BUCYRUS — The 13th class of the Crawford County Sports Hall of Fame will be inducted Saturday night at the Trillium Events Center.
Seven individuals and one team make up the Class of 2022.
Davey Jones
By his own admission, Jones would never have been elected to a sports hall of fame were it not for his over 50 years in sports radio.
Jones came to WBCO/WQEL in May 1970. He was initially signed as the morning drive air personality and as an advertising representative.
His love for sports showed up early in his radio career at WBCO/WQEL. In 1975, he created a local call-in show following the broadcasts of high school football. It was called the Friday Night Phoneboard and it is still on the air 48 years later.
Jones has done play-by-play and color for football, basketball, and baseball broadcast over the years. He also started the Coaches’ Corner shows.
Mike McGuire
McGuire is a 1989 graduate of Wynford High School where he played basketball and baseball. He was first team All-Ohio in basketball his senior year and was a four-year letterman in baseball.
Wynford basketball posted a combined 71-10 record in McGuire’s three years of varsity. In 1987, the Royals were state runners-up and in 1989, they were again in the Final Four.
In his senior year, he was the Division III Player of the Year. McGuire scored a then-record 1754 career points and averaged 29.4 points per game his senior year.
After high school, McGuire continued his sports career in baseball, playing for the University of Akron and then transferring to the University of South Carolina.
McGuire then became a college baseball coach at Winthrop University, Louisburg College (North Carolina), and Morehead State University.
Don Miller
Miller has been involved with the Crawford County Sports Hall of Fame since its inception. He has been president of the committee for over 10 years.
Miller’s love of sports began at his alma mater, Tiffin Columbian. He played football and basketball for the Tornadoes before going on to Bowling Green University, where he played football.
After getting his teaching degree, Miller taught at Fostoria before returning to Bowling Green to get his principal and superintendent certificates. He was principal at Martel when Wynford hired him. He was principal at Wynford from 1978 to his retirement in 1988. Miller was an assistant football coach for 15 of his 19 years in the Wynford system.
He has continued to support Wynford and Crawford County Sports in general since his retirement. Miller was also an usher at Ohio Stadium for 14 years.
Vainard Spiess
Spiess was the head coach of Buckeye Central’s girls’ basketball team for 12 years. He had an overall record of 210-54, a .795 winning percentage.
The Buckettes were state runners-up in 1982, state champions in 1985, and made it to the Final Four in 1986. Spiess was twice named Ohio Girls Coach of the Year.
Spiess taught math at Buckeye Central for 35 years. He also coached football and baseball in addition to basketball and was the technology coordinator. He was the offensive coordinator for the first Buckeye Central football team to make it to the regional playoffs and helped coach the baseball teams to three regional appearances.
Jim Walker
Walker was a 1967 graduate of Bucyrus High School. He played football and basketball for the Redmen, but football was his focus.
He started as both an offensive and defensive lineman for Bucyrus as a 14-year-old freshman. He was the youngest starter that year in the rugged Northern Ohio League.
Walker was first team all-NOL four times and was named to the all-district team and all-state honorable mention. Walker received the Michael Trophy, given to the most valuable player at Bucyrus.
He was heavily recruited by Division I colleges, including Notre Dame, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. Legendary OSU coach Woody Hayes paid a personal visit to Walker’s home.
His football career was cut short by cancer shortly after his senior year in the fall of 1966. He enrolled at Ohio State but was physically unable to play football there. Walker did marry Connie McClain, but he died just prior to his senior year at Ohio State.
Jim Wegesin
Wegesin, a Delphos, Ohio native, went to Galion as a teacher in 1972. He retired from coaching last year after 50 years in the district.
Wegesin helped coach three district championship teams at Galion, seven league championships, 113 individual league champions, 57 state qualifiers, 21 state placers, one state runner-up, and two high school all-Americans — Ryan Hieber in 1999 and Dustin Fox in 2004.
Among Wegesin’s awards are Alumni Wrestling Coach of the Year at Findlay College (twice), North Central Ohio Wrestling Association Outstanding Coach, and North Central Ohio Wrestling Officials Outstanding Coach.
In 2021, Wegesin was recognized at the Division II district wrestling tournament for his lifetime contribution to Galion wrestling. He was inducted into the Galion High School Hall of Fame in 2016.
Mick Wells
Wells is a 1994 graduate of Colonel Crawford, where he participated in track, cross country, and basketball. He competed at the state level in both cross country and track.
By the end of his high school career, Wells had accumulated seven medals at the state track meet. He still holds three records at Colonel Crawford — the 110 meter hurdles, the 300 meter hurdles, and the 1600 meter relay. He received 15 letters of interest from colleges around the country, before accepting a scholarship from Kent State.
In his sophomore year, the Colonel Crawford boys’ track team tied for fifth place in the state in Division III based only on events that Wells competed in. During his senior year, the team finished sixth in the state, again with points accumulated in Wells’ events.
Wells ran hurdles at Kent State from 1995-98. He received All-Mid-American Conference honors each year. Well earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies from KSA.
Crestline Bulldogs 2004 state softball champions
The 2004 Lady Bulldogs were the first Crestline team to win an outright state title. They defeated Gibsonburg, 2-1, in the state final at Brookside Park in Ashland.
To get to the state final, Meghan Ronk pitched her first career no-hitter in a 6-0 win over Marion Local. The team compiled a season record of 28-4, led by seniors Brittany Kick, Maggie Heiby, Amanda Ronk, and Dawn Collins. Meghan Ronk was 18-2 pitching for the year.
The coaching staff consisted of head coach Heath Sager, Ron Shumate, Dale Bowman, Al Frazier, and scorekeeper Tara Hoffer.
All-Ohio honors went to Amanda Ronk, Meghan Ronk, and Collins. Lauren Hoffer and Kick were named all-district, and Jackie Flinders, Stacie Kelly, and Heiby were all-North Central Conference.
The doors to the Trillium Events Center will open at 5 p.m. for a social hour with dinner beginning at 6 p.m. The induction ceremony will start at the conclusion of dinner, approximately 6:45 p.m.