By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
Family, friends and fans came out to support Royals of the past as four individuals and one team were enshrined in the Wynford Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday.
David Kalb, Amber Rall, Danielle Grochowalski Vilt, Derek Weisenauer, and the 2002-2003 State Final Four Lady Royals were inducted as Wynford’s Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2014.
Weisenauer shared what the honor of induction means to him.
“It’s just an honor with the Wynford tradition, all the great player coaches and teams that have come before me,” Weisenauer said. “It is just an honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
Weisenauer, who holds the school record for three pointers (148), was inducted by his father Roger Weisenauer.
Wynford Lady Royals head basketball coach Amy Taylor-Shelden introduced Rall.
“Her freshman year still had some lasting impressions. Some before she had an official practice,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “I remember thinking how am I going to balance someone with such a fierce will to win and clearly hours of training, with kids who did not have the same passion, and only won 4 games the year before.”
Rall, who is the most decorated basketball and track and field athlete in Lady Royals’ history, was gracious in her induction speech thanking, God, her parents, teammates and fans.
Kalb was inducted by his bother Donnie Kalb.
During his speech Kalb said, “Thank you everyone for coming out. All the support, this is the reason playing here was so special. The support everyone gives makes it so special growing up. All I wanted to do was play basketball at Wynford.”
Grochowalski Vilt was inducted by former Wynford track coaches Jill Bauer and Karla Shiefer.
During her induction speech Grochowalski Vilt said, “It is truly an honor to be inducted into the hall of fame. I want to thank my coaches who supported me and never gave up on me. Coach Taylor, Coach Scott, Jill and Karla, these women were super hard coaches, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. They made me the athlete that I was truly. Not only did they coach me in the sport I played, but they coached me for the life ahead.”
With an undefeated regular season, the 2002-2003 Wynford Lady Royals were the first team in school history to make an appearance in the girl’s state tournament making it to the final four. Finishing with a number two ranking in the Associated Press, the 02-03 Lady Royals had a record of 26-1 with their only loss occurring in the state semifinal against Chillicothe Huntington.
Coach Taylor-Sheldon introduced the team and recalled the regional final when the Lady Royals came back from a 20-point deficit against Worthington Christian.
“Being halfway through third quarter down 17 and watching the kids respond with a stop and a score, a stop and a score. I remember the girl from Worthington Christian going over Danielle’s back at the free throw line.The timeout that preceded the Danielle’s free throw, because all the kids came running over and Amber and Danielle start chattering, and I am like ‘Stop. This isn’t your team, this is my team. You are going to do what I tell you to do.’
“And we laughed, but I’m thinking ‘This is not my team; this has never been my team. This is everything that they have done and are going to do.’”
Wynford Athletic Director Travis Moyer welcomed the Class of 2014 by saying, “You are joining a new team, the Wynford Hall of Fame.”
Bios on each of the new inductees can be found on this site’s Sports page.