On January 21, 2023, Seneca East inducted its inaugural hall of fame class. The Seneca East Hall of Fame was established to identify and honor in a permanent manner, those individuals who have exhibited high ethical standards and integrity while achieving excellence in the former Attica, Republic, and Seneca Huron Schools and Communities, as well as our current Seneca East Local School and Community. The successes we are recognizing come from accomplishments as students, athletes, staff, community members, and contributors. These individuals and groups have distinguished themselves by virtue of their first-class actions, outstanding achievements, and exemplary contributions to the betterment of the Seneca East Local School District. Seneca East and the former Attica, Republic, and Seneca Huron schools have a long and storied history. Past graduates have paved the way for future success of others and thousands of individuals and groups have made their mark in our local community and throughout the world. The class of 2023 is an elite group and one that will set the example and pave the way for our future Hall of Fame classes.
Members of the Hall of Fame include the following;
Mr. Glenn Brooks, a 1949 graduate of Attica High School earned his Bachelor of Arts from Heidelberg College in 1953 where he also played baseball. Glen served in the U.S. Army from 1953-1955 and was stationed in Germany. He received his Masters of Education from Bowling Green State University in 1958.
Glenn married Carolyn on August 15, 1959 and together they had four children (Candy, Glenn Jr., Gregory, and Jeff). Glenn taught Math, Science, Physical Education, and Driver’s Education from 1955-1969 for the Attica Local School District. Glenn then served as the Elementary Principal at Attica and Seneca East Schools from 1969-1978. He finished his career in education at the Seneca County Board of Education as the Secondary Supervisor from 1978-1983. Upon retiring from education, Glenn was the credit manager at Clay Distributing Company, in Attica. He also served as a member of the Local Board of Selective service in 1992. Glenn was an active member of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Ohio for 69 years.
Glenn was also known for his coaching. His coaching career began in 1959 and concluded in 1978. His passion was basketball. He was regarded as the Dean of Basketball Coaches in Seneca County. He recorded 266 victories against 167 losses throughout his career. His teams won numerous League and Sectional titles. He was inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. He was the President of the 6th District Basketball Coach’s from 1972 thru 1977. Glenn was also the first Commissioner of the Midland Athletic League and held that position from 1985-1993. He also coached Cross Country and Track. It was a well-known fact that if you wanted to play basketball under his leadership, you had better run cross country. Glenn was a highly respected individual by students, teachers, players, and coaches. More important than wins or losses, he taught about life each and every year as a part of his journey.
Mr. Howard Cook, a 1938 graduate of Republic High School lived by the words “you should use all available time, for time passes on too quickly.” These were the words Howard shared to his classmates as class president at graduation. This summarizes the way he lived his life. In high school Howard was active in a variety of activities including sports editor of the newspaper and yearbook, President of the Boys’ Glee Club, Vice-President of the Mixed Chorus, President of the newly formed FFA, Interscholastic Group, and the Senior class play. Howard was a four-year member of the basketball and track and field teams. As a junior, Howard won the Class B discus competition at the state track and field meet. The basketball team was very successful during his junior and senior years where the team went to the finals in the county tournament losing by one point. Howard was awarded the “Highest Scoring Player” for the surrounding six counties and named to the first-team for tournament play.
After graduation Howard attended Heidelberg College for a year before returning to the family farm. Howard purchased a small farm of his own and began farming and raising dairy cows. Howard married the love of his life, Marvalene, on February 15, 1947. Together they had two children (Bill and Bonnie). His family was always active with the Republic Grange and he naturally became involved with this organization holding a variety of offices. He was elected as Master and also held leadership roles in the county-wide Pomona Grange and the Ohio State Grange. Howard’s involvement in the Republic Grange and other Granges in the county was instrumental in the establishment of the Grange Bowling League that met in Tiffin. Howard left the farming life and moved his family to Tiffin where he became active in the Lions Club and Eagles. He also enjoyed officiating high school basketball games as well as baseball and softball for the city youth leagues until it was more than his knees could handle at which time he chose to be a scorekeeper. Howard was always looking for ways to help the community, he was a blood donor at local Red Cross events and when his age kept him from donating he and Marvalene would drive blood donations to different sites to lend a helping hand. It is safe to say Howard Cook lived his life making the most of the available time he was given and the impact made with his time was wide-spread.
Kelly Elmlinger, a 1997 Seneca East graduate, is one of the most accomplished individuals to ever set foot in any Seneca East Local School building. As a Tiger, Kelly was known as a welcoming, kind, and first-class student. She excelled in cross country, basketball, and track & field and she was even part of the 4x800 meter relay’s 1997 state championship run at the state track & field meet.
