EAGLESRISING

Meet three of Gahanna’s newest Eagle Scouts

By Jack McLaughlin and Dan Pearlman

“Have courage and advocate for yourself.” That is just some of the advice Mikayla Barbe-Cox, an Eagle Scout through the Scouts BSA, has for others who wish to achieve the program’s highest rank.

Barbe-Cox, Delaney Ray and Anne Wilson were among the ten young adults to reach the rank of Eagle Scout last year in Gahanna. Barbe-Cox and Ray both saw the activities their brothers participated in with the Boy Scouts and wanted to participate in those as well.

“You get to learn skills like how to build a fire and obviously tie different knots,” said Ray. “At one of my favorite campouts, we saw this beautiful waterfall, and I wouldn’t have gotten a chance to see that had I not done Boy Scouts.”

This journey for the three young women began in February 2019 when the Boy Scouts of America organization renamed their flagship program, Boy Scouts, to Scouts BSA and began allowing girls to join. Over the next couple of years, the girls progressed through the ranks.

“For me, Boy Scouts always just had the things I liked more – a lot of camping and outdoor survival,” Wilson said. “I think all of us wanted to become Eagle Scouts even before we knew we had the opportunity.”

And with the opportunity, the three ultimately achieved their goals.

In order to become an Eagle Scout, scouts must plan and complete a service-based project that shows leadership, while logging details of their progress along the way. Ray’s project focused on improving the storage and retention of music for the Gahanna Lincoln High School Solo and Ensemble Bands as she scanned and saved music to USB drives to ensure it is protected and always available. Barbe-Cox helped a local church repair and reorganize storage spaces that had been built in the 1960s. Wilson created jackets for Ohio greyhounds that are retired from racing.

“We got a greyhound in 2016, so he was the inspiration for that,” Wilson said. “Their coats are thin, so sometimes the Ohio weather can be a lot for them.”

All three Eagle Scouts hope to see other children and teens, no matter their gender, follow in their footsteps and reach the rank they worked so hard to achieve. On that note, Ray wants to simply be thought of for what she accomplished, not the fact that she was among the first females in Gahanna to reach her rank.

“I really don’t like the title of being one of the first female Eagle Scouts,” Ray said. “I just want to be seen as an Eagle Scout, none of this first female stuff because it feels really limiting. With today’s society, if people hear ‘first female’ for me, they will think less of that because there’s still unfortunately people out there who see women as something weak, and I don’t want to give them that mindset or judgement. I just want them to see me as an Eagle Scout, and I accomplished it.”

Barbe-Cox understands where Ray is coming from and that sentiment.

“There’s nothing that sets us apart besides that we weren’t allowed in,” she said. “I think it’s important for younger generations of girls and scouts as a whole to see that anyone can do this – anyone can achieve this. It’s also important not to put us on a pedestal just because of our gender. We just did what we aspired to do.”

GLHS football breaks records in 2022 season to remember

By Jack McLaughlin and Dan Pearlman

In the 96 years of Gahanna Lincoln High School football, no season was like the one that concluded in November after the Lions advanced to the Division I state semifinal game.

The Lions were the outright OCC-Ohio champions for the first time since 1998. They were regional champions for the first time since 1982, and by the numbers, it was a historic season. The team outscored conference opponents 224-53. The Lions scored more points than in any other season with 472, and the 15 games they played were the team’s most for one season. Of those 15, the Lions won 13.

“We’ve had a few 11-win seasons in the past, but 13 is the most Gahanna football has ever had,” said Lions head coach Bruce Ward.

The 2022 season was unique in that the Lions played all but two of their scheduled home games outside of Gahanna, while construction began on the school’s new football stadium. That did not slow down the team that the coaching staff saw something special in before the season’s first snap.

“We knew we could be special at our team camp at Tiffin University,” Ward said. “We talked as a staff at that time, and you could tell the players really held each other accountable. They pushed one another. Those are the things you look for in a good team.”

