MANSFIELD — State championships were won, milestones were reached and a couple of former high school stars got to live out their dreams.
It was a good sports year for north central Ohio.
The Richland Source sports staff couldn’t decide on just 10 top stories from 2014, so we came up with the top 14 of ’14. Here’s a look at the second seven, in no particular order. We rolled out the first seven top news-makers yesterday.
Living a Dream: Most young baseball players dream of putting on the iconic pinstripes of the New York Yankees at one time or another. Clear Fork product Travis Hissong is living that dream.
The hard-throwing right-hander was signed to a rookie free agent contract by the Yankees after going undrafted last June. He was assigned to the Staten Island Yankees of the New York Penn League before being re-assigned to the Gulf Coast Yankees. He made one appearance for the Tampa Yankees of the advanced Class A Florida State League and helped the GC Yankees reach the Gulf Coast League postseason.
In his first year of professional baseball, Hissong was 1-1 with one save, 24 strikeouts and four walks in 21.1 innings. In two playoff appearance, he was 1-0 with a save and six strikeouts in 3.2 innings pitched.
Hissong, who pitched Clear Fork to a Division III state championship in 2010, was the first local player to play professionally since Galion graduate J.B. Shuck.
Coming Home: Speaking of Shuck, the 2005 Galion product grew up rooting for the great Cleveland Indians teams of the mid-1990s. He wound up playing for the Tribe last September.
After graduating from Galion, Shuck enjoyed a stellar career at Ohio State. He was drafted by Houston in 2008, making his big league debut with the Astros in 2011. He was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in and finished fifth in American League Rookie of the Year voting after batting .293 in 129 games in 2013.
The Angels designated him for assignment last year and the Indians acquired him for cash considerations. Shuck appeared in 16 games and had just two hits in 26 at bats with the Tribe. He was claimed on waivers by the Chicago White Sox in November.
The Graders are Coming: Shuck’s hometown was recently awarded a franchise in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate Baseball League. The Galion Graders will begin play in the 12-team league in June. The GLSCL has been in operation for the better part of 30 years and is one of the most well-established collegiate leagues in the country. The wood bat league is supported by Major League Baseball. The Graders, who will be managed by GLSCL veteran and Sandusky Perkins coach Ray Neill, will play a 44-game schedule.
Tigers on the Prowl: It was a good year Galion as the girls 4×100 relay team brought home an improbable state championship. The foursome of Laura McElligott, Michaela Slone, Sydney Hunt and Clair Erlsten broke the tape in 48.71 seconds, just ahead of Youngstown Ursuline (48.79).
The team came together early last spring and broke a school record the first time they ran together. They lowered their time in every ensuing race.
The good news for Galion fans is the team lost only one senior, McElligott, to graduation.
The Track is Back: For the first time since 2010, the green flag will fly over Mansfield Motorsports Park this summer.
Track owner Grant Milliron reached an agreement to lease the half-mile over on the city’s north side to Kevin Ruic, a longtime motor sports promoter. Ruic plans to have six events at MMP, beginning with a Memorial Day Weekend racing card and fireworks show.
Milliron bought MMP at a sheriff’s auction in 2013 for $800,000. The track has gone unused since then.
Lucas on the Rise: Not much was expected out of the Lucas football team this fall, but the Cubs were the surprise of north central Ohio.
Lucas not only qualified for the playoffs for the third time in school history, the Cubs advanced to the second round after knocking off Richland County rival Plymouth in the opening round. Lucas was the smallest public high school in terms of enrollment to qualify for the playoffs in the fall and the second smallest to win a first-round playoff game. Tiffin Calvert, a private Catholic high school, was the smallest.
The good news for Lucas coach Scott Spitler is the Cubs lose only five seniors to graduation.
Ram Nation: Madison’s football program stole the limelight this fall in more ways than one.
First there was the debut of Ram Field at STARTEK Stadium. The state-of-the-art facility features an artificial playing surface with a price tag north of $725,000. The Rams christened the stadium with a 37-3 win over Galion. In that game, sophomore sensation Tyrell Ajian had his coming-out party with touchdowns on offense and defense and a couple big-time special teams plays. The college scouts have taken notice as Ajian already has a pair of Division I offers from Mid-American Conference schools Toledo and Miami of Ohio.
The news wasn’t all good, however, as head coach Sean Conway recently announced his resignation. Conway led Madison to an Ohio Cardinal Conference championship in 2012 and playoff appearances in 2012 and this year. Madison fell to Clyde in the opening round. The school has yet to name Conway’s successor.
