The LaRosa's High School Sports Hall of fame has announced its newest induction class

The LaRosa’s High School Sports Hall of fame has announced its newest induction class

Posted by Admin December 23, 2024 Sports

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The LaRosa’s High School Sports Hall of Fame has announced that its 50th induction class will include five athletes, a legendary coach and two iconic teams.

The induction ceremony will take place in Summer of 2025.

Here is who will be inducted:

Yancy Gates, Withrow class of 2008

Gates averaged a double-double in each of his final two seasons at Withrow, averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds as a junior and 21.2 points and 11 rebounds as a senior, helping the Tigers to district championships in both of those seasons. He went on to play at the University of Cincinnati, where he scored 1,486 career points and pulled down 916 career rebounds. After that, he had a nine-year professional career overseas. He currently lives in Cincinnati with his daughter Yamari.

Amanda Gruber Creech, St. Ursula class of 1994

Gruber earned 10 varsity letters in three different sports during her time at St. Ursula, and she was an all-America soccer player both there and later at Xavier. St. Ursula soccer won two state championships, in 1991 and 1993, with Gruber leading the charge. She was also a four-year varsity starter in basketball, where she set school records in assists, career 3-pointers and 3-pointers in a single game. She also played two years of varsity softball.

She still ranks as Xavier’s all-time points (160), goals scored (67) and single-season shots (112) leader, while she’s second all-time in assists (26) and career shots (339). As a senior in 1997, she set an Atlantic-10 single-season record with 59 points. She was named first-team A-10 for the third straight season and earned A-10 Player of the Year honors.

Annette Gruber Bell, St. Ursula class of 1997

Gruber was a four-year letter-winner in both basketball and soccer for St. Ursula, playing a part, along with her sister Amanda, in the team’s 1993 soccer state championship. By the end of her soccer career at St. Ursula, she was the school’s third all-time leading scorer. She went on to play at Xavier, where she finished her career as the school’s second all-time leading point-getter and goal scorer.

She still ranks No. 1 in Xavier history for single-season assists and career assists and was first-team all A-10 all four years at Xavier. She also led St. Ursula in rebounds twice as a three-year basketball starter.

Danny Milligan, St. Xavier class of 2008

Milligan was a three-year starter at St. Xavier and played a crucial role on the 2007 undefeated state championship football team. That year, he was named The Enquirer’s player of the year, as he caught nine touchdown passes, rushed for another five and added 13 field goals and 52 extra points. His 40 career field goals is still second in Ohio history. He went on to play receiver at UC, where he caught two touchdown passes in 2012.

Kelsey Mitchell, Princeton class of 2014

Only the 24th athlete to be inducted into the LaRosa’s Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility, Mitchell starred in basketball for Princeton, Ohio State and now the Indiana Fever. She was named Ohio Ms. Basketball in 2014 and was a McDonald’s All-American. She was named The Enquirer’s player of the year all four years at Princeton. She won All-America honors all four years at OSU and is still the Buckeyes’ all-time leading scorer.

Mitchell was drafted No. 2 in the 2018 NBA draft and she is a two-time WNBA all star (2023 and 2024).

Tim Beerman, Ursuline Academy and St. Xavier (coach)

In more than 20 years as a swimming head coach between Ursuline and St. Xavier, Beerman’s teams won 10 Ohio Division I state championships and eight national titles (determined by the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association). His teams at Ursuline finished as state runners-up seven times, and he won state championships all six seasons he was the head coach at St. Xavier. He coached Ursuline’s 2001-02 swim team, which is also being inducted this year.

Princeton’s 1983 football team

The 1983 Princeton football team, coached by the legendary Pat Mancuso, cruised through the Ohio state tournament on the way to beating Akron Garfield 24-6 in the state championship. USA Today had Princeton ranked as the second-best team in the nation in its final poll that season. The team had 12 players who went on to play Division I football, including defensive back Harlon Barnett, who played seven seasons in the NFL and was Michigan State’s interim head coach in 2023 amid the Mel Tucker scandal. He’s currently the assistant head coach and defensive backs coach at Northwestern. Another recognizable name is quarterback Michael Taylor, who led Michigan to Big 10 championships in 1988 and 1989.

Ursuline’s 2001-02 swim team

This was Ursuline’s third team in a row to win an Ohio state title under coach Tim Beerman. The team also won the Girls Greater Catholic League, sectional and district championships. Whitney Myers, later a record setting swimmer at the University of Arizona, was a part of this team, setting a state record in the 200-freestyle and the 100-butterfly that season. Thirteen swimmers on the team qualified for the state meet, and Ursuline broke the state record in the 200-freestyle relay at the state tournament. Myers was selected as Ohio’s female swimmer of the year.