Ottawa-Glandorf’s Alexa Fortman won state Division II track and field titles last year in the 400 and 800.
Dean Brown | The Lima News
OTTAWA — When Alexa Fortman gives her valedictorian’s speech at Ottawa-Glandorf on Sunday the subject will be what it means to be a Titan.
That seems like the ultimate match of speaker and subject because Fortman has participated in so many aspects of being an O-G student the last four years.
Athletically, she is best known for winning the Division II 400-meter dash and 800-meter run at last year’s state track meet.
But track is just one of five varsity sports she has participated in. She played three years of soccer, ran cross country for three years and finished sixth in last year’s state meet. She was on the swim team for three years and played one year of basketball.
Academically, she had a 4.0 grade point average, took the classes she needed to take and did the things she had to do to become valedictorian, a goal she set as a freshman.
She was a class officer, on the student council, was part of a mentorship program, was a leader in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and in many other activities. She totaled 165 hours of volunteer time, and had a part-time job.
“It definitely kept me busy for sure,” Fortman said.
It also made her The Lima News girls Scholar Athlete of the Year for 2023.
Soccer was Fortman’s favorite sport until she discovered track in junior high school.
“It was just something I started in the seventh grade. I just really loved it that first time I finished on the track. I thought it was just such a cool sport and I fell in love with it. I couldn’t imagine my life without it now,” she said.
Last year as a junior at the state meet she won the 400-meter dash in 55.74 seconds, which was nearly a second ahead of the second-place runner. The 800 was much closer. She ran a 2:08.60, a Division II record, which was just .22 of a second ahead of the runner-up, who also broke the old D-II record.
As a sophomore at the state meet Fortman was third in the 400 and fifth in the 800. Those two races are separated by only 25 minutes on the state meet schedule, giving runners attempting a double almost no recovery time.
“I tried it my sophomore year and came up short in both races. I felt a little bit more confident in my junior year but it was by far one of the most difficult athletic feats I had ever done. I really just give all credit to God. He helped me carry through those races,” Fortman said.
“It was incredible because so many people had told me it was impossible to run both of those races at state. So to win both of those was a pretty awesome feeling.”
In college next year Fortman will run for Belmont University, an NCAA Division I school with an enrollment of 6,600 students in Nashville.
“I think every kid just kind of dreams of playing a sport in college. I didn’t really realize track would open those doors until probably the end of my sophomore year. Coach (Tyler) Closson, our mid-distance coach, started reaching out to a lot of coaches and I talked to a lot of coaches throughout that summer and last summer,” she said.
“Ohio State was a big one on my list, just because of growing up in Ohio and wanting to be a Buckeye. But I thought about it a lot over the summer and Belmont just felt like home when I visited there and the coaches were super welcoming.”
The other members of the girls scholar athlete team are: Paige Brinkman (LCC), Rachel Clark (Bath), Allison Diller (Bluffton), Matilda Nelson (Lima Senior), Elena Oliver (Bath), Alora Patel (Shawnee), Samantha Scoles (Bluffton), Taylor Spencer (Waynesfield-Goshen), Courtney Sumner (Ada), Bryn Tegenkamp (Continental), Lillyan Vonderwell (Delphos St. John’s), Gabriella Wetherill (Kenton), Cece Worsham (Temple Christian) and Haylee Wurm (Shawnee).
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.
Boys Scholar Athlete of the Year: Continental’s Rhenn Armey
Boys Scholar Athlete of the Year: Continental’s Rhenn Armey
Reach Jim Naveau at 567-242-0414.
