Being an athlete doesn’t just mean showing up on game days. From August 1, 2024, through June 7, 2025, there were athletes in action representing Van Buren. That means for 311 out of 365 days of the year, student athletes were practicing, playing, and growing athletically as teammates and individuals. As we develop the future leaders of tomorrow both academically and athletically, we want to review the successes our athletes accomplished during the 2024-2025 school year.
The fall provided a great start to the athletic year. After the boys’ golf team won the BVC crown, they and the girls’ golf team advanced to the Division III state tournament, with the girls competing at state for the fifth consecutive year and finishing eighth. The boys used the best team round of the state tournament (304 on the second day) to catapult from fifth place after day one to a runner-up finish, their best showing since being state runner-up in 2016. During the season, junior Addyson Adams and sophomore Jordan Patton scored aces for the girls’ team, with Adams’ coming in the state tournament at Firestone Country Club in Akron, and senior Isaac Dyer scored an ace for the boys’ team. Two additional trophies went to boys’ golf coach Eric Heitkamp, who was named both BVC Coach of the Year and Ohio High School Men’s Golf Coach of the Year.
While those were the only fall teams to advance to the state tournament, there was still plenty of success achieved in the other sports. Both the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams finished as BVC runner-up, with seventh grader Lydia Kramer winning the middle school girls’ BVC individual title. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams advanced to the regional race at Hedges-Boyer Park in Tiffin, with the girls finishing as district runner-up.
The boys’ soccer team advanced to the regional semifinals while compiling an 18-2-1 record, setting a new team record with 98 goals scored, and finishing as NCOSA runner-up. Senior Seth Gregory earned Division V All-Ohio honors, and the team earned Academic All-Ohio honors. Head coach Jeff Swaisgood also earned his 150th career win with a 6-1 victory over Bluffton. The girls’ soccer team was led by junior Kami Bowman, who was named first-team NCOSA.
The football and volleyball teams each had one first-team BVC athlete, senior Mason Thorla-Lopez (football) and junior Selma Brant (volleyball). Brant also set a new school record with 31 kills in a match, and the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association (OHSVCA) recognized the volleyball team for having a cumulative 3.878 GPA.
While most of the fall activities took place outdoors, the winter provided opportunities to stay warm, but not always dry, indoors. While we don’t have a pool, we do have a swimming team, and junior Ava Beuschlein competed at the Division II State Swim Meet in Canton, finishing 31st in the 500 freestyle in a time of 5:38.36.
The competitive cheer team also advanced to the state competition for the third consecutive year, finishing sixth.
On the mat, the wrestling season was highlighted by junior Brooks Hill capturing his 100th career win at the Sandusky St. Mary’s D-III Duals. Hill and fellow junior Drew Phillips also won championship matches at the BVC tournament, earning them first-team BVC honors. Another highlight was the wrestling team earning Academic All-Ohio honors for the third consecutive year with a 3.41 team GPA. The future also looks bright for the wrestling program as eighth grader Cooper Hanna advanced to the junior high state tournament in Youngstown.
In the gym, sophomore Brooklyn Wilkin led the way for the girls’ basketball team as she earned first-team BVC honors. For the boys, Seth Gregory set the tone as he earned first-team BVC and Division VI All-Ohio honorable mention honors. He also set a new school record with 76 three-point field goals this season. The future also looks bright on the court as the eighth grade boys’ basketball team won the BVC tournament championship over Arlington in overtime.
Spring arrived with (somewhat) warmer temperatures, and the spring athletes continued to turn up the heat on their opponents. On the softball diamond, seniors Bailey Lance and Megan Stall earned first-team BVC honors, and Stall went on to be named first-team All-NW District and honorable mention All-Ohio. On the baseball diamond, senior Grady Mason was named BVC Player of the Year and second-team All-Ohio, and joining him on the BVC first team were seniors James Patton and Cohen Stevens and juniors Will Rampe and Brady Lance. Patton (walks in a career) and Mason (doubles in a season) also set new school records, and baseball coach Brooks Lance achieved his 350th career victory on the diamond.
