Staff report
COLUMBUS — The Ohio High School Athletic Association and its six District Athletic Boards will hand out $148,750 in college scholarships to 186 recent high school graduates following selections made by each of the OHSAA’s six District Athletic Boards.
Among the recipients are recent graduates Tom Ballas of Fort Loramie, Maria Herron of Russia, Krista Gehret of Anna, Christen Ware of Jackson Center and Isaac Dorsten of Minster. They will all receive an OHSAA Scholar-Athlete Scholarship in the amount of either $500 or $750.
The OHSAA’s annual college scholarship program is now in its 25th year.
Scholar-athlete recipients are selected based on a point system which rewards students for grade point averages, class rank, ACT or SAT scores, varsity letters earned, and individual and team athletic honors. The number of scholarship recipients from each district are based upon the number of schools within the district. The recipients were selected by special committees within each of the OHSAA’s six athletic districts. Individuals who receive athletic scholarships from NCAA Division I or II institutions or appointees to military academies are not eligible for an award.
Ballas was a member of Fort Loramie’s Division 3 state cross country champions last fall. He was the team’s second-highest finisher, placing 10th out of 188 runners in 16:09.5.
As a junior, Ballas also qualified for state in cross country and finished 36th in 16:39.8.
Ballas was also a three-time state qualifier in track and field. In 2015 as a sophomore, he ran in the state 1600, then the following year he ran in the 1600 and also the 3200 relay. Last spring as a senior, he qualified in three events, the 1600, and two relays, including the 1600 and 3200.
Herron was outstanding in softball at Russia. She tied for County Player of the Year honors as a junior, and won the award outright as a senior.
She hit .609 last season, second-best in the area, had a team-high 16 doubles and four homers, tied for the team-high in triples with three and led the Lady Raiders in runs scored with 33 and RBIs with 41. And in 102 plate appearances this season, she struck out only twice.
The team’s catcher, she wound up with 56 hits last season and in addition, she broke 13 school records during her career, including most hits in a season and career, most runs scored in a season and career, most doubles in a season and career, most triples in a season and career, most home runs in a season and career, best batting average in a season and career, and most career RBIs.
She was named first team All-Southwest District and first team All-Ohio the past two seasons, and was also the County Player of the Year in basketball last season.
Gehret was one of the area’s top hitters as a senior last fall in volleyball at Anna. She finished with 304 kills in the regular season and earned first-team All-County honors. She was second-team All-County as a junior.
She then went on to be a key member of the Anna girls track team that captured the Division 3 state championship. She anchored the winning 800 relay team and the runner-up 400 relay team, and also ran on the first-place 1600 relay team.
Ware was a key member of Jackson Center’s back-to-back Division 4 state volleyball champions, earning second-team All-County honors as a senior. She finished her senior season with 34 solo blocks and 64 total blocks. She had 12 digs in the state semifinal win over Dalton and three kills and 11 digs in the state championship win over Tuscarawas Central Catholic.
Dorsten was the starting first baseman on the Minster baseball team that recently captured the Division 4 state championship. In addition, he was a starting defensive end on the Minster football team that finished state runner-up in Division-7.
“The 186 young people receiving these awards truly represent what it means to be a student-athlete,” said OHSAA Commissioner Dr. Dan Ross. “The recipients are our leaders of tomorrow. Their futures are very bright and their families, teachers and coaches are to be commended for helping guide them to great high school careers and now on to college. The OHSAA and our District Athletic Boards are very proud of all of them.”
Other scholarship recipients from the area include, from the Northwest District, Paige Hartings from Coldwater, and from the Southwest District, Ashley Ho of Piqua, Aaron Hughes of Tipp City, Nathan Blei of Covington and Jacob Brown of Troy Christian.
