Reporters roundtable: Our favorite memories covering central Ohio high school sports (2024)

Another year of high school sports is in the books. The final event was held June 9, when four baseball state finals were played at Canal Park in Akron.

In central Ohio, the top athletes of 2023-24 received a final moment in the spotlight at the Central Ohio High School Sports Awards on June 20 at Mershon Auditorium.

Wrapping up the year got us thinking about our favorite memories covering high school sports in central Ohio. Here are those memories – our No. 1 picks, if you will – from The Dispatch's Dave Purpura, Frank DiRenna and Andy Resnik, Rob McCurdy of The Marion Star and Tom Wilson of the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette.

Miyan Williams’ playoff performance still looms large

I have spent 22 of the past 24 years covering high school sports in central Ohio in some fashion, and the memories that come to mind first are of teams rather than individual games or performances.

But the best individual performance I have covered actually came against a central Ohio team, although that athlete later played for a certain other Columbus team.

Cincinnati Winton Woods running back Miyan Williams sliced and diced the Olentangy defense for 431 yards — 279 of them after halftime — in a 49-42 win in the first round of the Division II, Region 8 playoffs Nov. 2, 2018.

Williams passed 2,000 yards for that season on the second of his 21 carries, ended up with seven carries of 20 or more yards and four of 50 or more. Perhaps most impressively, the majority of Williams’ long runs came late in the game as the Warriors erased a 21-0 first-quarter deficit.

Few, if any, running backs I have personally seen contained the burst Williams displayed that night. His offensive line was, not surprisingly, splendid in opening sizable holes.

“I just told him he was as good as I’ve ever seen in 20 years and to make sure he takes care of his business,” then-Olentangy coach Mark Solis said that night. “If he does that, he will go (to any college) he wants. He’s the real deal.”

Word in the press box that night was that Williams was not on Ohio State’s radar at the time. At some point over the next year — if not the ensuing hours — that changed, and after finishing his high school career with 5,823 yards and 68 touchdowns, Williams ran for 1,141 yards and 13 scores the past four years with the Buckeyes.

—Dave Purpura

Westerville South boys basketball earns ultimate prize

Since moving to central Ohio from central New York in 2003, I have witnessed several special moments, including the Westerville South boys basketball team winning its first state title, beating Lima Senior 57-55 on March 19, 2016, in the Division I championship game at Value City Arena.

Under coach Ed Calo, the Wildcats had enjoyed plenty of success, but had yet to earn the sport’s ultimate prize.

The win came a year after the Wildcats lost to Huber Heights Wayne 65-57in the state final.

“It’s a tough journey,” Calo said after his team earned the trophy. “It’s so hard to get back here, let alone win it. It means so much for me because I’m so proud of my kids. I’m so happy for our kids.”

South used a well-balanced attack led by brothers Andre and Kaleb Wesson, both of whom would go on to play at Ohio State, and senior Jordan Humphrey’s jumper in the lane with 1.8 seconds left provided the decisive points.

“This is very big,” Humphrey said following the win. “We talked about it ever since the game was over last year. We knew we had to get back and work hard every day. We had to outwork our opponent every night.”

Andre Wesson averaged 16.7 points and was OCC-Cardinal Player of the Year, first-team all-district and second-team all-state.Kaleb Wesson (14.4 points) was first-team all-league and third-team all-district.

Preparing for his 38thseason at South, Calo is 566-283 for his career. His teams also have won 15 league titles, seven district championships and two regional titles.

“That was the best day of my life (that was) not wife and kid related,” Calo’s son Michael, a former player in the program, said recently. “We finally made it happen.”

—Frank DiRenna

Backes leads Upper Arlington to state title

The result of the game — the first Division I state football championship won by a central Ohio team — isn’t the only thing that still sticks out from Upper Arlington’s 15-9 victory over Solon on Dec. 2, 2000, in Canton.

In my mind’s eye, I can picture three pivotal plays — two by the 2000 Mr. Football, Jeff Backes — like they happened yesterday.

Backes’ first big play was a 62-yard touchdown sprint down the sideline early in the third quarter, giving the Golden Bears a 15-6 lead. He also scored on a 15-yard run in the first quarter and carried 32 times for 183 yards in the game, finishing his senior season with a then-state-record 3,353 yards rushing.

His other big play happened on defense. A future cornerback for Northwestern, Backes saved the game from his safety position, intercepting a pass from Solon quarterback Jay Price at the goal line with 46 seconds remaining.

In between the Backes heroics, a diving tackle by a wide receiver with 4:43 to play preserved UA’s 15-9 lead.

Faced with a fourth-and-8 at the Solon 29-yard line, the Bears elected to go for it rather than attempting a field goal or pooching a punt. Solon’s Justin Bitner picked off a pass from Brian Rameyat the 22 and there was no one between him and the goal line, but a pursuing Craig Pastor dived and tripped up Bitner after a 12-yard return.

UA’s defense then got sacks on both second and third down, forcing a punt. The unit, led by future Ohio State and Cleveland Browns lineman Simon Fraser, allowed 110 yards rushing, 109 passing and sacked Price six times.

