2025 Ohio High School Athletic Association Circle of Champions
Phil Bova was a three-sport athlete at Cleveland West High School and played two years in the Cleveland Indians’ farm system. But it was basketball officiating where he made his mark starting in 1974. He was selected to officiate the 1977 OHSAA boys large-school state semifinals and was a collegiate basketball official for 30 years, working primarily in the Big Ten. During that time, he officiated in over 20 NCAA Tournaments, including assignments at the Final Four. A resident of Westlake, Phil retired from officiating in 2006, and he also is retired after spending 35 years as the director of the occupational work experience (OWE) program at Buckeye High School in Medina County. Among his honors include selection to the Medina County and Greater Cleveland Sports Halls of Fame.
Hunter Armstrong is a graduate of Dover High School, where he was an eight-time all-state swimmer and twice state runner-up. Since that time, he has gone on to incredible accomplishments, with his latest highlights occurring this past summer in the Olympic Games in Paris, where he was part of the U.S. Team that won a Gold Medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay and a Silver in the 4x100 medley relay. He also was on the Gold Medal-winning 4x100 medley relay in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and has won seven gold medals in the past three World Championships. Hunter set the world record in 2022 in the long course 50-meter backstroke. While competing at Ohio State, from where he recently graduated, he was named the Buckeyes’ 2021-22 Male Athlete-of-the-Year after winning five titles at the 2022 Big Ten Championships.
Jacy Sheldon was an outstanding basketball player at Dublin Coffman High School. She then went on to a tremendous career at Ohio State, where she was a two-time All-Big Ten and All-Big Ten Defensive Team selection, four-time Academic All-Big Ten and a second team All-American. She helped the Buckeyes reach the Elite Eight in 2023, the first for the school in 30 years. As one of the most well-rounded players in school history Jacy is one of three former Buckeyes who totaled at least 1,900 career points (she finished with 2,024), 400 rebounds, 350 assists, 200 steals and 150 made triples. Last spring, Jacy was a first-round draft pick of the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, where she played in all 40 games and had 26 starts. She was traded this winter to the Connecticut Sun. While currently rehabbing an injury during the WNBA’s off-season, Jacy is serving as the Ohio State women’s basketball team’s Director of Player Development.
Kristin Daugherty Ronai led Warsaw River View to back-to-back OHSAA Division II state basketball championships in 2006 and 2007 when she was a two-time first team all-Ohioan and was twice the division player-of-the-year. She was a two-time state coaches association Ms. Basketball award winner before playing at the University of Dayton, where she was a three-time All-Atlantic 10 performer and was named the A-10 Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year. Kristin was also a three-time Academic All-District selection; received Dayton's Presidential Outstanding Scholar Award, and helped the team reach the post-season all four years. She was inducted into the UD Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020. Kristin is currently the Associate Executive Director at the OHSAA.
Kari Daugherty Pickens was a freshman and sophomore at River View when she joined sister Kristin on those back-to-back state basketball championship teams, and the Black Bears reached the state semifinals her senior year. She was a two-time first team all-Ohio and was the division player-of-the-year. After playing her first two collegiate seasons at Dayton, Kari then transferred to Ashland University, where she helped the team finish as national runners-up her junior year and national champions as a senior, and she was the two-time Division II national player-of-the-year. A coach at Ashland since her playing days, Kari was an assistant for Ashland’s 2016-17 national championship and 2017-18 national runner-up teams. Having just completed her seventh year as Ashland’s head coach, her teams have won 90 percent of their games, and she has already amassed over 200 wins that include a national championship in 2022-23. Kari is the only person in Division II history to win a national title as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
Dr. Aaron Craft was class valedictorian at Liberty-Benton High School near Findlay, where he led both the football and basketball teams to state runner-up finishes as a quarterback and guard, respectively. He went on to a tremendous basketball career at Ohio State, where led the Buckeyes to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, was a three-time Academic All-American and set the school records for assists and steals. He also was twice selected the Big Ten Defensive Player-of-the-Year and was the named Most Outstanding Player of the 2013 Big Ten Tournament. Aaron was selected to the OSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020. Following graduation from Ohio State’s medical school in May, Dr. Craft is currently doing his residency at Ohio State with the goal of specializing in surgical and medical management of head and neck conditions.