LIFE
2B • COMMUNITY PRESS/WEST • OCTOBER 11, 2017
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Bill said. “Then, that third week every day she started getting a little bit better,” said Bill. “Sunday, exactly three weeks from the day she was injured, she woke up and it was like somebody flipped on a switch. She was like, ‘I feel totally fine,’ and she was.” Miraculously, after thinking they’d lost her, Shelby was back to being herself. “That was in March. Doctors cleared her to play at the end of May,” said Bill. “I was terrified. I didn’t want her to play ever again. She has a twin brother, Dalton, who was playing indoor soccer at the time. My wife didn’t know this because she was at home with Shelby, I would drop him off and I’d sit in the parking lot because I couldn’t go in to watch him play.” She started running again. She worked tirelessly to catch up on the three weeks of missed school, and she did. Bill said she ended the quarter with a 4.0 grade-point average. Although she wasn’t allowed to play soccer, she would make her parents drive her to practice so she could be with her team, and she would even send them motivational speeches in digital form. “That’s all she wanted to do was play,” said
Bill. In June, Shelby returned to soccer. She said, “I wasn’t nervous at all because I don’t remember the injury at all. I just wanted to get back out there. It’s just the sport I’ve been playing my whole life. I love it. I don’t want to stop doing it. “I feel like I’ve gotten stronger. It’s kind of cool knowing that that happened because look at me now. I got through it.” Rather than it stopping her, Shelby has let it propel her forward. “It definitely brought us closer together,” said Bill. “There was a lot of stuff you take for granted. A lot of things you think are important like soccer and the success and the level of competition, all that stuff, but really … if it was up to my wife and I, we wouldn’t have wanted her to play anymore. That’s her goal and her dream and that’s what she did.” Bill said it’s become easier to watch her play again. “As time goes by, you try to think about watching them have fun and watching them compete. You have to kind of put it behind you and know that it happened. You hope it was a fluke and it doesn’t happen to you or anyone else ever again.” Shelby’s verbally committed to play soccer at Northern Kentucky University.
SHORT HOPS Shelby Dermer sdermer@enquirer.com
Football » St. Xavier’s Chase Wolf’s pair of touchdown passes to Cameron Specht was enough to lead St. Xavier to a 14-6 win over Elder on Sept. 29. » La Salle quarterback Griffin Merritt orchestrated a 13-play, 98-yard drive in the final 4:37 and capped off the game-winning march with a one-yard touchdown run with 21 seconds left that pushed the Lancers to a 28-24 win over Moeller on Sept. 29. » Jacob Woycke threw three interceptions in Oak Hills’ 36-18 loss to Princeton on Sept. 29. Backup quarterback Ethan Myers came in and completed five passes for 80 yards and one touchdown, a 15-yarder to Jacob Berkemeier. » Elder outgained St. Xavier 313-197, but could not find the end zone, settling for a pair of Sam Harmeyer red zone field goals in the Panthers’ 14-6 loss to the Bombers on Sept. 29. » Delaney Day’s 32-yard field goal in overtime pushed Taylor to a 12-9 win over Finneytown on Sept. 29. Tyler Embry’s 16-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Blake Brunswick tied the game 9-9 and forced overtime. » Kayvon Britten ran for 283 yards and three touchdowns to help Western Hills beat Middletown Christian 32-16 on Sept. 29. Defensively, Johnathan Harrison had a fumble return touchdown and Reginald Taylor-Benton had four tackles for loss. The win snapped the Mustangs’ nine-game losing streak. » Gamble Montessori blanked Riverview East on Sept. 30.
Boys soccer » La Salle fell to Moeller 3-2 Oct. 3. » Khadime Sady scored twice for Western Hills in a 3-3 tie with
Elder quarterback Michael Bittner (17) carries the ball in the second quarter against St. Xavier Sept. 29. THE
La Salle’s quarterback Griffin Merritt looks to pass during the Lancers’ 28-24 win over Moeller, Friday, Sept. 29. TONY
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Purcell Marian on Oct. 5.
on Oct. 3. » Alana Lambers and Lauren Schutte notched wins for Mercy in a 3-2 loss to Oak Hills on Oct. 3.
Girls soccer » Carly Selby and Dani Dehner combined for a 19-save shutout in Seton’s 4-0 win over Mercy on Oct. 4 with goals from Camyrn Kuchenbuch, Millie Poehner, Julia Hoffmann and Haley Autenrieb. » Kate Gleckler, Ashley Herrmann, Jordan Renner and Olivia Steiner found the net for Taylor in a 4-1 win over Reading on Oct. 4.
