State track champs headline Perkins Alumni Hall of Fame class

PERKINS TWP. — The 1984 boys track team highlights this year's Perkins Alumni Hall of Fame induction class.The induction celebration is Sunday at Mesenburg Hall in Huron. The event begins at 3:30 p.m. with cocktails, followed with a buffet at 4:30 and ending with the program.Along with the track team, athletes Tyson Gentry, Trisha Krewson, Dave Mulvin, Steve Sidoti and Nikki Sturzinger will be inducted along with community contributors Ed Hartung and Stan Stewart, political activist Nathan Schaefer and former Perkins teachers Char Schuman and Jeanne Cramer.The Pirates track team, coached by Hall of Fame coach Jim Hauser and assistants John Hinton and Mike Powell, went 10-0 in dual meets for four straight seasons before the 1984 season, when it also claimed the first Perkins state team championship.Eight members of the 42-man team participated in the state meet, with Donald Clark placing first in the 100, second in the 200 and fourth in the long jump. Scott Fry added a first in the 1,600 and a second in the 3,200. In addition, Neal Korns competed in the shot and discus (finishing seventh); Brian Martin was seventh in the 3200 and ninth in the 4x800 relay with Andy Smith, Chris Smith and John Gaydos; and Martin (4x800 relay); Mark Speer was third in the high jump and fourth in the 110 high hurdles.Gentry, a 2004 graduate, finished his prep football career as the all-time leader in receiving yardage at Perkins as was a preferred walk-on at Ohio State as a punter and receiver. In track, Gentry earned All-Ohio honors by placing second as part of the Pirates' 4x100 relay team, third in the 4x200 and sixth in the 110 high hurdles, helping Perkins finish second in the state his senior season.He suffered a spinal cord injury during a 2006 spring practice scrimmage at Ohio State and currently runs a nonprofit organization called New Perspective Foundation that has given nearly $200,000 to families affected by spinal cord injuries.Sturzinger, a 1993 graduate, participated in volleyball, basketball and track at Perkins, and still holds the high school and Sandusky Bay Conference records for the discus and shot put, and captured a Division II state title in the discus in 1992 and the state crown for both shot and discus in 1993.She currently lives in London, Ont., Canada, with her family and teaches middle school science and math.Sidoti, a 1968 graduate, excelled in track and set the school record in the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 10 3/4-inches, set at the 1968 state meet. He was also a three-year letterwinner in basketball and stands 12th on the school's all-time scoring list with 684 points.He moved on to the University of Akron on a track scholarship, returned to Perkins as a physical education teacher at Meadowlawn Intermediate School in 1973, but left two years later to begin a 35-year career with the U.S. Postal Service.Krewson, a 2008 graduate, earned three varsity letters each in soccer and basketball. She holds multiple girls soccer marks and captured second-team All-Ohio recognition in basketball while scoring more than 1,000 career points.She spent two years playing women's basketball at Bucknell University, then transferred to Kent State, where she played basketball and earned a degree in English. She later received a law degree at the University of Toledo College of Law and currently serves as a federal law clerk in Cleveland. She is also the JV girls basketball coach at Westlake High School.Mulvin, a 1975 graduate, captured a state championship in wrestling as a senior, which helped him earn a scholarship to Ohio State. Upon graduation, He returned to the area where he operates Mullein's Fruit and Vegetables. He also served as a volunteer coach at Perkins for 24 years and has worked as a school bus driver for the last 19.Hartung, owner and president of Hartung Title Agency, Inc., in Port Clinton and Sandusky, actually is a Sandusky graduate and was inducted into the Sandusky High School Athletic Hall of Fame twice, in 2005 for his community service and in 2015 as a member of the SHS 1968-69 boys basketball team. His work also led SHS two change the name of the community award to the Mylander Hartung Community Award.In 2012, Hartung was a sponsor for the Perkins football stadium entrance gate and is a Perkins youth sports sponsor.Stewart, a 1964 Fostoria graduate, has worked with the Perkins football team as statistician for 47 years, has kept stats for boys and girls basketball and has been a finish line judge for track since 1978 and served as the secretary-treasurer of the Sandusky Bay Conference from 1984-2015.His work for Perkins earned him a spot in the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Honor last March.Perkins' 1984 boys track team. Back row: Coach Jim Hauser, Asst. Mike Powell, Neal Korns, Mark Speer, John Gaydos, Coach John Hinton. Front row: Andy Smith, Brian Martin, Scott Fry, Donald Clark, Chris SmithPerkins' 1984 boys track team state championship trophy.