A pivotal moment in the season came when the Lions topped the Pickerington Central Tigers, a team they had not beaten since 2001. The Lions then beat Pickerington Central a second time in the playoffs by scoring 31 unanswered points in the second half. Those two wins were the third and fourth against the Tigers in program history.

The historic season culminated with an appearance in the Division I semifinal game against St. Edward which the Lions lost 31-7.

“Our ultimate pleasure was beating Pick Central twice,” Ward said. “It was a tremendous and historic season for our kids.”

The historic season was a success both on and off the field. The average GPA of the team is 3.23. In total, 46 players have a GPA above 3.0 and 16 have straight A’s.

“Our vision is to build young men through football,” Ward said. “We push our athletes to reach their highest potential both on the field and off it. That’s going to take the kids further than 13-2.”

While the season is over, the community’s support is not lost on Ward who said the support from residents was a tremendous motivation from the opening kickoff through the final snap.

“That’s one of the beautiful things about football,” Ward said. “It brings the whole town together, especially in a place like Gahanna where there’s only one team. It’s everyone, all the way up to the City Council and the Mayor too.”

How

By Dan Pearlman

Gahanna native Alex Crognale is a defender on the soccer field and a professional athlete advocating for equality with a former teammate who now plays thousands of miles from Ohio.

The former Gahanna Lincoln Lion and Columbus Crew player now plays for the Birmingham (Alabama) Legion in the United Soccer League. While honing his soccer skills at the University of Maryland, he met Zack Steffen, the former Crew and current Manchester City goalkeeper.

“He was a goalie and I was a center back, so there was already a natural relationship on the field because we played so close to each other,” Crognale explained. “We just became really close.”

Their bond continued to grow when both athletes donned the black and gold and took the field at what is now known as Historic Crew Stadium.

After that, while Crognale was in Birmingham and Steffen was overseas, they both watched as events unfolded after the death of George Floyd.

“That event really motivated us to step out and do something,” Crognale said.

That call to action ultimately led to the two starting the VOYCENOW Foundation.

“It really just started as a community on Instagram of professional athletes and public figures speaking out against the racial injustice that was going on in the United States,” said Crognale. “Over the course of a few months, it really picked up traction and that was really a surprise for us, so we started thinking – we have this momentum. Where can we channel this? We thought it would only be right to turn this into a 501 (c) (3).”

With that thought, the two formed the VOYCENOW Foundation. As its website states, the Foundation is “a nonprofit that unites athletes from across the world to use their platforms to advocate for Equality for All.”

Since 2020, the VOYCENOW Foundation has raised a little more than $200,000, with upward of 90% of those funds going to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and various chapters across the country.

“Since we started VOYCENOW, we’ve found more areas in which we can be heard,” said Steffen. “Getting kids to be a part of this movement has been a huge driver and eye opener for us. It’s made us realize that we can have a positive impact on the lives of the next generation.”

The VOYCENOW Foundation is focused on three pillars – mentoring children in education, sports, and health and wellness.

“We’ve sent probably close to ten athletes, including ourselves, to various clubs across the country to spend an hour talking about our journey as professional athletes or Zack’s journey as a Black professional athlete growing up in the United States,” said Crognale. “We talk about our experience and the adversity that we’ve faced, just to show these kids an inspiration and something to strive for, and that has been a huge success.”

Crognale said the goal is to continue mentoring children and to set up clinics for kids who want to play soccer, but do not have the time, money or resources to do so.

“I think the opportunities in this country should not be based on the color of your skin and we realize that’s kind of the system that’s in place,” said Crognale. “We want to provide an avenue for the children who don’t have the resources, whether it be in Gahanna, Chicago, New York or another part of the country. We want to be able to provide those resources when they’re simply not born with them or they don’t have those opportunities.”

VOYCENOW is backed by more than 150 athlete ambassadors across 20 leagues in 13 countries.