2021-22 Daily Record Players of the Year: Spring Sports
The 16 schools in The Daily Record's coverage area aren't the biggest in Ohio.
But those schools from Wayne County, Holmes County and the bordering areas have consistently produced memorable athletes who can compete against anyone in the state.
The 2021-22 school year brought more than a few of those.
Here are The Daily Record's 2021-22 Players of the Year for spring sports, selected by a panel of Daily Record writers and correspondents:
Baseball Player of the Year
Blake Bowen, Wooster, jr.
There wasn't much drama here. Bowen was one of the best players in the entire state and put together one of the great hitting seasons in area history.
His numbers were astronomical: a .1.805 OPS with seven home runs and 45 RBIs in just 25 games. Bowen has raw power that very few high school players possess, along with a watchful eye that saw him walk nearly once per game. Even with teams trying their best to pitch around him, Bowen clobbered 24 extra-base hits for the OCC champion Generals.
A year after Tyler Pettorini put together a first-team All-Ohio season at Wooster, Bowen put up even bigger numbers. Div. I college baseball players don't come through Wayne County very often. Bowen, who is committed to Kentucky, is headed to do big things at the next level against the best players in the country.
At least after he plays one more season at Wooster, where he'll be one of the most feared hitters in all of Ohio once again.
Stats and accolades: Div. I All-Ohio first team, Prep Baseball Report Ohio Co-Position Player of the Year, OCC Player of the Year ... .568 AVG, .670 OBP, 1.805 OPS, 7 HRs, 13 doubles, 4 triples, 45 RBIs, 39 runs, 22 walks, 16 steals
Softball Player of the Year
Carter Wachtel, Triway, soph.
Plenty of talented pitchers have come through the area over the years. Wachtel has already taken her place among the best of the best.
In two prep seasons, Wachtel has started every big game for a Triway team that's proven itself as one of the area's top teams ever. She's gone 47-4 in the circle during that time, emerging as one of the best pitchers in Ohio.
Unlike many dominant high school pitchers, Wachtel doesn't simply overpower her opponents. She picks them apart with a combination of spin, control and poise. Wachtel is almost always ahead in the count and rarely makes a mistake, painting the corners and attacking weaknesses.
While her pitching is what immediately stands out, Wachtel was also one of the area's best hitters, batting in the leadoff spot for one of the state's best lineups. In one of the most loaded years for local softball, nobody in the area made an all-around impact on a game-to-game basis quite like Wachtel.
Stats and accolades: Div. II All-Ohio first team, PAC-7 Player of the Year ... 159⅓ IP, 25-1, 0.84 ERA, 308 Ks, 21 BBs; .454 AVG, .556 OBP, 1 HR, 13 doubles, 1 triple, 26 RBIs, 15 runs, 22 walks
Boys Track Athlete of the Year
Colby Morlock, Norwayne, sr.
At 6-foot-3, 275-pounds, Colby Morlock draws attention wherever he goes. But when the recent Norwayne grad spins the discus and pushes the shot put, he brings crowds.
Morlock strung together an historic season in the throwing ring, helping the Bobcats to the school's first state track championship in school history. He broke his own school record and came within an inch of the area mark en route to capturing the Div. III state crown in the discus and posted the second-best mark in local history as he finished runner-up at state in the shot put (to his brother Dillon).
Even more impressive for Morlock is that, despite missing his entire sophomore season because of the COVID-19 cancellation, he took away four All-Ohio medals over his final two seasons, including a gold and a silver this past spring, along with sweeping both event titles at the Wayne County Athletic League for the second straight year. In the discus alone, Morlock finished first in eight of nine invitational meets — sweeping his way through the postseason before winning his first career state title.
Stats and accolades: Div. III state champ in discus and state runner-up in shot put, first-team All-WCAL in both events ... Discus personal-record: 192-5 (at Massillon Regional); Shot put personal-record: 64-11 (at Div. III state meet)
Girls Track Athlete of the Year
Jaylee Wingate, Norwayne, jr.
