Instead of a local family, the Crusaders are helping out an elderly woman living on an Indian reservation in South Dakota.
Next year will be something else.
“Last year was more me and what I wanted to do,” Bray said. “This year, I put it on the senior class to decide what they wanted to do. Next year’s seniors will pick what they want to do and it will be something different again; the big thing is they are learning how to give back to others.”
Senior Brandon Moore did the research and checked with churches and came back to classmates Joel Turner, Kevin Henkel and Jordan Gray with the proposal to adopt an elderly woman on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Among the items the seniors collected — warm blanket, house coat, slippers, socks, candy — were cards, addresses and email addresses for pen pals.
“She doesn’t have a lot of people to talk to, so people are stepping up to be pen pals with her,” Bray said. “I am proud of the seniors. They do their best on the mat, but they connected with something they care about and have worked hard on it and I think that shows a lot about their true character.”
Jones leads Ross at Coaches Classic: Ross compiled 133 points to claim the Division II-III title team title at the Southwestern Ohio Wrestling Coaches Association Glenn Sample tournament last weekend at Harrison High School.
Ross was led by 145-pounder Joseph Jones, who was named the most outstanding wrestler of the tournament. Jones claimed his second Classic title when he pinned top-seeded Adam Sams of Fairfield in 5:41.
Fairmont’s Matt Denlinger improved to 15-0 on the season in claiming the 132 title at the Classic while Middletown’s Jacob Globke (160) and Beavercreek’s Nick Corba (170) also won titles.
Corba became a two-time champ with a 3-2 win over Moeller’s Dakota Sizemore. Sizemore was also looking to become a two-time champ.
Hitting the road: While a majority of the teams in the area will compete at the Greater Miami Valley Wrestling Association Holiday Tournament Dec. 28-29 at the Nutter Center, some teams will hit the road for the holidays.
Carlisle, Centerville, Dayton Christian, Fairmont, Lakota East and Troy Christian will compete in the Brecksville Holiday Invitational, while Gary Wise’s Beavercreek squad will make an annual pilgrimage to the Medina Invitational Tournament.
All three tournaments run on the same dates this year.
Regions announced: The Regional breakdown for the first OHSAA state team tournament has been posted on the OHSAA website. Next up, coaches will meet to seed the teams, with the top-seeded teams in each region hosting the first round on Jan. 23.
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