In a State Sectional Semi-Final game at Otsego High School, the Swanton Lady Bulldogs went to the foul line 11 times in the fourth quarter and hit nine of those attempts to seal a 40-29 win over the Northwood Lady Rangers. Swanton took no free throws in the first three quarters and made no shots from the field in the final frame in the victory that sends them to the Sectional Final against fellow NWOAL foe the fifth-seeded Delta Lady Panthers.
The eight-seeded Lady Bulldogs led the entire way, by as many as 14 points in the second half over the seventh-seeded Lady Rangers, but saw that lead trimmed to just five points before the late clutch free throws were made by Alaina Pelland (5/7), Katie Floyd (2/2) and Miranda Yeager (2/2) to shut down the Northwood rally.
The Sectional Championship, also at Otsego High School, will tip off at 6:00 PM on Saturday.
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.
Down by double digits early in the game to visiting Cardinal Stritch on Tuesday night, Swanton slowly chipped away at the deficit and finally took a brief 46-45 lead with 5:32 left in the fourth quarter. However, the Cardinals regained control down the stretch, finishing the game on a 9-2 run and defeated the Bulldogs 54-48 in a non-league contest. Swanton wraps up the regular season on Friday night at home against the Evergreen Vikings. Tip off is at 7:30 PM.
Cardinal Stritch: 16-10-16-12 = 54 Owen Carter (14), Tommie Taylor (11), Christian Burton (11), Breon Hicks (9), Kam Hughes (8), Christian Swilling (1)
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.
At the Swanton Village Council meeting of February 13th, Mayor Neil Toeppe recommended to Council that it accept the proposal from the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association to conduct an organizational assessment of the Swanton Fire and Rescue Department (SFRD) to find ways to improve the department for the benefit of the citizens of the Swanton community. Mayor Toeppe cited a study that showed the negative impact of poor leadership, low morale and poor communication, inadequate compensation and other factors can lead to high turnover. Exacerbating the problem, he said, is the labor shortage in this career field in Ohio and across the nation, which makes it easy for someone to leave and immediately find another job. According to the Mayor, a similar assessment was completed on the Swanton Police Department a number of years ago and improvements were recommended and implemented.
“That tells me that we really need to address the issues I mentioned earlier, the leadership, morale, communication and bring in some professional help for us and help the department navigate those things so we can mitigate those concerns,” said the Mayor. “It would look at all aspects of the area that we serve, the number of employees we have in each discipline, the equipment that we have, do we have enough, do we have too much, do we have the right equipment. All of those things.”
The cost of the assessment would be $20,600. After a brief discussion, Council members all agreed to the assessment and tasked Village Administrator Shannon Shulters to draft a Resolution to be voted on next meeting. In 2021, Mayor Toeppe made a similar proposal to the then sitting Council, headed by Craig Rose. The cost at that time was approximately $15,000 and was deemed unnecessary and summarily rejected.
After interviewing four potential candidates for the Fiscal Director position, Holden Benfield was recommended to fill the job left vacant by the recent resignation of Jason Vasko. Council members discussed the recommendation during an executive session and voted unanimously to accept it after reconvening in Council chambers. Mr. Benfield resides outside the Village but within the Swanton Postal Code. He received an undergrad degree and a Master’s of Science in Managerial Accounting from the University of Toledo.
Mayor Toeppe announced that the first meeting of the Swanton Economic Development Commission (SEDC) was held last week to establish management criteria. There will be six members on the committee including Swanton High School alumnus Mick Bryan, retired businessman and former president of an international company, Swanton resident and Swanton High School alumnus Eric Butler, currently serving as a vice-president for Key Bank, Chris Lake, Swanton resident and Superintendent of Swanton Schools, Councilman Mikey Disbrow, Administrator Shulters and Mayor Toeppe. The SEDC will meet on the second Wednesday every other month. The next meeting will be held on April 12, 2023.
Signage for the DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) have been arrived and will be installed by the Village maintenance crew in the near future. The next Council meeting will take place on February 27, 2023 at 6:00 PM.
Photo: New Swanton Finance Director Holden Benfield
As they did during the regular season, the Wauseon Lady Indians dominated the rest of the field in walking away with the NWOAL Girls Bowling Tournament Championship held at the Swanton Sports Center this past Saturday. Wauseon racked up 3745 pins to easily out distance runner-up Liberty Center Lady Tigers with a score of 3216. The Bryan Golden Bears finished third with 3113, the Delta Lady Panthers were fourth at 2751 and the Patrick Henry Lady Patriots came in fifth with a 2709. Evergreen and Swanton high schools did not field a girls team this season.
