2/4/2010 1:00:00 AM Trio of Spencerville athletes sign letters of intent on Signing Day
Drew Bittner/Times Bulletin
(From left to right) Spencerville’s Lyndie Brown, Tyler Obringer, and Ashley Gilroy sign their letters of intent during a signing session at Spencerville High School on Wednesday, February 3.
BY DREW BITTNER
Times Bulletin Sports Editor
sports@timesbulletin.com
SPENCERVILLE - Wednesday marked National Signing Day across the country, with thousands of high school athletes signing their letters of intent to play at the collegiate level.
A trio of Spencerville student-athletes were among those that gave an inked commitment to various colleges and universities, as cross country runners Lyndie Brown and Ashley Gilroy, as well as football player Tyler Obringer, held their signings at Spencerville on Wednesday.
Brown, headed to Toledo University to run cross country and track, consistently led the Lady Bearcats throughout the year on the cross country course, finishing sixth overall individually in the regional cross country meet, and placing fourth overall as an individual in the Division III State Cross Country Championships on November 7, 2009. She was also the Northwest Conference Female Runner of the Year.
Brown cited her familiarity with several of the current Lady Rocket cross country runners as being one of the key reasons for picking Toledo, as well as the close proximity to home. She also considered Bowling Green.
"Some of the girls that run there [at Toledo], I had run with at cross country meets in the past couple years, so I had talked to them after races and knew them," said Brown. "I want to be close enough to home, too, so that I could come home if I wanted to."
Brown is considering majoring in physical therapy or biology at Toledo.
Gilroy was a star in her own right during the cross country season, finishing eighth overall individually at the state meet this past fall, after posting great times at meet after meet in the regular season.
She signed with Tiffin University on Wednesday and also will be running both cross country and track.
Obringer, who signed with Ball State, played offensive and defensive line for the Bearcats. This past season, he was named to NWC All-Conference Second Team as both an offensive and defensive lineman. Obringer, also a standout wrestler, will play offensive line for the Cardinals.
Obringer stated that several factors influenced his decision to pick Ball State.
"The coaches were good and I really liked the coaching staff there," said Obringer. "The atmosphere was good and the weight room looked real nice and I want to get bigger. The football stadium also looked nice and I like the players and got along with them really well."
At Ball State, Obringer, who also had interest from several other Mid-American Conference teams, will add more local flavor to the Cardinals, who return former Crestview standout Briggs Orsbon, and also inked Coldwater star quarterback Keith Wenning on Wednesday.
