Woodridge senior left hander Nick Jones and his teammates earned some ink a few weeks back. It seems now they are living up to the hype. Jones pitched a perfect game Monday in an 8-0 route of Streestboro.

 He struck out 13 hitters as he faced the bare minimum (21). The win was the Bulldogs third of the season (3-0) and allowed them to open the Portage Trail Conference County Division schedule on a winning note.

The Bulldogs are now 4-0 after beating Streetsboro again 6-1 Tuesday.

OK, this has to be one of the more interesting and amusing tidbits I’ve come across.

Lake Center Christian School in Hartville has two student-athletes on the baseball and softball teams, respectively, who are siblings.

Brad Miller is a left fielder and pitcher and his sister, Mary Miller, plays center field.

Then there’s Jesse Coblentz, who is a pitcher on the baseball team, and Brittany Coblentz, who is a pitcher on the softball team.

I called the school to see about writing a feature on the four athletes thinking how interesting it would be to write about two sets of siblings playing the same sports at the same schools.

Well, after talking to one of the secretaries at the school, she informed me that Jesse and Brittany share the same last name, but aren’t even related.

Go figure.

When it comes to track, it’s always about who ran the fastest, jumped the highest or threw the shot or the discus the farthest. But sometimes there are stories, GREAT, INSPRATIONAL STORIES, that don’t have to do with who won.

For instance, I remember watching the local news in the fall, I think it was, and there was an amazing story about a young lady (she may have been from the Youngstown area), who was competing in the state high school cross country meet and was almost near the finish line. Then came a gruesome sight. She broke her leg on the course and fell to the ground.

But this young lady had the courage and fortitude to crawl and limp her way to the finish line, despite being in obvious pain.

It was a story of incredible self-will. This young lady needed medical help, but she didn’t want it. She was withering with pain but she wanted to finish that race, and if you watched the video, you couldn’t help but get a little emotional, knowing she was in a world of pain. But watching her will her way to that finish line, regardless of the pain she was experiencing, was breathtaking and moving.

The yound lady gave a great television interview a few days later and it was great to see she was doing well and was in good spirts. I think she even joked that all she was thinking about, when she went down, was that she wasn’t going to be able to dance at her sister’s wedding later that night.

I witnessed another incredible story, but it didn’t involve injury. A few years ago I was covering a regional track meet at Ravenna and the Copley girls were favored in this particular relay event. As the race began, Copley was right there, as expected. But during one of the exchanges, the baton was dropped and the team was out of the race.

The young lady who dropped the baton was devasted. I mean, I had never seen an athlete more distraught. What I found out later was that the young lady was only a sophomore and there were two seniors on that relay team. The sophomore felt she had blown it for the seniors because it was their last chance to make it to state.

She was on the infield of the track, as the race was still going, slumped over an emotional ball.

She just shuddered and shook as she cried.

Then, former Copley standout Carrie Dyer, who was a senior and on that relay team, ran to the young runner to comfort her.

Then the rest of the realy team followed.

To me, that was one of the most inspirational stories I had ever witnessed.

The sophomore was heartbroken. But she was heartbroken because she cared about her teammates and wanted to perform at her best so that it would help the seniors.

It didn’t happen. But when it didn’t happen, the seniors weren’t mad, bitter or upset. They showed support for their younger teammate because they loved her. And in the end, winning didn’t matter.

So, with that, I’m asking readers to post any inspirational stories you witnessed, in track or any other sport, that didn’t involve someone winning.

A story where someone overcame odds to get where they are. Or a story about teammates helping one another.

Those are the most compelling stories.

Tom O’Neil is still the track coach at North even though he gave up his position as head football coach after the 2006-07 season.

But that football mentality is still in his head.

While I was at a City Series track meet at Ellet Tuesday, I found it odd that O’Neil was standing along the fence near the finish line with a stop watch. Now keep in mind, the meet was between host Ellet, Buchtel and Firestone. North wasn’t competing.

So I asked O’Neil, “Hey Tom, are you helping with the timing?” He answered, no, we run against Buchtel in a few days so I’m just scouting.”

I doubled over in laughter. I couldn’t believe it.

Then again, as competitive and thorough as O’Neil was as a football coach for 12 years at North, it didn’t surprise me.

This is going to be Nefertitia Phair’s year. At least that’s what she’s hoping.