The five points Wauseon earned for the tournament victory, combined with the six points they earned during the regular season, gave the Lady Indians 11.0 total points and the 2022-2023 NWOAL Girls Bowling Title. Liberty Center was second with 9.0 points, Bryan had 6.0, Patrick Henry had 5.0 and Delta had 4.0 points.
The Lady Indians took the first three spots in the tournament individual round with Kymberlee Yocom leading the way with a three-game series score of 655 followed by Jayde Ramos with a 617 and Kendall Horner with a 597. Haylie Federspiel of Bryan was fourth with a 545 and AJ Seedorf of Liberty Center was fifth with a 511 total. Wauseon also placed the first four bowlers on the five-spot First Team All-NWOAL. Again, it was Kymberlee Yocom who led the league with a 198.37 average, followed by teammates Jayde Ramos with a 193.30, Kendall Horner with a 187.60 and Danielle Carr with a 181.30 season’s average. Arianna Smith of Liberty Center was the other First-Team placer with a 178.19.
On the boys side of the alley, the Liberty Center Tigers and the Wauseon Indians entered the tournament tied with 6.5 points, having split their two regular season matches. This day, however, it was the Tigers who were the better team, out rolling the Indians 4202 to 3770 for the NWOAL Boys Tournament Championship. The Bryan Golden Bears finished third with 3649 pins, the Delta Panthers were fourth with a 3559 score, the Patrick Henry Patriots took fifth with a 3465, the Swanton Bulldogs were sixth with a 3225 and host school, the Evergreen Vikings came in seventh at 2913.
The Liberty Center tournament victory gave them 13.5 overall points, one point ahead of Wauseon’s 12.5, and the 2022-2023 NWOAL Boys Bowling Title. Delta and Bryan tied for the third spot with 9.0 points each, Patrick Henry had 6.0, and Evergreen and Swanton tied at 3.0 points for sixth place.
The individual round for the boys saw a very tight race for the top spot. When the final pin fell, Josh Hoops of Patrick Henry and Ryan Marks of Wauseon had both shot a three-game 656 series for first place. Brody Waugh of Delta finished in third place, a mere two pins behind with a 654. Land Amstutz of Liberty Center was next at 645 and Isaac Stoy of Bryan was fifth with a 643. As you would expect, the Tigers had a very heavy presence on the First Team All-NWOAL with Landon Amstutz bowling a league-best 215.50 season’s average, Tim Blanton right behind with a 214.19 and Jacob Sexton in fourth with a 206.52. Dakota Brandenberry of Bryan had the third highest average at 208.50 and Ryan Marks had a 204.96 to earn the fifth best spot.
After all the hardware was given out, Evergreen Athletic Director Dylan Henricks, announced that Delta Girls Coach Jerry Donaldson and Liberty Center Boys Coach Bruce Engler had been chosen Coaches of the Year by their peers.
Click on the link above to access photos from the tournament including all team and individual scores and standings as well as All-NWOAL award winners. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Tyson Rodriguez drained seven shots from behind the arc for all of his game-high 21 points in leading the Wauseon Indians to a 54-31 blowout victory over the Delta Panthers in a game that pitted two of the four teams tied atop the boys NWOAL basketball standings with a 3-1 record. Landon Hines controlled the boards on both ends of the court, scoring 14 points, blocking shots and pulling down rebounds as the Indians scored in double figures in all four quarters while holding the Panthers’ offense to single digits in each frame.
The Wauseon victory kept them in a tie for the league lead with Patrick Henry at 4-1. The Delta loss slips the Panthers into a tie for third place at 3-2 with Archbold who suffered a 52-44 loss to Swanton on the same night. The Indians will try to remain in first place when they host the Archbold Blue Streaks on Friday night at 7:30 PM. Delta travels to Patrick Henry to face the league-leading Patriots on Friday at 7:15 PM, looking for a win to get back in the race for the top spot.
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Photo: Landon Hines (24) jumps ball with Bryce Gillen
The Delta Panthers took a 145 pin lead over the Bryan Golden Bears after the two rounds of individual bowling then almost doubled that advantage in the three Baker games to handily win the match at the Swanton Sports Center 2330-2044. In a closer match, the Delta Lady Panthers lost to the Bryan Lady Golden Bears 1937-1785.
