sports modifications and safety precautions you can click on the following link:https://ohsaa.org/Home/OHSAA-COVID-19-Correspondence.
OHSAA’s Goldring, like Governor DeWine, when speaking on Tuesday also emphasized the importance of student-athletes, coaches, and school administrators being the absolute best advocates for safety.
“COVID-19 certainly has created a risk factor, and that is something on which each family has to decide for their student, and each local school district has to make decisions on moving forward based on all the information they have been presented,” Goldring continued. “But we also believe our student-athletes, coaches and school administrators – in education-based programs – are suited to be the best advocates for safety, strongly promoting and following mandates and recommendations to wear facial coverings, stay socially distanced and so forth. Our coaches, especially, are role models to so many of our student-athletes. So hopefully our student-athletes will follow their lead and guidance, especially when they talk to students about what to consider away from school.”
OHSAA’s Fall Sports Seasons are Scheduled to Begin on the Following Dates:
Friday, Aug. 21 – Soccer and Field Hockey
Monday, Aug. 24 – Volleyball, Cross Country, and Football
Both Golf and Girls Tennis Seasons have already begun.
Have more questions about the new sports health orders and mandates? The Governor’s Office, the Ohio Department of Health, the National Federation of State High School Associations, colleagues at other state high school athletics/activities associations, members of the OHSAA’s Joint Advisory Committee on Sports Medicine, and members of the Governor’s Sports League Advisory Group created a series of questions and answers for those wanting to learn more! Click on the following link to read:https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/2020/OHSAAReturnToPlayQA.pdf.
For the latest updates in the world of sports be sure to tune into Sports 411 With ME, Cassie Mattia!
OHSAA adjusts high school season if football is approved by Governor
by Cassie Mattia
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Governor’s recommendation to shorten Ohio’s High School Football seasons has been approved! The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) announced Friday that due to concerns COVID-19 may spike in the early winter, all Ohio HS football teams will enter into the playoffs on October 9th. The HS State Championship games would be played no later than November 21st. This is only in the event that the Governor’s Office approves Ohio HS Football being played this year.
The proposal for a shorter football regular season was approved by the OHSAA Board of Directors with a 9-0 vote. OHSAA released a press release after the vote saying that they considered the proposal a win-win situation for all schools because it would then not matter how many games each team played leading up to the playoffs.
So how will it be determined which HS football teams qualify for the playoffs you may be asking yourself? Well, instead of using the traditional computer ratings system, coaches in each region will conduct a tournament seed meeting the week of September 28th in order to form the regional brackets. This is very similar to how several other team sports within the OHSAA determine which teams qualify for playoffs.
Loveland High School is apart of the Eastern Cincinnati Conference.
The shortened football season guidelines state that schools may keep their first six previously scheduled games, but all regular-season football contracts will be now voidable by either school. This is especially important in the event that conferences redo their league schedules so that games will fit into the first six weeks. The OHSAA will also determine new playoff regions in September. Teams that are eliminated from the playoffs may continue to schedule regular-season games up until November 14.
MAC Announces Postponement of Fall Sports
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) has announced the postponement of all scheduled fall contests, as well as MAC championships, due to continuing concerns related to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Read on…
The Big 10 is expected to announce the cancelation of the Fall football season on Tuesday.
Those schools that have paused sports due to COVID-19 are still able to begin their season in September or early October as well as compete in the playoffs. If a school finds that they would rather play regular-season games up until November 14th and not compete in playoffs they are able to do so.
“To both ensure we can offer students the opportunity to participate in education-based athletics but do so with their best interests in mind, we believe this modified plan offers a positive solution by addressing many of the concerns of our member schools,” President of the OHSAA Board of Directors and Athletic Administrator at Mentor High School, Jeff Cassella said, “Those that are able to start their seasons on time will be able to do so. Those that are starting later can still have a season. Add in the option of all schools entering the playoffs and the possibility of schools still being able to play 10 regular-season contests, and this plan is helpful to virtually all of our schools.”
Here are the most important details in regards to the OHSAA’s modified Ohio HS Football season and changes to the Playoffs process:
Regular-season games will begin the week of August 24 (same regular-season starting date).
All teams are eligible to enter the OHSAA playoffs. New regions will be determined in September.
The number of playoff rounds is dependent upon the number of schools entering the playoffs in each division. Coaches in each region will seed all playoff teams in the region to form a bracket, similar to other OHSAA sports.
Schools eliminated from the OHSAA playoffs or those schools that choose not to enter the OHSAA playoffs have the option to schedule additional regular-season contests through Saturday, November 14 (maximum of 10 regular season contests permitted).
