Continental’s Rhenn Armey (left) and Ottawa-Glandorf’s Ross Maag compete for the ball during a Division III sectional match-up at Continental High School last season.
Richard Parrish |The Lima News
CONTINENTAL — Few, if any Putnam County League high school soccer players have been honored more than Continental’s Rhenn Armey, who is The Lima News boys Scholar Athlete of the Year for 2023.
After being first-team All-PCL as a freshman, he was the league’s Player of the Year as a sophomore, junior and senior. And he was second-team All-Ohio as a sophomore and first-team All-Ohio the two years after that.
In his career he scored a school-record 115 goals and had 58 assists. Continental had a record of 53-18-4 in his four seasons in the program.
And there is another soccer story on his resume which goes beyond standings and statistics.
When Wyatt Davis, a former teammate and friend of Armey’s who graduated a year ahead of him at Continental was stricken with cancer, Armey suggested a 3-on-3 soccer tournament to raise some money for Davis and his family.
The event was held last July, four months before Davis passed away. It attracted 36 teams and around 200 players in age groups which ranged from young elementary school students to adults. The event raised $15,000.
“He was the brainchild of the whole thing. There were a lot of people who helped and supported him. But the idea was all Rhenn’s,” said Continental High School principal Tim Eding.
Armey said, “He (Davis) loved soccer and loved helping other people out so I think that setting that up and organizing that for him was a huge success. I hope they continue it and keep honoring Wyatt through that. He enjoyed it when he was there and it brought the community together. We raised pretty good money for the family and there were a lot more people there than we expected at first.”
Armey also earned four letters in basketball and was named honorable mention All-Putnam County League in that sport the last three seasons.
“I used to really not know which one I liked better. I always liked playing both (basketball and soccer) and basically whichever one I was in at the time, that’s what I liked best,” he said.
While he might have been able to play soccer at a small college, he chose to go in a different direction.
He graduated with a 3.978 grade point average for four years of high school and will attend the University of Cincinnati, where he plans to major in biochemistry.
“I think I could have (played small college soccer) but I think it’s time to move forward and think about my career more. I think focusing on the career path and education was the smarter decision,” he said.
Asked how he managed his time to be successful in academics, sports and other activities, he said, “Putting in the work and just doing the things I should do results in good things and good grades.”
The other members of the boys scholar athlete team are: Landon Armstrong (Bluffton), Carter Duling (Ottawa-Glandorf), Matteo Fusillo (Shawnee), Keegan Halliday (Lima Senior), Grant Hardeman (Elida), Brendan Jameson (Ada), Keaton Lenhart (Wapakoneta), Ethan Luginbill (Pandora-Gilboa), Erik Nygaard (Bluffton), Brandon Renner (Lincolnview), Carter Ringwald (Spencerville), Elam Suter (Pandora-Gilboa), Trent Teman (Delphos Jefferson) and Zeb Wilson (Hardin Northern).
OSU-Lima is a co-sponsor of The Lima News Scholar Athlete team and offers scholarship money for use on its campus to the top 30 scholar athletes.
Girls Scholar Athlete of the Year: Ottawa-Glandorf’s Alexa Fortman
Girls Scholar Athlete of the Year: Ottawa-Glandorf’s Alexa Fortman
Reach Jim Naveau at 567-242-0414.
