Several area high school graduates are starring for their college teams this fall. Here’s a look at a few of them:
• Lexington product Cade Stover, Ohio’s 2018 Mr. Football winner, is having another big year as the starting Ohio State tight end. Stover caught a pair of touchdown passes in Saturday’s 41-7 win at Purdue. For the season Stover has 23 catches for 359 yards and three touchdowns.
• Mansfield Senior product Angelo Grose is again a starting defensive back for Michigan State. The senior registered six tackles and broke up a pass in MSU’s 27-24 loss at Rutgers on Saturday. For the season, Grose shares the team lead with two interceptions and four passes broken up and ranks fourth with 29 tackles.
• Aveon Grose, another Senior High product and Angelo’s younger brother, is a sophomore safety at Southern Illinois. The Salukis (5-1) were ranked No. 12 in the most recent FCS coaches poll. Grose, who transferred from Charlotte, has appeared in three games and has six tackles.
• Mansfield Senior’s Anthony Hawkins is a senior captain and starting defensive lineman at Bowling Green. Hawkins has 1.5 sacks and 16 tackles on the season. Hawkins’ Senior High teammate, Myles Bradley, is a redshirt freshman linebacker at BGSU. Bradley has appeared in one game, a 31-6 loss at Michigan.
• The Florida State women’s soccer team is ranked No. 1 in the nation and is coming off a 4-1 win over No. 11 Notre Dame. Madison product and 2020 Ohio Ms. Soccer winner Taylor Huff is a starting midfielder for the Seminoles after transferring from Tennessee. Huff has started all 12 games for Florida State (11-0-1), scoring four goals to go with her team-high seven assists.
• Lexington grad Lacee Bethea is a senior forward for the Bowling Green women’s soccer team. Bethea has started eight of the Falcons’ 14 games. She has one goal and one assist on the season.
• A trio of Shelby graduates, Kayla Gonzales and Makenna and Maddie Heimlich, are members of the University of Akron women’s cross country team. The Zips finished second at last week’s Falcon Invitational, finishing one point behind host Bowling Green. Gonzales (22:17.6) was 21st overall, while Makenna Heimlich (23:18.3) was 53rd.
• Lexington’s Carina Weaver is a senior on Ohio University’s women’s cross country team. Weaver (21:34.8) was 102nd at the 2023 Pre-Nationals in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend. The Bobcats placed 18th as a team.
• Lexington’s Halle Hamilton led the Air Force Academy’s women’s cross country team at the prestigious Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisc., on Oct. 13. Hamilton was the top finisher among the Air Force women, placing 103rd in 21:04.6.
• Lexington’s Joanna Halfhill helped the Army women’s cross country team to a win over Navy on Saturday. Halfhill placed third overall in 20:49.2.