ARCHIVE PHOTOS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
CROSS COUNTRY … Schang turned in a time of 20:18 to place sixth and lead the Eagles to a fifth-place finish as a team to qualify for regionals.
BASKETBALL … Schang gets behind the Stryker defense for a layup in the first quarter of the Division VII district semifinal.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
It’s quite an accomplishment for an athlete to be chosen as a conference player of the year in two different sports.
That distinction belongs to Fayette senior Addison Schang as she became the first student-athlete in school history to achieve top Buckeye Border Conference honors this year.
“It’s definitely rewarding,” admitted Schang. “I think it very well shows that my hard work pays off and it’s just an awesome feeling to have.”
The daughter of Andrew and Wendy Schang, Addison carries a 3.97 grade point average and has excelled in cross country, basketball, and track and field, garnering plenty of honors in all three sports.
Last fall, she earned top female runner of the year honors in leading the Eagles to a BBC girls cross country championship despite not having a full squad at the beginning of the season.
“We had two girls that came back, and we had two freshman girls that never ran cross country before joining the team,” she said.
“I think for them stepping up kind of showed that our program is worth a lot more than what people kind of viewed it as.”
In the meet, she was the individual BBC champion with a time of 21:05, after finishing runner-up behind Pettisville’s Kendall Sears in her junior year.
“I had a rough cross-country career in my first two years, but this is definitely a goal that I had,” said Schang after winning the BBC runner-of-the-year honors. “I attempted to get it my junior year, but I just couldn’t get past the Pettisville runner (Kendall Sears) in the race.”
It was Schang’s senior leadership that helped elevate the Eagles to another level and persuade other girls to join the cross-country team.
“A big motivation was being able to win the BBC meet,” pointed out Schang. “Our coach (Bryan Stambaugh) made up a mock meet and just kind of showed the girls saying this is what we are able to do. Making it to regionals was another big thing for us.”
Another one of her cross-country goals last fall was qualifying for the Division IV girls state cross country meet, in which she ended up finishing 67th overall.
“It was definitely very overwhelming, but it’s just something that anyone can be very eager for, and it was so exciting,” admitted Schang on her state meet experience.
Schang’s attention turned to girls basketball season, where she played an important role for head coach Travis Arkwright in leading the Eagles to a share of the Buckeye Border Conference title with Edon and Stryker.
The team finished with a 16-6 overall record and a 6-1 ledger in the BBC and reached the district semifinals before falling to Stryker.
Averaging 15.7 points per game, the 5-foot-6 four-year letterwinner not only earned Buckeye Border Conference and District 7 Basketball Coaches Association Player-of-the-Year honors, but also first team all-Northwest Ohio District and second team All-Ohio in Division VII by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association.
Schang was surprised to be chosen as the BBC player of the year, especially at the beginning of the season. “I knew that I would get first team honors and be at the higher end of the coaches voting,” said Schang.
“Honestly, I was kind of scared of my friend Grace Froelich from Stryker and the (Adison) Briner girl from Edon, I knew they would be in the running for it. But ultimately at the end of the season, it wasn’t that much a shock to me.”
A key highlight for Schang was the regular season finale at Stryker, in which the Lady Eagles, who had previously lost to Edon 54-52 on Jan. 29, saw an opportunity to claim a share of the BBC title and prevailed with a 47-36 victory on Feb. 11.
“We were really hyped for that day,” pointed out Schang. “There was a lot of support from the community and within the school and what athletic director Collin (Coburn) was able to do on getting more people to come out.
“And seeing some of the players from the 2016 squad (Division IV regional runner-up) able to return and watch the game. It was a great environment to be around.”
Ironically, Schang had two cousins, Rylee Shock and Rhys Ruger, who had played on the 2016 Eagles squad. She remembered watching both play when she was in second grade.
“It gave me a lot of inspiration,” admitted Schang. “I remember going and watching them all the way until they lost in the regional finals (Fostoria St. Wendelin) and it was me being out there.
“It wasn’t just them two (Shock and Ruger) who gave me a lot of motivation, but also Kaela Seiler and Taylor Griffiths who I also looked up to as role models.”
Coburn, who is in his first year as athletic director, said Schang is leading by example for younger athletes all the way down to the Mini-Eagles basketball program.
“Day in and day out, she’s the hardest worker, and it pays off with individual awards,” commented the Fayette athletic director.
“She does everything by example. I think this year she’s been even more vocal, which is good to see, and it showed in basketball and cross country.”
Her high school athletic career isn’t finished yet, as Schang will be competing in track as well as playing softball for the first time this spring.
Next fall, Schang will continue her education and her cross country and indoor and outdoor track careers at Indiana University East, located in Richmond, Indiana. She will be majoring in business administration.
Being the first athlete in school history to achieve both the girls cross country runner of the year and girls basketball player of the year honors in the same year in the BBC, Schang has set the bar high for future Fayette athletes.
“I think it’s just something that is a great feeling, especially for the younger kids and the girls that look up to you, that you can do more things than just being good at one sport,” said Schang.
“You can go out there and be good at one, two, three or possibly even five sports and you can get these great honors in more sports than just the one.”