Hilliard honors senior student-athletes during coronavirus shutdown
HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) — A traditional honor for a senior high school athlete is to have their picture on a banner hanging in their sports complex. In Hilliard, like everywhere else in Ohio, that didn’t happen for spring sport seniors.
“I don’t think it’s quite settled in quite yet,” said Hilliard Davidson senior Xavier Gallo. “It’s just crazy to think about because my grandma said like it’s going to be a year to remember and it sure is!”
Gallo had been looking forward to one last track season with his Wildcat family. He’d been on the team all four years of his high school career.
Instead, like other seniors across the country, Gallo’s final semester has been full of firsts, fear and unusual finality.
“It’s heartbreaking honestly,” Gallo said. “I know I had some high hopes for this season so it kinda stinks.”
“It’s just sad to end your senior year like this!” said his mom, Joy. “We ended with the indoor at the state meet actually was their last event so, with nationals and everything else from an indoor perspective, everything else was canceled. Just sad to see indoor track and all the other sports canceled.”
To help these young people who didn’t get their final moments on the track, diamond or field, Hilliard City Schools and the City of Hilliard came together and found a way to raise their spirits – it just took some redecorating.
Since the seniors didn’t get a chance to see their photos on banners at their sports complexes, the city and school district hung 100 banners along Main Street in downtown Hilliard, honoring over 200 spring sport seniors from the three high schools.
“The boosters and the school district paid for these great banners, and our contribution was – we have the [holders] and the muscle to put the banners up,” said Hilliard’s Director of Communications David Ball. “We haven’t done this before. This is the first time.”
“Athletics is part of the fiber of our society. It’s great that we can recognize these kids in this way,” said Hilliard City Schools Superintendent John Marschhausen, who is also the father of a spring sport senior. “We have great pride in Hilliard with our three high schools. We talk about one Hilliard and for us to be able to have students from Darby, Davidson and Bradley all hanging downtown in Old Hilliard, so we can celebrate the, in some cases 13 years these students have spent in the Hilliard City School District.”
Ball and Marschhausen said they hope this not only shows support for these student-athletes, but for the city as a whole.
“Hilliard is a fantastic community and I think that during the coronavirus we’ve seen that,” said Ball. “We’ve seen our community come together in so many different ways and so many communities have. I think this is a great example of that. Sort of that outside the box thinking, people coming together to find solutions to challenges. I think this is as fantastic example of that.”
“It was awesome. Just getting a way to be recognized as a senior even though we’re in the middle of this big pandemic. It’s a nice gesture of them,” said Gallo, who feels lucky that his track career isn’t over just yet. He’s headed to the University of Toledo to join the Rockets team for the next four years; but he knows, not everyone is as fortunate.
“For me personally it’s great to know I have that future, that chance in the future, but for my friends and all my teammates who don’t have that same experience, I really feel for them,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Gallo said it’s also disappointing that it looks like graduation won’t go as traditionally planned. Marschhausen said the school district is working on plans for a virtual graduation on the pre-scheduled date in order to get transcripts and documents to colleges on time; however, they hope to have an in-person graduation sometime this summer.