OLIVESBURG — John Kurtz and his Crestview Cougars were rewarded for their record-setting season.
Kurtz was chosen the Firelands Conference Coach of the Year and Justice Thompson and Jarek Ringler were selected to the All-Firelands Conference first team.
South Central’s Isaac Blair was chosen the Firelands Conference Player of the Year. The senior averaged 21.6 points and 4.6 rebounds a game.
Crestview was 21-3 and won the Firelands Conference championship for the first time since the 1999-2000 season with a spotless 14-0 conference mark. The 21 victories are the most ever in a single season. The Cougars won a sectional title before falling to Huron in the Division III district semifinals.
A 6-foot-3 sophomore, Thompson averaged a team-best 16 points a game to go with four rebounds and two assists. A 6-foot-3 junior, Ringler averaged 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists a game.
Thompson, Ringler and Blair were joined on the first team by Mapleton’s Scott Hickey. The sharpshooter averaged 15.2 points a game.
Other first-team selections were Monroeville’s Jimmy Clingman and Aidan Goodwin and Western Reserve’s Chris Buchanan.
Crestview seniors Owen Barker and Heath Kash were both selected to the second team. Barker, a standout football player, averaged 10 points and 5.5 rebounds a game, while Kash averaged 12 points a game and was one of the area’s top 3-point shooters.
The Crestview duo was joined on the second team by Mapleton’s Jed Brannon, South Central’s Brandon Mitchell, St. Paul’s Corey Frazee and Nolan McCall and Western Reserve’s Grant Bethard.
Crestview’s Tyson Ringler, Mapleton’s Kyle Sloter and Plymouth’s Owen Reynolds were honorable mention picks. They were joined by Monroeville’s Braden Chapman, New London’s Connor Byrd, South Central’s Hayden Tobias, St. Paul’s Evan Wangler and Western Reserve’s Rhett Grose.
All-Firelands Conference
Player of the Year: Isaac Blair, South Central.
Coach of the Year: John Kurtz, Crestview.
First Team: Justice Thompson, Crestview; Jarek Ringler, Crestview; Scott Hickey, Mapleton; Isaac Blair, South Central; Jimmy Clingman, Monroeville; Aidan Goodwin, Monroeville; Chris Buchanan, Western Reserve.
Second Team: Owen Barker, Crestview; Heath Kash, Crestview; Jed Brannon, Mapleton; Brandon Mitchell, South Central; Corey Frazee, St. Paul; Nolan McCall, St. Paul; Grant Bethard, Western Reserve.
Honorable Mention: Tyson Ringler, Crestview; Kyle Sloter, Mapleton; Braden Chapman, Monroeville; Conner Byrd, New London; Owen Reynolds, Plymouth; Hayden Dobias, South Central; Evan Wangler, St. Paul; Rhett Grose, Western Reserve.
