Three more Stark County products are getting a chance to show their abilities in an NFL training camp.

Quarterback Mike Hartline, defensive back Devon Torrence and tight end Ryan Travis have signed to get the opportunity to play professionally.

Hartline, a GlenOak High School graduate and three-year starter at the University of Kentucky, signed with the Indianapolis Colts where he was a chance to back-up superstar Peyton Manning.

Torrence, a Canton South High School graduate and two-year starter at Ohio State University, is headed to the Minnesota Vikings.

Travis, a Tuslaw High School graduate and former starter at West Liberty University, is bound for the Seattle Seahawks.

The Colts feature Manning at quarterback with Purdue’s Curtis Painter, a 2009 sixth-round pick, and former Ball State quarterback Nate Davis, who has spent two seasons in the NFL, as backups.

The 6-foot-6 and 210-pound Hartline ranks fourth at Kentucky in career passing yards (5,680) and fifth in career touchdown passes (38). He threw for 3,178 yards last season with 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 405 attempts.

Mike’s older brother, Brian Hartline, is a receiver with the Miami Dolphins after starring at Ohio State.

The 6-foot-1 and 200-pound Torrence intercepted two passes last season, returning one for a touchdown against Penn State, and broke up eight passes. He was fourth on the Buckeyes with 52 tackles, 35 of which were solo.

Torrence compiled eight tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble in Ohio State’s Sugar Bowl victory over Arkansas in January.

Hartline and Torrence each succeeded in Division I college football while Travis starred in Division II.

Travis, 6-foot-3 and 245-punds, was the only college player in the country who caught at least 10 passes in every game. His average of 12.6 receptions per game was No. 1 in the country and his 140.2 yards per game ranked second.

Canton South senior wide receiver James Lucas has committed to Ashland, according to ScoutingOhio.com. Lucas, who is 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, also had interest from Malone and Notre Dame College (Ohio).

Canton South junior pitcher Logan Bowles committed to Ohio State Saturday, the first player in the Buckeyes 2012 baseball recruiting class.

“Its special,’’ Bowles said of the being the first in the recruiting class. “It means they are interested me and I want to play there. I am excited for it.’’

Bowles, a 6-foot-3, 175 pound right-handed pitcher, impressed the Buckeyes and first-year coach Greg Beals last weekend at an invite only showcase.

He pitched two innings and struck out five. His fastball was clocked at 87 mph on the radar gun. He also finished 3-for-5 hitting with a double and two RBI.

The Buckeyes first noticed Bowles in a summer tournament at Dayton University, playing for the 17U Stark County Terriers.

Long and thin, Bowles possesses a projectable body type that could easily add bulk and a few more miles an hour onto his fastball.

His priority in Columbus will be to pitch, although the Buckeyes will also give him an opportunity to hit and play first base too.

He cannot officially sign with Ohio State until November of next year.

OTHER AREA BASEBALL VERBAL COMMITMENTS
(Note: this list is no way complete. In fact, it needs to grow. Please make us aware of all your baseball happenings, verbal commitments and overall news by E-mailing me, Jonas Fortune at jfortune@thebeaconjournal.com or the Beacon Journal news room at BJsports@thebeaconjournal.com.)

CLASS OF 2011
(In alphabetical order)

John Birkbeck, GlenOak
– Right-handed pitcher, committed to Kent State

Brian Clark, Stow
– Left-handed pitcher, committed to Kent State

Zac Edwards, Hudson
– Right-handed pitcher, committed to St. Bonaventure

Matt Ellenbest, Medina
– Right-handed pitcher/ first base, committed to Cleveland State

Tim Faix, Walsh Jesuit
– Left-handed pitcher, Committed to Kent State

Jason McPeek, Stow
– Right-handed pitcher/ outfield, committed to Cleveland State

Tommy Monnot, GlenOak
– Catcher/corner infielder, committed to Kent State

Joshua North, Barberton
– Right-handed pitcher, Committed to Youngstown State

Sawyer Polen, Wooster Triway
– Infielder, committed to Kent State

Lucas Sokol, Hoban
– Catcher, committed to Toledo

Kyle Vozar, Medina Highland
– Catcher, committed to Cleveland State

All season long, the Firestone and Kenmore girls basketball teams have been putting up big numbers. Firestone is 9-1 overall and 5-0 in the City and Kenmore (8-2, 5-0) is led by senior guard Shanequa Williams, who is averaging almost 35 points a game.