Phair is a junior at Ellet and last year she had a solid season by finishing runnerup in the shot put at the Division I district meet in Austintown. In fact, Phair’s toss (38-8) was tied with Twinsburg’s Leah Love but Love had a better throw during seeding. Still, Phair qualified for regionals and although she came up short in qualifying for the state meet in Columbus, she said she’s motivated this year.

“I want to break the school record, which is 38-10,” Phair said, as she competed in a three-way meet Tuesday at Ellet against Buchtel and Firestone. “My personal best is 38-8,” she said. “”And my other goal is to get to state.”

Phair said she’s going to put in the work this season so that she gets that opportunity. Yet, as proud as Phair is of her accomplishments last year, she’s just as proud of her work outside of track, more specifically, her job as an employee at McDonald’s on East Market Street and Mogadore Road, not far from the high school.

And Phair proudly stated, with big smile, that she does it all at the fast food restaurant. So I asked her, “”Can you make an ice cream cone so it’s not lopsided and ready to fall over before I even take one lick?” Her response, “”I can do it with no problem.”

“”OK, can you make a McFlurry so it’s extra flurry,” I asked. She laughed hysterically and responded, “”I can hook you up.”

Then, my last question was, “”So, when the timer on the fries goes off, and it’s beeping like crazy and no one goes over to take them off the rack, do you know how to take them off that little rack, shake the grease off and dump them into the tray?” She answered, “”Of course. I told you, I can do it all.”

Her attitude was refreshing and as long as she can apply that same work attitude that she has at McDonald’s to the track, she’ll be well on her way this year.[ep

While working on an upcoming story, I had to interview Elizabeth “Georgia” Stokes, a sophomore catcher for the Hudson Explorers. Stokes played a key role in Hudson winning the Division I state championship last year as she went 2-for-3 with two RBI in the title game.

That was an impressive performance, especially by a freshman. Stokes said that winning the state championship was special on so many levels, but mainly, she said it was because many outside the program never gave the Explorers a chance to even make it that far because of their youth.

Stokes said there’s no complacency this year and that the team is keeping that same “Us-against-the-world” mentality, so it’ll be interesting to see how Hudson fares this year.

Firestone boys basketball coach Jerry Laria and Kenmore girls basketball coach Yontami Jones will be honored as the Coaches of the Year during the Summit-Portage Touchdown Club’s annual awards dinner April 20th.

Also, Firestone senior guard Ramel Mitchell, the City Series Player of the Year the past two seasons, and Kenmore junior guard Andola Dortch, who also was the City Series Player of the Year this past season, will be honored as Players of the Year.

Mitchell, a 5-foot-10 guard who was a first-team Division I All-Ohio selection, averaged 19.2 points a game and helped lead the Falcons to the regional semifinals for the second consecutive year. Mitchell has several Division II offers but his dream is to play at the Division I level. Word is that he has an offer to be a preferred walk-on at Kent State. I’m hoping that works out for Mitchell because he’s such a dynamic all-around player, the only downside is his height.

If things don’t work out for Mitchell at Kent State, he could still transfer to a Division II school and play right away. But Mitchell isn’t looking at that scenario right now.

Dortch, meanwhile, averaged 22 points a game this past season and was a third-team Division I all-state performer. She led the Cardinals to the regional semifinals where they lost to Boardman. The Spartans made it to the state Final Four.

Dortch, 5-7, is a legitimate Division I recruit and has several Big Ten, Big East and MAC schools interested. What sets her apart is that she has outstanding ball-handling skills, she has a consistent outside shot and she can penetrate and finish strong at any time.

Copley volleyball standout Kimmie Dyer will continue her education and playing career at Wittenberg University.

Dyer, a first-team all-district selection the past two seasons, is joining a program that has reached the NCAA Division III Final Four the past three years. The Tigers finished last season with a record of 38-1.

Wittenberg coach Paco Labrador said, ‘‘I have watched Kimmie develop for the last few years and I’m thrilled to have a player with her combination of physical gifts and competitiveness join our program.’’

Dyer averaged five kills per game as a senior.

An honors student, she earned four varsity letters in volleyball and three in basketball.