Backes, who is now an orthopedic surgeon, produced one of the greatest seasons in Ohio history even before the state final. It was fitting that he had both of UA’s touchdowns and the interception that locked up a 15-0 season. Great players come through when it matters most.

Since then, central Ohio has won four more Division I state titles — Hilliard Davidson in 2006 and 2009 and Pickerington Central in 2017 and 2019.

—Andy Resnik

Laracuente-Huebner reenacts Jesse Owens 90 years later

Nearing 35 years of covering high school sports in Ohio, I've witnessed the crowning of champions of all kinds. I've watched brilliant performances and chronicled unforgettable finishes. But among all those memories, one weekend's achievements stand above the rest — and it has nothing to do with recency bias.

Highland track and field star Juliette Laracuente-Huebner put together a state meet at Ohio State's aptly named Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in 2023 that promises to endure.

The senior started the first day by recording the Division II state meet and the D-II overall record in the girls high jump at 5 feet, 10 ¾ inches. The next day, she took the long jump title for a third straight year and did so with a leap of 19-11, a D-II and stadium record.

Next was the 100-meter hurdles, where she ran to victory by more than a second, finishing in 13.64. That would have shattered the D-II state meet and the D-II overall record she already shared at 13.89, but officials ruled it was wind aided. Finally, she capped her sweep of championships in 90-degree heat by winning the 200 in 24.23, which was four-tenths of a second ahead of the runner-up.

Her 40 points were enough to be handed the team runner-up trophy for Division II girls as she tried to join Defiance Ayersville's Sarah DeWolfe (1996) and Trotwood-Madison's LaVonna Martin (1983, 1984) as individuals who won four events and a team championship.

Since 1975, she was the 21st non-seated female and the first since 2021 to win four events in the same state meet, but of those, only Mentor's Paige Floriea did so without the help of a relay among the events, like Laracuente-Huebner. Just 10 boys since the early 1900s have won four events at state, and none have done so since 2013.

Owens, an Ohio State and Olympic icon, accomplished it while he was in high school at Cleveland East Tech in 1932 and 1933, setting four state records in his final trip 90 years before Laracuente-Huebner's special weekend.

"Jesse Owens really shaped the track and field world and especially in the state of Ohio. He's such a big name. Just my name being in the same sentence is very surreal, and it's awesome that everyone is putting us together," she said after PA announcer Dennis Sabo made the connection for the crowd. "I just want to leave a legacy behind, and I'm glad I came out here and won four and set meet records and put my name out there and made sure everyone knew who I was."

I know I'll never forget.

—Rob McCurdy

Purcell leads Lancaster to state runner-up finish by herself

I’ve been covering high school sports for 31 years, and during that time, I’ve seen a lot, and I mean a lot of outstanding individual performances, but what I witnessed at the 2018 state track and field championships was incredible.

Lancaster senior Hope Purcell accomplished something unheard of: she single-handedly led the Lady Gales to a share of the Division I state runner-up trophy. She racked up 31 points by herself, winning the high jump (5-9) and long jump (19-5) and adding a third in the 100 hurdles (13.97) and a fourth in the 300 hurdles (44.11).

The fact that she accomplished such a feat is just unheard of. Let it sink in … exactly what she did, doing it on the biggest stage where the pressure is ramped up to another level.

Like I said before, I’ve covered so many outstanding individual performances.

Here are some that stick out: Highland’s J.T. Hoyng hitting 16-of 21 3-pointers in one game and scoring 57 points. His 16 3s is still a state record; Mount Vernon’s Eddie Wright hitting two grand slams in one inning in a tournament game against Hilliard Davidson; Mount Vernon's 5-foot-8 point guard Scott Dapprich scoring 40 points, grabbing 9 rebounds dishing out eight assists in a district final win against Pickerington after tallying 39 points against them in the regular season; Bloom-Carroll’s Taran Alvelo striking out 24 batters in a 13-inning, 1-0 loss in the state championship game; and Mount Vernon running back Matt Buirley carrying the ball 15 consecutive times, scoring with only 16 seconds left to help lead Mount Vernon to a come-from-behind win at Reynoldsburg.

I could keep going, but it doesn’t matter because Purcell’s performance tops my all-time list.

Lancaster’s track tradition is one of the strongest in the state and the Gales’ have had several individual state champions, but, there is no question who stands alone at the top of all those former state champions.

“Her performance cemented her place in Lancaster history as the best,” Lancaster track coach Joe Muck said. “The fact that she holds four individual records, I think it puts her in a category by herself. “She had an incredible day, and it was probably one of the best individual performances in state history for girls. She scored 31 points and in a lot of years that wins a team state title. The fact that we are state runner-up with just her tells you everything you need to know.”

Purcell left a tremendous legacy when it comes to Lancaster track and field. All her amazing feats speak for themselves, but the way she carried herself while doing it is what I will remember. I will also think of her desire and dedication to the sport and how hard she worked. The fact that she is as humble as any athlete I’ve ever covered is the most refreshing thing about her.

Make no mistake, though, there is no doubt, that what she accomplished ranks No. 1 on my list, and there is no debate about that.

—Tom Wilson

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