Looking back at an incredible finish to spring sports season

Standing in someone's shadow is usually a cliche, an overused metaphor.But talking to Calvin Willow after the Arlington senior won the Division V high jump at the state track tournament in Columbus earlier this month, I found it also can be used literally.On this sunny day, Willow -- who won the state high jump crown for the second time in three years -- was towering over me with his 6-foot-10 frame.On my more confident days, I tell people I'm 5-foot-9. On my borderline delusional ones, I'm 5-10.But Willow made me feel like Danny DeVito.Willow is an incredibly humble person. He rarely takes credit for his successes, whether they are in track, basketball or football.He's been a star in Hancock County prep sports, just as his sister, Karis, was in track and volleyball for Liberty-Benton.Karis won state titles with the L-B volleyball team, then went on to Penn State, where she's played for a national championship squad.Calvin's high school career ended in Columbus, but he'll play in college, as well.He'll compete for coach Charlie Ernst and the University of Findlay basketball team next winter.It's been an incredible run for him. He not only excelled in track, but helped the Red Devils boys basketball team to the state semifinals in 2025.It will be interesting to see if that success carries over to college.It's hard to bet against Calvin, or the Willows.Calvin's title was just one of the memorable things that happened in area sports over the past few weeks. I was lucky enough to be there for a number of those things.There was the state track tournament -- the first one to feature competitors in five divisions.Area athletes excelled at a dizzying pace. It was almost impossible to keep track of it all.Overall, the area had more than 120 qualifiers, and more than 70 placers.There were individual champions, such as Calvin, Ottawa-Glandorf's Alivia Grothouse, Columbus Grove's Kendal Palte and Bluffton's Kain Wright. McComb's Carter Frater and Columbus Grove's terrific brother duo of Trevon and Gavin Baxter went head-to-head in the hurdles and the long jump.There were relay titlists. There were even team champions. Columbus Grove won the boys and girls team crowns in Division V.The meet stretched four days this year. By its end, it was the best meet -- for area athletes -- that I'd covered in more than two decades.Most years, the state track meet would be the end of the area's spring season.But Leipsic and Liberty-Benton's baseball teams made sure that wasn't the case.Leipsic advanced to the state tournament, and used back-to-back walk-off wins to reach last week's Division VII state final against Delphos St. John's.It was the first time the Vikings reached a state final since 1976.Liberty-Benton made the Division V state semifinal, using some incredible pitching from a pair of sophomores -- BVC Player of the Year Kooper Leatherman and Jackson Knepper -- to reach the final four for the first time.The thing that came through was how great baseball in northwest Ohio is. Leipsic lost in the state final to the Blue Jays, whose school is about 30 miles away.Another Division VII state finalist was Tiffin Calvert, another team about an hour away from the Vikings by drive.Liberty-Benton didn't reach the finals, but it came close. It had the bases loaded in the seventh inning of its game with Columbus Academy, down 5-2.As L-B coach Matt Rader said afterward, someone finds a gap, and it's a tie game.That didn't happen. But it didn't take away from the big run the Eagles made.It was fun to be covering big baseball games.There's nothing like the intensity of a close, winner-take-all game.Leipsic, Liberty-Benton and Calvert gave us a number of those.Calvert's semifinal with Delphos St. John's was special for another reason.Sitting next to me for the game was Hal McCoy, the long-time, Baseball Hall of Fame writer for the Dayton Daily News.McCoy is a Lima native and was an Indians fan.But he's most associated with Ohio's other MLB team.McCoy covered the Big Red Machine. He covered the 1990 World Series.The Reds are my National League team.McCoy was incredibly kind. He even asked if I wanted to hold his Hall of Fame ring. "This must be like what normal people feel when they meet Tom Hanks," I thought.It was incredible to meet and talk with the famous writer.But it was even better to do it during an important baseball game. It was an incredible week, and a reminder.There is so much to see when covering NW Ohio sports.And so much worth remembering.