It wasn’t a typical year of sports success stories.

Saturday, January 01, 2000

It wasn’t a typical year of sports success stories. There were the regular stories of teams winning league championships, coaches coming and going, and players signing to play college ball. But this year went beyond the routine sports news.

Ironton shocked the field as it emerged from the 8th-seed spot in the computer ratings to upset four teams and reached the state finals, losing a controversial 16-14 decision to Sandusky Perkins.

St. Joe had a banner year. Joe Dressel led the Flyers to their best basketball record in 48 years and first-year coach Kevin Sheridan was honored with the Associated Press state coach of the year award. The Flyers soccer team went unbeaten, a school first.

Kelli Smith was a starting guard for the Shawnee State women’s basketball team that won an NAIA national championship.

And, of course, there was Chesapeake High School track star Robby Isaacs capturing two state championships in the long jump and 200 meter dash.

In an effort to refresh your memories, here is a capsule listing of the top sports stories of 1999, the final season of the millennium.

January

– Green Bobcats win third straight Southern Ohio Conference Division I boys basketball championship.

– Cleveland Browns named Chris Palmer head coach.

February

– Ironton wide receiver James Taylor signs with Ohio University.

– Ironton St. Joe posts 14-7 record, its best mark in 48 years.

– Chesapeake Panthers win an unprecedented fourth straight Ohio Valley Conference boys basketball championship.

– Nick Miller is named the new head football coach of the Coal Grove Hornets.

– Green Lady Bobcats win share of SOC basketball title.

– South Point girls win Ohio Valley Conference basketball crown.

– Nikki Eplion of South Point fights for the Toughwoman World Championship.

– Ohio University Southern Campus stars Andrew Stevens and Carlos Henderson record 1,000th career points.

– Fairland in Div. III, Rock Hill in Div. II, and Green in Div. IV win boys sectional basketball titles.

March

– Former Chesapeake All-Ohio guard Kelli Smith helps Shawnee State University win NAIA Division II national championship.

– St. Joe senior guard Joe Dressel is the Southeast District Div. IV Player of the Year, and Kevin Sheridan is selected not only the Div. IV district coach of the year, but the state coach-of-year.

– Zack Murphy of Coal Grove wins district, state, and regional Elks Hoop Shoot contests to qualify for nationals.

– Ohio University Southern Campus finishes second in the Ohio branch college state tournament, its first season in the tournament.

– Former Coal Grove athletic director and coach Dave Waller is honored for his work on the Southeastern Ohio Athletic Board.

– Rock Hill’s Jeff Fraley and Coal Grove’s Nick Roberts eclipse 1,000-career points.

– Wheelersburg’s Larry Hall retires and accepts job as new Ashland (Ky.) football coach.

April

– Chesapeake’s Chris Lovely plays in the annual North/South All-Star basketball game.

– Coal Grove’s Brad Miller signs to play basketball at Cedarville.

– St. Joe senior guard Joe Dressel is named to the Ohio Basketball Coaches All-Academic team.

– Ohio All-Stars sweep two games from West Virginia stars.

– Ironton’s Larry Browning sets world and state record in the senior division of the Central Ohio Bench Press Championships. His grandson, Jasun Walker, sets a state and world record in the 14-15 age division, and Eddie Zeek sets a state record in his age group.

May

– South Point wins OVC baseball title.

– South Point girls win OVC softball title.

– Symmes Valley Lady Vikings win SOC softball title outright, marking the first time Portsmouth Clay has not won or shared the title since 1978.

– Chesapeake boys, Rock Hill girls take OVC track championships.

– Rock Hill’s Jeff Fraley signs to play basketball at Urbana.

– Ironton, South Point, Symmes Valley, Green win sectional baseball titles.

– South Point girls advance to regionals before losing 7-0 to Indian Valley. Lady Pointers set a school record with 26 wins.

– Green girls reach softball regionals before losing.

– Fairland’s Greg Johnson inks to play basketball at Otterbein College.

– Symmes Valley gets two tournament wins as Justin Myers and Jason Lyall each throw no-hitters.

– Green, Symmes Valley share SOC baseball championship.

June

– Joe Swarts of Coal Grove, a longtime high school official in football, basketball, and baseball, is inducted into the Ohio High School Officials Association Hall of Fame.

– Chesapeake’s Robby Isaacs wins two state track championships. His 23-5 leap on his final jump wins the long jump on Friday, and his 22.21 clocking is first in the 200 meter dash on Saturday. He also ran an 11.15 to place fourth in the 100 meter dash.

