Crawford 100: All-Ohio underclassmen, seniors leaving a legacy cap off top boys

Editor's Note: This is the tenth installment of a series.

The finally wave of athletes is officially here. We'll take a look at the final nine boys before announcing the top athletes, and team, in Crawford County.

This might be one of the best groups of boys we've had in a long time. Multiple All-Ohioans, record holders, multi-sport athletes, regulars at state — they have it all.

In case you missed any of the first nine installments, they can be found in the links below.

Let's check out the final nine boys, in no particular order:

Corbin Bloomfield, Buckeye Central, sr.

What a junior year it was for Bloomfield. A regular scorer for the cross country team throughout the fall, his season can to an end at districts with a 42nd place finish. But that just meant he had more time to prepare for the spring. Stringing together a great track season, he really caught the eyes of the county at the Northern 10 meet with runner-up finishes in the 200-meter dash and long jump. The following week he set a district record leaping 22-00 feet in the long jump for a title, and qualified for regionals in the 400-meter dash. He added two inches onto that at regionals for a runner-up finish securing a spot at state where he would nab silver with a school-record 22-06¾ . The regional and state champion will be back next year which should give Bloomfield all the motivation he needs to cap of his career on a high note.

Nate McMullen, Galion, sr.

The most experienced golfer in the county, McMullen has two state appearances as a freshman and sophomore placing 48th and 40th respectively . Junior year started off slow with the Tigers relinquishing their Elks Invitational crown to rival Ontario and their lengthy MOAC win streak came to an end. But even still, Galion managed to get out of a very competitive sectional tournament before seeing the season come to an end at districts snapping the program's six-consecutive state tournament appearance streak. In the spring he was primarily used as a relief pitcher throwing 14⅔ innings striking out eight batters. McMullen is already off to a great start this fall firing a 78 at Bucyrus and following it up with a 74 at home. The Tigers will look to make their return to state in a couple months.

Anthony Evans, Wynford, sr.

After bursting onto the scene as a sophomore rushing for 662 yards and two touchdowns he followed it up with a fantastic junior year as part of a two-headed rushing attack. Evans logged 167 carries for 1,241 yards, and 10 touchdowns along with catching 13 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. As a defensive back he recorded 37 tackles, one for loss, and recovered a fumble. He then appeared in all 23 games for the basketball team mostly as a defensive specialist off the bench. And in the spring he won a district title in the 400-meter dash and was part of the regional qualifying 4x200 relay. Evans missed out on an automatic state bid in the 400 by .53 seconds. Poised for another big year on the gridiron, he will have his sights set on state come springtime.

Gradey Harding, Galion, jr.

Wasting no time at all, Harding went toe-to-toe with the projected state champion throughout freshman year. He even got the better of Ontario's Jacob Ohl at the MOAC championships, at sectionals for a title, and at districts in overtime for gold. Harding became the first Galion freshman to qualify for state by means of a district title , and the second state qualifier ever in their first year. He'd go on to finish fifth at state which was also a first for a freshman. Sophomore year he started out with a runner-up finish at the Gorman to the top-ranked wrestler in the state, then defended his MOAC title along with his sectional and district titles . Harding would cap off his sophomore year as state runner-up to the defending state champion . Coming in as the No. 1 wrestler in the 120-pound class, Harding has his sights set on gold.

Lucas Foy, Colonel Crawford, sr.

There's inherent expectations from a coach's kid. Foy's father, Preston, is an assistant coach on the football team and head track coach in the spring. But those expectations never hindered his progress patiently waiting for his chance on the gridiron. He carved out a role on defense as a sophomore finishing with 39 tackles, seven for loss, and an interception before appearing in nine games on the court. Foy was part of two relays at the league meet and competed in long jump. Junior year, however, is when he truly broke out being used more on offense catching seven passes for 113 yards and a touchdown while continuing to be a lockdown defensive back with 24 tackles, four for loss, and an interception. Foy played in 22 of 25 games in the winter often inserted as a catalyst to spark the offense or defense. And in the spring he was a two event state qualifier in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Foy will look to complete the N10 sweep, along with having lengthy postseasons, in all three sports.

