Perkins graduate Matt Hoty was among seven athletes from Tennessee to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Hoty followed his indoor qualification in the men’s shot put with a trip to nationals outdoors. The first-year performer, though, made it by the slimmest of margins, punching out a throw of 59-10 1/2 on his first attempt that withstood the next five rounds of throws from his competitors. We wound up with the 12th and final qualifying spot.

“The first throw, I came out and said `I’m going to give it what I’ve got,’ and I hung on from there,” Hoty said. “I don’t think I’ve ever thrown my best throw with my first attempt, so it was kind of nerve-racking holding on the entire time.”


Hoty earned second team All-American honors in the event during the indoor season. 

Lorain's Breanna Fortney has chosen The College of Brockport to continue her basketball career. She signed her letter of intent this past Wednesday at Lorain High School's auditorium.

This past season, Fortney made the All-Lorain County First Team in Division I.
 

She averaged 12.6 points per game this season, and helped lead the Titans to a 17-5 mark and the district semifinal where they lost to Westlake. She also was an All-Lake Erie League First Teamer. 

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Lorain's Preshus Hawthorne has decided to continue her basketball career at Hiram College. She signed her letter of intent this past Wednesday at Lorain High School's auditorium.

Hawthorne was an All-Lorain County Honorable Mention this past season. 

She helped lead the Titans to a 17-5 mark and the district semifinal where they lost to Westlake. She also was an All-Lake Erie League selection. 

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Lorain's Madison Stoyka has decided to continue her basketball career at Wayne State. She signed her letter of intent this past Wednesday at Lorain High School's auditorium. 

This past season, Stoyka made the All-Lorain County First Team in Division I.
 

She averaged 13.5 points and 3.5 assists per game this season, and helped lead the Titans to a 17-5 mark and the district semifinal where they lost to Westlake. She also was an All-Lake Erie League First Teamer. 

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Perkins graduate Amy Schlessman, a Kenyon College junior, represented the Ladies tennis team at the NCAA Division III individual championship. Schlessman was one of 32 players from throughout the country selected to participate in the singles tournament, and she advanced to the Sweet 16 before being knocked out. 

 

Playing at Cary Tennis Park, Schlessman handled Amy Friesenhahn from the University of Texas-Tyler in the opening round. Schlessman breezed through the first set, 6-0, and won the second set by a solid, 6-2, margin.

The win sent Schlessman on to the round of 16, where she squared off against Emory University's Gabrielle Clark, the No. 1-ranked player in the Atlantic South region. Schlessman tried to keep pace but ultimately fell by a 6-1, 6-1 final.

For Schlessman, it was her first appearance in the national singles bracket. She became the first Lady to win a match in the championship, and therefore qualify for All-America status, since Ashley Kriwinsky in 2006. She had a berth in the doubles championship under her belt, which came with Prita Kidder during the 2010 season, and also resulted in an All-America nod.

Schlessman concludes the campaign with a 14-10 record in singles play and owns a 48-25 mark for her career.

Perkins graduate Cory Leslie, along with Adam Green and Antonio Blanks, all of Ohio State, advanced to the NCAA championships with impressive performances Friday evening at the NCAA East Regional Preliminaries in Jacksonville, Fla., highlighting day two at Hodges Stadium for the Ohio State men’s track and field team.

Leslie ran the fifth-fastest times of the 3000m steeplechase preliminary to move on to next month’s national championships in Des Moines. Leslie placed second in his heat in a time of 8:41.95. Eastern Kentucky’s Ben Torotich posted the top time of the 12 championship qualifiers, crossing the finish line in 8:37.03.

Midview's Eric Lauer has verbally committed to accept a baseball scholarship to the University of Kentucky, a NCAA Division I school in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

“I picked Kentucky because it is close to home and because they are members of the SEC, one of the best baseball conferences in the country,” Lauer said through a press release.  “I liked everything about it, including the fact it is a strong academic school.  It is a weight off my shoulders.”

Lauer, who is 5-1 on the season, has struck out 93 batters in 44 1/3  innings pitched. The lefthander has started for the Middies since his freshman year and is 9-3 overall with 161 career strikeouts. 

“Eric has worked incredibly hard to get to this point and is very deserving of such an honor,” Midview Head Baseball Coach John Justice said. “He has been a major part of our team’s success since his freshman season, including this year’s conference championship. I know that I am extremely proud of Eric and so are the rest of his coaches, teammates and his family. I look forward to seeing Eric in Middie Blue in 2013 and Wildcat Blue in 2014.”

Lauer, who has a accumulative GPA of 3.75 and is ranked 33 out of 283 in his class at Midview, chose Kentucky, who is currently ranked No. 7 in the nation (as high as #1 during the 2012 season), over Georgia Tech, Kent State, Louisville, and Ohio State.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Perkins graduate Matt Hoty, who red-shirted last season at Tennessee after breaking his wrist in his senior season at Perkins, has rediscovered the magic formula at just the right time to match his SEC Indoor finish in the men’s shot put with a third place result outdoors.

The 6-3, 300-pounder unloaded a blast of 60 feet, 10 inches to improve his UT freshman outdoor record in the event and deliver his squad six points.

This year, he made the 2012 USTFCCCA Indoor All-America Second Team and was a member of the SEC All-Freshman Team. In Indoors, he qualified for the NCAA Indoor meet and finished 15th in the shot put with a mark of 59-10 1/2.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Perkins graduate Amy Schlessman, from Kenyon College, was selected by the NCAA Women's Tennis Committee, along with 31 other players throughout the nation, to compete in the 2012 NCAA Division III Singles Championship Tournament.

Although the singles tournament will be new to Schlessman, she did make the 2010 NCAA doubles field, won her first match, and earned All-America status along with teammate Prita Kidder.

Schlessman, the Ladies' No. 1 singles player for the last two seasons, has a 13-9 record this year and a 47-24 record for her career. 

According to the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, she is ranked as the No. 8 singles player in the Central Region.

The singles championships will be held May 24-26 at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, North Carolina. The selection of individuals for the championship was based on won-lost record, strength of schedule, and eligibility and availability of student-athletes. While the field is set, the draw for the championship bracket will be completed by the NCAA Women's Tennis Committee one day before the tournament begins.