Loveland, Ohio – The Women’s and Men’s Loveland High School Cross Country Teams got an electrifying send-off on Friday as they left town heading to the Village of Obetz. They compete at the Fortress Obetz sports complex Saturday afternoon in the OHSAA Championship. Go HERE to read tournament info from the Ohio High Schoo Athletic Association.
It’s not too late to make plans to make the trip to cheer on our Tigers.
Columbus (Hilliard High School), Ohio – Saturday, June 5th, 11 members of the Loveland Track and Field team competed in the OHSAA State Championships.
The 5 women going to state included Sarah Madix (11), Mady Conatser (10), Jessie Gibbins (11), Emmy Sager, (11) and Ally Carpenter (10). While the 6 men going to state included JP Tew (11), Brady Steiner (10), Ajay Stutz (12), Ryan Chevalier (11), Jesse Jenkins (12), and Ethan Smith (12).
The 4×800 (3600) meter relay resulted in an amazing Division One Runner-Up award for the Men’s team with a time of 7:48.83, less than 2 seconds behind Lakota West’s time of 7:47.48.
The Women’s team scored an amazing 4th place behind Mentor, Dublin Coffman, and Hilliard Davidson with a time of 9:15.82.
Along with these amazing group achievements, the team had some incredible individual awards. Ryan Chevalier scored 10th in the 1600 meter run, with a time of 4:17.55. Madison Conatser placed 7th in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:15.64 and Jessie Gibbins placed 12th in the 800 meter with a time of 2:17.50. Go Tigers!
Soph. Madison Conatser (Far Right) capped off her incredible 1st season of running track finishing 7th at the D1 State Championships. (Photo by OHSAA)
Congratulations to our Girls 4×800 Relay team of Mady Conatser, Jessie Gibbins, Emmy Sagar and Sarah Madix placing 4th in the OHSAA State Championship! Way to go Tigers! pic.twitter.com/hO5562tMDc
Loveland, Ohio– “Congratulations to our girls cross country team on their fantastic season,” said Brian Conaster the Loveland High School Athletic Director.
The Loveland High School Women’s cross country team qualified to compete for the Division I State Championship which will take place on Saturday, at the National Trail Raceway, in Hebron. The Women’s Division I race is at 12:30 PM.
The Tigers placed 3rd in the Regional tournament this past Saturday at Troy High School. The 2019 state-bound Tigers team will consist of Emmy Sager, Jessie Gibbins, Sarah Madix, Ellie Carr, Audrey O’Keefe, Allyson Colegate, and Ansley Richards. Alternate Runners if needed will be, Maaike Snider, Ellie Zicka, Bella Dillhoff, and Skyler Daumeyer. Leading the Tigers to state will be head coach Steve Nester.
“Our girls dedicated themselves to run against some of the toughest competition, not only in the state of Ohio but other top programs of other states too. They understand what it takes to be the best and are committed to getting there. They worked hard to be better than last year and have now set the new Tiger standard of excellence. Best of luck at State” added Conaster.
The last time Loveland runners qualified as a team was in 2007 so this year will definitely be making Tiger school history!
Meet the team by watching this interview I conducted last week before the team went to the Regionals
42nd Girls State Cross Country Tournament. National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio
Race Schedule
Girls Div III – 11:00 AM
Girls Div II – 11:45 AM
Girls Div I – 12:30 PM
Boys Div III – 1:30 PM
Boys Div II – 2:15 PM
Boys Div I – 3 PM
National Trail Raceway is located at 2650 National Road SW Hebron, OH 43025
School transportation and spectators should enter Gate A off State Route 40 and follow parking coordinator directions to designated parking.
School spirit signs are permitted to be placed on facility fencing. Recommendation is for zip tied material. Taping of signs is not recommended.
Spectator vehicles traveling from the east should exit I-70 at Exit 126 Rt. 37N entering the Campground Gate or Gate A on Route 40. When traveling from the west spectators must exit I-70 at Exit 122 Rt. 158N. Turn right onto Route 40. Enter Gate D. After parking for free, admission into the facility is $10.00 for all school age and older. Handicapped registered vehicles will enter Gate D from State Route 40. Recreational Vehicles wishing to set up tailgating inside the competition grounds should use exit 126 from I-70 and proceed to Gate A on Route 40. A $25.00 parking fee will be taken at Gate A. Spectator admission ($10.00) will also be taken at the gate. Vehicles will park inside the meet facility with tailgating space available for each RV unit. Recreation Vehicles may park in the Campground lot outside the competition area without paying the parking fee, but due to limited parking spaces, RV tailgating is not permitted in the main parking lots.
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.
Loveland, Ohio – The Fall Sports season is coming to a close for all except one athlete, Freshman Cross Country runner, Jessie Gibbins, competes at the State Championships Saturday at 3 PM in Hebron, Ohio at the National Trail Raceway.
Jessie’s Coach, Steve Nester, answered some questions for us.
1) Have you ever had an athlete qualify for state? If so how many?
I’ve had the good fortune of coaching many runners who have advanced to State Championships as a direct effort of their hard work. I am exceedingly proud of Jessie for reaching the pinnacle of our sport. She is a wonderful person and runner.
2) What advice would you give Jessie going into this meet?
My advice to her would be to simply enjoy the moment. This is a tremendous accomplishment, especially as a Freshman. Jessie earned the right to be with the best of the best competing at the Ohio State Cross Country Championship.
Jessie got to state by placing 22nd at the Regional Championships running a time of 19:06. 30. Jessie’s PR this season is 18:32.50 and was at the Centerville Saturday Night Lights meet.
Loveland Magazine would like to wish Jessie the best of luck at State and would like to congratulate her on a great season and a great start to her career.
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by Cassie Mattia
