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COMMEMORATING THE BEST ATHLETES OF CINCINNATI
Hall of Fame Main Page By Year By School Alphabetically Eligibility Requirements

The Buddy LaRosa high school Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1975 to recognize outstanding athletes from area high schools. Each year, nominees are considered based solely upon high school accomplishments. Collegiate, professional, or other amateur achievements have no bearing on the selection process. The nominee must have graduated high school 10 years before eligibility may begin.

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ANNOUNCING THE 2015 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Seven outstanding area sports legends are the latest inductees into the Buddy LaRosa's High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Jayme Cramer

Jayme Cramer
St. Xavier High School Class of 2001

In the storied history of St. Xavier swimming, Jayme Cramer easily ranks among the top three swimmers to ever compete for the hallowed program. Cramer won 10 state swimming titles during his career - five individual and five as a member of a relay team. During his four-year career, St. Xavier won three state titles, including the national title in 2001. His senior season was so remarkable, he was named the national High School Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine. His times in the 100 Butterfly, 100 Backstroke, 200 and 400 Medley Relays ranked No. 1 in the nation that year.

Among the four state titles he won in 2001, his performance in the 100-yard backstroke ranks among the best in national high school history. Cramer turned in a blistering 47.65 time in the event - which at the time was only .15 second off the national prep record. His time still stands as an Ohio state and Canton Natatorium pool record! It was the third straight year he set state and pool records in that event.

Jayme also has the distinction of being the lead member of the 2000 200-Yard Medley Relay team which shattered the state mark at 1:31.22 - and that record still ranks as the Ohio state standard.

He was named High School All-American 22 times during this career. He was the Ohio Male Swimmer of the Year in both 2000 and 2001 and The Cincinnati Enquirer's Swimmer of the Year in 2000.

Cramer's collegiate career at Stanford was equally stellar. He won two NCAA national titles - 200-Meter in 2004 and the 400-Yard Medley Relay in 2005. As a 20-time NCAA All-American, Cramer set three Stanford relay records and broke multiple Pac-10 meet and conference marks. He was the Stanford team captain from 2003-2005.

As an amateur, Cramer won the Gold Medal in the World Championship in the 800 Free Relay in both 2005 and 2007. He won a Gold and Bronze Medal in the 2003 Pan Am Games. He competed in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials.

Currently, Cramer and his wife, Kate, live in Baton Rouge, LA, where he is CFO/COO and head coach of Crawfish Aquatics. They have three children, Lucy Grace, Molly and Leland.

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Dr. Rodney Geier

Dr. Rodney Geier
Cincinnati Country Day School Class of 1971

You have to be a pretty special athlete to be a four-year letterman in three different sports in high school, and Rodney Geier clearly fit that description during his storied career at Cincinnati Country Day School.

A star in football, basketball and tennis, Geier was among the city's best during his career. As a senior, the running back lead the Indians to their second-straight 9-0 record and a No. 7 ranking in the state in Class A. Geier led the state in points scored that season, scoring 216 points with 31 touchdowns. In fact, he scored six touchdowns in one game that year and five touchdowns in two others. He rushed for 1,891 yards in 219 carries for a remarkable 8.6 yards-per-carry.

A first team all-city selection by The Cincinnati Enquirer, Geier was also featured that season in Sports Illustrated’s "Faces in the Crowd." His athletic prowess continued in basketball as he was the city's third-leading scorer as a senior and was 7th in the city as a junior.

In tennis, he teamed up with Addison Lanier to win the Ohio Class A state doubles title in 1971. Geier was inducted into the CCD Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 2002.

Geier continued his football career at Williams College in Massachusetts, where he was the starting tailback in 1973 and 1974.

He went on to study at the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine, and graduated in 1988 from the UC Department of Radiation Oncology. He has been listed among Cincinnati Magazine's "Top Doctors" numerous times over the years.

Currently, Dr. Rodney Geier practices medicine as a Radiation Oncologist with Oncology Hematology Care in Cincinnati. He and his wife, Vallie Comisar Geier, have three children, Dr. Natalie Geier (Cohen), Emily Vollmer and Vallie Tapke, and three grandchildren.

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Jared Lorenzen

Jared Lorenzen
Highlands High School Class of 1999

Jared Lorenzen has accomplished something no athlete in the history of Greater Cincinnati sports has ever done -- win both his high school state football championship and then go on to win the NFL Super Bowl. An overpowering presence at quarterback at Highlands then at the University of Kentucky, Lorenzen was a member of the 2008 New York Giant Super Bowl team.

Lorenzen led the Bluebirds to Class AAA state titles in both 1996 and 1998 where he posted a 41-2 career record. His senior season was incredible as he passed for 3,393 yards (168-for-271, 62%), 45 touchdowns on top of rushing for 904 yards and 15 more TDs. He was named Kentucky's Mr. Football in 1998 and finished his career with 6,822 yards passing with 89 TD passes. He was named Best QB in the South by the Orlando Sentinel, to the Super 100 by the Atlanta Constitution and was a three-time All-American (Student Sport Magazine, Prepstar Magazine and USA TODAY).

Lorenzen continued his dominance in college at UK where, as a four-year starter, he held six NCAA passing records, four Southeastern Conference passing records and 11 Wildcat marks. He ranks first in UK history in total offense with 10,637 yards, passing yards (10,354), career completions (862) and touchdown passes (78).

