By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Connor Wess always felt that he would be the head coach of a high school basketball program one day.

CONNOR WESS

That day officially became Monday, June 23, 2025.

Wess was approved by the Mogadore Board of Education to become the new coach of the Wildcats’ boys basketball program, replacing longtime mentor Russ Swartz, who resigned earlier this summer after a 500-win Hall of Fame career.

“To be named the next Mogadore head coach is a dream come true,” Wess said. “I truly feel it is a great fit, knowing what Mogadore athletes bring to the table. From the two short weeks I have been working with the team, I can tell they care about a winning culture and are willing to compete no matter the circumstances. To continue what Coach Swartz has built is an honor.”

Wess graduated from Coventry High School (Class of 2016) and was a Portage Trail Conference Metro Division Player of the Year while helping lead the Comets to a pair of PTC Metro league championships.

He played for four years at Walsh University and won two Great Midwest Athletic Conference titles.

Wess was an assistant coach last season under Mike Fuline at the University of Mount Union.

“I knew coaching was in my future since I can remember, running around the gym with my father (Lynn Wess) at his own practices growing up and developing a love for basketball at an early age,” Wess said. “I truly feel like I have experienced and learned from the best of coaching basketball in Ohio and am more than excited to continue a winning culture that Mogadore stands for.”

JACK SANDEL STARTS AT ESPN CLEVELAND

Waterloo High School graduate Jack Sandel, who was a key member of the Vikings’ boys basketball team during his four-year career before graduating in 2021, recently graduated from Miami University in Oxford and began an internship at ESPN Cleveland.

Sandel is the son of Kevin and Lori Sandel.

EVAN YOUNG TO COACH FALCONS

Field has selected Evan Young as its new high school boys soccer coach. He replaces Kevin Sisak, who resigned at the end of the school year.

Young is from Maryland and played collegiately for Thiel College and Lake Erie College. He was an assistant under Sisak last season with the Falcons.

SMALLFIELD SWORN IN AS POLICE CHIEF

Congratulations to Jake Smallfield, who was sworn in as the newest the newest Chief of Police for the Ravenna Police Department on June 23.

Smallfield is a 1992 Ravenna High School graduate and was an All-Metro League football player before going on to win a pair of Division I-AA national championships playing tight end for Jim Tressel at Youngstown State University in 1993 and 1994.

Jake Smallfield (left) shakes the hand of Ravenna mayor Frank Seman after being sworn in as the newest Police Chief of the Ravenna Police Department.

ROOTSTOWN’S LIAM MILLER RANKED NO. 1

Rootstown’s Liam Miller was ranked No. 1 in the DragChamp Jr. Racer List on Wednesday after reaching two final rounds and earning two wins last weekend at Quaker City Motorsports Park.

The list is presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance each week to rank the best junior racers across the country based on their weekly performances.

Miller, and his family, were featured on Portage Sports in the summer of 2023.

That feature story can be read here.

TONS OF RECORDS FOR AURORA SOFTBALL

The Aurora softball season ended with 27 new school records.

Yes, 27!

Here is a complete list of those records:

INDIVIDUAL SINGLE SEASON

• At Bats: Rayna Unverferth, 98
• Hits: Lailah Bohanan, 63
• Singles: Lailah Bohanan, 49
• Runs: Rayna Unverferth, 50
• Batting Average: Lailah Bohanan, .670
• On-Base Percentage: Lailah Bohanan, .709
• Sacrifices: Sophie Petrash, 5
• Sacrifice Flies: Julia Miller, 4

INDIVIDUAL CAREER

• Singles: Sophie Retton, 108
• Triples: Rayna Unverferth, 10
• Runs: Rayna Unverferth, 139
• Hit By Pitch: Sophie Petrash, 12
• Sacrifices: Sophie Petrash, 13
• Sacrifice Flies: Sophie Retton, 8

TEAM SINGLE SEASON

• Games: 29
• Wins: 26
• Plate Appearances: 979
• At-Bats: 840
• Hits: 390
• Singles: 291
• Triples: 18
• RBI: 268
• Runs Scored: 304
• Hit By Pitch: 18
• Strikeout Percentage: 6 percent (60 total strikeouts)
• Batting Average: .464
• Sacrifice Flies: 16

TENNIS STATE TOURNAMENTS RETURNING TO LINDNER

The Ohio High School Athletic Association and Beemok Sports and Entertainment announced this week that the OHSAA girls and boys tennis state tournaments will return to the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason for the next three years.

The professional tennis facility in Southwest Ohio hosted the OHSAA tennis state tournaments from 2014 through the spring of 2022 before undergoing renovations. The College of Wooster hosted the state tournaments the last two years.

“We’re proud to welcome back the OHSAA state tennis tournaments to the Lindner Family Tennis Center,” said Bob Moran, President of Beemok Sports and Entertainment. “After a major transformation, our campus will be a year-round public facility, where Ohio’s best high-school players will compete on the same courts as the world’s best. It is an opportunity that will inspire them throughout their season and serve as a great reward for their hard work.”

The Lindner Family Tennis Center transformation is a $260 million investment by the Cincinnati Open with the City of Mason, Warren County and the State of Ohio. It brings the total number of outdoor courts at the venue to 31 while also adding a six-court indoor facility, pickleball and paddle courts, new locker room facilities and a clubhouse that will be utilized year-round with a restaurant and function room space.

“The Lindner Family Tennis Center is one of the finest tennis facilities in the country and we are thrilled that our student-athletes will be able to have the experience of competing there for state championships,” said Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director. “We would like to thank the College of Wooster for hosting the state tournaments for the last two years. We had a great experience at Lindner previously and are looking forward to being back.”