This past Friday night at the Kevin J. McQuade Gymnasium in Swanton, the Archbold Blue Streaks managed to shoot just 60.7% from the foul line while the Swanton Bulldogs were a little better with 66.7%. However, percentages can be misleading in explaining an outcome, in this case, a 61-55 NWOAL victory for the visiting Streaks. Archbold took 28 attempts from charity stripe and made 17. Swanton had only three attempts and made two.
The 15-point free throw differential helped the Blue Streaks overcome a seven-point first half deficit with a 30-8 advantage third quarter an allowed them to hold on at the end of the games when the Bulldogs pulled within two-points with under a minute left.
Archbold’s Wyatt Gericke led all scorers with 25 points including hitting 13 of 18 free throws, Tripp Langenderfer dropped in 22 including three treys. Evan Reinhard scored 22 points for the Bulldogs with four baskets from beyond the arc. Brady Haselman contributed 14 points and Brady O’Shea added 10.
The win places Archbold’s record at 2-1 in the league and 10-4 overall. They next face the Wauseon Indians (2-1/5-10) at home in the Thunderdome on Friday. Swanton drops to 0-3 in the NWOAL and 5-10 on the season. They will be at home for their next league game on Friday against the Bryan Golden Bears (1-2/4-11).
Archbold Blue Streaks: 11-12-30-18 = 61 Wyatt Gericke (25), Tripp Langenderfer (22), Morgan Harris (6), Collin Short (5), Maddox Pinter (3)
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 and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Wyatt Gericke during pre-game introductions
The Delta Panthers Bowling teams celebrated Senior Night on Friday at the Swanton Spots Center, recognizing Gracie Bashears, Kallie Leonard and Marcello Miracola for their contributions to the program. Following the ceremony and led by two of the seniors, they swept both matches from their “housemates”, the Swanton Bulldogs.
On the boys’ side, Marcello rolled a two-game series of 388, including a 211 game as the Panthers defeated a depleted Bulldog team 1764-1373. Nick Trumbull shot a 341 series for Swanton. In the girls’ match, Gracie fired a two-game series 381 including a match-high game of 223 to carry the Lady Panthers over the Lady Bulldogs 1786-1616. Emma Leonard topped Swanton with a 368 series including a 213 game.
Click on the link above to access photos from the day. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
On Friday afternoon in the Swanton High School Media Center, a luncheon was held for the induction of Benjamin Lang and Abby (Kolodziejczyk) Wolfrum into the Swanton Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Mr. Christopher Lake, Superintendent of Swanton Local Schools, welcomed the inductees, their family members and all other guests and read a list of their qualifying accomplishments.
The Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame was developed to recognize and honor Swanton Local School graduates or alumni (individuals who attended a Swanton School at some time) who have achieved significant success in their chosen career fields, and to provide outstanding role models for the students of the Swanton Local School District.
Benjamin Lang is a 1994 graduate of Swanton High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, with high honors, from the University of Cincinnati in 1999 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School in 2003, where he served as student body president.
Ben is a corporate partner at the global law firm Jones Day, based in its Tokyo office. His interest in Japan began with a homestay experience in sixth grade and continued through Japanese language while studies at Swanton High School and the University of Toledo while still in high school. While attending the University of Cincinnati, Ben completed two formative co-op experiences — one in environmental remediation consulting and another as a research intern in a polymer laboratory near Kyoto, Japan –ultimately leading him to pursue a legal career focused on international work.
After graduating from law school, Ben began his career in New York City before relocating to Tokyo in 2005, where he became a partner in 2013. His practice focuses on the life sciences industry, facilitating cross-border mergers, acquisitions, licensing agreements and other transactions that support the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products and medical devices. Ben is highly ranked internationally by Chambers and IFLR and works with clients in both English and Japanese.
In addition to his professional work, Ben maintains an active pro bono profit organizations in Japan, the United – practice, supporting non-profit organizations in Japan, the United States, and Northwest Ohio. He remains deeply connected to Swanton, providing ongoing support to the Swanton Local Schools Foundation, Swanton Band Boosters, and the Swanton Public Library.
Ben lives in central Tokyo with his wife, Aki, and their five daughters. He also serves as a trustee of the American School in Japan, and his family looks forward each year to returning to Swanton for the Swanton Corn Festival.
Abby (Kolodziejczyk) Wolfrum is a 2002 graduate of Swanton High School. During her time at Swanton, she was active in soccer, band, choir, show choir, basketball cheerleading, student council, and high school musicals — having first appeared on stage as Gretel in the Sound of Music in second grade.
Abby earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology/Chemistry from Defiance College in 2006, where she continued her involvement in soccer, theatre, choir, ecology club, dance team, and served as a Student Ambassador. She later returned to Defiance College, working nearly a decade in enrollment management as an admissions and financial aid counselor, and ultimately as Assistant Registrar, while earning her Master of Arts in Education in 2014. During this time, she served on both cheerleading and multiple campus committees and advised ambassador programs.