Zach Sallee, Galion, jr.

One of the Tigers' talent in waiting, Sallee saw limited action as a freshman and sophomore, but will be looked upon as one of the most important players on the defensive side of the ball for the Tigers this fall. He has big shoes to fill at defensive end following in the footsteps of a pair of first team All-Ohioans in Landon Kurtzman in 2022 and Linkon Tyrrell in 2023. But if there's anyone who can do that, it's an athlete like Sallee. And he couldn't have drawn up his last two track seasons any better. As a freshman he was part of the 4x100 relay that snuck into finals by four-hundredths of a second then made the most of their opportunity finishing seventh to earn All-Ohio honors . This past spring he returned to state and finished fifth with the relay for another spot on the podium. He's poised for a big junior year.

Braxton Prosser, Galion, sr.

Entering his third season as starting quarterback for the Tigers, nobody has more varsity experience under center in the area than Prosser. After a foundational sophomore season, he broke out as a junior passing for 938 yards and 10 touchdowns while also rushing for 843 yards and 12 more touchdowns as Galion made it to the second week of the postseason . And in the spring he was as dominant on the mound as he was in the batter's box. Prosser pitched 40⅔ innings with 42 strikeouts and a 1.55 ERA as the starting pitcher, and also led the team with a .400 average, 34 hits, four doubles, three triples, two home runs, 23 runs, 18 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases — the latter a new single-season record. The success of both teams rests on his shoulders, and he thrives under pressure.

Wes Prenger, Wynford, sr.

As a freshman he worked his way up the golf lineup to regularly fire scores that would be first or second on the team as the Royals finished third in the N10 led by his 43.88 nine-hole average, ninth best in the league. Sparingly used in the winter, Prenger's breakout came in a sectional loss when he knocked down five 3s in the second half . Sophomore year he finished the fall with the third best average in the N10 (41.67) as the Royals won the league for the first time. He picked up where he left off in the winter as a prolific scorer before a broken hand saw him miss seven games. Still, he averaged 12.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists on a team with four in double figures scoring. Starting on the diamond, he carried a .273 average with 21 hits, 16 runs, 14 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases as the Royals won the league for the first time since 2016 . Last fall he lowered his average even more to 40.67 helping the program to its first ever sectional title before carrying that momentum into the winter where he was second in the league in scoring averaging 17.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.1 steals, and 0.8 blocks. Baseball season rolled around and he batted .261 with 24 hits,16 runs, and 14 RBIs as the Royals won their first district title since 1996 . The sky is the limit for Prenger.

Jacob Chambers, Galion, jr.

As a freshman Chambers saw time on defense for the Tigers recording 27 tackles on a loaded football team. By spring, everyone on the track knew who he was. At the MOAC championships he was third in the 100- and 200-meter dash, and the long jump. He then went on to qualify for regionals in the 200-meter dash and missed out on long jump by four inches. He bowed out as an individual but made it to state as part of the 4x100 relay that would go on to reach the podium. Sophomore year was when Chambers further cemented himself as one of the top all-around athletes in the greater area. It started during football season where he was still a standout on defense totaling 51 tackles, one sack, and three interceptions while also being utilized offensively more rushing for 183 yards and two touchdowns along with leading the receiving corps with 16 catches for 327 yards and four scores. And that carried into the winter where he won the state indoor long jump title at 22-03¼. That set him up for one heck of a spring featuring a quadruple at the Lex Invite , followed by an impressive showing at the Mehock Relays . Chambers then helped the Tigers to their first Crawford County Meet title in five years, swept the sprints at the MOAC , won the 100-meter dash at districts , and was a triple state qualifier at regionals . In Dayton he anchored the 4x100 relay to a fifth place finish after bowing out in prelims of the 100-meter dash a day earlier and fouling all three long jump attempts. Still two years to go at Galion with a resume most athletes would dream to have by the time they were done with high school, Chambers has no ceiling to what he can accomplish.

zholden@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Crawford 100: All-Ohio underclassmen, seniors leaving a legacy cap off top boys