By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
Buckeye Central’s hallowed Hall of Fame gained new members Saturday afternoon as members of the 2016 class of the Buckeye Central Sports Hall of Fame were inducted.
Mike Kempf, Kelley Forehand Carney, Tyler Kreim and the 1988 Buckettes volleyball team were enshrined prior to the boys’ basketball game against Seneca East later in the evening.
Introduced by boys basketball head coach Phil Loy, Tyler Kreim was a three-sport athlete for the Bucks in the mid- 2000’s. Running track and playing football and basketball, Kreim stuck with track after high school earning All-American honors throwing javelin at Ashland University. Kreim explained what it felt like going into the Buckeye Central sports hall.
“It’s a great honor. It seems kind of surreal,” Kreim said. “Being out for eight, nine years doesn’t seem that possible. It seems like I was just coming in for warm-ups myself and watching other people get nominated. And just getting to see the athletes get nominated through the years and some great athletes come through here it’s an honor to be part of that now.”
Introduced by coaches Nancy Ackerman and Lisa Marcum, the 1988 volleyball team from Buckeye Central set in motion a long tradition of deep playoff runs in the sport. Posting a 24-3 record, the Buckettes’ volleyball team from 1988 lost only two regular season games and made it to the state finals before being ousted by Newark Catholic.
Ackerman reflected on the team’s length of time spent doing their hair.
“They lived by the motto if you don’t look good you don’t play good,” Ackerman joked.
Prior to turning the microphone over to her team Ackerman gave a DVD culled from old tapes of the team’s journey that season.
Shelli Loy and Tammy Studer reflected on getting into the Buckeye Central Sports Hall of Fame with their teammates.
“It’s an honor to be inducted into the hall of fame to a school like Buckeye Central that has such a rich sports tradition, and we are glad to be part of the Buckeye Central volleyball tradition,” Loy said. “We just cared about each other and loved each other and it translated on the volleyball court.”
“It was a team effort. We were not only teammates we got along as friends, as Shelli said we cared about each other, we got along with each other. It was great all the memories made going to state,” Studer added. “It’s an honor because the Buckeye Central community is always supportive of their sports. When you go to state I don’t think there is anyone around in the community because they are all at the game.”
1972 Buckeye Central graduate Mike Kempf was a part of the first Buckeye Central cross country team. Kempf went on to collegiate success earning All-American honors at the University of Findlay as well as being enshrined in the college’s hall of fame in 1994. Kempf looked back at that first race of the school’s cross country program.
“The first team was pretty scary, we had no idea what we were getting into,” Kempf said. “I can distinctly the very first meet, the very first gun, and the knees were shaking. After that it just went from good to better.”
Introducing Kempf was his brother Rich Kempf. Rich Kempf beamed with pride inducting his brother.
“Growing up he was a good example all through life, whether it was work, school or sports,” Rich Kempf said.
Introduced by Ben Lash, Kelly Forehand Carney was a two sport athlete for the school competing in basketball and softball. While Forehand was part of the 1985 state championship basketball team, it was the softball diamond in which she excelled. Carney still holds the Ohio State High School Softball record of most RBI’s in a season (65). Carney at one time held state records for most hits in a season (68), most home runs in a season (10), most RBI’s in a career (137), and best batting average for a season (.658).
Carney was very thankful for the induction.
“I am very humbled and privileged for the honor,” Carney said.
The newly enshrined class to the Buckeye Central Sports Hall of Fame was honored again later Saturday evening in between the junior varsity and varsity games between the Bucks and the Seneca East Tigers.