Her professional experience also includes serving as Director of Finance at K. Kern Painting, LLC, and as a caregiver at Kaitlyn’s Cottage, a respite care facility for individuals with developmental disabilities.
In 2021, Abby became the Executive Director of the United Way of Defiance County, where she leads fundraising efforts, builds community partnerships, and oversees programs supporting local families, including Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Backpack Buddies, Kindertgarten Camp, and the new Defiance RIDES transportation initiative.
Abby is a recipient of the Defiance Area Chamber of Commerce’s 4 Under 40 Award Under, a graduate of Leadership Defiance County and an active member of both the Defiance and Hicksville Rotary Clubs. She also volunteers with Tim Tebow’s Night to Shine, Christian youth retreats, and medical mission trips to Mexico. Abby and her husband, Jonathan, live in Defiance with their five children and enjoy supporting their many school and sporting activities.
Later in the evening, during halftime of the Swanton/Archbold boys basketball game, Benjamin and Abbey were introduced to the crowd and had their bios read to the audience.
Click on the link above to access photos from the ceremony. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and an be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Benjamin Lang and Abby (Kolodziejczyk) Wolfrum
Prior to their Friday afternoon match against the Liberty Center Tigers at the Swanton Sports Center, the Evergreen Vikings Bowling Team honored and recognized their six seniors for their contribution to the Vikings’ program. Coincidentally, all six seniors happen to be from the boys’ team.
Coach John Meyer introduced each senior, read a small bio and related how much progress each one made in their bowling skills from the time hey joined the program until this point in their careers.
Elliott Prescott
Parents: Barb Bockert & Wes Bockert
Athletic Participation: 2 years bowling
Academic/Extracurricular: Fishing, gaming
Plans after high school: Welding apprenticeship or enlist in the military
Xaviar Robinette
Parent: Gina Bissonette
Athletic Participation: 3 years bowling
Academic/Extracurricular: Student council
Plans after high school: Seek an apprenticeship for carpentry and eventually start a career in real estate
Cohen Myers
Parents: Reuben Myers & Alisha Myers
Athletic Participation: 4 years bowling, 4 years marching band
Academic/Extracurricular: Future of Fulton County Pre-Apprenticeship Program
Plans after high school: Attend a trade school / explore an apprenticeship opportunity
Joshua Lazenby
Parents: Melissa Lazenby & Dean Lazenby
Athletic Participation: 4 years bowling, 4 years cross country
Academic/Extracurricular: 4 years member of the band, and 12 years of 4-H in the Goats & Udder Things Club
Plans after high school: Pursue a career in automotive
Austin Garcia
Parent: Hope Garcia
Athletic Participation: 4 years bowling
Academic/Extracurricular: 4 years choir, 4 years All-County Honors choir
Plans after high school: Join the work force
Thomas Baker
Parents: Kelli Baker & Nick Baker
Athletic Participation: 4 years bowling, qualified for Michigan Youth Bowling State Finals competition in May
Academic/Extracurricular: 4 years of FFA
Plans after high school: Pursue a career in the trades as a carpenter
Click on the link above to access photos from the celebration. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fulktoncountymedia.com website.
Fire at Village of Swanton Municipal Building – All Staff and Officers Safely Evacuated
Swanton, OH — At approximately 11:40 AM this morning, Tuesday, January 27, 2026, a fire was discovered in the attic of the Village of Swanton Municipal Building, which also houses the Swanton Police Department. The incident originated from what appears to be an exploded light ballast. Swanton Fire & Rescue responded immediately, and all staff and police personnel were safely evacuated from the building.
At this time, the extent of the damage is still unknown, and the duration of the municipal building closure remains undetermined pending further assessment.
The Village will be announcing an operational continuity plan for all municipal services— including utility billing, administrative offices, and police department operations—as soon as those details are finalized. We anticipate temporarily relocating essential services to the Swanton Community Center later this week or early next week to ensure continued service to our residents.
Additional updates will be released as new information becomes available.
Alex York scored a game-high 20 points and Vincent Martinez tossed in nine as the Delta Panthers defeated the Swanton Bulldogs 47-33 in an NWOAL contest on Friday evening in Delta. Gio Ruiz led Swanton with seven points. The Bulldogs had an early 9-5 lead before the Panthers went on a 12-0 run to take full control of the game.
The Delta victory moves their league record to 1-2 and are now 3-12 on the season. They next travel to Wauseon on Friday to take on the Indians in a league matchup. Swanton drops to 5-10 overall and 0-3 in the NWOAL. The Bulldogs will face the Defiance Bulldogs at home on Tuesday in a non-league game.
