From the Upper Arlington News, 2-1-10:

Upper Arlington easily swept both the boys and girls Ohio Capital Conference Central Division championships on Saturday, January 30, at Thomas Worthington High School.

UA defeated the host and runner-up Cardinals girls 432-293, while the Bears boys also stopped Thomas, 435-2151/2.

Every relay, every individual event, had a black and gold stamp on it by the end of the day.

The Golden Bears begin their postseason run, hosting a sectional meet February 13. The district championships are at Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on February 20.

The Ohio Capital Conference (OCC) was established in 1966 with five member schools joining the league. After 43 years of existence, the OCC currently has 32 member schools that compete in four divisions and sponsor 25 interscholastic sports. The Ohio Capital Conference is one of the largest high school conferences in the country.

The OCC is divided into four divisions: Ohio Division; Central Division; Cardinal Division; and Capital Division. Upper Arlington High School is in the Central Division of the OCC.

The OCC recently launched a new Web site where you can find out more about the conference, read its Mission Statement, see a list of the teams in each division, read news stories about schools in all the divisions, and much more.

Congratulations to JJ Spangler, the Dispatch Athlete of the Week for January 18 - 24! JJ was recognized for his outstanding performance in Swimming.

Spangler, a senior, won four events in a victory over Centerville. He won the 50-yard freestyle (21.93 seconds) and 100 free (47.98) and swam on the winning 200 medley relay (1 minute, 39.17 seconds) and the 400 free relay (3:15.71). He also won the 50 free (22.12) in a win over Hilliard Darby. JJ Spangler will receive a plaque from Motorists Insurance in recognition of his achievements. Congratulations to JJ Spangler for his athletic accomplishments! See Dispatch article.

In addition to the Athletes of the Week, The Dispatch also selects a top athlete in each sport in season. One of this season's honorees is UAHS's own Kayla Hammerberg, who earned recognition for her performance in Swimming.

Kayla, a junior, won two events in a win over Hilliard Darby and swam on two winning relays in a win over Centerville. Against Hilliard, she won the 50-yard freestyle (24.79) and the 100 free (53.56). Against Centerville, she swam on the winning 200 medley relay (1:49.26) and the 200 free relay (1:38.8). Congratulations to Kayla Hemmerberg for her outstanding athletic achievements! See Dispatch article.

Each month, Coonfare Insurance Agency honors outstanding area athletes. The January, 2010 Athletes of the Month are JJ Spangler, senior member of the Men's Swimming Team, and Jane Windler, senior senior swimmer on the UAHS Women's Basketball Team.

Nominations for Athlete of the Month are made by the team coaches and selected by Coonfare Insurance Agency. Congratulations to JJ Spangler and Jane Windler!

Dr. Chris Stankovich, known as the "Sports Doc," is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and a national expert in the field of sport psychology and offers individual athletic counseling services, peak performance products, and on-site sport seminars. He offers tips and advice to athletes, their parents, and coaches, and his advice applies to all sports.

Each month, UAGolden Bears.com presents one of Dr. Stankovich's tips for athletic success.

January 29, 2010: From TheCollegeBaseballBlog.com:

Miami (Ohio) University baseball head coach Dan Simonds has announced that former RedHawk George Stegmiller will serve as the honorary coach for the 2010 season. The honor is bestowed upon someone who has close ties with the Miami baseball program and displays the qualities of a Miami baseball player, such as character, integrity and leadership, in his life and in society.

The team will honor Stegmiller toward the end of March or the beginning of April (barring his deployment to Afghanistan), as he and his family will be brought back to Oxford for the ceremony. Stegmiller will throw out the first pitch of a game to be determined, while the ceremony will also involve Miami’s ROTC and the team will wear camouflage baseball caps.

Once again this year, Latisha Wilder, who currently coaches track at Hastings Middle School, will compete as a bodybuilder in the Arnold Classic, which will be held March 4-7 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in downtown Columbus.

Ms. Wilder has competed at the Arnold Classic five times and has been a competitor in the Ms. Figure Olympia contest four times since she became a professional in 2003.

This spring, after ten years as track coach at Hastings, Ms. Wilder will move to Upper Arlington High School, where she will be assistant track coach to Joel Cutler.

Read the article about Latisha Wilder in City Scene Magazine.

Read more about the UAHS Track Team here.