Playoff seeding will be determined via a vote of the coaches the week of September 28 (Harbin Ratings is suspended for the 2020 season).
All playoff contests through the regional semifinals (and possibly the regional finals) will be hosted by the higher-seeded team.
Schools must commit to participating in the playoffs by 11:59 PM on Thursday, September 17.
Playoff regions will be drawn on Friday, September 18.
Schools may withdraw from the playoffs without a penalty until Thursday, September 24.
Below is what the new modified Ohio HS Football season will look like:
Regular season Week 1: Week of August 24
Regular season Week 2: Week of August 31
Regular season Week 3: Week of September 7
Regular season Week 4: Week of September 14
Regular season Week 5: Week of September 21
Regular season Week 6: Week of September 28
Playoffs begin Friday, October 9
State Finals end no later than Saturday, Nov. 21
Still, have questions on OHSAA’s modified football season and the new Playoffs process? Click HERE for all of the Q&A’s!
Thus far the decision on whether or not spectators will be allowed to be present at contact sports this year has not been made yet. The OHSAA stated that “At a minimum, parents should be permitted to attend.”
Luckily four of the OHSAA’s Fall sports, golf, tennis, volleyball, and cross country, have been determined to be low-contact by the Governor’s Office which means these particular sports will be permitted to have contests with other schools. The remaining Fall sports, field hockey, soccer, and football, have been determined to be high-contact, so the OHSAA, the Governor’s Office and the Ohio Department of Health are working together to create a safe game plan so that these three sports may participate in contests with other schools as well.
To get the latest 411 on which of Ohio’s High School sports will be competing this year and the most up to date COVID-19 sports safety protocols stay tuned to the Sports 411 With me, Cassie Mattia!
Each and every citizen in Loveland makes up an important piece of the community, but in saying that it’s up to the citizen as to what they do with their role as an important piece of that community. This is what makes up a community’s “D.N.A.”
Over the past two years, Loveland Magazine has been in search of community members that truly play an important role in Loveland’s D.N.A.
by Cassie Mattia
Loveland, Ohio – In the Sweetheart of Ohio, it’s not hard to find a good inspirational story as you could simply walk down the Loveland Bike Trail and find a lovely Loveland local to tell you their story. But there is a significant difference between a good story and a great story and well this 11-year-old Loveland prodigy makes for one GREAT story!
Delaney Dunlap, daughter of Mike and Gina Dunlap, from a very young age always saw the rainbow behind the storm cloud. At 15 months old, Delaney encountered the turning point of her very young life; a leg amputation. Delaney was born with a condition called Fibular Hemimelia, meaning her fibular bone was missing. When the fibular bone is missing this can lead to limb length discrepancy, foot deformities, and knee deformities. Only 1 in 40,000 births encounter FH.
“We worked with Shriners and Children’s Hospital to determine the best course of action and we decided that having an amputation at an early age would allow her the most normal life with the least interruptions,” Delaney’s mother Gina explained, “On March 4th, 2012, at 15 months old she had her amputation. About 3 months later she was fit for her prosthetic leg.”
Both Gina and Mike Dunlap knew very early on that Delaney’s leg amputation wouldn’t stop her from achieving her highest goals!
Gina, Delaney, and Mike Dunlap on vacation in 2019.
“At 2 years of age, she took her leg from us and said, ‘I do it myself!’ She proceeded to put her leg on and jump up and say, all done, with a shrug of her shoulders,” Gina said. “By 4 we had her in gymnastics with Ms. Karol Warden and she started performing in front of people. By 5 she was playing soccer, by 7 she was playing softball, by 8 she was golfing, and about 2 years ago she took up snowboarding,” Gina added.
Delaney performing with the SoringMaster Tumbling Team at a recent Loveland High School basketball halftime
Now at age 11, Delaney has not only been featured in several news outlets nationally for her unbelievable athletic abilities, but she has also shared her gymnastic skill set with the world, tumbling at university games, half-time shows, local schools, and festivals. Below is a video clip of Delaney performing at the halftime of the UC game in December.
Mike Dunlap, Loveland High School’s Soccer Coach, and Science Teacher couldn’t be more proud of Delaney’s hard work and dedication to her craft!
“Delaney has gotten the opportunity because of her determination, to do many auditions and has landed a couple of commercials. She loves Tik Tok,” Mike added, “She currently has gathered 8 of her friends together and is choreographing a performance for the upcoming talent show at Loveland Intermediate School. They practiced for 2 hours the other day!”
