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Curbstone Coaches honor Valley’s champions
By Greg Gulas
AUSTINTOWN
In 1990, Dave Deeter and Mike Richards were teammates on Maplewood High’s runner-up state cross country team.
As coaches now, it was only fitting that both won their first state cross country title in the same year.
Deeter led his alma mater to the boys’ Division III state crown this past fall while Richards enjoyed the same success when his McDonald Blue Devils captured the school’s first ever girl’s state championship; also in Division III.
Honored by the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s weekly luncheon meeting at Lucianno’s Banquet Center, the two teams were joined by Ryan Fowler of Warren JFK and LaBrae’s Hayley Harford; individual state golf champions this past fall.
“We had an inkling that this could happen if things just fell our way over the course of the season. We had 17 runners on our roster and from number one to number 17 they worked really well together,” Deeter said. “All 17 boys were top-five finishers at a meet during the season. It was set up that way so everyone had to perform. No one could take a day off.”
While it was Deeter’s first state crown, it was the schools’ seventh state championship, which also includes one in track and field.
The Rockets were led by state overall champion Tristan Dahman and Allen Sparks, who finished first and third respectively at state.
Dahmen joins Ted Rupe (1972) and Andy Arnio (2004) as school state titlists.
Dahmen said it was the team goal right from the start to win state.
“Everyone performed well throughout the year and especially at state. To have two of the top three finishers just shows that we ran our best at the right time. We couldn’t have run any better,” Dahmen said.
Richards’ Blue Devils squad was ranked sixth heading to state, never reaching a top-five ranking over the course of the season.
“We have a quote that we use which states ‘when opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare’ so I told the girls we are going to keep preparing as if we belong,” Richards said. “Going into state the goal was to match the school’s best ever third-place finish, which occurred in both 2000 and again in 2002. To win it all has been so surreal, only now is it starting to sink in.”
Bobbi Oakes, the only senior on the team, said all the hard work paid off.
“After falling short by a point last year and then winning it all this year, it’s absolutely the best experience of my life,” she said. We had eight girls that would do anything for the team and everyone worked really hard the entire season.”
Fowler won the Division III state title by five strokes, shooting a one-under par 143 at North Star Golf Resort in Sunbury.
He was the only golfer to shoot under par in any division at state play, breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record 144 which was set in the late 1950’s.
“I went there with the mindset that I could win it all. I just practiced hard and wanted to break par,” Fowler said. “It’ always windy there so that was a challenge.”
His coach, Jim St. George added that Fowler is always focused.
“Ryan had unbelievable looks those two days. The course is a long links-type course with St. Andrew’s looks,” St. George said.
Harford, a state champion as a freshman while at Warren JFK (2011), is the first golf champion for the Vikings and one of just a handful of scholastic golfers with multiple titles.
Since LaBrae does not field a girls golf team, she participated on the boys’ team and was the All-American Conference boys division “Player of the Year.”
“Being a two-time state champion is special. Having done it once already, it was my goal to try to win it all again,” she said.
Harford, who verbally committed to Furman University during her sophomore year, and will join the tradition-rich Purple Paladins’ women’s golf team this fall where she will play for head coach Kelley Hester.
The group will break for the holidays and return on January 5 with Paul Andraso, ITCL commissioner serving as guest speaker.