Heartbreak at Reds Legends camp

June 21, 2019

A.J. Jones had a Semper Fi plan. The 2019 Warren High School and Washington County Career Center grad wanted to serve his country, and was scheduled to join the U.S. Marine Corps. “He was supposed to leave in October for boot camp, but I believe he was leaving two months early in August,” said Mike Wagner, the Cincinnati Reds Legends camp director. “He was all pumped up about it.” During the school year at the Career Center, where he studied Electrical Trades, Jones approached a Marine recruiter and declared his intentions. According to Wagner, the recruiter was somewhat ...

Life in the fast lane with Meadow Benton

May 18, 2019

Give me an M-E-A-D-O-W. What’s that spell? Meadow! Again. Meadow! One more time. Meadow, as in Meadow Benton! Yea! The Marietta High senior was a Tigers’ cheerleading co-captain. So, she might get a kick out of that little cheer for her. Thing is, Benton’s also a track standout, who has put herself in a good position in next week’s OHSAA Division I regional at Pickerington North. There, she’ll have an opportunity to qualify for early-June’s state meet in Columbus in three events — the 100 dash, and the 4 by 1 and 4 by 2 relays. She’ll have to place in the top 4 in ...

Fort Frye runner Justin Anderson goes by ‘Beddy’

May 10, 2019

BEVERLY — “It’s a dumb story.” Justin Anderson smiled as he explained why he was addressed the moniker “Beddy” by his Cadet track and field teammates Wednesday evening at the final Pioneer Valley Conference Championship at Fort Frye Cadet Stadium. The senior long distance running standout had just finished first in the 800 in a clocking of 2 minutes and 3.18 seconds. Catching his breath, Anderson continued, “When we lived in Columbus during the week I was born, my brother Jeremy was walking to the gas station, and there was this drunk guy, and he said, ‘What’s up, ...

Warren’s Bogard fearless, will bounce back

April 16, 2019

VINCENT -- With a bag of ice in her right hand, Erin Bogard was nursing a broken nose and sitting "Native American style" on the ground not far from the pole vault pit at Warren High field. It was late Saturday afternoon, and the annual Warrior Track&Field Invitational was in the process of wrapping up. (Both the Warren boys and girls won.) The Youngstown University recruit had a big smile on her face as she observed Waterford High's George "Doc" Pantelidis and Belpre High's Hunter Gilbert battling it out in the boys' PV competition. (Pantelidis cleared the bar at 12 feet to win the ...

Pioneers couldn’t turn off scoring machine

March 12, 2019

Marietta College got beat by one player. That shouldn't happen. I mean, basketball is a team game. But after the Pioneers dropped a 91-87 decision to Wheaton (Ill.) College in front of 359 spectators Saturday night in an NCAA Division III men's basketball sectional final at the Carver PT Center in Rock Island, Ill., it was as plain as day that Thunder senior sharpshooter Aston Francis - who tallied a record-setting 62 points and also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds -was a one-man wrecking crew on the hardwood. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Francis was literally a scoring machine that the ...

‘Doink’ and other things at the BanJo

March 5, 2019

Marietta College fan Barry Taylor, who was sitting with Cathy Binegar behind press row, yelled out to yours truly during second-half action at Fenton Court Saturday night. He had to holler, because the BanJo was so alive, so noisy. “Do you know what the record is for fouls in a game?” Taylor inquired. I turned around and replied, “I don’t know.” But after the Pioneers defeated Arcadia University, 88-76, I looked it up on the Internet. While the refs may have been a little on the whistle-happy side in the MC-AU second-round NCAA Division III men’s basketball game, the D3 ...