All information was taken from the OHSAA Website. There is a high probability that the estimated numbers for the next two academic school years will be adjusted. How it effects the divisions in which each school and team will play will be determined sometime in August.
OHSAA Member School Enrollment Process Explanation
The male and female enrollments of our member schools are used to determine OHSAA governance classifications (AAA, AA, A) and the OHSAA tournament divisions for each sport. The enrollment figures are based on the number of students in grades 9, 10 and 11 as of October 31, 2023. These numbers are provided by the Ohio Department of Education. After the enrollment numbers become final, the enrollment figures will be used to determine OHSAA tournament divisions for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years. For the OHSAA tournament sports in which competitive balance will apply, the competitive balance roster will be added to the ODE base enrollment counts prior to the determination of tournament divisions for those sports.
OHSAA Member School principals will be notified of their school’s enrollment figures posted below for review on Monday, January 29. Schools that believe the ODE has miscalculated their enrollment can file an appeal with the OHSAA no later than Friday, February 16, 2024 using the required APPEAL FORM. Following the appeals, the OHSAA Board of Directors will approve the FINAL enrollment numbers and classifications. OHSAA tournament representation and division assignments will then be calculated and presented to the Board of Directors for their approval in the coming months.
PRELIMINARY 2024-25 and 2025-26 School Enrollment Figures
The below numbers represent preliminary enrollments counts and classifications for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years. This data will be replaced with final enrollment counts in late spring 2024.
This Friday, February 9, 2024, the 2024 Swanton High School Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees will be presented during the Bulldogs Boys Varsity basketball home game against the Archbold Blue Streaks. Following the presentation, there will be a reception, sponsored by the Swanton Athletic Boosters, at the Hawks Nest at Valleywood Golf Club on Airport Highway. Below is information on the inductees provided by Swanton High School.
Jim Carpenter Jr, a 1989 graduate of Swanton High School, participated in track and cross country earning a total of seven varsity letters. While running at Swanton High School, Jim was a member of the 1986, 1987 and 1988 NWOAL Championship cross country teams. As well as a member of the 1987, 1988 and 1989 NWOAL Championship track and field teams. As a member of these teams Jim earned 2nd team all-league as a junior in cross country as well as first team all-league as a senior. The Bulldogs place 4th in the state in his junior year and 3rd in the state in his senior year at the OHSAA State cross country championships. In track, Jim was a member of the 4×800 meter relay team that broke both the school and the NWOAL records for the event. After high school Jim attended Defiance College where he ran both cross country and track. Jim also came back to Swanton as the head girls’ soccer coach from 2004 to 2009. During which time his teams won three sectional and two district titles. As well as coaching three players who earned All Ohio Honors.
Leslie Mugg, a 1993 graduate of Swanton High School, participated in cross country, basketball and track. As a student athlete Leslie earned 9 varsity letters including four in both basketball and track. Among her accomplishments she was a two-time state qualifier in track including taking first place in the long jump at the regional track meet in 1992. In basketball, Leslie was all league all four years including twice earning first team all-league honors. She also earned all-district honors three times including two times being named first team all-district. Her senior year Leslie averaged over 20 points a game while also leading the team in rebounds and being voted as the best defensive player by her teammates. During her senior year, Leslie broke the single game scoring record with 40 points in a single game. Leslie also scored 447 points her senior year and finished her career with a combined 1344 points. After high school, Leslie went on to further her education and basketball career at Ball State University where she earned first team all-league honors twice.
Tom Sampson, a 1977 graduate of Swanton High School was an assistant wrestling coach for 15 years between the years of 1978 and 1996. During his time at Swanton, the teams that he coached won nine NWOAL Championships, five sectional titles, one district championship and finished 2nd and 3rd at the state wrestling championships. This included a 30-match winning streak from 1979 to 1982. Tom coached two state champions and 36 state qualifiers. Tom also helped run the Swanton golf tournament which raised money for scholarships given to Swanton athletes and helped with the creation of the Swanton biddy wrestling program.
Steve Williams, a 1973 graduate of Swanton High School, participated in football, basketball and baseball. Steve earned 3 varsity letters in basketball and 4 letters in baseball. In baseball Steve pitched a total of 192 innings in his high school career and totaled 314 strike outs. Steve currently holds the school record for the most strikeouts in a game with 21 and most in a season with 111. Steve also holds the record for most wins and earned run average for a season and overall career. In one week, his senior year Steve threw 3 complete games. Two of which were no hitters while in the other game he allowed just a single hit. Steve earned first team All-State honors as a senior and was scouted by every major league baseball team. Steve was selected in the second round of the winter draft by the Expo’s but chose to attend college at St. Clair University while rehabbing an arm injury. After which time he played minor league baseball for the Storied Portland Mavericks in 1977.