Delaney is not only an all-star athlete she was also recently selected as an Academic All-Star for the Ohio Lottery’s Partners in Education program.
“Delaney signed with a talent agency in 2016! She has done 2 commercials and a Huffy photo shoot,” Gina said, “Recently she has had big auditions for Netflix, Nickelodeon, HBO, and Disney!”
Gina also told us that Delaney has been consistently visiting 2 kids, Tessa and Eli who have recently had amputations. “She just wanted to let them know that they are not alone and they can do anything they set their minds to doing,” Gina said.
Karol Warden, tumbling coach for the SoringMaster Tumbling Team has coached Delaney for 5 years. Warden said, “She inspires everyone.” Warden says that Delaney is a joy to teach and has the highest round off tuck of all of her students. “She never complains or uses her disability as an excuse. Her parents have done a great job teaching her ‘I can’ and not accepting ‘I cannot!.”
So without further ado, Loveland Magazine presents, “What’s In Loveland’s DNA: Delaney Dunlap,” an exclusive one-on-one on-camera interview!
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Watch Delaney tumbling at a recent Loveland High School halftime
Click to read about Delaney’s father L.H.S’s Mike Dunlap who Provides Tiger Students and Athletes the Tools for a Bright Future
Read more of our, What’s in Loveland’s DNA” stories…
Loveland, Ohio – On April 17 five Loveland student-athletes signed their National Letter of Intent to play their sport beyond the high school level.
In this LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV video, you can watch the ceremony conducted by Loveland High School Athletic Director Brian Conaster as he talks about their academic and athletic achievements.
Niki Christow – Soccer (Wittenberg University) Josh Elfers – Football (Hanover College) Ian Fields – Soccer (John Carroll University) Grace Moriarty – Cross Country and Track (Nova Southeastern) Jordan Morrison – Track (High Point University)
Loveland, Ohio – Winter National Signing Day took place on Wednesday, February 6, in the Loveland High School gym. Here are the Loveland High School student/athletes, who have committed to play their sport at the collegiate level:
Andrew Hartman – Soccer (Wilmington College)
Kyle Beasley – Lacrosse (University of Utah)
J.T. Popp – Football (Grand Valley State University)
Jarvis Global is an investment advisory firm in Symmes Township, Ohio which offers private portfolio management and retirement services to high net worth individuals.
Loveland, Ohio – This school year, the Loveland Middle and Intermediate School PTSA is advocating for social and emotional health. Every month, a newsletter is sent out to ALL parents of the 1500
John O’Sullivan, the author of the Best-Selling book, “Changing the Game.”
students at the buildings on one specific topic that faces our kids today. After an initial message to “Start Talking,” in August, they have addressed internet safety, Juuling and nicotine, anxiety, empowering girls, and suicide/depression. During the month of February, their focus is, “The Culture of Youth Sports Today.” All of their newsletters and mental health resources can be found at www.lovelandmintptsa.org.
On February 21st, there will be a FREE seminar open to ALL members of the community given by John O’Sullivan, the author of the Best-Selling book, “Changing the Game.”
The Loveland Youth Sports Council is sponsoring the author’s visit (along, in part, by the M/INT PTSA). Youth organizations in Loveland (baseball, fast pitch, soccer, lacrosse, football, and basketball) have formed a coalition to address some of the problems that are negatively impacting their players. M/INT PTSA President Megan Graff said, “Extracurricular activities should be the source of stress relief, rather than the cause of it. It’s time to change the culture of youth sports. Be engaged, start talking about how to create a positive environment for our kids, and attend the seminar.”
by Chris Ball
Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.
by Cassie Mattia
MAC Announces Postponement of Fall Sports
The Big 10 is expected to announce the cancelation of the Fall football season on Tuesday.
Delaney Dunlap, daughter of Mike and Gina Dunlap, from a very young age always saw the rainbow behind the storm cloud. At 15 months old, Delaney encountered the turning point of her very young life; a leg amputation. Delaney was born with a condition called Fibular Hemimelia, meaning her fibular bone was missing. When the fibular bone is missing this can lead to limb length discrepancy, foot deformities, and knee deformities. Only 1 in 40,000 births encounter FH.
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“Delaney has gotten the opportunity because of her determination, to do many auditions and has landed a couple of commercials. She loves Tik Tok,” Mike added, “
Delaney is not only an all-star athlete she was also recently selected 
![[video] Niki Christow, Josh Elfers, Ian Fields, Grace Moriarty, and Jordan Morrison sign National letters of Intent](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/maxresdefault-1.jpg)
