Snyder earns Holmes County Ticket Athlete of the Year
By Dave Mast
July 8, 2013
608
How do you pick an Athlete of the Year for Holmes County when you have a host of major accomplishments being touted by some incredible high school athletes?
Well, someone has to do it, and so we set out on this arduous but enjoyable journey, to narrow down the list of contenders to just one, and it was not an easy task.
The fall season brought with it some major accomplishments. Layne Perone gobbled up yards like Fatty Arbuckle attacking an all-you-can-eat buffet. Perone smashed Nolan Mackeys scoring record for points in a season, scored almost three touchdowns per game and destroyed opposing defenses for the Knights football team.
However, teammates Brady Arnold, who starred at wideout, cornerback and added punt returning sensation to his credits, as well as OCC Defensive Player of the year Gabe Snyder, who was the quarterback on a record-setting Knights team, were also worthy of consideration.
On the soccer field the Lady Knights were rolling over their opponents. While Abby Callahan put on an offensive show and Shelby Harris was a rock in goal, it was Courtney Kozak who provided the glue to the teams Regional final appearance, in a season which the Lady Knights accomplished more than any West Holmes team before them.
Meanwhile, Grant Stutzman was leading Hilands boys soccer team to great heights again, as the Hawks soared to Regional finals where they met long-time nemesis Worthington Christian, and gave the States top team a scare before bowing out.
Stutzman proved to be quite a scoring machine, but a switch in the offense mid-way through the season really began to showcase his talent as he began helping teammates find the goal as well as continuing his torrid scoring pace.
Cully Gordon, Sam Boyd and Emily Molnar all qualified for State in crosscountry, where each performed admirably.
In volleyball, Lady Knight Laina Snyder parlayed a huge pile driver of an arm into countless crushing kill shots, helping her to earn third team All-Ohio honors.
And of course there was Rachel Nelson, West Holmes tennis sensation and defending State champion, who made it four straight State appearances, topping off her unparalleled career by finishing third.
The move to winter made the task even tougher.
Arnold followed up his superb football campaign with a basketball season for the ages, carrying West Holmes to a solid season. Although injured for a stint, Gabe Snyder too had a very good hoops campaign, adding to his legacy at West Holmes.
Across the county, Todd Ropp was carrying Hiland, sometimes literally, on his back. The high-motor Ropp never stopped hustling, and helped a young and inexperienced Hiland team to an improbable 20-win season.
While the guys were surpassing expectations, Dave Schlabachs Lady Hawks were zeroing in on a State record 13th State tournament appearance.
Nobody was more crucial to that effort than Regina Hochstetler, who saved her best performances for the big stage, lighting it up at Classic In the Country, turning it on in a must-win game against Zanesville Rosecrans and in a Regional game that saw her team struggle to seven first-half points, and coming up big at State.
All-Ohio honors awaited her excellent performance.
While the Lady Hawks were beating a path to State, so too, were the Lady Knights, who were on a crash course to square off once again with Hathaway Brown, the four-time defending State champs in Div. II, and the team which had toppled West Holmes in the finals the year prior.
While the Lady Knights would again come up shy against the Blazers, it didnt diminish their effort, and Laina Snyder was at the heart of it all, earning first team All-Ohio honors. Also building sensational seasons were senior Rachelle Morrison, the glue to the team was Emily Molnar and Strother, who saved her best game for the State final showdown with Hathaway Brown.
On the mat was Max Rohskopf, who will simply go down as one of the greatest wrestlers in West Holmes history.
Rohskopf fought through a wrist injury late in the season, and finished his stellar career with a third place finish.
Rohskopf became just the third Knights wrestler to qualify for State all four seasons of his wrestling career.
He was joined at State by teammate freshman Cole Wood, who would like nothing more than to follow in Rohskopfs footsteps in qualifying for State four times.
Spring ushered in many more faces, some old, some new.