The 1987 Boys Track Team: Bert Avila, Martin Avila, Nate Barratt, Jeff Bork, Darren Brown, Tom Bruno, Eric Butler, Jim Carpenter, Sean Gladieux, Chris Goodson, Steve Hallett, Walt Hallett, Tom Hansbarger, Chris Hayes, Scott Haselman, Andy Hesse, Kirk Jewell, Scott Kosier, Zak Martin, Matt McKay, Terry Miller, Gary Moore, Guzman Muela, Eric Sahloff, Greg Seigneur, Henry Serratos, Mike Serratos, Sean Snyder, Matt Studer, Todd Sturt, Jeff Ulrich, Marshal Wolf, Bill Zientek, Coaches: Bob Fisher and Robert Cintron. The 1987 Boys Track team finished the season by capturing the NWOAL Championship as well as the District Championship. During the season, the Bulldogs won every league meet that they participated in and were victorious in the Palmer Relays, Oak harbor Invitational and Defiance Invitational.
Click on the link above to access photos from the induction ceremony. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
This Saturday, February 10, 2024, the Northwest Ohio Athletic League will hold its annual boys and girls tournament at River City Bowl-a-Way, located at 380 Independence Drive in Napoleon. Shadow bowling begins at 11:45 and the tournament will start at noon. The results from the tournament will be factored into the final team standings and will determine All-NWOAL individual awards.
Ticket for adults will be $7.00 and $5.00 for students.
Cade Brenner, the NWOAL’s top scorer, pumped in 20 points after halftime to lead the Archbold Blue Streaks to a come-from-behind 51-45 victory over the Evergreen Vikings on the road in Evergreen’s Big House. The Streaks trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter when Brenner, who only had three points at that time, caught fire and began draining shots from downtown, slowly bringing Archbold back into the game. Late in the fourth quarter, they tied the score at 45 all then took a 47-45 lead with 1:40 left in the game. Evergreen was unable to respond and the Blue Streaks sealed the victory with four shots from the foul line. Brenner scored 23 points, including five triples, while Eli Keifer had 12 points for the Vikings.
Archbold’s win moves their record in the NWOAL to 3-1, in second place behind Wauseon at 4-0. Overall, the Streaks are 17-1. They will travel to Swanton next Friday to play the Bulldogs. For Evergreen, it was the second straight game surrendering a large lead in the second half as they fall to 2-2 in the league and 12-4 on the season. The Vikings will be on the road at Edon this Tuesday to take on the Bombers.
Archbold Blue Streaks: 12-9-13-17 = 51 Cade Brenner (23), Jayden Seiler (9), Chase Miller (7), Micah Nofziger (6), Stephen Diller (4), Broden Piercefield (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 for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Cade Brenner knocks down he first of his five three-pointers
The Evergreen bowlers shot one of their top scores of the season Friday at the Swanton Sports Center. However, it was against one of the best boys’ high school bowling teams in the State of Ohio, the Liberty Center Tigers. Liberty Center, with all five starters averaging above the 200 mark, easily out scored Evergreen 2782-2424 in the NWO High School Bowling Conference. Tiger senior Jacob Sexton bowled a two-game series score of 506 to lead all bowlers and junior Layne Vance rolled a two-game series score of 436 for the Vikings.
Liberty Center Tigers: Jacob Sexton (257 + 249 = 506), Tin Blaton (232 + 226 = 458), Wesley Wilhelm (205 + 247 = 452), Landon Amstutz (199 + 245 = 444), Joey Wymer (176 + 165 = 341), Baker Games (180 + 215 + 190 = 585) Total = 2782
Evergreen Vikings: Layne Vance (199 + 237 = 436), Trevor Johnson (183 + 212 = 395), Michael Laver (190 + 194 = 384), Isaac Hansel (156 + 174 = 330), Thomas Baker (146), Cohen Myers (116), Baker Games (193 + 215 + 209 = 617) Total = 2424
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 CHASRGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Top bowlers for each team, Jacob Sexton and Layne Vance
Prior to its game against the Delta Lady Panthers, the Swanton High School Girls Basketball Program celebrated Senior Night to honor seven players from the Class of 2024. The seven senior Lady Bulldogs were introduced in the following order. Emma Crow (10), Olivia Gowing (4), Ava Keiser (22), Peighton Manning (15), Samantha Nelson (5), Alexia Ostrander (11), Kyleigh Shinaver (1). Delta’s seniors were also recognized by name and introduced, Ella Demaline, Grace Munger, Kate Fries, Alani Haas, Ashlyn Lamb and Olivia Smith.
As always, retired teacher Betty Jo Sadowski, served as the emcee and introduced each player along with recognizing some of the highlights of their Swanton High School career and plans for the future. Ms. Sadowski ended the ceremony with a small but inspiring speech.
“These athletes, as high school basketball players, have spent over 1000 hours in practices, pregame warm ups, games and off-season conditioning. They have continued to be successful not only on the court but also in the classroom, because of their drive and desire to excel in everything they do.
Ladies, turn to your parents and thanks them for all that they have done for you. You will need their love and support throughout your life.
