The Daily Standard
Story Archive
As 2025 comes to a close, it's time to remember the moments that stood out on the local sports scene.
And, as is often the case when it comes to the area schools, there are many.
Here are the top 10 local sports stories of 2025.
2025 year in review No. 1: Isabella (Izzy) Zahn's performance at the state track meet.
In a span of roughly 90 minutes on June 7, Isabella (Izzy) Zahn put on a clinic at Jesse Owens Stadium in Columbus.
The Coldwater senior capped off her final day of high school track by winning two individual races by beating her own state records, and helping the 4x400-meter relay win with a state record to help the Cavaliers win their fourth state championship and first since 1996.
Zahn, who on June 6 defended her state title in the Division III long jump, started her day at 10:35 a.m. in the 400-meter dash, finishing in 52.89 seconds, breaking the state record she had set just the day before in the preliminaries by 1.45 seconds. At 11:25 a.m., Zahn ran in the 200, looking for her third straight title in the event. Zahn won her third title in the event in 23.04 seconds, breaking her own state record set the previous day.
With the Cavaliers' state title already locked up, Zahn, Audrey Alig, Lana Kaiser and Kiersten Keller teamed up for the 4x400 at noon. The Cavaliers were in second place when Keller handed the baton to Zahn. The University of Iowa-bound Zahn ran her leg in 54.05 seconds - which would have broken her own record in the 400 dash - to help the Cavaliers finish with a state-record time of 3:53.04. The win gave Coldwater 66 ½ points, clinching the title by 27 ½ points.
2025 year in review No. 2: St. Henry's football championship.
The last time St. Henry won a state title in football, current coach Josh Werling was playing for the Redskins.
In his second year as head coach of his alma mater, Werling guided the Redskins to the program's seventh state title and first since 2006 in going 14-1 and beating Jeromesville Hillsdale 37-3 in the Division VII final in Canton.
Backed by state Offensive Player of the Year Charlie Werling, the Redskins rushed for 262 yards, with quarterback Werling rushing for 213 yards and three touchdowns while also passing for a 16-yard score to Will Speck, who also had a touchdown run. St. Henry's defense limited Hillsdale, which lost 74-0 the season before to Marion Local in the Division VII title game, to 157 yards of offense and a field goal.
2025 year in review No. 3: Marion Local's football winning streak.
Over the previous 4 ½ years, Marion Local had only one direction, a winning direction.
The Flyers had four-straight 16-0 seasons coming into the 2025 season, not only holding the state record for longest winning streak, but holding the nation's longest streak.
Marion went through the regular season unscathed, albeit with several close calls - a 21-14 comeback win over St. Henry in the conference opener, a 21-19 win over Versailles that was preserved by a late interception, a 28-27 double-overtime win over Anna when the Flyers stopped a potential game-winning two-point conversion pass, and finally a 7-6 win over Coldwater in which the Flyers' offense was held scoreless, with the lone score coming on a kick return.
Marion won its opening two playoff games with ease, but faced St. Henry for the second time in the regional final in Wapakoneta. This time, St. Henry was ready as Charlie Werling scored all four touchdowns as the Flyers' 76-game winning streak was snapped by a 24-7 margin, the first loss since Nov. 6, 2020, when New Bremen won 27-17 in Maria Stein en route to the Cardinals winning the Division VII state title.
2025 year in review No. 4: Tate Hisey's wrestling title.
A year after St. Marys' Tate Hisey became the first Grand Lake area wrestler to win a state championship, the Roughrider senior returned to the state tournament looking to win a second title before heading to compete for NCAA Division I George Mason.
Hisey, who earned All-Ohio honors as a freshman and sophomore before winning as a junior, held off Medina Buckeye's Blake Bartos over the final minute to take an 8-6 decision in the 132-pound final, ending his season at 40-3 and his career with a 174-11 record that included four Western Buckeye League titles.
2025 year in review No. 5: Minster's baseball championship.
Towards the end of the regular season, Minster's baseball team hit a bump. losing three straight games and four of out of five contests.
But once the postseason got underway, the focus was there. Minster was locked in.
Backed by two no-hitters by pitching ace Louis Magoto, Minster outscored its five foes in the sectional, district and regional tournaments 51-8 - with all eight runs coming in a 9-8 win over New Riegel in the regional semifinal - to advance to state for the first time since 2019.
In the semifinal, Minster defeated Russia for the second time that season 5-3 to set up a final against perennial power Newark Catholic.