Gabe Snyder would earn first team All-Ohio honors as a slugging first baseman on a Knights team that again rallied for a lengthy tournament run that saw them upended at Regionals. He was joined by Dillon Baird, who served as the workhorse on the mound, and carved out an honorable mention All-Ohio role for himself.
Kevin Schrock led Hilands baseball team to another 20-win campaign, and on the way became the latest in a growing line-up of All-Ohioan Hawks baseball players, garnering a second-team nomination.
Grant Stutzman made waves on the Hiland tennis courts, once again rolling through the regular season undefeated at doubles, this time with partner Cameron Stutzman. This marked the second straight season Stutzman had pulled off that rarity.
Other Hawks also claimed plenty of success on the courts, senior Alec Mast tying the school mark for wins in a season with 23, pulling up even with Hiland coach Tony Mullet. Doubles duo Cam Yoder and Cole Reynolds also made their way to within one match of a State berth.
On the other side of the county, West Holmes had not one but two doubles teams vying for a spot at State.
Evan Aurand and Joey Schlabach gave it a great try, falling one match shy against four-time State qualifiers, while Nate Ewing and Danny Nelson teamed up for a first, as they made their way to State in doubles, the first Knights male tennis players ever to accomplish that feat.
Hilands Miguel Sanchez was a force in track, setting three school records, in the 100 and 300 hurdles, and the 200 meter sprint.
Hannah Miller was a one-person wrecking crew at times for the Lady Knights on the softball field, the sophomore becoming a hitting machine.
On the track at West Holmes, you could line up the great performers and they may have circled the track.
The very best of the best included Carly Woodruff, who became the first West Holmes track athlete to qualify for state in four events, Kennedy Smith and Strother, who each made it to State in three events, Laina Snyder, who would eventually finish fourth at State in the shot, and Natalie Abraham, who would find the podium in the discus. For the guys, Cully Gordon would follow his State appearance in cross country in the fall with an All-Ohio effort in the 3,200 in the spring. Gordon would break a 30 year-old record in the 3,200 on the way to his spot on the West Holmes Wall of Fame.
So, how do you choose among these many awesome performances and achievements?
Well, we first looked at the overall athletes, eliminating some early on, like Hochstetler, a one-sport star.
In a contest like this, diversity is everything.
OK, maybe not everything, but it carries a lot of weight.
Then we looked at seasonal performances, and how they effected their teams success.
Arnold was so huge to his teams success on the hardwood. The Knights wouldnt have done nearly as much as they did without Baird. Rohskopf was a dominating force in wrestling, making a name for himself state-wide. Sanchez almost single-handedly put the Hiland track program back on the map.
Finally there were post season honors, again, the pinnacle of accomplishment as an individual, even on a team sport.
What it boiled down to were four athletes who drove multiple sports and were major factors in every way possible.
Hilands Grant Stutzman was a finalist based on his impeccable tennis and soccer performance. Gabe Snyder was right there as an oft-injured but still three sport superstar.
Emily Molnar became the first West Holmes athlete to qualify for State in three sports in a single season, doing so in cross country, basketball and track.
But for our money, the mind-boggling athleticism of Laina Snyder was good enough to tab her as the 2013 Holmes County Ticket Athlete of the Year.
Snyder earned All-Ohio status in three sports, volleyball, basketball, and then in track, where she had never picked up a shot until a week into the season.
On top of that, she showed great leadership skills and was a consummate team player.
For those reasons, Laina Snyder has earned her place in the HCT annuls as one of the greatest athletes in Holmes County history.
It wasnt easy, but it was fun to look back and rehash all of the wonderful accomplishments of the countys top-notch high school athletes.
Congratulations to Snyder, and all of the athletes who poured their heart and soul into providing some special entertainment for local sports fans. Your efforts are appreciated, your work ethic and determination applauded, and your class and dignity has made all of us here proud to say we are supporters of West Holmes and Hiland sports.
