ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2020 INDUCTEES

LANCER ATHLETICS

PAUL PRIMEAU

(awarded posthumously) Served as head coach of boys cross country program for more than two decades (1960 - 1984)

Head coach of inaugural girls team in 1982 Oldest continually run cross country meet in Ohio has been renamed Paul Primeau Invitational Joined Gilmour community as chemistry teacher in 1956 and held position for 36 years Served Gilmour athletic department through his photography • spent more than a decade taking photos of Lancers competing in various sports • compiled more than 50,000 photos • shared images with athletes and their families Passed away last winter at the age of 93

Cyndi, Jarred '06 and Brandon '05 Smith (and Winter Campbell-Smith) Bill, Carolyn and Billy '09 Urban and Katie Huber

JARRED SMITH ’06

One of most noteworthy success stories of Gilmour boys hockey program • named team MVP of Varsity A team sophomore year • as senior, led not only Gilmour’s prep team in scoring, but topped entire

Midwest Prep Hockey League • team captain, team MVP, named

All-MPHL First Team Member of National Honor Society and Cum Laude Society Competed on tennis team as well Played 125 games of collegiate hockey at Division I Brown University • tallied 30 career points • four-time Ivy League All-Academic

Team honoree • won the Charles A. Robinson Award (senior hockey player at Brown with highest GPA) Played one year of professional hockey for Alaska Aces in the ECHL Co-founder of NOOMA, a line of organic sports drinks

BILLY URBAN ’09

Three-sport standout for Gilmour - baseball, football and basketball Team captain in all three sports One of the most accomplished baseball players in program history • hit .456 over four-year career • 109 runs, 28 doubles, nine home runs and 98 RBI • 147 career hits (remains a school record) • 48 hits as a junior (tied for GA single- season record) • two-time All-Ohio First Team honoree • three-time All-News-Herald First Team selection • as junior, hit .449 with 36 runs, 40 RBI while posting 4-1 mark on mound, compiling 2.47 ERA in 34 innings of work • helped lead Lancers to first state Final

Four appearance in program history • named 2008 Cuyahoga River Baseball

Conference Player of the Year • earned All-Conference honors for three straight years, hitting .486 during senior campaign • struck out only three times in 322 high school at bats • selected to Cleveland vs. NY City

Sandlot All-Star Series, named MVP of the Cleveland squad Accomplished football player as well • All-Ohio selection at quarterback junior and senior seasons • earned First Team honors senior year • won Lancer Award as senior • named Associated Press All-Northeast

Lakes District Division V Offensive

Player of the Year. Three-year letter winner as guard in basketball Highly successful baseball career at Division I St. Bonaventure University • named Louisville Slugger Freshman

All-American and All-Atlantic 10 First

Team during career • ranks among the all-time Top 10 at

St. Bonaventure in eight categories, including second in RBI (158) and third in hits (241) Currently employed as a deals manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers

SENIOR VOLLEYBALL STAR EARNS TOP HONOR IN STATE

In early May, Gilmour volleyball standout Kathryn Randorf '22 became part of a select group of high school student-athletes when she was named the Gatorade Ohio Volleyball Player of the Year. As one of the most prestigious awards in high school sports, the Gatorade Player of the Year honors the most elite high school student-athletes in 12 varsity sports for their athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character. Randorf is the first-ever Gatorade Ohio Volleyball Player of the Year selected from Gilmour. Randorf led the Lancers to the OHSAA state championship in the fall of 2020 as Gilmour won its final 13 matches of the season to finish with a 23-1 record. With Gilmour trailing 13-11 in the fifth and final set in the state championship match, Randorf rattled off kills on four consecutive points to turn a dire situation into the most celebratory of moments. She finished with a match- high 24 kills in the state title win over Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin School. Randorf joins an exclusive group to have won Gatorade State Player of the Year honors, including Elena Delle Donne, Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning and Abby Wambach. Representatives from Gatorade were on hand for a special ceremony on August 26, before the start of the Lancers’ first home game of the 2021 season.

LANCER ATHLETICS

GIRLS TRACK & FIELD

Amy Weybrecht '24, of Gilmour's girls track and field team, concluded a fantastic freshman year by winning an individual state title as the Lancers competed at the OHSAA Division II State Championship held June 5 at Pickerington High School North.

