Fulton County Ohio Media

Swanton High School held a celebration last Friday to commemorate the induction of Peter Najarian and Lori Chamberlain Sullivan into their Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame.  First, there was a luncheon in the school’s Media Center followed by a tour of the high school facilities.  Later that evening, at halftime of the boys’ basketball game against the Archbold Blue Streaks, the two recipients were presented to and honored by the crowd.

Chris Lake, Swanton School’s Superintendent, introduced Mr. Najarian and Ms. Sullivan at the luncheon.  “This is one of my favorite days at Swanton High School, exclaimed Mr. Lake.  “This day really represents where a Swanton education can take you.  It’s here we lay the foundation for future success.  On induction day you can hear and see all the wonderful things the inductees have done.” 

Mr. Lake then read the prepared bios beginning with Peter Najarian.

Mr. Najarian graduated from Swanton High School in 1956. He was class treasurer his freshman year and class president his sophomore, junior and senior year and student council president his senior year. Najarian played football, basketball, baseball and track while at Swanton.

He decided to attend the University of Toledo and graduated in 1960 with a degree in mechanical engineering. In 1961 he started a 40-year career working for General Motors Corporation.

In 1962, Najarian received his master’s in mechanical engineering and was recognized as the Outstanding Graduate Student in all of the graduate school students with straight A’s.  In 1966, he was promoted to General Supervisor of Production and in 1970 he again was promoted to Superintendent of Production.

In 1973, Najarian was again promoted to Department Head of the Industrial Engineering Department. Then in August 1974 he was transferred to the Muncie, Indiana Chevrolet plant for 13 years as the General Superintendent of Production overseeing the activities for 2,000 employees.  In Muncie, he was active in the Chamber of Commerce elected as president and served on the board of directors. Najarian played a significant role in getting a new four-lane highway to connect it to Interstate 69. The road was nicknamed Pete’s Pike for his work on this project for Muncie.

In 1987, he was transferred to the Toledo Powertrain Transmission Plant where he was responsible for 4,000 employees. This plant produced 42,000 transmissions per week.

In June 2000 Najarian retired and enjoys playing golf, doing yard work and traveling with his wife, Donna.

Lori Chamberlain Sullivan’s bio was read next.

Sullivan is a 1987 graduate of Swanton High School. At Swanton she was a varsity cheerleader, class officer, a member the National Honor Society, worked on the Hoop Tree for four years, helped with bloodmobile drives, and ran track.

After graduation, she attended The University of Detroit and received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. She then continued her education and received a Masters of Science in Engineering at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute.

She started to work for General Motors where she was responsible for vehicle mass reduction and fuel economy. While there she started “Lite News” that provided technical communications to 500 employees in various departments.

In 1995, Sullivan moved to product research where she was responsible for design exploration, design direction and brand character for future products. She supervised, trained and developed 10 analysts in market research, analysis and communication techniques.  Sullivan then became brand character manager for the Saturn brand which included design philosophy, brand positioning, and target market analysis.

From 2003-2005, she was Internet and Direct Marketing Manager for the Saturn brand. She planned and executed spending for an annual budget that ranged from $6.5 million to $9 million. 

Then she became the Strategy and Media Planning Manager where she was responsible for overall marketing strategy and development of a media plan, which resulted in a 12% increase in retail share, 20% revenue growth and 20% share increase.  She managed a media budget of $150 million, covering all types of media. She then transferred to Business Planning Manager for General Motors.

In 2009, Sullivan started her own consultant business and has worked for Coke, Hallmark, Visa, Chase, and Kellogg. Her group develops strategies to help the companies grow.

In 2010, she joined the MRM Worldwide where she works on strategic planning and is now their Leadership and General Management Group account director. Sullivan leads a team of more than 200 supporting the General Motors retail and sales marketing client. They have achieved an account revenue growth of 20% over three years.

In her spare time Sullivan enjoys photography, wine charm making and writing blog posts. She is married to Todd and has two children, Sydney and Noah.

Pictured:  Lori Chamberlain Sullivan and Peter Najarian

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Sophomore Macy Chamberlain scored 10 of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter as the Evergreen Lady Vikings took control of the game, which had been tight since the opening tip, defeating the Delta Lady Panthers 58-45 in a DIII Sectional Semi-Final girls basketball game played at Sylvania Southview High School.  It was a bounce-back victory for Evergreen after having lost to these same fellow NWOAL foe Panthers, 50-39, just days earlier.

“We knew Kelsey (Delta coach Gillen) and her kids play really hard.  We put in a new offense to counter what they did to us the last time they played us,” explained Viking coach Brittaney Cymbolin.  “But their kids played really hard and we’re really excited that our kids listened and cut to the ball and they ended up getting nice stops at the end.”

