Williams: Valley’s best celebrate championship moments

Is there a better weekend on the high school sports calendar than the final one in spring where so many athletes go out winners?

Annually, the Mahoning Valley rocks at the state track and field tournament at Ohio State University and last weekend was no exception. The Warren JFK boys team featuring Chad Zallow and Jacob Coates won the Division III title. Athletes from Austintown Fitch (Joe Harrington), Canfield (Ryan Hallof), Warren Harding (Justice Richardson), Mineral Ridge (Logan Smith) and Western Reserve (Joe Falasca) were among those who earned rewards on a podium.

Some years, our teams on the diamonds excel as well. Saturday, three of them were playing in state championship games. In baseball at Columbus’ Huntington Park, Western Reserve (Division IV) and Poland (Division II) finished as state runners-up. The Blue Devils lost 6-0 to Newark Catholic (a powerhouse in baseball) while the Bulldogs fell to Defiance, 5-3.

Two baseball teams coming that close to winning the last game of the season — simply amazing.

In softball, Champion, the Valley’s last team to win a state crown (2012), did it again, shutting out Bloom-Carroll, 4-0, at Akron’s Firestone Stadium to win Division III. Haylee Gardiner (18-2) tossed a two-hit shutout to beat Bloom-Carroll in a rematch of the 2012 title game (Champion won that one 4-0).

One of the most impressive moments of the weekend was how Bloom-Carroll High School administrators handled the adversity created Thursday night when softball ace Taran Alvelo was charged for shoplifting at the Lancaster Kohl’s hours after she had thrown a one-hitter against top-ranked Wheelersburg in Akron.

When news of the arrest hit social media on Friday, many skeptics believed she would be on the mound Saturday morning. Too much was at stake. The Bulldogs were playing in their fourth straight state final and went 1-2 in the first three. Alvelo, who has a scholarship to the University of Washington, had 108 career wins to tie for the Ohio career record. One more and the record would be hers alone.

Walking into Firestone Stadium on Saturday morning, I believed there was a 90 percent chance Alvelo would play. Bloom-Carroll administrators had been silent on her status.

But Alvelo was not there. The grapevine said school officials ruled her ineligible for violating the athletic code. (Most of the public schools in the Valley adhere to a similar code.) Congratulations to whomever made that call. It couldn’t have been easy. It’s nice to know there are leaders who have the courage to do the right thing despite pressure.

Saturday’s title was Champion’s third in five seasons and the sixth in school history. The others were won in 1978, 1980 and 1994.

Cheryl Weaver, Champion’s head coach for 16 seasons, said her team was loaded with fighters even if they only had two seniors (Gardiner and Brittany Allen) and two juniors (Amber Ricci and Carissa Hurst).

They game they will never forget was the 6-5, nine-inning victory over Apple Creek Waynedale in the regional semifinals at Massillon. The Golden Flashes were down 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning before rallying for four runs to force extra innings.

“That was just amazing,” said Weaver who has a 321-93-3 record. “After that, I believe the girls knew that nothing was impossible. They are just fighters.”

The Flashes aren’t big on numbers. Earlier in the season after a couple of victories at Akron’s Rock-n-Fire event, Weaver was the on the bus ride home when her husband texted her asking if that was her 300th win?

“I was like, ‘Oh my,’” Weaver said telling the story, prompting Gardiner and Allen to affectionately mimic their coach’s favorite phrases (“Oh my word” is apparently another.)

“We forgot,” Gardiner said of why there was no celebration. “We knew it was around there.

“She definitely has a determination to win,” Gardiner said of Weaver. “She always makes sure that we’re up and loud in the dugout. She has the experience to [help us believe] in our abilities and she brings out the best in us.”

Weaver isn’t interested in discussing her legacy.

“I’m just so happy for [my players].” Weaver said. “I want their year on a banner hanging up in the gymnasium.”

Weaver noted certain areas of Ohio are known to strong in softball. (Southern Ohio was well-represented in Akron). Commenting on the OHSAA softball yearbook where each team’s hometown is identified with a star on an Ohio map, Weaver said, ”It’s great to see how it’s filtered up to Northeast Ohio.”

Since 2001, Boardman, Canfield and Poland also have won state crowns.

“I am just proud of these girls and I think Northeast Ohio is tough in softball,” Weaver said.

Champion’s accomplishments back those words.

Tom Williams is a sports writer at The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter @Williams_Vindy.