Delta Panthers: 13-14-9-11 = 47 Alex York (20), Vincent Martinez (9), Gary Valentine (6), Jack Mazurowski (6), Ashton Alig (3), Jaden Lohman (2), Kade Lintermoot (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 and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Alex York battles the Swanton defense inside for two of his 20 points
The Swanton Bulldogs held the Delta Panthers to zero points in the second quarter and just 11 total for the first half as they picked up a 45-29 road victory in the Jungle on Friday night. Shawn McGary scored 12 points in the win while Dylan Smegelski and Wyatt Rhodes added 10 points each. Jack Mazurowski led the Panthers with 12 points in a losing cause.
Delta Panthers: 11-0-9-9 = 29 Jack Mazurowski (12), Jostin Murillo-Montaivan (4), Wyatt York (4), Gavin Cansky (3), Jagger Demaline (2), Sam Martinez (2), Jensyn Gillen (2)
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 and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Taking a modest six point lead into the second quarter, the Delta Lady Panthers outscored the Swanton Lady Bulldogs 25-5 on their way to an easy 54-16 NWOAL road victory at Kevin J. McQuade Gymnasium last Thursday evening. Anna Lohnman led Delta with a game-high 19 points and McKenzie Kruger added 11. Madelyn Pellan scored six points for Swanton.
The Delta win placed their league record at 4-0. After suffering a 51-46 loss to the Toledo Central Catholic Lady Irish on Saturday night, they stand at 15-2 overall. The Lady Panthers will welcome in the Wauseon Lady Indians on Thursday, January 29th.
With the loss, Swanton moves to 0-4 in the NWOAL. Following a 34-25 Saturday victory over the Holgate Lady Tigers, their record on the season is 3-13. On Tuesday, January 27th, the Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to play the Defiance Lady Bulldogs.
Click on the link above to access photos from the game and Swanton’s youth cheerleading program. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Delta’s Olivia Mohring protects the ball from Madelyn Pelland
This past Saturday inside Spangler Arena at the Fulton County Fair Grounds, the Delta Archery Club (DAC) hosted an archery tournament with more than two dozen school districts represented from the tri-state area of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio and hundreds of archers competing at the elementary, middle school and high school level. Typically, the DAC holds their tournaments at one of the Pike-Delta-York school gymnasiums. This year they chose a much larger venue so they could accommodate the hundreds of participants as well as providing adequate seating for this very popular event.
During the competition, two archers each take aim at one of 56 bullseye targets totaling approximately 112 firing their arrows at the same time. “We get six scoring rounds in the tournament with one practice round from 10 meters and one practice round at 15 meters,” said April Brown, the club’s media director. “In each round the top score you can get is 50, therefore 300 for the tournament.
Similar to bowling, the perfect score of 300 is very difficult to achieve. “I don’t think in regular tournaments we’ve ever gotten a 300 yet, but at state tournaments and nationals we’ve seen a few 300s from other kids,” said Ms. Brown.
Indiana Schools: Churbusco, Columbia City, Indian Springs, South Whitley, Southern Wells, Whitko
Michigan Schools: Clifford H. Smart, Grand Ledge Hayes, Walles Lake, Northern
Ohio Schools: Archbold, Ayersville, Fairview, Fayette, Hicksville, Holgate, Holy trinity Catholic, Liberty Center, Mill Creek, Montpelier, Patrick Henry, Pettisville, Pike-Delta-York, Stryker, Tinora, Wauseon, West Unity
Click on the link above to access photos from the tournament. Team and individual finish places are included in the photos. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and an be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Last Friday afternoon at the Swanton Sports Center, the Evergreen Viking bowlers edged the Patrick Henry Patriots 2088-2061 and the Lady Vikings were defeated by the Lady Patriots 1822-1592.
Austin Garcia rolled a two-game series score of 383 including a 220 game for Evergreen. Kolton Barnhisel tossed a match-high 392 series including a match-high 235 game for Patrick Henry.
Patrick Henry Patriots: Kolton Barnhisel (157 + 235 = 392), Quinton Colburn (158 + 201 = 359), Levi Hoops (158 + 178 = 336), Caleb Wenner (143 + 146 = 289), Charles Vaughn (118), Braesyn Baker (91), Baker Games (170 + 159 + 147 = 1585) Total = 2061
Lana Breece led the Lady Patriots with a two-game and match-high series of 313. Appollonna Roesner bowled a two-game series of 311 for the Lady Vikings.
Patrick Henry Lady Patriots: Lana Breece (146 + 169 = 313), Leah Geahlen (158 + 135 = 293), Claire Piercefield (141 + 143 = 284), Natalie Cavanaugh (133 + 132 = 255), Becca Hathaway (141 + 112 = 253), Baker Games (157 + 137 + 118 = 412) Total = 1822
Evergreen Lady Vikings: Appollonna Roesner (163 + 148 = 311), Kailyn Krouse (121 + 148 = 269), Lila baker (114 + 140 = 254), Addison Wilson (118 + 120 = 238), Leona Bucher (101), Joanna Brown (82), Baker Games (107 + 113 + 115 = 335) Total = 1590
Fulton County Ohio Media 