Several other area sathletes have signed NCAA or NAIA national letters of intent to attend colleges and play sports. The players, their high school, sport, college choice and accomplishments are:

– Andrea Arney, Dalton, softball, University of Akron. The pitcher/first baseman has been a major contributor on a Bulldogs team that has won the past two Division IV state championships. She batted .408 last season with 14 RBI and compiled an 8-2 pitching record with four shutouts, a 0.49 ERA, two saves and 137 strikeouts in 71 innings.

– Niki Lecon, Dalton, volleyball, Malone College. She was first-team All-Wayne County Athletic League and all-district as an outside hitter last fall. Also batted .286 average with 16 RBI last spring to help Dalton win its second consecutive Division IV state championship.

– Dustin Lancy, Cuyahoga Falls, baseball, Walsh University. Outfielder should earn his fourth letter this spring. He was first-team all-conference as a junior after hitting .405 with four home runs and 28 RBI.

– Jera Dougherty, Louisville, golf, Walsh University. Because the Leopards did not have a girls golf team, played on the boys squad for three years and lowered her average from 50 to 47 over that time.

– Amanda Hutchinson, GlenOak, golf, Walsh University. Four-time letterwinner was second-team All-Federal League after averaging 42 strokes as a senior.

– Abigail Kimar, Jackson, golf, Walsh University. Lettered four times for Polar Bears and was first-team All-Federal League and All-Stark County Finished second at 2006 Federal League Tournament as a junior.

– Joy Grills, Cloverleaf, softball, Lincoln Memorial University (Tenn.). Shortstop led the Colts last season in average (.385) and RBI (17).

– Josh Varney, Buckeye, football, West Liberty. Offensive lineman helped Bucks to a 6-4 record last season.

– Scott Felgar, Buckeye, soccer, Tiffin. Played several roles for the Bucks. As a senior, posted nine shutouts as a goalie, the position he will play for the Dragons, as team went 8-7-2.

– Camille Smith, Twinsburg, soccer, Mount Vernon Nazarene. Totaled six goals and four assists in senior season.

– Jenny Harsh, Wadsworth, track, Cincinnati. Medaled twice at last year’s state meet ` as a member of the sixth-place 1,600 relay team and by finishing seventh in the 800.

Kenny Frease of Perry and Brittany Orban of North Canton Hoover are among the standouts who who showcase their talents at this year’s Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association annual Boys and Girls All Star Games.

Four games will be played April 20 at Capital University in suburban Columbus, beginning with Division III-IV girls at noon. Caitlin Sharp of East Canton and Chelsea Fazekas of Chippewa are on the North roster.

Orban, a Northwestern University recruit, will be on the North squad for the Division I-II game at 1:45.

Division III-IV boys will play at 3:45. Canton Central Catholic’s Nick Foster is on the North roster. Frease, who has signed with Xavier University, will play on the Division I-II North team at 5:30.

GlenOak’s Jackie Greynolds is part of the Division I-II North coaching staff.

On April 19, the OHSBCA will hold its hall of fame induction at the Columbus Airport Marriott hotel.

Honorees are coaches Dave Hoover (Canton McKinley), Dave Krauss (Patrick Henry), Dave Sweet (Ottawa-Glandorf) and Frank Phillips (ChagrinFalls) and honorary inductee, Clair Muscaro, a former commissioner of the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
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After a brief separation, a pair of Akron natives have been reunited again as teammates.

Dru Joyce III and Romeo Travis are teammates on Ratiopharm Ulm, a professional basketball team in the Bundesliga League in Germany.

Joyce and Travis each played on successful teams at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and the University of Akron.

Travis, the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year in 2007, started his pro career with two different teams in Spain and then was added to Ulm’s roster on Mar. 12.

Joyce, a 6-foot guard, has played in all 27 games for Ulm. He is averaging 8.6 points, 3.7 assists and 1.7 rebounds in about 23 minutes per game this season.

Travis, a 6-foot-7 forward, has made an immediate impact for Ulm in three games played. He is averaging 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in about 20 minutes per game.

Travis appeared in two games for Ciudad de Huelva and averaged 3.5 points and 3.5 rebounds. He played in eight games prior to that for Alerta Cantabria and averaged 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds. Both teams play in the LEB Gold league.

Joyce and Travis, both 23, led the Zips to the MAC East Division title and a MAC runner-up finish in 2007. They were each standouts on state championship winning teams at St. V-M alongside Cavaliers star LeBron James.