Green Meadows Conference
| Classification | OHSAA Division(s) III-IV |
|---|---|
| Sports fielded |
|
| Region |  Ohio |
| Locations | |
 Green Meadows Conference member schools | |
The Green Meadows Conference is an OHSAA athletic league located in northwest Ohio. The eight member schools are all located in one of four counties: Henry County, Defiance County, Paulding County, or Williams County.
History
source:[1]
The Green Meadows Conference was formed as an athletic conference in 1962. The charter members of the conference were Ayersville, Fairview, Hicksville, Paulding, and Jewell (now Tinora).
In 1966, Blue Creek, from Paulding County and now a part of the Wayne Trace School District, joined the conference. Then in 1967, Oakwood joined.
The conference stayed intact until 1972, when district consolidations in Paulding County caused some changes in the make-up of some member schools. Blue Creek became a part of the new Wayne Trace School District, along with Grover Hill and Payne. Oakwood became a part of the Paulding Exempted School System. Antwerp and Holgate also joined the league making the number of members eight: Antwerp, Ayersville, Hicksville, Holgate, Fairview, Paulding, Tinora, and Wayne Trace.
In 1974, Paulding left the GMC to join the Northwest Conference. They were replaced by Edgerton. Membership remained the same until the 2019-20 school year.
In February 2020, it was announced that Holgate would join the Buckeye Border Conference as a member for every sport except football, which will participate in the Northern 8 Football Conference.[2] Holgate announced in late 2019 that they would move to 8-man football due to low numbers, which caused the remaining schools in the Green Meadows Conference to vote them out of the GMC over scheduling concerns. The Tigers are expected to join the BBC in the fall of either 2021 or 2022.
With Holgate's departure, the GMC decided to extend an invitation to former member Paulding in February 2020, which was accepted shortly afterwards.[3] Paulding, which has been a member of the Northwest Conference ever since leaving the GMC in 1974, is expected to rejoin after the 2020-21 school year.[4]
Ayersville has traditionally been a football power in the conference. They won ten consecutive conference titles between 1985 and 1994.[5] Fairview was a similar power in girls' basketball, having advanced to the state tournament repeatedly in the 1990s and having won the OHSAA Division III state championship in 1989.[6] Holgate won the Division IV boys' basketball state championship in 2004.[7] Wayne Trace won the Division III boys' basketball title in 1991 with Final 4 appearances in 1988, 2001, 2008, and 2015. They have won the conference title over 20 times.[8] Tinora girls' cross country consistently won the conference title through the 1990s and early 2000s.
Edgerton, Fairview and Tinora emerged as football powers as well. In 2013 Wayne Trace got runner up at State in Football. In 2014 and 2015 Tinora reigned as back to back GMC and regional champs and made it to the state semifinals. In 2018, Edgerton won the GMC Conference and advanced to State Semi-Finals in football. Antwerp won the state volleyball championship in 1992, and has won the volleyball title the last two years and were the District Champs. Additionally, Wayne Trace and Fairview have been near the top of the conference in cross country for the past few years.
The Tinora boys' basketball team captured a State Runner-up trophy in Division III for the 2008–09 season. Tinora's baseball team made the state final four years straight with winning the state championship in 2014.
In 2020, Holgate was voted out of the conference and joined the Buckeye Border Conference (BBC) for the 2021-2022 season. Paulding rejoined the GMC, active in the fall of 2021.
Members
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | Archers | Antwerp | Royal Blue, White | |||
| Ayersville | Pilots | Highland Twp. | Columbia Blue, Gold | |||
| Edgerton | Bulldogs | Edgerton | Maroon, Gold | |||
| Fairview | Apaches | Sherwood | Black, Gold | |||
| Hicksville | Aces | Hicksville | Red, White | |||
| Holgate | Tigers | Holgate | Purple, Gold | |||
| Paulding | Panthers | Paulding | Maroon, White | |||
| Tinora | Rams | Defiance | Green, White | |||
| Wayne Trace | Raiders | Haviland | Red, Blue | |||
Conference rivalries
- Tinora vs Fairview[9][10]
- Ayersville vs Tinora[9]
- Antwerp vs Wayne Trace[10]
- Holgate vs Ayersville
- Hicksville vs Edgerton
- Hicksville vs. Fairview
- Hicksville vs. Tinora
- Wayne Trace vs. Tinora
- Antwerp vs. Hicksville
State championships
Fall sports
| Boys Cross Country[8] | Girls Cross Country | Football | Golf | Volleyball[8] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | 1992 | ||||
| Ayersville | 1975 | ||||
| Edgerton | |||||
| Fairview | |||||
| Hicksville | |||||
| Holgate | |||||
| Tinora | |||||
| Wayne Trace |
Winter sports
| Boys Basketball[11][12] | Girls Basketball[8] | Wrestling[8][13] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | |||
| Ayersville | 1957, 1961 | ||
| Edgerton | 1959 | ||
| Fairview | 1946 | 1989 | |
| Hicksville | |||
| Holgate | 2004 | ||
| Tinora | |||
| Wayne Trace | 1991 |
Spring sports
| Baseball[14] | Softball | Boys Track & Field | Girls Track & Field[8] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | 2019 | |||
| Ayersville | 1997 | 1996 | ||
| Edgerton | ||||
| Fairview | 2021 | |||
| Hicksville | 1978 | |||
| Holgate | 1937 | |||
| Tinora | 2014 | |||
| Wayne Trace |
Notable athletes
- Bruce Berenyi, Fairview (1976)[15]
Chad Reineke, Ayersville (MLB Pitcher)
Denny Stark, Edgerton (1993 Graduate) Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 4th round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft.
See also
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Calvin, Nate (February 6, 2020). "Holgate To Become Member Of BBC After GMC Votes To Remove School From League". The Village Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ "Paulding Invited to Join Green Meadows Conference". 419Sports.com. February 25, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
- ^ "Paulding announces their intent to leave the NWC and join the Green Meadows Conference". NWC-Sports.com. February 28, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
- ^ Fowerbaugh, Paul (1995-08-25). "Special to the Journal Gazette". Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette.
- ^ Bellis, Jennifer (1995-11-10). "No letup expected at Fairview". Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette.
- ^ "2004 Division IV State Final". OHSAA. 2004-03-07. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ^ a b c d e f OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site". Retrieved 2006-12-31.
- ^ a b "High school playoffs: Five area teams still in hunt for state title". Crescent-News. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- ^ a b Monroe, Mark (2008-03-04). "Inexperienced Ayersville advances past district for first time since 1994". The Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
- ^ Yappi. "Yappi Sports Basketball A". Archived from the original on 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
- ^ Yappi. "Yappi Sports Basketball D3". Archived from the original on 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
- ^ Yappi. "Yappi Sports Wrestling". Archived from the original on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
- ^ Yappi. "Yappi Sports Baseball". Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
- ^ Hefflinger, Bruce (2008-06-08). "Difficult decision lies ahead". Crescent-News. Retrieved 2008-06-17.