Circleville High School will be inducting its newest athletic hall of fame members before Friday’s varsity basketball game against Logan Elm. Mark Hamman, Justin Hill and the 2006 and 2007 softball teams all will be inducted.
Mark Hamman
Mark Hamman was a three-sport star for the Tigers in the early 1990s. A captain for three different teams, Mark earned all-league honors in each season,
In the fall, Mark led the golf team to three straight league titles, two district titles and one state finals appearance. Individually, he was named all-league three times and all-district once. In basketball, Mark led the district in assists as both a junior and a senior and was named the Pickaway County Player of the Year as a senior. He also earned all-league and honorable mention all-district honors. On the baseball fieId, Mark was all-league twice and all-district once, earning team MVP honors and leading the team to a Mid-State League title his senior year.
After high school, Mark went on to Ohio Wesleyan University, where he played both baseball and basketball. He then transferred to The Ohio State University, where he graduated in 1996 with a degree in economics. Today, Mark works for the Cincinnati Insurance Company. He lives in CirclevilIe with his wife, Michelle, his stepson Uriah and daughter Genevieve.
Justin Hill
Justin Hill was a standout football, basketball and baseball player for the Tigers just a few short years ago.
In football, Justin was named honorable mention all-Ohio, helping lead the team to a league title and two state playoff appearances. Justin also was named all-Mid-State League and all-district twice. He totaled 101 receptions for 1,949 yards and 26 receiving touchdowns. On the basketball court, Justin twice earned all-MSL and all-district honors. As a member of the baseball team, Justin patrolled centerfield and had some memorable appearances on the mound.
After high school, Justin went on to play football at Mount Union, where he was a three-time NCAA Division III All-American and helped lead the Purple Raiders to a national title in 2017. Justin was named all-OAC three times and was the only three-time winner of the Ed Sherman Award as the conference’s top receiver. For his career, Justin amassed more than 4,000 receiving yards and scored 65 touchdowns.
Today Justin lives in Grove City, where he works for the Grove City Police Department.
2006, 2007 softball
This group of Lady Tigers made not one, but two state tournament runs in 2006 and 2007 under the leadership of Coach Dave Truex, assisted by Jada Truex and Crystal Thornsley. Both years, these teams were sectional, district and regional champions.
As Circleville Herald sports editor Brad Morris told it, this was truly a team effort as week after week during the tournament journey someone different stepped up to carry the team to the next game. In 2006, the young Tiger team with only one senior, Jessica McConnell, started its tourney run by beating a Sheridan team that had run-ruled them earlier in the season, and then traveled to Fairfield Union, to win the sectional crown. District play featured a run rule of Vinton County and a 5-4 thriller featuring small ball by Casse Mogan to come back from a four-run deficit and a line shot by Heather Spangler to win the game in eight innings. There was Grace Winner who moved the team from regional play to the final four with her game-winning hit against Buckeye Valley in a scorcher that lasted 12 innings. There was Jill Truex whose line hit to right centerfield drove in the winning run scored by Rachael Spangler against Urbana in the state semifinal with a final score of 2-1. And, even in the state final game, a loss to LaGrange Keystone, Alexis Goode dove over the centerfield fence to rob a homerun.
Rachael Spangler’s deliberate placement of the pitches led to many strikeouts, few walks and short games. The team often finished in less than an hour. Her battery mate was twin sister Heather.
The Lady Tigers returned in 2007 with different faces appearing. Everyone played and scored in a 26-0 win over Hillsboro to start the tourney run. After a slow start, Kara Valentine finished off an 11-1 win over Washington Court House with a single to plate the final run. Freshman Lindsey Webb not once, not twice, but three times moved the team to the next game. Her sacrifice fly won a 4-3 nine-inning game over Waverly in the district semifinals, and she followed that with a three-run homerun to beat Sheridan 4-1 and win a district championship for the Tigers. Her two-run shot sent the Tigers onto the regional finals with a 2-0 win over Cambridge. Stevie Guilterri’s first varsity at-bat ended in an amazing hit to spark a rally in the 11th inning that was capped with Casse Mogan hitting a two-run walk-off single to beat John Glenn in the regional final. The Tigers’ season ended at 22-8 with a 2-1 loss to St. Mary’s in the state semifinals.