Upon graduation and a brief stint at Tiffin University where she played basketball, Kelly ultimately enlisted in the U.S. Army on Veterans Day, 1998. Kelly bravely served her country on multiple deployments during Operation Enduring Freedom. As part of her bravery, Kelly was awarded the Bronze Star for her actions on the battlefield in Iraq. In 2010 Kelly completed her degree in nursing and requested to serve wounded warriors at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. As irony and fate would have it, in 2013 while serving our nation’s wounded warriors, Kelly was diagnosed with a soft tissue cancer. After a three-year battle, the cancer ultimately led to the amputation of her left leg in 2016. Upon having her leg amputated, Kelly was placed in the Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) where she rehabbed and participated in many adaptive sports. Kelly grew to take great pride in competing and fell in love with the triathlon. In 2018 Kelly qualified for and won the National Para-Triathlon where she garnered the attention of Team USA coaches. Kelly was notified in early 2019 that her para-athlete classification would not be selected as a medal event for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics; but she was allowed to try and race up a classification category. If she did this and was ranked in the top 9, she would earn a spot to race for Team USA in Tokyo. Kelly chose to race up and ended up being ranked 8th in the combined categories and was selected for the 2020 US Paralympic team. She competed in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and earned a 7th place finish for Team USA!
Since her first World Triathlon race in late 2018, Kelly has had 14 international race starts with 12 podium finishes, winning 9 of those outright. She has raced in Japan, England, Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. Kelly is currently ranked #1 in the world in her classification. The categories for the next Paralympics have not yet been announced, but Kelly intends to continue competing for the US National Team with the hopes of being selected for the Paris 2024 team.
Vincent Fries, a 1998 Seneca East High School graduate is the most decorated male athlete in the sport of cross country in the history of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). In his time as a Tiger he won three individual state championships as a freshman, sophomore, and senior, and finished as the state runner-up as a junior despite running his fastest state time of the four years. Vincent is the only high school boy in any division in the state of Ohio to win the individual cross country title as a freshman and he is the only three-time winner who backed up those championship performances with a runner-up finish. In accomplishing these individual feats, Vincent helped his team to four consecutive state runner-up finishes in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 as Seneca East became the only team in state history to finish as a runner-up four consecutive years. Vincent set and still holds the school record in the 5K for cross country with a time of 15:41. In track and field Vincent qualified to the state championship meet individually in six events and was a five time All-Ohioan, twice finishing as runner-up, once in the 1600 meter run and once in the 3200 meter run. Vincent still holds the school record in both the 1600 meter run (4:19.9) and 3200 meter run (9:29.8). Between the two sports, Vincent compiled three individual state championships, three individual state runner-up finishes, 10 individual state qualifying performances, nine All-Ohio performances, 10 Regional Championships, 10 District Championships, and 10 League Championships all while helping his team win 4 League, District, and Regional Championships in the process.
Upon graduation, Vincent attended the University of Cincinnati where he planned to compete in both cross country and track and field. Unfortunately, Vincent’s running career ended all too soon as he was involved in a motorcycle accident. To this day Vincent lives in the area and has volunteered his time to our school volunteering at Seneca East Cross Country events.
Andrew Jackson Meyers was born July 8, 1845 in Venice Township of Seneca County. Andrew was one of seven children and grew up in Attica Ohio. His home was located directly across from where our current PK-12 school building stands on the south side of US 224 where the stop light is today. Throughout his youth, Andrew was raised on his family’s farm and learned the importance of hard work and supporting others.
In his mid-thirties, Andrew married Mary Bathrick on November 2, 1880. The couple did not have any children. Throughout his life Andrew was an innovator, investor, and worker. He built the former Hotel Meyers in Attica, invested in several businesses, and owned farmland in Ohio and Nebraska.
In Andrew’s last will and testament dated May of 1926, it was evident the kind of person he was as he willed his fortunes to others. Item 18 of his will stated that he willed the 200 acres, give or take, to the Board of Education of the said school district (Attica Rural Schools at the time) and the land was to be held for a minimum of 50 years.
Seneca East Local Schools still possesses this land nearly 100 years later. The land Andrew Jackson Meyers willed to the school is where our current PK-12 school building stands today. Andrew Jackson Meyers’ selflessness and willingness to give back to others for the betterment of society is what makes him one of the most influential individuals to ever reside within our local school district. His generosity and kindness has impacted thousands of Seneca East graduates and will impact countless more in the decades to come. It is safe to say we would not be here today if it wasn’t for the kindness and generosity of Mr. Meyers.
Briana Shook, a 1999 Seneca East High School graduate is arguably one of the greatest female athletes to compete and graduate from Seneca East. As a high school student athlete on the track and cross country courses, Shook set course, track, and meet records that still stand to this day. Shook helped lead her cross country team to a state championship in 1998 and a state runner-up finish in 1997, as well as 3 League, District, and Regional Championships. Most any track or cross country meet Shook competed in throughout Northwest Ohio is likely to have a record set by her. In addition to this, many District and Regional high school Division III records are also held by Shook to this day. Her time at the State Track and Field championships in 1997 while competing in the 3200 Meter Run was a State Meet Record for nearly a decade.