Girls tennis » Mercy beat Harrison 3-2 Oct. 2 with wins by Marin Berlon, Deja Mapp-Julia Slivinski and Erica Roeder-Claire Ellerhorst. » Seton beat Ross 4-1 Oct. 2 with wins by Delaney Dee, Maggie Tepe, Kelly Aug-Mackenzie Vatter and Margaret Korte-Liz Rolfes. Seton beat McAuley 4-1 Oct. 5 with wins by Paige Dean, Delaney Dee, Kelly Aug-Mackenzie Vatter and Liz Rolfes-Ally Sullivan. » McKayla Klein, Erin Kallmeyer-Sydney Jones and Abby Kromme-Caroline Eichhorn led Oak Hills to a 3-2 win over Mercy
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ty, the coach asked the girls if there would be any issues, but she’s found the relation has been beneficial to their end result. They play the same position, connecting passes and playing off each other well. Ellie chose to go to Mercy with her sister so together they could experience what their mom experienced. “With my mom being a graduate from Mercy and my sister being a senior there, this being her last year, as it’s the last year, being the last freshman class and having this opportunity to play with my sister ... I think it’s super exciting,” Ellie said. Grace said the team has worked so hard in practices and games, looking stronger than they ever have. This bodes well in the last official soccer season for Mother of Mercy. “To me it’s just really sad to see a such a great school closing. Next year will be awesome for the new school. This season we kinda came in as underdogs, but I think we’ve really proven ourselves we can be just as good as any other team we play against. “I think not just the fact that we’re working hard, but all of us are close and we have a good connection. These girls are like my sisters.” Family: Parents, Susan and Jay Janszen; siblings, sister Ellie and older brother, Jack. Favorite movie : “Aquamarine/“
Volleyball » Oak Hills beat Lakota West 25-17, 19-25, 26-28, 25-16, 15-10 Oct. 3. » Mercy beat Seton 25-19, 2520, 25-23 Oct. 5.
Mercy volleyball upsets no. 1-ranked Ursuline » On Sept. 28, Mother of Mercy volleyball pulled off an upset over Ursuline, the number-one ranked team in the nation and state, 2523, 25-22, 25-23. The Bobcats’ dramatic straight-set victory avenged their loss to the Lions in the playoffs last November, and snapped Ursuline’s 19-game regular-season winning streak. Sitting in third place in the GGCL with a 15-3 overall record, Mercy’s regular-season slate ends with three out of four at home, starting with a divisional contest against last-place McAuley (4-13, 0-8) on Oct. 3.
Favorite book: “The Outsiders.” Favorite music: While she likes everything, contemporary pop might be her favorite - John Mayer, Michael Buble, etc. Her dad, who plays guitar and sings in the band Sullivan and Janszen, inspired these choices. Favorite subject: English College choices: She’s looking at Ohio University, University of Dayton, Ohio State University and University of Cincinnati. Her major is undecided and she will play club soccer at whatever school she attends, if they have it. Employment: She works at the Public House in Cheviot. Favorite athlete: Alex Morgan, a soccer player with the U.S. Women’s National Team. Who she inspires: Cecilia Feldman, senior, midfielder: “I think she makes up a big part of the spirit and morale of the team. If the spirits are bad, Grace is always there being herself, telling a joke and trying to motivate us. She does such a good job. She has a great ability to motivate people to make sure everyone’s feeling OK, checking up on all of us. She really cares about all of us.” Ellie Janszen, freshman, striker: “She’s always just been someone I’ve looked up to. She’s a huge part of my life. Because having a big sister there, she’s always there to guide me. Throughout making my high school decision, I just always thought about the decision my sister made because I think we have a lot of personality traits in common and we share the same in-
terests. She’s always been a huge role model to me. Her making varsity as a freshman, that was a huge goal I wanted to make especially playing with her. Playing with her is something brand new and it’s awesome.” What her coach says: Jessica Stegman, firstyear head coach, 2008 Mercy graduate: “Grace is probably one of the most positive people I’ve ever met. I’ve known her since she was a freshman and she actually made varsity as a freshman so this is her fourth year with this team. This is my first year actually getting to coach her. I’ve watched her become a better person and better player over the years, even if she didn’t always get the playing time she wanted or the playing time she deserved. She had the heart to stick it out and stick with it and honestly, stay positive. She’s the comic relief of the team, which is one of the best things about her. Whenever things get too serious, you can always count on Grace to make everybody laugh. “She is the core on the field for us. She gets the ball, maintains possession and distributes from there, which is what we need. As far as becoming a leader, she’s not afraid to be herself and show everyone she knows what she’s doing and can get things done on the field.” Enquirer Media has kicked off a new weekly feature, Heart & Hustle, highlighting high school athletes who inspire others through their heart and hustle. Twitter hashtag: #cincyheart . Suggestions can be sent to mlaughman@enquirer.com.