Chamberlain opened the Evergreen scoring with a three-pointer, a precursor, as it turned out, of what was to come.  With Delta employing a highly effective shut-down defense on Viking scoring machine, Bekah Bowser, Chamberlain and her teammates had to pick up the slack.  “It was definitely a team effort.  A lot of us stepped up.” said Chamberlain, acknowledging what it took to replace Bowser’s 18 points per game.

“We actually talked about that after the first time we played them,” said Coach Cymbolin.   “Bekah had a 22-point night and I told them in order to win we need you guys, you four, to step up.  And they did.”

The Lady Panthers kept the pressure on the entire contest until about halfway through the final quarter when their shooting went cold and they committed several turnovers while scrambling to get back in the game.  Evergreen held a slim one-point lead after the first quarter at 11-10 and the game was tied at 24 at halftime.  Both offenses were clicking in the third quarter with the Vikes scoring a bit more to take a 41-38 advantage into the fourth.  With Chamberlain running the offense and scoring almost at will, Evergreen outscored Delta 17-7 for the final 13-point margin.

Adding to Chamberlain’s 23 in the scoring column for the Lady Vikings was Lucy Serna with nine points.  Bowser and Jocelyn Schuster had six points each, Lydia Valentine and Addison Ricker scored five points apiece, and Jessica Riggs and Brooke Sintobin each had two.

Delta also placed eight players on the scoring stat sheet led by Sophia Burres with 13 points and Alani Haas with 10.  Khloe Weber had six points, Kate Friess scored five, Kendal Sprow added four, Grace Munger had three and Jersey Irelan and Olivia Smith each had two.

Evergreen moves on to face another NWOAL opponent in the Wauseon Lady Indians on Saturday at 3:00 PM at Sylvania Southview.  Delta’s season is now complete. 

Pictured:  Macy Chamberlain shoots from 12 feet out.

Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format and can be downloaded for free courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

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This past Saturday the 2022 NWOAL Bowling Tournament for the girls and boys teams was held at the Swanton Sports center. The Delta Panther bowling program served as the host school and did a great job organizing the tournament and making sure everything ran smoothly. The Liberty Center Lady Tigers took home the girls tournament title and the Bryan Golden Bears captured the boys trophy.

Click on the link above to access photos from the tournament. Photos are in the jpeg format for editing and can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

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Swanton’s Drew Smigelski scored four or more points in every quarter and 21 for the game as the Bulldogs slipped past the Archbold Blue Streaks 36-33 in a home boys’ Junior Varsity basketball game. The contest was tight in the first half with the score tied at six after the first quarter and the Streaks holding a one-point lead, 17-16, after the second.

However, in the third quarter, Smigelski knocked down two three-pointers and Keyon Johnson-Couch hit a triple and a deuce as Swanton outscored Archbold 13-4 to lead 29-21 entering the final frame. The Bulldogs maintained the eight-point advantage throughout most of the fourth quarter before the Blue Streaks made a final run but could not get any closer than the three-point final margin.

Smigelski drained four three-point shots as part of his game-high 21 points. Charlie Wood scored eight points, Johnson-Couch added five and Ryan O’Shea had two. Archbold got balanced scoring from Madden Valentine with 10 points, Sonny Phillips with nine, Evan Wendt with seven, Chase Miller with four and Mason Bickel with one.

Pictured: Drew Smigelski about to attempt a free throw.

Click on the link above to access photos from the game.

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With a share of the NWOAL boys’ basketball title already guaranteed, the Swanton Bulldogs took the home court on Friday night, not in any mood to see “Co-Champions” listed along-side their name with any other league opponent.   Despite letting a 12-point third quarter lead slip away, the Bulldogs delivered in the end, beating the Archbold Blue Streaks 45-39 to ensure this 2022 NWOAL Championship trophy will reside inside a glass-enclosed case only within the halls of Swanton High School.

This was the first title for the boys’ basketball team since the 2015 season and second since way back in 1986.  In both those years, another school was able to make the same claim.  Bulldog fans have to go back 40 years, to 1982, to find the last time Swanton sat alone atop the NWOAL standings when season ended.

Everyone expected a close contest knowing the Blue Streaks were capable of beating any team in the league and were in a must-win situation.  As they have for most of the season, the Bulldogs got off to a quick start taking a 12-5 lead in the first quarter, getting five points from Cole Mitchey and four from Sam Betz.  League scoring leader Nic Borojevich got hot in the second quarter hitting for nine points and Swanton got a put-back at the buzzer from Betz to give them a 27-18 lead at halftime.  Archbold was able to stay within range, getting eight points from Alex Roth and six from DJ Newman.

Early in the third quarter, the Bulldogs extended the lead to 12 points.  However, as has been their tendency in many games this season, they allowed their opponent to rally and close the gap.  While the Swanton offense went cold, Archbold outscored the home team 10-5 with Newman hitting for eight straight points, chopping the deficit to 32-28.