Once graduating from Seneca East, Briana set out to compete at the University of Toledo in both cross country and track. It is safe to say Briana’s success was just as evident, if not better at the collegiate level. Shook is a member of the University of Toledo’s 2010 Hall of Fame Class. She was a 3 time All American in both cross country and track while excelling at Toledo. She individually set or was a part of relays that set an unprecedented 8 school records which still stand today. Shook won 11 Mid-American Conference (MAC) titles and added 3 runner-up finishes throughout the course of her career at the University of Toledo. She helped lead the Rockets to back-to-back MAC Cross Country Championships (2001 & 2002), and was the 2002 NCAA Great Lakes Region Runner of the Year. In 2004, she was named NCAA Mid-East Track and Field Athlete of the Year and set a USA Record in the 3000 Meter Steeple Chase that stood for four years until it was broken by Jenny Barringer at the 2008 Olympic Games. Shook’s time still stands as the 13th fastest time in US history today, nearly 20 years after last competing in the event.
Shook then entered the coaching ranks, first as an assistant at the University of Toledo and then as the head coach at Heidelberg University for cross country and track & field. Briana held that position from 2010-2013. During her time as head coach at Heidelberg, Briana coached 13 All Americans, 2 National Champions, and was selected as the Coach of the Year in Track & Field twice (2011 & 2013). Shook’s athletic accomplishments truly set her apart and make her one of the all-time greats to graduate from Seneca East.
The 1980 Seneca East Boys 4x400 Meter Relay accomplished the first-ever state championship of any kind in school history. The team made up of Ron Bernard, Ken Davis, Doug Heyman, and Eugene Scherley did so under the leadership and motivation of head coach, Rod Schar.
In addition to the 4x400 Relay team winning the State Championship, the 1980 track and field season was successful in other ways as well. The entire boys’ track team won not only the League Championship, but also the Sectional (Districts in today’s structure) Championship as a team in route to finishing 3rd place as a team at the District (Regionals in today’s structure) Championship Meet. The 4x400 relay helped lead the way to this team success winning the last event of each meet several times throughout the season.
Along the way, the Boys 4x400 Meter Relay was impressive. Any time the foursome of Ron Bernard, Ken Davis, Doug Heyman, and Eugene Scherley were together they were in the hunt for a relay championship. During the postseason the 4x400 relay won the League Championship with a time of 3:33.0, the Sectional Championship in a time of 3:30.7, and the District Championship in a time of 3:24.2. This led them to the State Championship Meet where on May 30, 1980 the team of Ron Bernard, Ken Davis, Doug Heyman, and Eugene Scherley triumphantly brought home Seneca East’s first state championship of any kind finishing over two seconds ahead of the next team with a time of 3:24.9.
The 1998 Seneca East Girls Cross Country Team accomplished the first-ever team state championship in school history. The Lady Tigers accomplished this feat after finishing as runner-up the year prior in 1997 and they did so under the leadership of veteran coach and ever-determined, Jeff Phillips.
The 1998 season saw the team finish with an overall record of 148-2 as they won every single meet with their only defeats coming against Division I schools at the Columbus Grove and Bob Schul Invitationals. The Lady Tigers roared through the postseason beginning with the Midland Athletic League (MAL) Championship as they nearly earned a perfect score (15 points) scoring 17 points. At the District Championship Meet the next week the Lady Tigers were nearly just as impressive as they beat second place Huron 19-81 to claim the District Championship. The following week the Lady Tigers competed in the Regional Championship Meet and impressively doubled up runner-up Cardinal Stritch winning the meet with a score of 32 points to Cardinal Stritch’s 64 points. Finally, on the first Saturday in November as it always is, the OHSAA State Cross Country Championships took place. On that day, November 7, 1998, the Lady Tigers proudly earned the school’s first team state championship in any sport as they claimed the top spot amongst the 16 best teams in the state of Ohio. The Lady Tigers dominated the race scoring an impressive 59 points and outpacing second place Liberty Benton and other elite competition by nearly 20 points. On that day Briana Shook was also the individual state champion and she was backed up by two other All-Ohio efforts with Niki Hines finishing in 14th place and Kristen Elmlinger finishing in 25th place to help lead the Lady Tigers to the team title.
Team members and average times from the season included Briana Shook (18:52), Niki Hines (19:45), Sarah Ruffing (20:20), Kristen Elmlinger (20:23), Jennifer Niedermier (20:34), Stephanie Phillips (20:47), Madelyn Fries (21:58), Jennifer Riddlebaugh (22:21), Sarah Reiter (22:50), Melissa Moomaw (23:39), and Margo Phillips (INJ).