Ohio Cardinal Conference
The Ohio Cardinal Conference, which began play in 2003, is an OHSAA athletic league whose members are from Ashland, Holmes, Richland, and Wayne counties in Ohio. The conference name stems from the local legacy of the Cardinal Conference.
History
In 2001, local athletic directors met in Mansfield, Ohio to discuss the formation of a new athletic conference; seven schools agreed to form the Ohio Cardinal Conference.[1] Clear Fork, the only non-original member of the conference, joined for the 2004-05 season. Five of the initial member schools came from the disbanding Ohio Heartland Conference: Ashland, Lexington, Mansfield Madison, Mansfield Senior, and Orrville.[2]. West Holmes joined from the Mohican-Area Conference, and Wooster from the Federal League.[3]
Bureaucratically, the conference had some early struggles. The first conference commissioner, Jim Glauer, resigned in 2002 before the league even began play.[4] He was replaced by Ron Dessecker from Orrville, who remains the current commissioner.
Lexington High School has dominated the OCC athletically since the conference's inception. It has won four consecutive all-sports trophies, the award given to the school with the greatest success in all conference athletic competitions.[5] It also has won the girl's tennis conference title every year in the conference's history, and has won two state title in that sport.[6] Other schools have dominated specific sports in much the same way: Mansfield Senior has been the champion or co-champion in boy's basketball in all five league seasons, Wooster has won five boy's swimming and four girl's swimming titles, and Ashland has four running girl's soccer championships.[1]
West Holmes High School revived discussions that had begun in 2007 with the East Central Ohio League to leave the Ohio Cardinal Conference effective the 2009-10 school year, which would leave the conference with an odd number of teams.[7] West Holmes has since decided, at least for the time being, to remain in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.
Members
The following are current members of the Ohio Cardinal Conference:[1]
- Ashland Arrows (2003-present)
- Clear Fork Colts (2004-present)
- Lexington Minutemen (2003-present)
- Madison Comprehensive Rams (2003-present)
- Mansfield Tygers (2003-present)
- Orrville Red Riders (2003-present)
- West Holmes Knights (2003-present)
- Wooster Generals (2003-present)
Conference rivalries
- Orrville vs. Wooster[8]
- Wooster vs. Madison[9]
- Mansfield vs. Madison[10]
- Ashland vs. Lexington[11]
- Mansfield vs. Ashland
State championships
This table only includes state championships won by schools while a member of the Ohio Cardinal Conference:
| School | Sport | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Ashland | none | |
| Clear Fork | none | |
| Lexington | Girls Tennis Boys Tennis |
2006, 2007[12] 2004[12] |
| Madison | none | |
| Mansfield | none | |
| Orrville | Volleyball | 2003[12] |
| West Holmes | Wrestling (individual) | 2005, 2006 2007, 2008[12] |
| Wooster | none |
See also
Ohio High School Athletic Conferences Clear Fork Basketball 2002
External links
References
- ^ a b c "The History of the Ohio Cardinal Conference." Ohio Cardinal Conference http://www.occsports.org/history.html. Accessed June 17, 2008.
- ^ McCormick, Michael. "New league provides sense of rivalry." Coshocton Tribune, August 22, 2003
- ^ McCormick, Michael. "New league provides sense of rivalry." Coshocton Tribune, August 22, 2003
- ^ Ogle, Gary. "Glauer leaves OCC." Mansfield News Journal, October 18, 2002.
- ^ Kinton, Jami. "Class of 2008: Lexington sending record 24 seniors into college sports." Mansfield News Journal, June 5, 2008. http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/SPORTS/806050332. Accessed June 28, 2008.
- ^ "Lexington wins OCC all-sports trophy." Ashland Times-Gazette, June 11, 2008. http://www.times-gazette.com/news/article/3925631. Accessed June 28, 2008.
- ^ Dorksen, Aaron. "West Holmes' Kaufman explains interest in ECOL." The Wooster Daily Record, February 22, 2008.
- ^ Lilley, Bill (1989-11-23). "McFarland retires as Wooster coach leaves after 17 seasons". Akron Beacon Journal.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Paulk, Ralph (1985-10-31). "Must-win arch-rival in Wooster's playoff path". Akron Beacon Journal.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Phillips, Larry (2002-10-25). "OHC football closes in fitting style". Mansfield News Journal.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Davis, Fraley spark Colts". Mansfield News Journal. 2004-12-11.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site". Retrieved 2006-12-31.