Former Colonel Crawford grad Feichtner sees life journey he never envisioned
NORTH ROBINSON — It is weird where life can take you.
No one knows that more than 2020 Colonel Crawford grad Gavin Feichtner.
Feichtner, who is participating in the 45th News Journal All-Star Classic alumni game at 6 p.m. on Friday at Lexington High School, saw curveball after curveball and kept knocking them out of the park, literally and figurately.
After high school, Feichtner went to Tiffin University to continue his baseball career. As a junior, he batted .408 with 40 hits, one homer, 20 runs, 27 RBIs, 15 walks and 13 stolen bases while striking out 77 and boasting a 1.41 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and .215 BAA on the mound. His senior year was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and yet, he still landed on a college roster.
GETTING THEIR CHANCE: 2020 News Journal All-Star Classic players to finally get their shot in alumni game
After experiencing elbow problems during his freshman season, Feichtner was instructed to have Tommy John surgery to reconstruct his ulnar collateral ligament. It ended his baseball career, but he found a new passion in an old hobby.
Feichtner is now a tattoo artist in Bellevue at Jade Tattoo Collective in one of the wildest life turns he never saw coming.
"Ever since I was little, I was always drawing at my grandma's house," Feichtner said. "But what really got me into it was when I went to college to play baseball. After my surgery, I decided I had played my last baseball game. I was just drawing in my dorm room one day and one of my baseball buddies saw it and thought that I could tattoo some of the guys on the team since I was good at drawing.
"I wasn't so sure about that, but I ordered a kit on Amazon, and I just started tattooing their thighs and thought it was really cool. I want to get better at everything I do so I just kept watching YouTube videos and learning as much as I could. I ended up with an apprenticeship and got hired in at a shot in Bellevue called Jade Tattoo Collective."
Feichtner grew up on a cattle farm in rural Crawford County. Tattoos weren't even a part of his life growing up.
"It is definitely a weird spin on my life," Feichtner said. "It is a drastic turn. Life throws you curveballs for a reason, and I found my specific way."
It was a way that could have been derailed before it even started. Feichtner was part of the 2020 class that had its world turned upside down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He didn't get to play his senior baseball season, his senior basketball season had doubt cast all over it all year long, he didn't get to experience a normal graduation ceremony and he spent time being locked down to minimize the spread.
He had a lot taken away from him including his opportunity to play in the News Journal All-Star Classic that year after he helped the Colonel Crawford Eagles win the Division III district championship. He led the team to a cool 23-4 record with 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
He finished seventh all-time in scoring with 1,056 points and second in 3-pointers made with 145 at Colonel Crawford.
"It sucks looking back at it and seeing what could have been as seniors," Feichtner said. "School ended up being weird and college was different, but the people I have talked to from high school adapted and figured out a career path that suits them. It has its pros and cons."
But it never would have landed him where he was. He may have never found his passion for drawing had he not been confined to his dorm room during that first year in college. And he absolutely never would have had the guts to order a tattooing kit and kickstart a career.
He now has art all over his body from his right leg to his left arm sleeve.
"I did my entire leg myself," Feichtner said. "It is all geometric patterns. I like eye elusions and perfect symmetry and that is kind of my niche. My boss did my arm sleeve. It is a Greek Mythology theme with Zeus. My grandma always taught me to be that man figure and take initiative and be in charge of your life. I have some on my chest for my other grandma who passed away. They have certain meanings. Tattoos look cool while also having special meanings and that is what really got me into it."
And it has him on the verge of a career that could skyrocket with his connections and talent.
"I did a realistic buck on one of my buddies, and he just wanted to keep adding to it with a wilderness scene around it," Feichtner said. "I kind of blew myself away with that one because of how realistic it looked. I hope this is a springboard to owning my own shop and having some employees under me. I would love to travel with it. I have some buddies in the MLB so that would be cool to continue being around baseball while also tattooing."
From cattle farming to baseball and tattoos, global pandemics, arm surgery and a chance Amazon order, Feichtner took every curveball thrown his way and made the best of it. It is the perseverance the 2020 class has grown to accept. And on Friday night, he will get his chance to showcase his basketball skills, and tattoos, on a stage that was taken away from him at the NJ Classic.
It is weird where life can take you.
jfurr@gannett.com
740-244-9934
X: @JakeFurr11
News Journal All-Star Classic Alumni Rosters
South: Jonny DeVito, Shelby; Lucas Kozinski, Bucyrus; Isaiah Alsip, Galion; Hunter Mariotti, Northmor; Shaquan Coburn, Ontario; Gavin Feichtner, Colonel Crawford; Carson Hauger, Lucas; Brennan South, Clear Fork; Blake Miller, Northmor; Jonah Ramey, St. Peter’s; Grant Gossom, Shelby; Coach: Zach Ruth, Northmor.
North: Logan Niswander, Lucas; Roger Merrell, Mansfield Senior; Kaden Ronk, Crestline; Tyler Tackett, Madison; Mitch Heilman, Ashland; Simon Blair, South Central; Max Woldruff, Lexington; Dylan Spears, Lexington; Walker Elliott, Plymouth; Ethan DeLaney, Clear Fork; Cameron Todd, Mansfield Senior; Terry Baldridge, Willard; Coach: Joe Bedingfield, Willard.
If you go
When: March 29
Where: Lexington High School
What: News Journal All-Star Classic Alumni Game at 6 p.m. and 45th News Journal All-Star Classic North-South charity basketball game at 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $5 per ticket.
How to get tickets: Tickets are currently on sale at Catalyst Life Services locates at 270 Sterkel Boulevard in Mansfield. Cash, card and check will be accepted Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. and Friday 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tickets will remain on sale there until the day of the game.
You can also purchase tickets during the all-star practices on March 26 and 27 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. and March 28 from 5 p.m.-6 p.m. Practices are open to the public and will be held at Lexington High School. This will be a cash or check-only option.
And finally, you can purchase your tickets at the door the night of the game. Tickets are $5 apiece.
Why: 100% of the proceeds from the 45th News Journal All-Star Classic will be donated to Catalyst Life Services and will benefit the Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Crisis Services department. Over the last 44 years, the News Journal has donated nearly one million dollars.
For any questions, please contact Mansfield News Journal Sports Reporter Jake Furr via email at jfurr@gannett.com or via text at 740-244-9934.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Gavin Feichtner will suit up in the NJ All-Star Classic Alumni game
