Central Ohio High School Sports Awards: Dispatch names top performers for 2022-23
The best and brightest student-athletes from 2022-23 received a well-earned final moment in the spotlight Thursday night at the Central Ohio High School Sports Awards at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Hilliard Davidson's Connor Ackley, Highland's Juliette Laracuente-Huebner, Olentangy Liberty hockey coach Kevin Alexander, the Liberty hockey team and the Thomas Worthington field hockey team took the top athletic honors.
Bexley's John Laing, Linden-McKinley's Christopher Towns, Columbus Academy's Grace Luo and Olentangy's Parker Parker were the top scholarship recipients.
In addition, the top athletes in 30 sports and 18 other scholar-athletes were honored during the show, which was presented by Encova Insurance and in partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Former Dublin Coffman, Notre Dame and NFL quarterback Brady Quinn was the guest speaker.
Ackley was named Boys Athlete of the Year, in addition to being the Athlete of the Year in boys cross country and boys track and field. The Syracuse commit won the Division I state cross country title (15:10.1) in the fall, the 1,600 (4:07.51) and 3,200 (9:04.0) at the Division I indoor state track meet in the winter and the 1,600 (4:07.1) and 3,200 (9:05.5) at Division I outdoor state track in the spring.
The other finalists were Gahanna Lincoln's Brandon Carpico, who was Boys Tennis Athlete of the Year, and Pickerington Central's Devin Royal, who was Boys Basketball Athlete of the Year.
Having won four indoor and four outdoor state titles, Laracuente-Huebner was named Girls Athlete of the Year and Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year. In the Division II/III indoor meet, Laracuente-Huebner won the high jump (5-8 ¼), long jump (20-3 ½), 60 hurdles (8.56) and triple jump (41-8 ¾), scoring 40 points to give Highland the team state title. In the Division II outdoor meet, she won the high jump (meet-record 5-10 ¾), long jump (meet-record 19-11), 100 hurdles (13.64) and 200 (24.23), with her 40 points giving Highland a second-place finish.
The other finalists were Dublin Coffman's Emily Brown, who was Girls Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year, and Pickerington Central's Madison Greene, who was Girls Basketball Athlete of the Year.
Alexander earned the Coach of the Year honor for guiding Liberty to the first state title won by a central Ohio hockey team. The Patriots defeated Hunting Valley University School 6-2 in the championship game, capping a 39-1-1 season. Liberty also was named Boys Team of the Year.
"It's a huge honor (being named Coach of the Year)," Alexander said. "It's unbelievable. I didn't even know that one was coming. It was nice to be the (Dispatch All-Metro) hockey Coach of the Year, but I didn't know I had the central Ohio sports Coach of the Year, so it's pretty exciting stuff."
He said the team is still reveling in its state title.
"It still hasn't sunk in," he said. "It's been real exciting for all these guys. It's been one thing after another. It's been an absolute blast."
Columbus East football and Ready basketball were the other finalists for Boys Team of the Year, and their coaches, Mike Bell and Tony Bisutti, were the other finalists for Coach of the Year.
Thomas field hockey earned the Girls Team of the Year honor for going 19-2 and winning its seventh state championship, defeating Watterson 3-2 in overtime for the title. The other finalists were Africentric girls basketball and Dublin Jerome swimming and diving.
Central Ohio High School Sports Awards: Scholar athletes stand out among peers
Laing was named Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. He had a 4.56 GPA and scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. He also qualified for the state cross country meet in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Luo was named Female Scholar Athlete of the Year. She had a 4.62 GPA and scored 36 on the ACT. She also helped the Academy girls golf team win its first Division II state championship last fall.
"The Columbus Academy community has been the biggest part of my success," Luo said. "Not just my teammates, but also my teachers (and) my coaches, because they've shown me what it means to be a better person, a good person, a good leader, and that's so much more than just playing a good round of golf or being a good athlete."
Parker and Towns were named winners of the John J. Bishop Awards. Parker scored 32 on the ACT, had a 4.1 GPA, earned four varsity letters for the Olentangy field hockey team and has been active in LGBTQ+ issues. Towns ranked first in his graduating class at Linden with a 4.034 GPA and was a captain for the football and basketball teams.
"I feel like most of the City League doesn't get enough clout as they should," Towns said. "The inner-city kids are trying their best just to get to a different place. ... We're trying to prove people wrong, but we're not getting the recognition. I'm just trying to get the city out there, get it known, get it looked at."
