Richard Flores, of the Delta Panther powerhouse wrestling program, has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his education and wrestling career at Tiffin University. “I like the coaches there and the people that are committing as well. I’ve got a few friends going there. It’s a really nice program,” explained Richard about his choice.
In his senior year, competing in the 132-pound weight class, Richard finished in second place in the NWOAL, Sectional and District tournaments, qualifying for the OHSAA DIII State Tournament where he stood on the podium in fourth place. He began wrestling in the third grade in Delta’s Biddy Wrestling program and has played a significant part in Panther Coach Ron Nagel’s very successful program.
While competing in the Dragons’ wrestling program, Richard will be majoring in Cyber Security.
Click on the link above to access photos from the signing. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and ca be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
At tonight’s Village Council meeting, all six Council members, Derek Kania, Dianne Westhoven, Samantha Disbrow, John Schmidt, Patrick Messenger and Noah Kreuz, voted against sending a motion to amend the Village’s Ordinance prohibiting chickens within Village limits. Had the motion passed it have been sent to the Planning Commission and the Village Solicitor to change the verbiage and allow residents to keep hens on their property.
Prior to the unanimous vote, each Council member related that their decision was based on discussions with many residents and an apparent overall lack of support for the change from constituents and a poor showing by pro-chicken advocates at the Public Hearing conducted at the previous Council meeting, as well as a heavy agenda going forward facing the Council and the Village. Council President Kania emphasized that his decision and the decisions of his fellow Council members would not reflect their personal opinions, but only reflect what they believed to be the best decision for the residents of the Village.
On Friday afternoon at Delta High School, Connor Sintobin signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his education and wrestling career at Defiance College. Connor, who wrestled at 175 pounds as a freshman, finished his high school career at 190 pounds. He plans to wrestle in the 197-pound weight class in college for the Yellow Jackets.
Connor finished in second place in the NWOAL tournament this past Spring and took home titles in the OHSAA DIII Sectional and District tournaments, qualifying for the State tournament where he finished in fourth place. In the classroom Connor will be majoring in Environmental Science.
Nick Heban defeated Zack Colefrosch 259-203 in a roll-off last Wednesday evening to capture the championship of Swanton Sports Center’s handicapped Tournament League.
In a tournament league, bowlers compete as individuals and accumulate points based on where they finish each week. Each bowler rolls three games and the top four finishers move on to the championship round with a semi-final and final game. There is a payout at the end of each night. There is no requirement to bowl every week, however, the more weeks you bowl, the more points can potentially be earned and there is an additional payout at the end of the season.
Nick won the first half of the season with 26 points and Zack tied the second half with Jason Morgan with 25 points and beat Jason in a roll-off before facing Nick. If a bowler wins both halves, they automatically are declared the champion.
On Friday afternoon, the Delta Lady Panthers lost their final league game, 10-4 to the visiting Patrick Henry Lady Patriots.
Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Lady Panther Gracyn Pelton drives the pitch towards left field
After tossing a scoreless top of the first against the Wauseon Indians, Swanton junior Luke Marlow singled to lead off the bottom of the inning and later came around to score the first run of the game. When Marlow scored again in the bottom of the fifth, it was the Bulldogs’ 11th run of the contest against the Wauseon’s lone score and thereby ended the game, 11-1, under the mercy rule of a 10-run lead after five innings.
The bookend scores were not the only damage Marlow inflicted on the visiting Indians in the game, he also pitched all five innings for the win, giving up just two hits, zero earned runs while walking two and striking out seven. “My slider was working better than my fastball so I stuck with that,” said Marlow explaining how he shut down the Wauseon hitters.
His teammates provided with plenty of run support including three RBIs from Adam Lemon, two hits and three runs scored by Brady O’Shea, two hits and two runs scored by Carson Bond and two long doubles and an RBI by Evan Smigelski. Mykale Schneider took the loss. Caleb Kissel and Braylon Miller each had a single for Wauseon.
It was the final league game for both teams and they each finished with 3-4 records in the NWOAL. Overall, Swanton is 14-5 and Wauseon is 5-10. The Bulldogs travel to Northwood to face the Rangers on Monday and Wauseon entertains the Defiance Bulldogs.
Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncopuntymedia.com website.
On Tuesday afternoon, The Swanton Area Chamber of Commerce (SCC) held its annual meeting and luncheon in the banquet room of Benfield Wines, located at the corner of N. Main Street and Zeiter Way in Swanton. Delray Busch, SCC President and Executive Director, opened the meeting by welcoming everyone in attendance.
“Good afternoon! Thank you for being here and for your continued support of the Swanton Area Chamber of Commerce. Before we begin with today’s agenda, I’d like to take a moment to recognize the individuals who guide the vision and operations of the Chamber—our Board of Directors: ● Robert Benfield – Benfield Wines ● Bill O’Connell – Swanton Sports Center ● Jennifer Knapp – F&M Bank ● Da Netra Smith – Level Fitness ● Shelly Keifer – First Federal of Delta ● Eric Fessenden – Fessenden Hardware ● Seth Thomas – Thomas Construction ● Sheena Baker – Oncore Brewing ● Rick Lederman – Soaring Software Solutions,” she said. “A special note of gratitude goes to Rick Lederman and Seth Thomas, who are completing their service on the board. Their years of insight, leadership, and dedication have significantly shaped the Chamber’s progress. Please join me in thanking Rick and Seth for their outstanding contributions to the Swanton business community”.