Bryan Boys: Issac Stoy (175+188 = 363), Dakota Brandenberry (146+209 = 355), Aaryan Singh (155+155 = 310), Alexander Douglas (159), Skyler Crooks (139), Noah Mills (138), Trevor Graig (131), Baker Games (170+118+161 = 449) Total = 2044
Delta Boys: Konrad Hawkins (229+200 = 429), Brody Waugh (196+170 = 366), Dylan Stricker (170+163 = 333), Brenden Pribe (156+162 = 318), Paul McQueen (151+143 + 294), Baker Games n(238+186+166 = 590) Total = 2330
Delta Girls: Lexi Brown (179+192 = 371), Ciarra Flickinger (164+178 = 342), Alana Hoyt (112+140 = 252), Olivia Tipton (106+106 = 212), Serena Shelhart (108+87 = 195), Baker Games (132+136+145 = 413 Total = 1785
Click on the link above to access photos from the match. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Top Delta Bowlers Lexi Brown and Konrad Hawkins
This past Friday, prior to a match against the Bryan Golden Bears, the Delta Panthers bowling team recognized their seniors for their efforts and contributions to the program during their careers. Representing the Class of 2023 were Ciarra Flickinger, Lexi Brown, Alana Hoyt, Camden Leonard, Paul McQueen, Brenden Pribe, Dylan Stricker.
Click on the link above to access photos from the event. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo L to R: Ciarra Flickinger, Lexi Brown, Alana Hoyt, Paul McQueen, Brenden Pribe, Dylan Stricker, Camden Leonard
The Archbold Lady Blue Streaks bolted to a 20-7 opening period lead and never let off the gas until the fourth quarter as they cruised to a 52-17 victory over the Swanton Lady Bulldogs on the road. Carly Grime led a balanced Streak scoring attack with 12 points and Archbold shot 75% (12/16) from the free throw line in the easy win. Alaina Pelland had five points to lead Swanton.
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: Carly Grime lays one in for two of her game-high 12 points
The Wauseon Bowlers, girls and boys, defeated the Delta Bowlers in NWOAL action on Monday night at the Swanton Sports Center. The Lady Indians beat the Lady Panthers 2467-1984 and the Gentlemen Indians edged the Gentlemen Panthers 2289-2235.
Wauseon Boys: Parker Black (199+172 = 371), Kage Little (181+188 = 369), Ryan Marks (178+177 = 355), Kane Panico (165+166 = 331), Evan Stevens (113+132 = 245), Baker Games (147+265+206 = 618) Total = 2289
Delta Boys: Brody Waugh (190+181 = 372), Konrad Hawkins (166+190 = 356), Dylan Stricker (142+211 = 353), Paul McQueen (183+144 = 327), Brenden Pribe (116+150 = 266), Baker Games (166+176+220 = 562) Total = 2235
Click on the link above to access photos from the match. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Delta senior James Ruple was able to secure a loose ball under the basket and connect on a five-foot jump shot as time expired to lift the Panthers to a shocking 35-34 victory over the Swanton Bulldogs at Swanton’s Kevin J. McQuade gymnasium last Friday night. The Panthers, who had trailed by as many as nine points in the second half, had whittled the deficit down to one point and were frantically working the ball for a chance to take the lead with the clock winding down.
With 5.8 seconds remaining in the game, Justin Ruple fired up a shot from beyond the arc that would eventually fall well short of the rim and bounce on the edge of the baseline, headed out of bounds. Bryce Gillen, Delta’s leading scorer on the season who was held to no points on the night, leaped over the baseline and threw the ball back under the basket where it pin-balled off several legs and hands until it was finally grabbed by James Ruple. Ruple went straight up, released the ball and watched as it hit the back rim before falling through the hoop as the buzzer sounded, setting off a wild court-storming celebration of the Panther faithful.
The Delta win, combined with Patrick Henry’s loss to Wauseon, created a log jam at the top of the NWOAL with four teams, including Archbold, tied at 3-1. The Panthers also claimed the best overall record on the season so far with 14 wins and just two losses. Next Friday, Delta will play host to the Wauseon Indians in hopes of breaking that tie and remaining in contention for the league title. Swanton drops to 1-3 in the league and 12-5 overall and will travel to Archbold with an opportunity to play spoiler in the race for the top spot.
Swanton: 8-12-8-6 = 34 Cole Mitchey (10), Luc Borojevich (9), Hayden Callicotte (8), Charlie Wood (4), Kayden Davis (3)
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Photo: James Ruple scores over Swanton’s Charlie Wood
Fulton County Ohio Media 