By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Crestwood High School athletic director Troy Spiker recently unveiled the school district’s new Wall of Fame, which celebrates All-Ohio student-athletes.
The project has spanned about a year and a half and included the help from coaches, administration, community members, booster club members and students.
The result was growing the school’s previous Wall of Fame from 37 honorees to 111.
The redesigned Wall of Fame changed its parameters a bit from the previous qualifications.
Previously, the qualifications included being a podium-finisher for an athlete of an individual sport like track and field or wrestling or to be named First Team All-Ohio in a team sport. The district unanimously decided to change the parameters to recognize any athlete that earned an All-Ohio distinction (First Team, Second Team, etc.).

Spiker feels confident that the project has narrowed in on all of the deserving honorees, but understands and admits that someone may have been missed.
Obviously, if so, it has been accidental, and he welcomes information from people to help him fix the omission.
Overall, though, the project has received positive feedback, according to Spiker, who is now in his third year at the school.
The new design can be seen in the main hallway, on the south wall of the gymnasium, just inside the high school’s main entrance.
Each individual is showcased in a 5 inch by 8 inch profile that is made out of etched plexiglass and vinyl stickers.
“It has been an exciting project,” Spiker said. “We have had to work through some errors, but everything has been easy and quick to fix. We have made those changes our top priority, because it is an amazing opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of our former student-athletes and their history.
“I hope that our current and future students can look at that wall and find inspiration,” Spiker added. “I hope they recognize that they can be something special, too, and that they can find a bit more pride and commitment in their careers.”
The project cost was divided into thirds, between the booster club, athletic department and school district.
The current design has been allotted for growth, with room for 152 (41 more than currently displayed) total student-athletes.
Spiker also gave credit to 2023 graduate Melia Morell, who was a student in Theresa Scully’s graphic design class, and helped throughout the research process.
Lastly, Spiker said one of the district’s plans are to host a banquet dinner to celebrate all 111 student-athletes in the coming months.