Weybrecht won the 800-meter run with an amazing, come-from-behind effort. She passed the race leader on the closing stretch, and her sprint to the line gave her the slightest edge in a photo finish. Weybrecht’s winning time of 2:13.48, less than one-tenth of one second ahead of the runner-up, was a new personal best. With the rookie leading the way, Gilmour finished in a tie for fourth place in the team standings with 27 points. It was the best showing for the program at the state meet since a runner-up showing in 2010. Weybrecht became the first Lancer freshman to win an individual state title in program history. She was one of just two freshmen to win an individual girls title at the meet, and the only one to win a running event. Weybrecht’s title is the 18th in program history, when including individuals and relays, but the first since 2010. She is the first freshman to win the Division II girls 800-meter state title since 2005.

Karah Henderson '22 just missed adding a second state title for GA in the meet. Nevertheless, she had a strong runner-up showing for Gilmour in the 100-meter hurdles. Henderson crossed the line in second place in 15.22 seconds.

Both Henderson and Weybrecht also played key roles in helping a pair of Lancer relays score at the meet.

Gilmour’s 4x100 relay squad placed fourth in the state as Bella Lasecki '22, Henderson, Kaleigh McNamara '22 and Mariyah Moore '24 comprised the group. The Lancers improved dramatically over the course of the postseason—Gilmour ran the race in 49.33 seconds in the state final after having posted a time of 51.79 seconds in its 2021 postseason debut at districts.

The Lancers’ 4x400 relay claimed a fifth-place finish at the state meet, two spots higher than their seed. McNamara, Moore, Mary Lombardo '22 and Weybrecht combined to finish in a season-best 4:01.99 in the state final. The quartet combined to drop more than 11 seconds off their time from the first time they ran the race during the postseason. Gilmour had two additional Top 10 showings at the meet. Weybrecht, Mia Polisena '22, Clare Valenza '23 and Lombardo took ninth place in the 4x800 relay in a season-best 9:36.41. Mackenzie Palinski ’21 finished in 10th place in the state in the shot put in her final competition as a Lancer. She posted a distance of 37 feet, 8 inches. While the loss of Palinski, a school record- holder and a Division I signee, is significant, the future for the program appears bright. Every other Lancer that helped score points at not only the state meet, but also at the regional meet, is set to return for the 2022 season.

At press time, our boys golf team finished as the state runner-up, the girls cross country team placed fourth at the state championship, and our volleyball team won the Division II state championship for the second year in a row! Stay tuned for highlights in our spring issue.

GILMOUR BASEBALL

Made a Run in Postseason Play

As they headed into the postseason, the Lancer baseball squad earned a bye in the opening round of the state tournament. The Lancers opened their postseason run with a 3-0 win over Tuslaw High School in an OHSAA Sectional Final at Figgie Field at Sharnsky Stadium. With the win over Tuslaw, Gilmour advanced to take on Hawken School in a semifinal matchup in the Copley District. The Lancers took down Hawken School 2-0 in the semifinals behind a fantastic effort from starting pitcher Will Lazzaro '23.

In a district final matchup against Waynedale High School, Ben DeMell '21 took the mound. Despite being down early, the Lancers came back to win 3-1. With the two wins, Gilmour captured its second straight, and 12th all-time, district title.

Gilmour’s season came to an end in the regional semifinal matchup against South Range High School. Gilmour posted a record of 18-12 on the season.

Ben DeMell Makes History

With the career of baseball standout Ben DeMell '21 complete, DeMell’s name is now listed no fewer than a half dozen times among the OHSAA’s official baseball state records.

DeMell registered 11 shutouts in his career, tied for sixth in state history, while his seven shutouts as a sophomore tie him for fifth among the single-season listing. His 0.70 career ERA puts him in 11th place in the state records while his microscopic 0.28 ERA in 2019 ties for the 15th best single- season mark. In throwing back-to-back no-hitters to close the 2021 regular season, DeMell put himself in a tie for third place in the state’s listing of most consecutive no-hitters. His three total no-nos from his senior season tie him for fifth place on the single-season no-hitter list. DeMell was named All-State First Team by Prep Baseball Report and also earned both All-District First Team and All-News-Herald First Team accolades after leading the Lancers to their second straight district title. DeMell was the unquestioned ace of the Gilmour staff this past season, leading the team in nearly every category. He went 7-2 with a 0.86 ERA across 13 appearances. He allowed just 22 hits in a team-leading 65 innings and tallied a WHIP of 0.68. He racked up 113 strikeouts while allowing just 22 walks, posting a ratio of greater than 5:1. DeMell was also selected to play in the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Series. Featuring 80 of the best players in Ohio, DeMell was the winning pitcher in the opening game of the series and added two hits and two RBI in the second game of a doubleheader sweep. DeMell is now a freshman at Penn State University, where he plays for their Division I baseball team.