Justin Rupp, Braylon Wenger highlight area's 12 All-Ohio selections
The Daily Record coverage area produced one of its most talented senior classes in recent years, and the All-Ohio teams released Wednesday and Thursday told more of the same story.
Norwayne senior Justin Rupp and Dalton senior Braylon Wenger headlined the local All-Ohio selections, with Rupp earning first team in Div. III and Wenger first team in Div. IV.
Rupp capped off a four-year varsity career with a super-efficient senior season, averaging 16.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.0 blocks while shooting 69% from the field and 48% from 3. Norwayne won its first share of the WCAL title since 2014 and reached the district finals for a fourth straight season.
Meanwhile, Wenger stepped into a new role as the No. 1 option for Dalton and thrived, scoring 25.6 points per game while leading the Bulldogs to a fourth straight WCAL title and their first district championship in 21 years.
Hiland's Sammy Detweiler and Dalton's Jack Steiner also separated themselves in Div. IV, with Detweiler earning a second-team nod and Steiner earning third team.
Detweiler stepped his game up a level as a junior, scoring 17.3 points per game for the Hawks, who made it to the state semifinals for the second straight season. Meanwhile, Steiner looked like a natural in his first season as a high school point guard, coming up clutch in a lot of Dalton's biggest games on his way to averaging 14.2 points while posting 53/46/90 shooting splits.
Smithville's Carter Piatt highlighted a group of special mention and honorable mention All-Ohioans from the area that also included Northwestern's Brett Alberts, Triway's Zack Miller, Orrville's Kodah Allen, Chippewa's Caleb Gasser, Norwayne's Ethan Hann, Hillsdale's Nick Kandel and Central Christian's Bryan Martin.
Pickerington Central's Devin Royal (Div. I), Chaminade Julienne's George Washington III (Div. II), Africentric's Dailyn Swain (Div. III), Richmond Heights' Dorian Jones (Div. IV) won the four Player of the Year awards.
All-Ohio teams are selected by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association.
Complete local All-Ohio selections are below:
Div. III
First team: Justin Rupp, Norwayne
Special mention: Brett Alberts, Northwestern; Zack Miller, Triway; Carter Piatt, Smithville
Honorable mention: Kodah Allen, Orrville; Caleb Gasser, Chippewa; Ethan Hann, Norwayne
Div. IV
First team: Braylon Wenger, Dalton
Second team: Sammy Detweiler, Hiland
Third team: Jack Steiner, Dalton
Honorable mention: Nick Kandel, Hillsdale; Bryan Martin, Central Christian
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Boys Basketball: Rupp, Wenger highlight local All-Ohio selections
