Amidst a busy and successful year for our athletic programs, several historic achievements should be highlighted. We applaud all of our student-athletes and coaches for representing Columbus Academy so well on a daily basis, but these following individuals have earned a place in school record books for their impressive accomplishments.
As a seventh-grader in the fall, Morgan Spalding was a force to be reckoned with on our middle school football squad. In a game at Bexley on October 4, she returned from an injury suffered earlier in the season and became the first Academy girl to score a touchdown on an official Academy team. “She scored multiple times in the youth program and those hold a place in our hearts, but this was her first official touchdown as an Academy student-athlete,” her mom Erin shared with us at the time. “We’re so proud and excited for her!”
At the Kevin Michael Memorial Wrestling Meet on January 15, sophomore Ceci Reitter won all three of her matches against boys that day – two by pin – to claim top honors in the 106-pound weight bracket. In doing so, she became Academy’s first female wrestler to win a tournament title. Ceci follows in the footsteps of senior Zara Syed, who in December of 2018 became the first girl to win a varsity wrestling match at Academy.
Jeff Warstler, meanwhile, won his 150th game as the varsity head coach for our boys basketball program last Friday night. “Those wins are all because of great kids that work hard, defend and make plays in big moments,” Jeff told a reporter after the game. The milestone was especially memorable because it was a win over Bexley in front of our home fans in The Mack. Our varsity basketball squad’s first-ever matchup with Bexley was in 1923, so this season marks the 100th year of the rivalry.
Also on the hardwood, Academy’s Sophie Spolter surpassed the 1,000-point total for her varsity career on January 11. After the senior guard made a three-pointer against Fisher Catholic that night, the game was momentarily paused so that new head coach Ashar Harris could present Sophie with a game ball. “I’m happy about this accomplishment,” Sophie said, “and I’m grateful for all of my teammates I’ve played with for the past four years who have helped me reach this milestone.” School archives indicate only one other player in our girls basketball program ever reached 1,000 career points – the late Andrea Esselstein ’00.
And at the Northeast Classic in Canton on January 15, senior Lauren Klinefelter set school records in the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley for our girls swimming program. Her time of 55.81 in the 100 fly broke the previous best mark of 56.66 set by Abby Brown ’13 in 2013 while Lauren’s time of 2:08.29 in the 200 IM bested the 2012 mark of 2:09.17 by Abby Wilson ’15. Prior to Lauren, the last female swimmer to break a school record was Audrey Grammel ’17 four years ago when she finished the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.43.