He was a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award in 2000 and 2002. Though undrafted in the NFL draft, Lorenzen signed and played as backup quarterback for three seasons with the New York Giants.

Lorenzen was also an accomplished basketball player for Highlands as well. He was a member of the Bluebirds' 1997 Sweet Sixteen runner-up team. He was twice named to the Kentucky All-State Tournament team. He was a first team all-state selection by both the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald in 1999.

Currently, Jared Lorenzen lives in Lexington where he is a Strategic Account Manager for ProSource. He has two children, Taylar and Tayden.

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Emily Hunter Taylor

Emily Hunter Taylor
Indian Hill High School Class of 2003

Only the third athlete in the history of Southwestern Ohio high school sports to win four straight individual state championships, former LaRosa's Female MVP of the Year Emily Hunter Taylor joins Andrea Farley (tennis) and Willie Wineberg (wrestling) in the LaRosa's Hall of Fame.

Emily captured her first Ohio Division II state diving title with a record-setting performance of 395.15 points. She would go on to re-write her own record three more times before setting her ultimate mark of 463.75 points as a senior. It was the first time in Ohio history that any diver had won four straight state titles. Equally as remarkable as her undefeated string at the state tournament, Emily was also undefeated throughout her high school career. She won every meet she ever competed in for Indian Hill. She was a four-time High School All-American and was also named the High School Sportswoman of the Year by the Greater Cincinnati Women's Sports Foundation.

Hunter continued her diving career at the University of Georgia where she was a key member of the Bulldogs' women's NCAA Division I championship team in 2004-05. She placed second in the Southeastern Conference 10-meter platform event in 2003-04, then finished third in the 10-meter and 4th in the 3-meter in 2004-05. She still holds the UGA women's platform diving record with 264.20 set in 2007.

As an amateur, Emily twice competed in the Junior Olympic Nationals, the Senior Nationals and placed 13th in the 10-meter platform at the 2004 U.S. Olympic trials.

Currently, Emily Hunter Taylor and her husband, Andrew, live in New York City where she is Senior Merchant at J.Crew Corporate.

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Mel Thomas

Mel Thomas
Mount Notre Dame High School Class of 2004

Regarded by many observers as the finest female basketball player ever in Greater Cincinnati, Mel Thomas collected nearly every major honor possible during her career at Mount Notre Dame.

A prized recruit, Thomas signed with perennial national power and then-defending NCAA national champion, University of Connecticut. The guard led Mount Notre Dame to a perfect 28-0 record and the Ohio Division I state title in 2004. Thomas average 20.4 points, 4 rebounds and 5.4 assists as a senior. So highly-regarded were the Cougars - especially because of Mel's presence - that they were named the mythical national champion in 2004 by U.S. Student Sports Magazine and were ranked No. 2 by USA TODAY. MND was 76-24 during her four seasons.

Thomas was named Ohio's Miss Basketball, was a McDonald's All-American, Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American, was second team All-America by Parade Magazine and third-team All-America by USA TODAY.

Thomas finished her career with MND as the school's all-time scoring leader with 2,037 points. She was first team All-Ohio, was Co-Ohio Division I Player of the Year by the Associated Press and was The Cincinnati Enquirer's Player of the Year.

Thomas went to play at the University of Connecticut where she scored 1,098 points in her career. While at UConn, she was a member of the USA Gold Medal-winning team at the 2007 Pan-Am Games - the first gold medal for Team USA since 1987. She was Husky team captain from 2006-2008.

Her senior season was cut short with a torn ACL and Mel subsequently wrote a daily diary which she later published as a book entitled The Heart of a Husky. She played professionally in Europe for two seasons.

Currently, Mel Thomas lives in South Florida where she is the Marketing/Digital Marketing Coordinator for CONRIC PR.

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Coach Jim Brower

Coach Jim Brower
St. Xavier High School 1988-94, 1998-2015

No coach in any sport in the history of Ohio high school sports has accomplished in their career what St. Xavier swimming coach Jim Brower has done. In 23 years as the Aquabombers head coach, Brower won an amazing 21 state championships. The swimming dynasty of St. Xavier has been long established, yet Brower's contribution has been clearly undeniable. St. Xavier has won 36 overall state swimming titles - Brower's 21 crowns account for more than 58%. He has enjoyed winning streaks of five, seven and nine straight titles. When he retired in June of 2015, the Aquabombers had won 15 of the last 16 state swimming championships.

Coach Brower was named the National High School Coaches Association's Coach of the Year in 2004. He has been named Ohio Coach of the Year seven times and has been accorded the same honor by The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Post, the Southwest District and the Greater Cincinnati League multiple times.

During Brower's career, his swim team has been acknowledged by Swimming World Magazine as the national champions in both 1992 and 2001. In both cases, the Aquabombers featured perhaps their two greatest swimmers in LaRosa's Hall of Fame inductees Joey Hudepohl (1992) and Jayme Cramer (2001). Hudepohl went on to win an Olympic Gold Medal, while Cramer won two NCAA Championships.

Brower was a state champion in his own right as well, having won the 100-yard breaststroke at the Ohio state meet in 1982 as a member of the Canton Glenoak team. He went on to swim at the University of Cincinnati.

Currently, Jim Brower still teaches in the math department at St. Xavier High School, where he has worked for more than 25 years.

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