There is little question that Wooster High boys soccer coach Brian Hansen recognized that midfielder Westin Welker was a key part of the Generals Ohio Cardinal Conference championship season. The same could be said of girls coach Les Wudarzewski when he looked at his top player, Jenn Philippon.
In reality, they werent the only ones who saw their talents.
The states coaches recognized Welker, a senior, and Philippon, a junior midfielder/forward, as they were both named All-Ohio. Welker, who scored 11 goals and had five assists, was voted to the first-team, while Philippon, with 20 goals and nine assists under her belt, was named second-team All-Ohio.
The news came as a surprise to both, even if it didnt surprise their coaches.
Its a testament to him, said Hansen. There were kids who were put up for state that were forwards and who had 40 goals and assists. Westin is not a stat maker. If we had a stat sheet like hockey, hed blow the assist record out of the water. He was the one to make the second pass and you dont get an assist for that. If all those counted, his assist record would be incredible. Or, it was the tackle he made for the big save. You dont mark those. Clearing the head ball from corner – you dont mark those, either.
Hes a smart, gifted athlete. If he picked up a football hed play well; if he picked up a basketball hed play well.
Welkers versatility was what helped the Generals this season.
I could put Westin anywhere, said Hansen. I could have him at sweeper, up front, or one of our flat backs. Hes an all-around gamer and he goes 110 percent. He may not have the greatest of skills ball-wise, but Westin went out and played. He would take the (opponents) best guys, I could put him up front to score if I had to, and he did it quietly and just played. He would make the big tackles and make the big header. Id say half of his goals were off headers.
You would not pick him out of the bunch as the best soccer player, but he was the best athlete we had this year, praised Hansen. Ten minutes into the game he would have two sweet passes, two devastating tackles and still have the ball on his feet. If we were up, I could put him in back and plug the middle. If we were down, I could put him up front because he was hard to mark. All of a sudden, the kid would have two goals and an assist, shots blocked outside the 18 and a header off a corner kick – That No. 10 is everywhere!
Welker, who was a first-team All-Ohio Cardinal Conference and All-District selection two years running but didnt get OCC Offensive Player of the Year honors, said being named All-Ohio was very much a surprise and an honor.
Luckily my teammates put me in a position for All-Ohio, said Welker, who was a two-year starter for Wooster. I didnt see myself as first-team – Id have been honored to be second-team, so first-team is a blessing. Im very honored.
I believe when (others) look at me they see a side of me that tries to put other players in a position to be their best. I had more assists than goals over my career. Once the ball came through me, players would feel great things would happen. What they saw (in me) was not necessarily a goal scorer. They felt that ball would go through me and good things would happen.
Looking back on the year Im obviously proud to be first-team All-Ohio, but Ill remember bringing the OCC title back to Wooster with my teammates.
Welker may play in college, but my first priority is academics, he said.
Id love to play at the college level, but Im uncertain right now, Welker said, who would like to major in forensic science.
Philippons college options may have changed with her being named All-Ohio, becoming the first All-Ohioan in the Wooster program in 22 years.
Jenn missed by two votes from being on first-team, said Wudarzewski. It goes back to one coach who did not know her. Its not fair, but thats the way it goes.
After posting a 10-5-2 record with a team that is losing only two senior starters, Wudarzewski is looking ahead to what Philippon and the Generals can do.
A lot of things can happen next year, said Wudarzewski. Without a doubt she can the break the school record for most goals in school history and she was only a few goals short of the season record. She can possibly get first-team All-Ohio team there are many things she can achieve as a senior. What she achieves is up to her. Shes got the coaching staff behind her and her parents without a doubt. Its a matter of her feet and her brain and how far she will go with it, and then colleges and everything will start pouring in. It would be nice to see one of our girls have that opportunity.
I think I would compare her to the little engine that could. The reason I say that is because it is very difficult for anybody to compete at that level and Jenn is a very determined player. She takes stuff on the field very personally and works very hard.
Philippon started slowly offensively, but then exploded in the middle of the season.
Sometimes it looks like opponents shut her down and I forget the fact she sometimes has two defenders marking her, said Wudarzewski. Thats very difficult. As the season went on, she adjusted to the defensive scheme teams prepared for her and she was able to overcome them.
Philippon, who was named the OCC Offensive Player of the Year, admitted being named second-team all-state was unexpected.
I was surprised to be recognized like that, especially coming from such a small school and a little town in Ohio, she laughed.
I think its cool, especially since we havent had someone named (All-Ohio) in 22 years, she said, turning serious. It shows how our program is improving and being put on the map, instead of going by unnoticed.
Philippon said that while the individual recognition is nice, she is more focused on the team.
Im more worried how team does, she said. I want the team to do well and if the team does do well and I do well at the same time, thats awesome.
Now that Philippon has earned this award, it has made her more determined to close with a flourish.
It does, she said. It makes me think I can compete against teams like Strongsville and Medina and the people that play for those state-ranked teams. For me, it challenges me to get first-team All-Ohio and do better than this year.