In the championship game, Minster plated five runs in the top of the second inning, more than enough for Caleb Couse and James Niemeyer to combine on a five-hit shutout for the 8-0 win for Minster's fourth state title, joining trophies won in 2011, 2012 and 2017. Minster finished the season at 26-6.
2025 year in review No. 6: Anna Roessner's state title.
Fort Recovery senior Anna Roessner became the first Fort Recovery female athlete to win a state track and field title as she won the Division III 100-meter dash at the state meet in Columbus.
The title is just the second individual state title in school history, joining Ben Timmerman, who won the Class A two-mile run (the predecessor to the 3,200-meter run) at the 1968 state meet.
The win in the 100 capped off a big day for Roessner, who reached the podium two other times in the 400 dash, finishing third, and the 200, placing second behind Coldwater's Isabella Zahn.
2025 year in review No. 7: St. Henry's volleyball runner-up finish.
The St. Henry volleyball team, looking for the program's eighth state championship, and first since 2011, reached the finals of the Division VI state tournament this season. The Redskins last reached the state semifinals in 2023 and were in the Division IV state title match in 2021, losing to fellow MAC member New Knoxville.
After going 17-5 in the regular season and finishing second in the MAC at 7-2, St. Henry won five straight matches without dropping a set to reach the final four. In the state semifinals, the Redskins won in four sets over Independence before ending the season at 23-6 with a three-set loss to Newark Catholic.
2025 year in review No. 8: Marion Local's boys basketball runner-up finish.
After a late start due to football success, Marion Local carried over the football success to the basketball court, winning the first 11 games before losing at Delphos St. John's in what was the de facto conference title game. Marion then ran off nine more wins before losing to Russia, which went undefeated in winning a Division VII state title, in the regular season finale.
In the postseason, the Flyers survived the district with close wins over MAC rivals New Bremen and Coldwater, then picked up wins over Miami Valley Christian Academy and Anna in the regional to advance to state for the first time since winning the Division IV title in 2018. Marion was a 14-point winner over Colonel Crawford in the state semifinal in Bowling Green before losing 43-35 to Monroe Central in the final at the University of Dayton Arena to finish 26-3, the most wins in a season for the program.
2025 year in review No. 9: St. Henry's ACME baseball championship.
St. Henry is known for baseball success with its three state titles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but the summer ACME program had rarely reached the ACME Baseball Congress State Tournament over the years, having last played in 2022 when the Wally Post Athletic Complex hosted the tournament.
After going 0-4 to start the summer, St. Henry rallied to finish 8-8 and win the District 4 tournament to advance to Holy Name Ballpark in Kalida for the eight-team single-elimination tournament.
After beating Fairview 4-0 in the quarterfinals and host Kalida 8-4 in the semifinals, the Redskins faced a Defiance squad that scored 25 in its two tournament games.
The Bulldogs scored five runs in the second inning to go up 5-1 after two innings, but reliever Owen Zimmerman pitched five innings of no-hit baseball, allowing the Redskins to tie the game with four runs in the fifth, then Tate Boeckman drove home two runs in the bottom of the sixth to get the 7-5 win for the program's first ACME title.
2025 year in review No. 10: The passing of coach Fran Guilbault.
The area lost a legendary coach on May 29 when Fran Guilbault died at the age of 89.
Coming to St. Henry in 1961, Guilbault guided the Redskins boys basketball team until 1999. Guilbault coached St. Henry to its first-ever district championship in 1970, then by the end of the decade, led the team to the first of three state titles, going 26-0 in winning the Class A title in 1979. St. Henry returned to the state finals in 1990, winning the Division III title, then came back in 1991 to win a Division IV title.
Guilbault retired after the 1998-1999 season with 625 wins, 18 conference titles (Mercer County League, Tri-County League, Midwest Athletic Conference, Auglaize-Mercer County League), 20 sectional titles and seven district titles. Guilbault was inducted into the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame in 2001.
• Minster girls basketball reaching the Division VI final four
• Coldwater baseball reaching the Division V final four
• Coldwater graduate Spencer Etzler earning All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors as Stanford reached the NCAA Sweet 16 in volleyball.
• Celina graduate Seth Lonsway advancing to Triple-A in the San Francisco organization.
• St. Henry graduate Ryan Mikesell recovering from back surgery to play for the London Lions in Great Britain's Super League Basketball.