The two teams will matchup 7 p.m. Thursday at Kenmore in a game that should be very competitive and entertaining.

Kenmore is a young team and has been playing without junior point guard Markayla Powers, who fractured her finger in the first few minutes of the season-opening loss to Copley. Howard is expected to return to action next Thursday.

Also, Courtney Palmer (knee) is out for the season for the Cardinals.

Firestone is led by junior guard Imani Gordon, who is averaging 23.5 points a game and the Falcons’ only loss was a 45-42 decision to Canton South (9-1).

“We’ve been playing well considering the injuries we had and how young we are,” Kenmore coach Yontami Jones said. “Shanequa has really stepped up and been a leader.”

Firestone coach Audley McGill said: “The way we’re looking at it, we need to win for our quest to win the City (championship). But we also know that every game in the City is important, not just this one.”

Hey everyone! This is my column that’s running in the Akron Beacon Journal Friday, but it’s posted on Ohio.com now, as you can see. Thanks to everyone who submitted votes for their favorite high school nicknames. If there are other crazy nicknames from out of state, post them so we can all get some laughs. Thanks again!

The high school girls tennis season continues this week with district competition.

The Division I district tournament at Oberlin College features two singles players and one doubles unit from the area. Firestone’s Christine Coffman and Jackson’s Trisha Conlan are top seeds in singles, and Revere’s Natalie Robson and Brittany Miller are a top doubles tandem.

The Oberlin district will be played on Thursday and Saturday.

The Division II district tournament at Weis Park in Canton features a singles player and two doubles groups from the area. Canton South’s Morgan Murray is a top seed in singles. Walsh Jesuit’s Nancy Joyce and Cristin Reed and Canton Central Catholic’s Lauren Coggins and Hannah Lindesmith are top doubles units.

The Canton district will be played on Wednesday and Saturday.

Canton South junior WR Jerald Robinson (6-2, 175) is one of 17 Ohio football players in the 2010 class to be nominated for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game. Robinson is one of 400 players nationally to be nominated for the game.

Robinson, who has orally committed to play at Michigan, is the only local player on the list. Solon junior DL Darryl Baldwin is also on the list.

The official roster won’t be decided until December. The game is Jan. 9, 2010 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. It will be televised live on NBC starting at 1 p.m.

It’s been just over a month (Feb. 9) since Canton South junior WR Jerald Robinson (6-2, 175) made an oral commitment to play at Michigan.

Despite the high-profile commitment, South coach Moe Daniska said Robinson was able to re-focus on the current high school basketball season within the past month.

This summer, Robinson’s offseason football workouts will be the same as the rest of his teammates. He will be working out in the Wildcats’ lifting/conditioning program three days a week on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

“Jerald is a level-headed young man who is very excited about the opportunity to play football in Ann Arbor after he graduates,” Daniska said in an e-mail this week. “He understands he needs to continue working hard and doing the same things he did to earn the opportunity.”

Daniska said Robinson has done well to not worry about 2010 – knowing that he wants to be prepared when it arrives.

“His current focus is to get himself and his teammates ready to have a successful season at Canton South next year,” Daniska said.

The Malone College baseball team seems to be peaking at the right time. With just six games left on the season, the Pioneers are riding a 13-game winning streak and look to wrap up the American Mideast Conference this weekend in a doubleheader at Mount Vernon Nazarene.

The Pioneers are 33-9 and ranked No. 20 in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. They won the National Christian College Athletic Association Division I Championship in 2006.

The roster is peppered with plenty of local players like Chris Mandeville (Tuslaw), Zach Winkhart (Canton Central Catholic), Ryan Baechel (Glen  Oak), Adam Boudler (louisville) and Zac Barson (Canton South) just to name a few. Here is the complete roster and here is complete statistics for the season.

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.