Jelani Brandon is perhaps Lloyd High School's greatest athlete, earning nine varsity letters in football, baseball and track. He was a four-year starter in both football and baseball. An outstanding two-way starter in football, as a senior, Jelani had 50 receptions for 1,074 yards (21.48 yard per catch average). He scored 22 touchdowns and had 8 pass interceptions on defense.

He won numerous awards in football, being named 1st team all-Kentucky by both the Associated Press and Louisville Courier-Journal. He was named to the Kentucky-Tennessee All-Star Game, was the Famous Recipe Player of the Year (1991), the Northern Kentucky Class A Defensive Player of the Year, the Boone County Recorder Player of the Year and winner of the Marty Kehoe Award (emblematic of the Top Player in Northern Kentucky). In baseball, Jelani, an outfielder/pitcher, batted .423 his senior season with six home runs, 23 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He also threw an 8-inning no-hitter with 20 strikeouts. Jelani also ran track as a senior and was a member of the 400-meter relay team that finished runner-up in the 1992 state championship.

Jelani signed with the University of Cincinnati on a football scholarship but was drafted in the sixth round of the June 1992 Baseball Free Agent Draft by the Kansas City Royals. He signed a professional contract and played for the Royals' organization until he suffered a career-ending injury (his first as an athlete) in 1996. Currently, Jelani, who graduated from the Ohio State University, works as a computer design programmer for International Gaming Technology in Las Vegas, where he lives with his wife, Angie, and their children Tai (12), Avery (10) and Jada (7). Jelani is the first athlete in Lloyd history to be named to the LaRosa's High School Hall of Fame.

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Maureen Egan Corl re-wrote the record books during her cross country and track high school career at St. Henry. Nearly 20 years after her 1993 graduation from St. Henry, three of her running records still stand as Kentucky state standards! She started running in the state meet as a seventh grader for St. Henry and proceeded to win a staggering 15 state titles during her six-year high school varsity career. In track, Maureen won the 800-meter state title five times, the 1600-meter title four times, the 3200-meter title three times and twice won the 3200-meter relay title. She also won the Class A state cross-country title as a sophomore.

Her still-standing state records in track include the 800-meter run (2:14.50) Class A 1600-meter run (95:02.25), and the Class A 3200-meter run (11:13.82). Among her numerous awards, Maureen was 1st team all-state in cross-country five times, and 1st team all-state track four times. She was the Kentucky Post and Kentucky Enquirer Cross-Country Runner of the Year four times, Northern Kentucky High School Cross-Country Coaches Association Runner of Year four times, Kentucky State Runner of Year by the State Coaches Association ('90-'91), AAU National Championship All-American (6th in nation) in 1992-93 and a Keebler All-American. She was the LaRosa's Female Athlete of the Year in 1992-93.

Collegiately, Maureen lettered four years at the University of Kentucky, where she was an Academic All-American. Currently, Maureen, who is a Registered Nurse at University and Christ Hospitals in nursing research, lives in Indian Hill with her husband J.D., and daughters Kaelynn (11) and Camryn (6), and sons Bradley (9), Jaeden (4) and Davis (2).

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Quite simply, Wyoming High School football star Richard Hall is considered one of the school's, city's and state's greatest running backs of all time. In four years, he rushed for 7,376 yards on 749 carries for an amazing 9.8-yard-per-gain average; he caught 53 passes for 924 yards and even was 7-for-6 in passing for 193 yards and two touchdowns. In all, Richard accumulated 8,930 all-purpose yards, had 121 touchdowns (106 rushing TDs), scored 726 points and had 11 interceptions on defense.

As a senior his 2,855 yards set the city record at that time, one yard shy of the Ohio state record. His single season rushing total – along with his career total yards and TDs – ranked in the top 20 all-time nationally. In Ohio prep history, Hall's total career rushing yards ranks No. 5 and his 106 rushing TDs ranks No. 4 all-time. Richard won numerous awards, including his senior year being named Ohio Player of the Year in Division IV by the Associated Press and the Ohio Player of the Year by the Football Coaches Association. He also was selected as the LaRosa's Male Athlete of the Year in 1999.

Also a star on the basketball court, Richard was a four-year starter for the Cowboys and set a school record for most points scored in a career with 1,373. Richard originally signed to play football at the Ohio State University, but later transferred to University of Cincinnati where he lettered for 3 seasons. During his college career, Richard rushed for 2,053 yards at UC and led the Bearcats in rushing in 2003 and 2004. His 238 yards rushing vs. Miami in 2004 ranks No. 6 all-time in UC history. Currently, Richard lives in West Chester.

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A 2004 Olympic gold medalist, Dan Ketchum is regarded as one of the greatest swimmers in Sycamore High and Greater Cincinnati history. During his high school career, Dan collected six state swimming championships, was a national high school champion, a two-time national runner-up and a 14-time high school All-American. Dan was 2000 Ohio High School Swimmer of the Year and twice was named Swimmer of the Year by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

As a senior, he became a three-time state champion in both the 200 freestyle (1:37.54) and the 500 freestyle (4:25.2). The six titles equaled the most ever by an Ohio male swimmer. He has twice set the Ohio state record in the 500 freestyle (4:22.73) and was the 1999 national prep champion in the 200 freestyle (1:37.29). Along with the two state records, Dan held five different pool records, eight sectional marks, four district records, five Sycamore records (three straight years), and eight of 11 Greater Miami Conference records (set four straight years). Three of the GMC records still stand today.

