SMCC announces 2022 hall of fame class

SANDUSKY — All-Ohioans and state champions will take center stage when the St. Mary Central Catholic Athletic and Achievement Hall of Fame welcomes the Class of 2022. Lindsay Kaatz, Ryan Heath and Yon Roth earned All-Ohio honors, Lisa Mielke MacMurray was an academic All-Ohioan and Pat Harrington and Corey Opfer won individual state crowns. Otto Meyer is the seventh athlete in the Class of 2022, while retired judge Ann Maschari Lippe was selected for her professional service. The Hall of Fame banquet is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, January 15 at the Sandusky Yacht Club. Kaatz, a 2012 graduate and in her first year of HOF eligibility, earned 12 varsity letters with four each in cross country, basketball and track. She was a two-time state qualifier in cross country, set school records for free throw shooting percentage, single season and career points scored, and rebounds in basketball. She was a three-time state qualifier in track, including a first-team All-Ohio placing in the 1600-meter run. She holds school records in the 800, 1600 and as part of the 4x400 relay team, plus was a 2011 finalist for the Wendy's High School Heisman Trophy in Ohio. After graduation, Kaatz spent three years on the Bowling Green State University cross country and track teams. MacMurray, a 2001 graduate, collected 12 varsity letters with four each in cross country, swimming and track, becoming the second female athlete in school history to accomplish that feat. She was a two-time state qualifier in cross country and a district and regional qualifier four consecutive years in track. She was part of school records in the 200 medley relay and 200 and 400 free relays in swimming and was the first SMCC female recipient of the Sandusky Bay Conference Sportsmanship award. MacMurray went on to compete in cross country and track at Walsh University. Heath, a 2008 SMCC graduate, was a three-year starter in football, a four-year starter in basketball, a two-year starter in baseball and a state qualifier in the 4x200 and 400 relay teams, capturing All-Ohio honors in both. He rushed for more than 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns, with more than 2,100 yards and 12 touchdowns passing. In basketball, Heath is the school's all-time leader in assists in school history and is third in scoring. He was the recipient of the McCormick Award and scholarship before heading to BGSU where he received an undergraduate degree in education. Roth, a 1992 graduate, earned six varsity letters and captured first-team All-Ohio honors as a linebacker from United Press International. He competed on Panthers football squads that went to the state semifinals his sophomore year, the championship game as a junior and the state quarterfinals in his senior season. Roth also lettered twice in basketball and once in baseball. Harrington, a 2007 graduate, was a two-time state champion (2006, 2007) in wrestling. He tied the school record for wins in a season with a 63-0 mark and is currently third on the state's all-time list with 63 wins. His went 164-16 with 90 career pins and 78 consecutive victories in his prep career. Opfer, a 2005 graduate, finished with a state wrestling championship in 2005 after placing third in 2002 and 2003 and fifth in 2004. He is second in school history with 137 career pins, tied for third with 211 career wins and fourth in career points (1,267.5) and tournament championships (14). Meyer, a 1929 graduate and the second oldest inductee into the Hall, was one of the first great two-way performers as a fullback and defensive back. In consecutive years, he led St. Mary's past St. Paul with a 50-yard return of a fumble for the lone score in the 1926 showdown and a 90-yard interception return for a score in a 12-6 win over the Flyers. In 1944, he began a long career as custodian at St. Mary's High School, and designed and engineered the home economics room and kitchen in 1946. Maschari, a 1970 SMCC graduate, was the first woman to be elected to the General Division of the Erie County Common Pleas Court, serving in that role from 1986 to 2004 after eight years as a law clerk for Judge James McCrystal. In high school, she was student council treasurer as a junior and secretary as a senior, plus participated as a majorette. After graduation, she graduated from BGSU before heading to law school at the University of Toledo. On the bench, Maschari established the first drug court in the county and third in the state, and co-designed the plan for computerized jury selection in Erie County.