Ms. Busch then presented two individuals to the membership for consideration to join the Board of Directors, Kate Huiskens, Director of Operations & Strategic Initiatives at Fulton County Economic Development Corporation and Julia Benfield, Co-Owner of Benfield Wines. “We’re confident both Kate and Julia will bring fresh energy and expertise to the Chamber board,” she remarked. Delray then formally called for a vote to appoint Kate and Julia to the Board of Directors and they were both voted in unanimously. “With unanimous support, I am thrilled to officially welcome Kate and Julia to the Board of Directors,” she said.
“Next, I would like to sincerely thank our event sponsors. Your support ensures the continued success of our annual meeting. A special thank you to Pizzaroma for providing today’s delicious meal. In addition, thank you Julia and Rob Benfield for allowing us the opportunity to have our meeting in your beautiful space. Thank you to our keynote speaker today, Custom Training Solutions, for taking the time to talk about their programs. Lastly, I’d like to thank Tomahawk Printing for supplying all of our programs this year.”
Delray next touched on the major highpoints realized since the 2024 annual meeting. “We’ve made tremendous progress over the past year, and I’d like to share a few key highlights: ● We have welcomed over 40 new members ● We have hosted nine ribbon cuttings, 11 networking events, and six block parties in partnership with Hub’s Swantucky Bar and Benfield Wines ● Saw significant growth in online engagement: ○ 5,500+ website visits ○ 630 new Facebook followers ○ Over 20,000 Facebook page visitors ○ An overall 77,000 accounts reached on Facebook ● Launched new branding and a new logo in 2024 ● Rolled out an updated website and database system in 2024 ● Expanded to new platforms and now active on LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram ● Achieved cost savings of over $10,500 annually, including over $5,000 in building expense savings due to the sale of 100 Zeiter Way ● Had the most well attended and profitable golf outing in chamber history in 2024,” she listed.
“Finally, I want to thank each of you for your involvement, collaboration, and belief in what we’re building right here in Swanton. None of this would be possible without our community’s ongoing support. My door, well, email and phone and unofficial office at CK Sweets, is always open, and I genuinely enjoy learning more about your businesses and how the Chamber can support your goals. Here’s to another strong year ahead,” added Delray.
Finally, it was time to introduce the meeting’s keynote speaker. “It’s our pleasure to welcome Custom Training Solutions (CTS) as this year’s keynote speaker. As a division of Northwest State Community College, CTS is dedicated to equipping both individuals and organizations with a competitive edge through hands-on learning and real-world applications. Custom Training Solutions works directly with businesses across Northwest Ohio to deliver high-impact training in areas such as ● Advanced manufacturing ● Computer applications and programming ● Safety and leadership development ● Industrial automation and maintenance with locations in Archbold and Maumee, CTS offers flexible training formats and customized workforce solutions that help companies stay current with evolving industry standards and technologies. Their mission is clear: to bridge the skills gap and support long-term growth and success for local businesses. Please join me in welcoming Custom Training Solutions!”
Click on the link above to access photos from the meeting, including the 2025 Annual Program. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: SCC Executive Director Delray Busch with the new Board of Director members, Kate Huiskens and Julia Benfield
Swanton Lady Bulldog Lillyanna Valderas has chosen Tiffin University to continue her education and volleyball career. “I’ve wanted to play volleyball in college for a long time but I wasn’t sure where to go. But my boyfriend was actually going there to wrestle and I thought I could go there to play volleyball and it would be a fun experience for the both of us. So, I e-mailed the coach and she offered me a spot and it kind of worked out that way.” said Lillyanna.
In addition to four years of high school, Lillyanna played on highly talented club teams in the off-season where she was able to hone her skills against top-level competition. She did consider Lourdes University and perennial volleyball powerhouse Owens Community College but ultimately settled on Tiffin. “It’s a nice little community over there so, that’s what I decided,” she said. While playing for the Lady Dragons, Lillyanna will be majoring in Business Management.
Lillyanna is another player coming out of Coach Kyle Boer’s very successful Lady Bulldog volleyball program that has gone on to play in college. “Over the years we’ve had girls here and there that have decided to play at the next level. She’s made a late decision to pursue that path, which is great,” commented Coach Boer.
Click on the link above to access photos from the signing and some action shots from her high school career. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Lillyanna signs to attend Tiffin University along side her mother, Jennifer
In the bottom of the first inning, the Swanton Lady Bulldogs sent 17 batters to the plate, just one short of twice through the lineup, and scored 12 runs in a runaway 21-9 defeat of the Wauseon Lady Indians on Friday night at Swanton’s Memorial Park. The biggest blow came off the bat of Adriana Elliott who picked a bases loaded opportunity to slam her second home run of the season, becoming the third member of the 2025 Lady Bulldog Grand Slam Club.
Carli LaGrange also homered in the game, a three-run blast down the left field line, and Alexa Faber had three hits and six RBIs to help secure the NWOAL victory in just five innings. Beyla Remer allowed nine hits and six earned runs to pick up the win.
Aubriana Everly and Layla Martinez hit home runs for Wauseon but the Lady Indians could not match the overall firepower of the Swanton offense. Breah Teal took the loss in the circle.
The Bulldog win places their league record at 4-2, currently good enough for third place in the league. They place their last league game on the road on Monday against the Patrick Henry Lady Patriots. Wauseon falls to 2-4 in the NWOAL and will travel to Bryan to face the Lady Golden Bears.
Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com
Photo: Adriana Elliot about to land on home plate after her grand slam
Click on the link above to access photos from the ceremony. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
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