On the track, for the first time in school history, the girls were BVC champions, defeating Elmwood for the championship, 135.5 to 126. The 4x100 meter relay team of Kami Bowman, Maddie Hudok, Keely Parsell, and Ellie Scoles was the only first place finisher, which speaks to how well-rounded the team was if they were still able to win the overall championship. Because of the outstanding efforts of all of his athletes this spring, track coach Joe Hudok was named both girls’ and boys’ BVC Coach of the Year. Two weeks later, many athletes advanced to the regional track meet, but only one, Courtney Snyder in shot put, advanced to the state meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. At state she finished with All-Ohio honors, setting a school record with a throw of 40’ 2¼” to place fifth.
On the boys’ side, Mikey Pendergast was named BVC Track Athlete of the Year, winning the 200 and 400 meter dashes while setting a new record in the 400 (50.06) and joining Cooper Bahn, Nick Carey, and Seth Gregory on the winning 4x400 meter relay at the BVC meet. Carey also earned first-team BVC honors and set a meet record (39.87) with a win in the 300 meter hurdles. The success at the league meet eventually translated to two teams and one individual making it to the state meet. The 4x100 meter relay team of Bahn, Gregory, Pendergast and senior Mason Thorla-Lopez finished in 13th place (44.19) in Columbus, and the 4x400 meter relay team with the same runners finished in 14th place (3:32.03). In the 400 meter dash, Pendergast advanced to the finals and finished in sixth place (49.81) to finish his high school career as a four-time All-Ohioan in three events.
While all of these athletic accomplishments are important, they wouldn’t mean anything if our athletes weren’t excelling in the classroom, and they had success in both arenas. The following senior athletes received Academic All-BVC honors to recognize their dedication in the classroom: Lacey Bowman, Dylan Buff, Alec Busey, Drew Carr, Luke Casselman, Olivia Coutinho, Caitlyn Curry, Brock Daniel, Isaac Dyer, Lily Grady, Seth Gregory, Lucas Harrington, Bailey Lance, Grady Mason, Rylee Orchard, Keely Parsell, James Patton, Alyssa Ring, Diego Rivera, Paige Ryan, Nathan Schroeder, Tori Schroeder, Megan Stall, Cohen Stevens, Henry Thomas, Mason Thorla-Lopez, Toby VanScoder, Gracie Webster, Nigel Woodall, and Zane Yoder.
Six of our athletes will also continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level: Nick Carey and Mikey Pendergast at the University of Findlay (track), Isaac Dyer at Virginia Wesleyan University (golf), Grady Mason at Owens Community College (baseball), Emilio Nunez at Heidelberg University (soccer), and Zander Wannemacher at Tiffin University (golf).
Finally, we appreciate the contributions of many community members and organizations as we create meaningful experiences for our athletes. Members of Forge the Future have worked tirelessly to raise private donations to fund a stadium renovation project (learn more at forgethefuturevb.org). Likewise, we would like to thank Aqua Lawn Irrigation, Bowman Electric, USA Lawn & Landscaping, and the Van Buren Lions Club for the variety of ways they support our athletes. A Van Buren Athletics Hall of Fame committee has also been created, and they are currently working on the inaugural class of athletes and teams that will be inducted in the fall of 2025 (learn more at vbathletics.net/van-buren-athletics-hall-of-fame).
It is tough to summarize the accomplishments of our athletic programs in one article, but what isn’t difficult to summarize is that we have outstanding athletes who excel both in athletics and academics, quality coaches developing them into quality athletes and individuals, and a quality overall leader of our program, athletic director Dan Hartsel. Congratulations to all of our athletes and coaches for an outstanding 2024-2025 school year.
Want to stay “in the know” regarding what is happening at Van Buren Local School District? CLICK HERE to be added to the mailing list to receive the once-monthly Knights in the Know email highlighting what happened in the district during the previous month.
Check out some of our other recent articles:
Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Completes Impact Project