– Ironton’s James Taylor finished fourth in the state high jump.

– Isaacs is selected the Southeast District Coaches’ Player of the Year.

– Ironton has four golfers sign to play college golf: Justin Collins at Ohio State, Ryan Hurley at Louisville, Todd Christian at Eastern Kentucky, and Derek Dufore at Life University.

– Ironton’s Aaron Markel and James Taylor play in the annual Ohio North/South All-Star football game.

– Phil Rice resigns as Ironton High School’s boys basketball coach with more than 200 wins, six regional championships, and a state tournament appearance on his list of accomplishments.

– Chris Barnes is named the new Ironton boys basketball coach.

July

– Ironton’s James Taylor is selected to play in the annual Ohio-Pennsylvania Big 33 All-Star football game.

– Ed Fry is named the new men’s head basketball coach at Ohio University Southern Campus.

– Ironton’s 13-year-old Junior League All-Star team qualifies for the state tournament.

– Fairland’s Little League advanced to the state tournament.

– Justin Collins placed fourth in the AJGA Club Corp. Junior Players Championship.

– The Diamond Dusters ASA 14-and-under girls softball team qualified for the nationals. Team members included Ashley McCloud, Ashley Carmon, and Maria Frazer of Ironton, Jennifer Jones of Proctorville, Jennifer Rice of Chesapeake, and Rachel Staley of Wheelersburg.

August

– Former Ironton All-Ohio lineman Walt Delong signs to play football at Georgetown College.

– Ironton Senior League All-Stars reach the state tournament.

– South Point’s 10-year-old All-Stars qualify for the state tournament.

– Rock Hill’s T. J. Dillow signs to play basketball at Wilmington College.

– The local bowling team of Janet Brown, Kathy Fraley, Sharry Justice, Becky Dillow, Mary Kay Washburn, and Charla Reedy placed 21st among 2,141 teams in the Ohio Womens Bowling Tournament.

– Rock Hill’s Andy Hall and Wheelersburg’s Mike Schmidt record their first football career coaching wins.

September

– Fairland Dragons win OVC golf championship again, then win the sectional golf title.

– Former four-time All-Ohio golfer Justin Collins of Ironton wins a week-long playoff competition and becomes the No. 1 player for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

– Tony Brown wins his first-ever Ironton Country Club championship.

– Marshall is ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since the poll’s inception in 1936.

– Ironton’s Dennis Gagai and Josh Adkins get to play in an exhibition game at the Little League World Series.

October

– Ironton’s golf team wins the district and qualifies for an unprecedented fifth straight state tournament appearance.

– St. Joe soccer completes its first-ever unbeaten regular season at 13-0-3 and wins its first sectional championship.

– Chesapeake wins a second straight OVC football title and posts a 10-0 record, its first unbeaten regular season since 1961.

– Ironton linebacker Redgie, although just a junior, gives a verbal commitment to attend and play football at Ohio State.

– Coal Grove captures the OVC cross country championship.

November

– Ironton rolls off four straight upset wins in the Div. IV playoffs by beating Cincinnati Wyoming 28-14, Cincinnati Indian Hill 21-7, Germantown Valley View 38-29, and No. 1-ranked Youngstown Mooney 34-24 to become the only 8th seed to reach the state finals. It is Ironton’s 10th berth in the state title game.

– Chesapeake qualifies for the Div. V playoffs for the second straight year and beats Johnstown Northridge 13-3, then loses to eventual state champion Amanda-Clearcreek 43-13.

– Symmes Valley, making only its second playoff appearance, falls to perennial power Newark Catholic 42-14 in the first round of the Div. VI playoffs.

December

– Ironton loses 16-14 to Sandusky Perkins in the state championship game. A blown call on fourth-and-one by an official costs the Fighting Tigers a potential third state title.

– Marshall pulls out a last-second win over Western Michigan to win the MAC championship and earns a third straight berth in the Motor City Bowl.

– Marshall beats Brigham Young 21-3 in the Motor City Bowl to finish the season 13-0.

– Herd coach Bob Pruett accepts the job as the new Houston Cougars football coach, then changes his mind and stays at Marshall.

– South Point’s Chris Watts resigns as head football coach.

– Ohio University Southern Campus guard Andrew Stevens breaks his own school record with 13 3-point goals.

– Marshall’s Chad Pennington is fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

– Ironton’s Michael Henry and Jason Harmon are named first team as they head up the area All-Ohio selections.

– Walt Delong is all-conference as Georgetown finishes second in Div. II playoffs.