By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
Several area players and coaches received top honors on the District 7 Basketball Coaches Association all-district boys and girls basketball teams.
Three area players were named players of the year in their respective divisions including Charlee Forward of Archbold (Division V girls), Addison Schang of Fayette (Division VII girls) and Jack Leppelmeier of Pettisville (Division VII boys).
Nick Ramos, who guided Montpelier to an outright Buckeye Border Conference boys basketball title, was tabbed as the Division VII boys coach of the year. It also marked the first outright league title for the Locos since 1956.
Conner Ruffer, who led Stryker to a share of the Buckeye Border Conference girls basketball title with Fayette and Edon and its first regional appearance since 2019, was chosen as the Division VII girls coach of the year.
In Division IV boys, Riley Riegsecker of Wauseon was named to the first team. Tucker Watson of Bryan and Jack Altstaetter of Wauseon were both named to the second team. Jake Arnold and Bryce Welling of Bryan and Xzavier Molina of Wauseon received honorable mention.
Wyatt Gericke of Archbold and Alex York of Delta were named to the first team in Division V boys. Second team honors went to Morgan Harris of Archbold and Evan Reinhard of Swanton.
Vincent Martinez and Ashton Alig of Delta along with Tripp Langenderfer of Archbold and Brady Haselman of Swanton received honorable mention honors.
Evergreen’s Quinten Eisel was the lone area player to receive first team honors on the Division VI boys team. Will Ruetz of Evergreen was named to the second team. Troy Manz, George Allendorf and Brycen Bolger of Evergreen earned honorable mention honors.
Joining Leppelmeier on the Division VII first team were C.J. Fidler of Montpelier, Briggs Gallehue and Corbin Chrisman of Edon, Will Donovan and Bradley Williams of Stryker and Zack Whitley of North Central.
Second team honors went to Hayden Sharps, Wesley Hartsock and Kenneth Smeltzer of Montpelier, Brady Everetts and Kellen Sanchez of Edgerton and Jackson Poynter of North Central.
Honorable mention honors went to Maddox Baker of Edgerton, Creighton Aeschliman and Alex Galvin of Pettisville, Mason Leininger, Kruez Lichtenwald and Carter Lavinder of Fayette, Malachi Smeltzer of Montpelier, Kadin Stantz of Edon and Eli Capps of Stryker.
A pair of Bryan cagers, Josey Arnold and Averyann Fisher, both earned first team honors on the Division IV all-district girls squad.
Named to the second team were Aizlynn Coronado and Sophia Rupp of Wauseon and Amiyah Langham of Bryan.
Honorable mention honors went to Marin Leatherman and Ella Tule of Wauseon, Piper Hanna and Braya Hepker of Bryan.
Joining Forward on the Division V girls team were Anna Lohman of Delta and Miley Gericke of Archbold.
Second team honors went to Keagyn Gillen and Abbey Todd of Delta and Molly Harris of Archbold.
Earning honorable mention honors were Klaire Kern and Reagan Wendt of Archbold, Olivia Mohring of Delta and Lauren Bettinger of Swanton.
In Division VI, Evergreen’s Lanae Manz was the lone area cager chosen on the first team.
Honorable mention honors went to Zoe Uribes of Montpelier and Lyla Radel of Evergreen.
Joining Schang on the Division VII all-district first team were Alivia Farnham of Edgerton, Adison Briner and Nevaeh Smith of Edon, Grace Froelich of Stryker, Becca Strauss of Pettisville and Kennedy Kunkle of Fayette.
Second team honors went to Sophia Crossgrove of Hilltop, Abby Oberlin of Stryker, Ava Swank of Edgerton, Cailyn Meyers of North Central and Kelsie Storrs of Fayette.
Receiving honorable mention honors were Madison Miller and Addison Davis of Pettisville, Genna Ripke, Grace Ripke and Addi Snyder of Edon, Molly Dickinson of Hilltop, Kaitlyn Burke of Edgerton, Mesa Gorsuch of Fayette, Mia Lawson of North Central and Allie Ruffer of Stryker.
The District 7 Basketball Coaches Association also recognized seniors who received the Academic Achievement Awards.
GIRLS
Division IV
Bryan: Josey Arnold, Ava Zimmerman and Gabby Mossburg.
Wauseon: Marin Leatherman, Aizlynn Coronado, Kara Ehrsam and Emmerie Rodriguez.
Division V
Archbold: Miley Gericke and Charlee Forward.
Delta: Eliana Hilyard, Keagyn Gillen, McKenzie Kruger, Ellie Martinez and Abbey Todd.
Swanton: Lauren Bettinger and Carli Lagrange.
Division VI
Montpelier: Kaida Feeney and Bella Ramos.
Division VII
Edgerton: Alivia Farnham and Ava Swank.
Edon: Genna Ripke, Grace Ripke and Amanda Schwartz.
Fayette: Addison Schang, Kelsie Storrs, Willow Mitchell and Mesa Gorsuch.
Hilltop: Molly Dickinson.
North Central: Cailyn Meyers and Addyson Turner.
Pettisville: Becca Strauss and Grace Hastings.
Stryker: Reiss Creighton, Grace Froelich and Abby Oberlin.
BOYS
Division IV
Bryan: Jack Kennedy, Tucker Miller and Tucker Watson.
Wauseon: Jack Altstaetter, Collin Mennetti, Bodie Vasvery and Maguire Willson.
Division V
Delta: Gunner Avery, Jadon Lohman, Gary Valentine and Alex York.
Division VI
Evergreen: Troy Manz, Brycen Bolger, Quinten Eisel and Blake Fisher.
Division VII
Edon: Briggs Gallehue and Kendol Brigle.
Fayette: Carter Lavinder.
Pettisville: Creighton Aeschliman and Jack Leppelmeier.
Stryker: Will Donovan and Andrew Batterson.
For more local news, see High School Sports Schedule For Thursday, March 26, 2026 (WEATHER PERMITTING).