Super sports season wraps at Dalton
- col-aaron-dorksen
- June 7, 2023
- 705
A few thoughts from the week in sports …
Simply put, the 2022-23 school year was a great time for the Dalton Bulldogs.
In last week’s Bargain Hunter, I featured Dalton senior Bryce Johnson and sophomore Brady Hignight. They are believed to be the first Wayne County Athletic League athletes to play on league champion and regional teams in football, basketball and baseball in the same school year.
When senior shortstop Jack Steiner was named WCAL Baseball Player of the Year, it gave Dalton a sweep of the top individual awards in those sports. Quentin Lehman was the top honoree in football, a rarity for a lineman, and Braylon Wenger was the Basketball POTY.
At the OHSAA State Track and Field Meet held June 2-3 in Columbus, the Dalton thinclads added some final heroics highlighted by a Division III state championship for the girls 4x100 relay team.
Dalton’s team of junior Courtney Weaver, senior Lauren Clos, junior Macy Seeman and senior Brianna Chenevey ran to a first-place finish in 49.00 in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium to edge Liberty Center (49.77).
Chenevey also earned state runner-up medals in the 100 (12.18) and 200 (24.88) races. She finished her high school career with six All-Ohio medals.
Two other Dalton athletes deserving special recognition are senior Quentin Lehman and junior Colin Pearson. The duo also were members of the WCAL and regional-qualifying football and basketball teams and qualified for the state track meet.
Lehman placed 16th in the discus (135-06) after having a regional toss of 165-05.
Pearson earned a spot on the podium after teaming with sophomores Sam Tomlinson and Cameron Gazboda and junior Kamoa Hevia to place eighth in the 4x200 relay in 1:31.34.
“It was an incredible year for our track and field team and even beyond that for Dalton teams,” Bulldogs track coach Seth Sullivan said. “Brianna made it to state for the third year and has five school records: 100, 200, 400, 4x1 and 4x2.
"She’ll run track at Ashland with Lauren Clos, who was also on the relays. For our boys 4x2 team to make the podium with two sophomores and two juniors is huge and gives us a lot to look forward to. Quentin set our school record in the district, and we were really happy to see him qualify for state even though he didn’t quite have the performance he wanted."
More All-Ohioans
Congrats to the following track All-Ohioans from The Bargain Hunter/Wooster Weekly News coverage area:
Div. II
—West Holmes junior Kyle Maltarich (fourth place, high jump, 6-2).
—Orrville senior Calvin Speicher (fourth, 110 hurdles, 14.53, and fourth, 300 hurdles, 38.57).
—Smithville senior Josh Davis (eighth, high jump, 6-2).
Div. III
—Smithville junior Maddy Lengacher (third, 400, 57.29) and freshman Kaitlyn Carr (sixth, 3,200, 11:18.15).
—Waynedale junior Jeremy Reber (third, 110 hurdles, 14.92).
—Loudonville sophomore Tess Shultz (fourth, 1,600, 5:04.20).
Norwayne shout-out
Northern Wayne County schools Norwayne, Rittman, Northwestern and Chippewa are not a part of The Bargain Hunter’s circulation/coverage area at this time.
However, the Bobcats’ Dillon Morlock and Jaylee Wingate deserve special shout-outs in this column after capping incredible seasons by both winning state championships.
Morlock actually won two titles, capturing the Div. II shot put (65-0 ¼) and discus (180-02) golds. The junior’s shot put heave for a repeat title in that event set the Div. II state record.
Wingate, a senior headed to Tennessee on a track scholarship, won the Div. III 1,600 championship in 4:56.05 and was third in the 800 (2:17.19). Coupled with several other All-Ohio finishes, the Bobcats girls were second as a team in Div. III.
Scots looking for baseball coach
The College of Wooster is looking for a new head baseball coach.
Barry Craddock had been the head coach since 2020 and served 16 years prior as an assistant under Hall of Famer Tim Pettorini at his alma mater.
The Scots went 17-23-1 in 2023, preceded by 35-17, 25-13 and 4-4 (COVID year) under Craddock.
Multiple sources I spoke with said it was not Craddock’s decision to leave. He wasn’t quoted in a vague press release put out by The COW.
Best wishes to Craddock moving forward. He's a great baseball guy with tons of experience.
Wooster has one of the all-time best Div. III programs, and there are lots of great candidates out there to take over as the new leader, ranging from Scots alums currently coaching to some outstanding high school coaches in this area.
Parting shots
I’m looking forward to the Wayne-Holmes Baseball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game, which will be played June 14 at The College of Wooster’s Art Murray Field.
Kudos to Triway coach Justin McDowell for donating his time to give graduating seniors one last opportunity to represent their high schools and their proud families a final chance to watch them play in their school colors.
I’m proud The Bargain Hunter/Wooster Weekly News and Insurance Centre Agency that I work for have agreed to be sponsors for the game. Watch for a preview story on the game online and in The Bargain Hunter.
—Wooster ran into a buzz saw in the form of Medina left-handed pitcher Owen Cavey in the Div. I regional semifinals on June 1 at Gilmour, falling 5-0 after Cavey fired a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts. Cavey was Glavine-esque working the corners all game long. It was a sad ending for the Generals but quite an accomplishment to reach the regionals for the first time in 25 years.
“I told our team to be proud of your accomplishments this year but not satisfied,” Generals coach Steve Young said. “This is not something that we want to be a one of — this is what we're trying to do every single year.
“We just thanked the seniors for everything that they gave to the program and the foundation they laid out. We had so many selfless seniors who didn't get much playing time, and they were there every day working. It was a very selfless group.”
Repeat first-team All-Ohioan Blake Bowen and fellow senior All-OCC performer Elisha Steiner will be huge graduation losses, but the future is extremely bright with most of the starters returning.
Aaron Dorksen can be emailed at aarondorksen24@gmail.com.