A year ago, Wingate came oh-so-close to earning a state berth. This past spring, the runner was busy breaking records in every distance race she toed the starting line for.
From the 800- to the 3,200-meter runs, Wingate was downright dominant in a record-breaking season that ended with the 11th grader walking away with three All-Ohio medals in her first career trip to the Div. II state meet — two individually and one as the anchor of a relay team to a podium finish.
During the regular season, she was in a class by herself in the area, sweeping victories throughout each of her postseason races. Wingate finished the season as area record holder in 1,600 and second overall in 800 and third in 3,200.
Wingate ended the season with a pair of personal-record runs in Columbus as she was third overall in the 1,600 — breaking her own area record in the event — and a fifth-place finish in the 800 in another career-best time. She also guided the 4x4 relay unit to seventh overall to cap off an impressive day at the state meet. Wingate added the 800 and 1,600 championships in the Wayne County Athletic League, Orrville District and Youngstown Regional as she was undefeated in each of those events before the final week of the season.
Stats and accolades: Div. II All-Ohio finisher in 800, 1,600 and as member of 4x4 relay, first-team All-WCAL in both individual events. ... 800 personal-record: 2:10.24 (at Div. II state meet); 1,600: 4:48.02 (at Div. II state meet); 3,200: 11:00.00 (Dwight Schar Invitational).
Boys Tennis Player of the Year
Paul Self, Triway, soph.
Self already established himself as one of the area's best players as a freshman. He just took it to another level as a sophomore.
Self was one of three local players to advance to district play as an individual, joining teammate Logan McAllister and Hiland's Garret Shoup. Self was Triway's No. 1 over McAllister, beating him in the third-place match in sectional play, and took down Shoup at the NET Conference Tournament.
After just figuring out how to play high school tennis at a high level during his first year, Self became a much more strategic player as a sophomore, using his opponents' weaknesses against them. It all added up to a successful year that he should be able to build on even further in the coming years.
Stats and accolades: Div. II district qualifier, Div. II Northeast sectional third place, NET No. 1 singles third-place
Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year
Adin Laughlin, Wooster, sr.
With a mostly young team, Wooster had to count on Laughlin a lot in 2022. And the senior goalie delivered.
There's a reason he's heading to play college lacrosse for Div. I Mercer. Laughlin was one of the best goalies in the entire state. His combination of athleticism, instincts and size made him tough for opponents to score on all year.
Almost all of Wooster's big wins included huge performances from its star goalie. In the Generals' 4-3 win over Medina — Wooster's first win over the Bees since 2008 — Laughlin saved 83% of the shots on goal for 15 saves. In close wins over Granville and Lake, Laughlin's play in goal propelled the Generals to wins as well.
Other players made a big impact of Wooster's season, but none quite like Laughlin.
Stats and accolades: Div. II All-Ohio second-team, Region 5 Goalie of the Year ... 250 saves, 65% save percentage
Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year
Emily Serafinchon, Wooster, sr.
One common theme of many of the area's best athletes — they played through pain and sometimes downright injury in order to help their team. Serafinchon was one of those.
A back injury forced her to miss three games, but Serafinchon came back while she was going through physical therapy and still feeling pain. And she was still one of the best players on the field every time the Generals played, both before and after the injury. One of Serafinchon's best games came in a loss, when she saved 21 shots against a CVCA team that fired 37 shots on goal. She was always determined to keep Wooster in the game, no matter the opponent.
Wooster coach Holly Pope called her "one of a kind" because of her level of play combined with her leadership. Those are the types of words reserved for Players of the Year.
Stats and accolades: First-team All-Region 5 ... 54% save percentage
Editor's Note: Due to uncertainty regarding The Daily Record's end-of-the-year awards, honorees for all sports during the 2021-22 school year are being recognized now. The Daily Record sports staff is exploring options on how to make this a special event like it's been in past years. Congratulations to winners and non-winners alike on a memorable 2021-22 season.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: 2021-22 Daily Record Players of the Year: Spring Sports
