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SPORTS
Sunday Chat with former NCAA champion, Olympic team wrestler Greg Wojciechowski
Without dispute, former wrestling great Greg “Wojo” Wojciechowski is one of the best handful of athletes ever produced by the University of Toledo, or by the city itself. Born to parents Richard and Elaine Wojciechowski in 1951, Greg was a protege of local wrestling icons Dick Torio, Joe Scalzo, and UT coach Dick Wilson while working out as a youth at Torio’s health club. He won back-to-back heavyweight state wrestling championships with unbeaten seasons for Whitmer High School in 1967 and ’68. Because of his three trusted mentors, Wojciechowski chose to wrestle at UT when he could have gone to any program in the country. He posted a 55-2 career record in three seasons for Wilson’s Rockets, reaching the NCAA heavyweight finals each year, winning the national championship as a junior in 1971, and ending as runner-up in 1970 and 1972. Between 1969 and 1979 he also won eight freestyle national AAU championships and five Greco-Roman titles.
Briggs: Emotional Leyland crushes Hall of Fame speech, 'from the sandlots of Perrysburg to ... Cooperstown'
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — “From the sandlots of Perrysburg, a jewel of a town in northwest Ohio to grow up in, to a … stage in Cooperstown … ” On a perfect day in a perfect setting, that’s how Jim Leyland began the story of his baseball life Sunday in his Hall of Fame induction speech, and he could not have felt more blessed. Or humbled. OK, maybe that second part isn’t true.
Dominic Brown of Fremont Ross learned compassion, determination from mother
Dominic Brown captured a state crown in the shot put as a senior. The Fremont Ross graduate champions single mother Shelly Kiser with his success. Brown is the final athlete of the year in the Michael K. Bosi series. “My mother taught me to be strong mentally and keep working hard,” he said. “She...
Captains win third in a row, 6-3, over Fort Wayne
Guy Lipscomb hit a two-run home run and singled in another run as the Captains beat host Fort Wayne, 6-3, on July 21. Lake County (54-35) finished a three-game sweep in its first series after the All-Star break. Jose Devers hit a sacrifice fly and doubled for the Captains. He...
Trenton’s Jay Cormier signs with Toledo Cherokee
On July 19, one local ice hockey player signed a deal to continue his playing career as Jay Cormier inked a contract with the Toledo Cherokee. Cormier finished up his career at Trenton High School on a high note this past winter season, finishing with 11 goals — four of which came in the team’s playoff run to the state finals — and 22 points overall. One of six all-state honorees for Trenton this past year, the Brownstown native and recently-graduated captain finished his Trojan career with 45 points in 84 games played as a defenseman.
Pain, joy, and thousands of dollars: Get to know the new era of club volleyball
Hitting the road is a regular part of life for the Rodriguez family from Oregon. “You come home and you look at the bank account sometimes, and you’re like, ‘Man. But it was a fun weekend,’” said David Rodriguez, the father of 18-year-old Adella and 17-year-old Hayden. The travel — and expenses related to it — aren’t vacations. Instead, this plays out at the end of many two-day trips to national club volleyball tournaments in which the daughters play. Adella and Hayden have played on the Toledo Volleyball Club’s travel teams for the past eight years or so. And several times a year, Rodriguez and his wife will join their girls on trips to Florida, Missouri, Maryland, or wherever else the tournament might take them. Their daughters bring their laptops to do homework on the flights or between matches, but they work to enjoy the rare unscheduled moments on the road.
Dana Open introduces children, especially girls, to the game of golf
As the Dana Open returned to the Toledo area, children in the area had the chance to see some of the best players in the world compete up close. For these children, the tournament often presents their first exposure to the sport. Nick Myers, the head pro at host course Highland Meadows, explained that access to the players can be critical for newcomers to the game. “I think it’s great for kids, because the players are so accessible, and the LPGA especially, they’re out walking with them not behind ropes,” he said. “The LPGA does a great job with getting little kids closer to players, and the interaction is much better than I would see at bigger tournaments, particularly the men’s tour, they don’t get as close. There’s definitely more of a relationship thing.”
Saints rack up hits while beating Mud Hens
The St. Paul Saints notched 19 hits on Saturday night in Toledo during their 11-3 victory against the Mud Hens. All nine batters had a hit, and seven had a multi-hit. St. Paul started the scoring with a single to right from Wynton Bernard that turned into a score on a triple from Anthony Prato. Toledo had two runs in the second inning, then waited while the Saints pushed their lead to 10-2. In the ninth, both teams added a run.
Saints restart with 8-6 win in Toledo thanks to offensive output
After their four-day break, the St. Paul Saints returned to play with an 8-6 win in Toledo, Ohio on Friday. The Sa7ints entered the International League break with six straight losses but snapped the streak with a big offensive night. Randy Dobnak (8-5) pitched five innings, allowing two runs on...
Kerrie Turner’s Transition to Full-Time Administrator at BGSU Sparks Search for New Gymnastics Head Coach
Head Coach Kerrie Turner is transitioning to a full-time administrator role within BGSU athletics department, becoming the new assistant AD for student-athlete services. Turner served as the gymnastics head coach at BGSU for 17 seasons. Under Turner's leadership, Falcon gymnasts achieved 12 MAC individual championships and 27 NCAA regional qualifiers.
2024 Dana Open purse, winner’s share, LPGA Tour prize money payout this week
The 2024 Dana Open purse is set for $1.75 million, with the winner's share coming in at $262,500 -- the standard 15 percent payout according to the LPGA Tour's prize money distribution chart. The 2024 Dana Open field is headed by Linn Grant, Lexi Thompson, Haeran Ryu and more of...
Vote now in Messenger/Herald male athlete of millennium bracket
In an effort to determine the top male athlete of this millennium with Messenger/Herald roots, we created a bracket. Please vote below to reduce the field to 16. The poll runs from 3 p.m. Monday to 3 p.m. July 26. The bracket will be cut in half each following week to ultimately identify one...
5K On The Fairway Celebrates 10 Years With Anniversary 5k And Golf Outing
10 years ago, local runner, Mike McArthur, organized a 5k run in honor of his uncle who had passed away from pancreatic cancer. What began as a single fundraising event has grown into an official 501c3 organization that hosts several events per year and has raised over $70,000 for local charities. The ten-year anniversary event will be taking place on August 10th at Fallen Timbers Fairways,
BGSU women’s soccer releases 2024 regular season schedule
BGSU has released their long-awaited 2024 schedule nearly two months after the men’s team sent their matchups out to the public, but as they say, better late than never. The Falcons will play both preseason games at home, starting with a matchup against the NAIA side of Goshen College on Aug. 4 and ending with a scrimmage against the Purdue Boilermakers on Aug. 10.
Hendel: Pro-Ams, gatherings highlight Dana Open week
GREAT golf and fun are at the 40th anniversary DANA Open at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, which ends Sunday. The tournament, which hosts some of the greatest women golfers in the world, is among the longest-running LPGA tournaments. LEADING up to the Ladies Professional Golf Association tournament were Pro-Ams including the Kickoff and KeyBank events and the Toledo Community Foundation Putting Pro-Am all at Highland Meadows. The Hylant Pro-Am, where there was a Richard Hylant Trophy, and the Dana Pro-Am were at Inverness Club. Many community men and women who played in the Pro-Ams had fun stories to share. THERE was also the 19th Hole gala presented by O-I and Hollywood Casino Toledo at the casino, which I covered in my Thursday column.
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