Other honors were presented to Grandview Heights' Gabe Parsley (Nationwide Children's Hospital Courage Award), former ThisWeek sports editor Lee Cochran (Lifetime Achievement Award) and Fairfield Christian Academy (School Spirit Award).
As a freshman at Grandview, Parsley suffered a fractured femur and dislocated knee during a football game. He needed multiple surgeries and his athletic career was in jeopardy, but he persevered and returned to the field.
Cochran ran the sports department at ThisWeek for almost 30 years. During that time, he helped make the weekly publication a go-to destination for central Ohio high school sports coverage.
Fairfield Christian won the Spirit Award in an online vote. The school's athletic department will receive a $1,000 donation.
The Athletes of the Year:
Baseball: Adam Buerger, Gahanna Lincoln
Boys basketball: Devin Royal, Pickerington Central
Girls basketball: Madison Greene, Pickerington Central
Boys bowling: Drew Damron, Jonathan Alder
Girls bowling: Payton Hartgrove, Westerville Central
Boys cross country: Connor Ackley, Hilliard Davidson
Girls cross country: Caitlyn Jones, Hilliard Davidson
Gymnastics: Tayten Swain, Olentangy Berlin
Hockey: Charlie Hughes, Olentangy Liberty
Field hockey: Sophia Schultheis, Watterson
Football: Diore Hubbard, Gahanna Lincoln
Boys golf: Vaughn Harber, DeSales
Girls golf: Audrey Ryu, Dublin Jerome
Boys lacrosse: Marek Tzagournis, Dublin Jerome
Girls lacrosse: Kampbell Stone, Upper Arlington
Boys soccer: Gabe Anthony, New Albany
Girls soccer: Cameryn Susey, Olentangy Berlin
Softball: Kirnan Bailey, Gahanna Lincoln
Boys swimming and diving: Hudson Williams, Olentangy Liberty
Girls swimming and diving: Emily Brown, Dublin Coffman
Boys tennis: Brandon Carpico, Gahanna Lincoln
Girls tennis: Amiya Bowles, Bexley
Boys track and field: Connor Ackley, Hilliard Davidson
Girls track and field: Juliette Laracuente-Huebner, Highland
Boys volleyball: Caden Whiteside, Olentangy Liberty
Girls volleyball: Gabi Moulton, Olentangy Liberty
Boys water polo: Clark Pabst, Upper Arlington
Girls water polo: Naomi Maurer, Upper Arlington
Boys wrestling: Max Shulaw, DeSales
Girls wrestling: Cali Leng, Marysville
The scholarship recipients:
Female Scholar Athlete ($7,000): Grace Luo, Columbus Academy
Male Scholar Athlete ($7,000): John Laing, Bexley
John J. Bishop ($7,000): Parker Parker, Olentangy
John J. Bishop ($7,000): Christopher Towns, Linden-McKinley
First runner-up female ($5,000): Audrey Keplar, Teays Valley
First runner-up male ($5,000): Collin LaVeck, Bloom-Carroll
Second runner-up female ($4,000): Emma McCrady, Fisher Catholic
Second runner-up male ($4,000): Kaden Gannon, Delaware Hayes
Third runner-up female ($2,000): Anh Thi Thai, Hilliard Bradley
Third runner-up male ($2,000): Isaac Carter, Grove City
Capt. Warren B. Sneed Memorial Scholarship ($3,000): Leah Brown, Marysville
Honorable mention female ($1,000): Hannah Brady, Watterson; Sydney Davis, Olentangy Berlin; Kora Garee, Northridge; Katherine Radwanski, Ready; and Kasey Wells, Delaware Hayes
Honorable mention male ($1,000): Jackson Keller, St. Charles; Andrew Pizzico, Gahanna Lincoln; Kaleb Schaffer, Ready; Graham Shoaps, Granville; *Justin Viau Jr., Fisher Catholic; and Ben Yasnowski, Westerville Central
(*Receiving full college scholarship and not eligible for scholarship money.)
This is the 42nd year for the scholarship program.
WBNS-10TV will broadcast the scholarship portion of the awards show at 7 p.m. June 24.
The Central Ohio High School Sports Awards is part of the USA Today High School Sports Awards program, the largest high school sports recognition program in the country.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio High School Sports Awards: Top performers for 2022-23
