BY YANEEK SMITH, BEACON CONTRIBUTOR

J.D. Bergman was arguably the greatest athlete to ever compete at Oak Harbor High School. A two-time state champion in wrestling and an all-Ohioan in football where he played running back, Bergman is going to be inducted into Oak Harbor’s Athletic Hall of Fame along with his former football coach, Gary Quisno, and three-sport standout Pat Kania.

Bergman, who graduated from Oak Harbor in 2003, went 85-0 during his final two seasons as a Rocket wrestler, winning the state championship both times. As a running back, he set the single-season school record for rushing yards and rushing yards in a game and led Oak Harbor to two playoff appearances and a Sandusky Bay Conference championship.

He went on to a stellar career at Ohio State University where he was a three-time All-American and national runner-up in 2008. Following his collegiate career, he won the U.S. Open twice, was one spot short of qualifying for the Olympics in 2012 and finished first at the U.S. World Team Trials in 2010.

Quisno coached the Rockets for 29 seasons from 1979-2007. He was the Division III Coach of the Year in 2002 and his teams won eight league titles and qualified for the playoffs eight times while taking home two regional championships in ’99 and ’06. Quisno’s record at Oak Harbor was 224-83, which included just three losing seasons, and he has 253 overall victories that includes a combined four seasons at Perkins and Danbury.

Kania, one of Quisno’s finest players, was an all-Ohioan in football, wrestling and track and field. He played on the offensive and defensive lines for the football team, qualified for state in the discus while setting a school record of 167 feet, 5 inches, and as a wrestler, won three SBC titles and was fourth in Div. II in ’97.

The ceremony starts at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9 at the high school. Tickets are $15 each, which includes appetizers and dinner. Tickets can be reserved by calling the high school at 419-898-6216.