Parents, thank you for raising strong and determined young ladies. The leadership that they have will grow stronger in the future.
Simon Biles says ‘Surround yourself with the dreamers, the doers, the believers. Most of all surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.’
On behalf of the Swanton schools, community and fans of the Bulldog Nation, we wish you all the best in the future and thank you for all you have done.
Congratulations ladies and good luck to you.”
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.
Kendall Sprow scored half of her game-high 16 points in the second quarter, helping the Lady Panthers to a ten-point halftime lead as Delta went on to defeat the Swanton Lady Bulldogs 52-43 in Swanton’s Kevin J. McQuade Gymnasium on Thursday night. The Bulldogs rallied in the fourth quarter to pull within two points when Peighton Manning hit for eight straight points, including two shots from long range, but Delta sank five of seven free throws towards the end of the game to seal the victory. The Panthers also got 14 points from Kate Friess and Emma Crow led Swanton with 15 points.
Delta Lady Panthers: 11-18-10-13 = 52 Kendal Sprow (16), Kate Friess (14), Grace Munger (10), Emma Demaline (8), Olivia Smith (4)
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 he fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Kendall Sprow battles inside for two points
We are one full month into the new year and a new Village Council has been seated, including the newest member, John Schmidt, who was elected this past November, fill the seat previously held by Dave Pilliod, who chose not to run for another term. Returning members are Dianne Westhoven who was reelected in November and Derek Kania, Samantha Disbrow and Mikey Disbrow, all who will be in third year of their four-year term. Mr. Kania will also be serving as President of the Council or Mayor Pro Tempore and will fill in for Mayor Neil Toeppe, who is starting his second term as mayor, when the mayor is absent.
As always, it is expected to be a busy and challenging year for the Village. Below, from the desk of Mayor Toeppe, are some of the major highlights the Village Administration and its service organizations will be dealing with in 2024.
Fire Division
We will be implementing the recommendations of the Organizational Assessment from the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association. Over the past several months we have significantly increased the staffing level of the division and expect to continue to grow. We are increasing the number of paramedics and are finding grant monies to help offset the cost of paramedic training, On the job training will increase for all positions. We are starting the year with two new lieutenants. We also will see a significant increase in fire inspections since we have a dedicated Fire Inspector.
Police Department
We continue to be fully staffed. The police department will continue to explore grant opportunities to help alleviate the burden on the general fund. We are in the process of getting a canine (K9) certified. We now have an officer qualified as a firearms instructor and he will be taking over the operations or management of the firearms range. We will be increasing enforcement of excessive speeds on village streets, especially Church, Dodge, Brookside, and Munson. The police department will continue to work with the Ohio Collaborative to ensure policies and procedures adhere to the standards of the State of Ohio. Continuing education for all members of the police department will be increased this year from years prior. The police department and other village departments will continue to work close to together in preparing for activities within the village, including Firework, Corn Festival, Halloween Hoopla and the Christmas parade.
Water and Sewer
We expect to complete the Storm and Sanitary Sewer separation projects this year. After having two big projects completed in 2023 (RO upgrade and Water Tower painting) the Water Plant will be looking to do some minor improvement/maintenance projects at the Water Plant. Water Distribution will be working on identifying lead service lines as the updated lead service line inventory is due October 16, 2024. New rules that were put in effect late 2022 have made this inventory a mandatory requirement.
Public Service
With the near completion of the Sewer separation projects we will renew our focus on street improvements. We will be assessing streets that need improvements and determining estimated cost and budget implications. We will be doing some crack sealing of the roads this year to prolong their lifetime. Due to EPA regulations, we will be inspecting water service lines to determine the materials used. This will take all summer. We also plan on retro fitting Christmas decorations to LED bulbs and getting the sequencers that make them move, repaired or replaced.
Administration and Finance
With the anticipated change in refuse service this April the office staff will be familiarizing themselves with the new company. Individual contracts will be between the residents and Klumm Brothers. Residents will be able to select the level of service that meets their needs. Current and proposed 2024 road projects will continue to keep the village staff busy. Annual water rates will reflect in the February billing. We will begin to prepare for the annual activities such as the Fireworks, Corn Festival and Christmas in Swanton events. The Fiscal Officer continues to research grant opportunities to help leverage your tax dollars.
Photo: Swanton Village Solicitor R. Kent Murphree swears in Councilwoman Dianne Westhoven and Councilman John Schmidt at the Village’s first meeting of the year on January 8, 2024.
Isaac Hansel and Michael Laver each topped the 200 mark with games of 239 and 203, respectively, to lead the Evergreen Vikings over the Wauseon Indians in a bowling match 2382-2116 at the Swanton Sports Center Tuesday night. Evan Stevens of Wauseon led all bowlers with a two-game series of 381, including a 214 game but the high balanced scoring of Evergreen was too much to overcome.
Fulton County Ohio Media 