The Blue Streak surge continued into the fourth quarter with Archbold twice tying the game, once at 32 all then at 34-34.  With just over three minutes remaining, Luc Borojevich, who had been held scoreless to that point, drained a three-pointer from the corner to give the Bulldogs a lead they would never relinquish.  Archbold managed to pull back within one at 37-36, but tight defense and clutch free throws by Mitchey and Nic Borojevich put the game and the NWOAL Championship on ice.

“It was all them.  I didn’t make one play out there,” said Swanton head coach Bruce Smith, giving all the credit to his players for the title-clinching victory.  “You go from hoping you can win to thinking you can win to actually expecting to win,” he added, explaining the progression of the mindset the players developed over the course of the season.  “They’re (Blue Streaks) a very very good basketball team and we had to play well to beat them and we did.  We did enough to win.”

Swanton was led in the scoring department by Nic Borojevich who had a game-high 21 points.  Mitchey scored 14 points, Betz added seven and Luc Borojevich had three.

Newman’s 19 points led Archbold and Roth had 12.  Gavin Bailey, Jayden Seiler, Ashton Kammeyer and Tyler Hurst scored two points each.

The Bulldogs improve to 18-2 on the year and remain undefeated in the league at 6-0.  They will travel to Bryan next Friday for their final game of the regular season.  The Blue Streaks drop to 3-3 in the league and 12-7 overall following their win over Napoleon Saturday night.  They will host Wauseon next Friday night.

Pictured:  2022 NWOAL Boys Basketball Champion Swanton Bulldogs

Click on the link above to access all photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for free courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

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Cole Mitchey (pictured) scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half to help the Bulldogs hold off the Toledo Christian Eagles 56-47 in a home non-league boys basketball game.  Nic Borojevich matched Cole’s point total of 19 with 12 coming in the first quarter.  Luc Borojevich added 11 points, Hayden Callicotte had three and Sam Betz and Nathan Pawlowicz had two apiece.

Click on the link above to access all the photos from the game. Photos can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Jerry Donaldson, a resident of Delta and an assistant bowling coach for the past nine years for the Delta High School Panthers, bowled a 300 game in the Thursday Night Mixed League at the Swanton Sports Center. Jerry rolled his perfecto in the first game of the night then followed up that gem with games of 224 and 201 for a stellar 725 series. Coming into the evening, he carried a 201 average while bowling for “The House” team.

It was the sixth career 300 game for Jerry and the first at the Sports Center since it reopened under new ownership in 2013. He had rolled a 300 there prior to its closing in 2010, coincidentally on the same pair of lanes, five and six.

Ironically, the Swanton Sports Center is the home venue for the Delta Panthers bowling team and Jerry’s perfect game comes just two days before the Panthers host the Northwest Ohio Athletic League (NWOAL) end of the year tournament for the boys and girls team this Saturday.

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The Delta Lady Panthers have come a long way since their opening season loss to the Swanton Lady Bulldogs on their home court.  At the time, first-year coach Kelsey Gillen was tasked with taking over a program that had graduated all five starters from a State Regional Tournament qualifying team.  Basically, the program, with only one senior on the roster, is rebuilding from the ground up.

Monday’s 46-16 victory over the Bulldogs in Swanton was another indication of how much growth and improvement Delta has made the course of the season that has seen the Panthers win several games and be very competitive in most of the others.

The game was close in the early going when the Panthers held a 6-5 lead in the first quarter.  From there, however, Delta ran off the next seven points to close out the frame with a 13-5 advantage and outscored Swanton 10-5 in the second for a 23-10 lead at the half.

The defense of the Lady Panthers put the game away in the third quarter by shutting out the Lady Bulldogs 12-0 and then took the fourth 11-6 for the impressive 30-point win.

Khloe Weber led Delta with 12 points.  Grace Munger scored seven points, Kate Friess and Alani Haas added six each, Sophia Burres, Jersey Irelan and Olivia Smith had four apiece and Olivia Turi had three.

Katie Floyd scored eight points for Swanton.  Allison Fagerman added five points, Alaina Pelland had two and Olivia Gowing had one.

Pictured:  Khloe Weber scores from down low.

Click on the link above to access all photos.

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The Swanton Lady Bulldogs held the visiting Delta Lady Panthers to just 14 points in the first half of their game Monday night.  However, those 14 points looked like an offensive explosion compared to only two Delta managed to score, both on free throws, in the second half.  Swanton, on the other hand, put up 27 second half points and cruised to a 45-17 victory after leading by just three at the end of the first half.

Jessica Finfera led Swanton and all players with 14 points.  Peighton Manning was right behind with 12 points, Olivia Gowing and Ava Keiser each scored seven, Megan Haselman had three and Miranda Yeager added two.

Mackenzie Mercer scored seven points for Delta.  Jacyln Kolhofer, Elizabeth Schlatter, Kendal Sprow and Ashlyn Lamb all had two and Mariah McGarry had one.

Pictured:  Peighton Manning drives in for two points.

Click on the link above to access all 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.