Dan's 2004 season was a year to remember as he became an NCAA national champion in the 800 freestyle relay at the University of Michigan. He was a member of the 800 relay World Champion team and the same team won the Olympic Gold Medal in Athens with a national-record setting time of 7:07.33. During his collegiate career at UM, Dan was a 15-time collegiate All-American. He was the Big Ten's Freshman Swimmer of the Year in 2001, was the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year in 2002. Ketchum won the Big Ten 200-yard freestyle three times and the 500-yard freestyle once. He set the UM pool record in the 800-free Relay (6:24.33) and he currently ranks in the Top Ten in Wolverine history in six events, including #3 in 200 freestyle (1:34.19) and #5 in the 200 IM (1:45.46). 

Currently, Dan, who works for General Electric, is a Manufacturing Programs Leader for GE Aviation. He and his wife, Lori, live in Loveland with their 11-month-old daughter, Halle.

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Elder's Ron Krechting earned eight varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball during his brilliant prep career with the Panthers. In his gridiron career, the QB posted a 49.5% passing completion rate – in the days before passing was commonplace. He tossed 30 touchdowns, passing for 3,543 yards and was named 1st team all-city and all-GCL in both 1967 and 1968. In basketball, Ron, a guard, scored 625 points in his three-year career, helping lead the Panthers to a 60-9 record during that stretch. He was named 2nd team all-GCL and all-city as a senior.

In baseball, Ron led the Panthers in hitting as a junior (.307) and pitching (1.00 ERA in 1967 and 0.50 ERA in 1968). He posted a 29-13 career pitching record which included a 4-0 no-hitter against St. Xavier. He was a 1st team all-GCL at shortstop. Ron went on to play on a football scholarship at then-Division I University of Dayton. He started the last 25 games, posting a 13-12 record. Ron has played amateur softball and 7-man tag football in Greater Cincinnati for more than 20 years. Ron, who lives in Delhi, is retired from the Hudepohl Brewing Co. He has one son, Michael (41).

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Following in the footsteps of his older brother Scott, Steve Sollmann enters the LaRosa's High School Hall of Fame, thus becoming only the ninth set of siblings to be so honored.

Steve was a remarkable three-sport athlete for the Bombers, earning nine varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball. In football, Steve set seven school football records including Rushing career (3,947 yards), Single-Game (316), Single Season (1,592), Career All-purpose yards (5,860), Rushing Touchdowns (51), Career TDs (60), Career Points (362), and shares single game touchdowns (six) with his brother. Steve his senior year was named the "That My Boy" Award winner, was a first team all-state selection and was the Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Post and GCL Player of the Year. Also a starting guard for the basketball team, Steve helped lead St. Xavier to the Ohio Div. I state championship in 2000, and in baseball, he ranked among the Top Ten hitters all-time in St. Xavier history. In all, seven of the nine Bomber teams Steve played on won Greater Cincinnati League championships.

Steve went on to play four years of college baseball at the University of Notre Dame, where he was named Freshman All-American (2001), Second Team Coaches All-American (2003), Third Team Writers' All-American (2003), and was a four-time 1st team Big East pick. He ranks No. 1 all-time in batting average in NCAA Tournament play for ND (.462), and is tied for most hits in one game (6) in ND history. He ranks in the Top Ten in three other statistical categories.

Steve was drafted in the10th round of the professional baseball draft by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2004. He was named to both the Florida State League (High A) and Southern League (AA) all-star teams. He retired after 31 games at Class AAA.

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Coach Tom Chambers for four decades was one of Greater Cincinnati's most revered baseball coaches, having sent an incredible 79 players on to college baseball programs throughout the United States and three players to the major leagues -- Cincinnati Reds' Ron Oester, Tony Scott (Montreal) and Shannon Penn (Detroit).

He is the only head coach in any sport in the history of the Cincinnati Public Schools to have served as long as he has -- coaching a combined 41 years at Withrow High School, one year at Riverview East High School and one at Woodward. In all, he has compiled an overall high school career record of 577-442. At Withrow, his Tiger teams captured nine Cincinnati Public High School League championships, three sectional titles, two district titles, one regional championship and one appearance in the Ohio final four. He filled in as Withrow's cross-country coach from 1969-1972, and was the "Voice of the Tigers" as the school's public address announcer for both the football and basketball games for more than 30 years.

A graduate of Woodward, where he played three seasons of baseball, Chambers went on to a four-year career at the University of Cincinnati where he was team captain and the team's MVP. At 71, and married 41 years, Tom and his wife, Linda, have a daughter, Bobbi, and son, Randy, and two grandchildren.

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