Wilhelm (Wil) Schwarzinger ’68 excelled on the football field and the hardwood for the Archbishop Hoban Knights in the mid-late sixties as a versatile defensive back, quarterback and punter for Coaches Tony Paris and Tom Batta on the gridiron and as a sharpshooting guard under Coach Chuck Kelly on the basketball court.  In football, Schwarzinger roamed the defensive backfield on a unit that allowed just 7.1 points/game in 1966 and finished 9-1 with a Top 10 AP State Ranking. Taking over at quarterback for the Knights and Coach Tom Batta in 1967, Schwarzinger guided the Hoban attack as a dangerous runner and passer, leading the squad, regarded as one of the best in the area, to a 7-1-2 mark.  Schwarzinger maintained his role on the stingy Knight defense as well, earning 1967 All-City accolades as a defensive back on an outfit that yielded just 9.2 points/game.

Schwarzinger was an equally crafty engineer for the Knights on the basketball court, leading the Knights in scoring in 1966-67 (300 pts, 14.3 ppg) and 1967-68 (306 pts, 16.1 ppg). An All-City selection his junior and senior seasons and a team captain in his final campaign, Schwarzinger’s 606 career points and 111 career 2-point field goals both ranked second in the Hoban annals upon his graduation.

Schwarzinger was offered a football scholarship to Akron University by Coach Gordon Larson, but chose instead to walk-on to the Zip basketball squad.  His gamble paid-off almost immediately, as Schwarzinger deposited 10 buckets in 11 attempts in his first game for Akron and Coach Wyatt Webb.  Schwarzinger became a cornerstone in the construction of one of the finest basketball teams in Zip history.  The four-time letterwinner was a starting guard on the 1971-72 team that reached the NCAA Division II Finals, finishing as the national runners-up with a 26-5 season mark.  That Zip team, which also featured two fellow Hoban alumni: Wil’s brother Karl Schwarzinger as well as Paul Mesko, is recognized in the University of Akron Hall of Fame as a “Team of Distinction”.  Schwarzinger earned Academic All-American status in 1971-72 and was inducted in the UA Hall of Fame in 1992.
 

Karen (Godzinski) DiMascio ’89 shined brightly as a star on several of Hoban’s greatest volleyball and softball teams in the late eighties.   A three-time volleyball letter-winner for Hall of Fame Coach Mary Howard, DiMascio was the team captain on the 1988 OHSAA Class AA  State Runner-Up squad.  The ’88 season saw DiMascio earn numerous accolades, including the Akron Beacon Journal and Greater Akron Touchdown Club Volleyball Player of the Year awards and First Team All-Ohio recognition. DiMascio was a standout outfielder for the Knight softball squad and Coach Mary Ann King, helping the team win OHSAA Class AA State Championships in 1986 and in the “perfect” 34-0 season of 1987. She earned All-Summit County and All-Northeast Ohio recognition for her softball performance in 1989. DiMascio took her volleyball talents to the University of Akron, where the Godzinski family name peppers the program record book.   A four-year starter for the Zips, DiMascio served as the team captain in both 1991 and ’92 and earned Team MVP honors in 1992.   DiMascio was named to multiple All-Tournament teams during her collegiate career and was an Academic All-Mid American Conference selection in 1992.  Among her numerous records accumulated at Akron, DiMascio currently ranks number one in Zip Volleyball history in Career Digs (2,007), second in Sets Played (615) and Single Season Sets Played (188), third in Single Season Digs (599) and fifth in Career Service Aces (172).  Her Career Sets Played tally places DiMascio in the Top-15 in the NCAA record book.

Tony Beiting ’99 was a two-sport standout for the Knights, serving as the catalyst for the football and basketball squads in the late nineties as quarterback and guard, respectively. A three-year football letterman, Beiting was at the helm of Hall of Fame Coach Ralph Orsini’s squads in 1997 and ‘98, guiding the team to the program’s first playoff appearance and post-season victory in the 1998 season.  Beiting’s senior gridiron campaign saw the signal-caller throw for 1,665 yards and 21 touchdowns, earning First Team All-City and Honorable Mention All-District honors while leading the team to a 10-2 mark.  For his career, Beiting tossed 30 scoring passes and amassed 2,699 aerial yards, both tops in the Hoban annals at the time.  

Beitng was a three-time letterman on the basketball court for the Knights and Coach T.K. Griffith, serving as a guard on the 1998 OHSAA State Runner-Up squad and on the undefeated regular season team that earned the AP State Poll Title in 1999.  Known as a reliable scorer and a tenacious defender, Beitng finished his career with 477 points and his 80 steals in the 1997-98 campaign still ranks in Hoban’s Single Season Top-5. An Honorable Mention Plain Dealer All-Star and Summit/Medina All-Star Game participant in 1999, Beiting garnered the squads’ “Clutch Performer” and “Golden Knight” awards his senior year.

Beiting continued his football career at John Carroll University, tallying 2,609 passing yards and 32 career touchdown passes as quarterback for the Blue Streaks.  Beiting earned Honorable Mention All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors in 2003 and ranks in the JCU Football Top Ten for career passing scores (32) and yards per completion (14.5).  

Maura (Bulgrin) Lemon ’07 was a running sensation during her time at Hoban and beyond.  A Four-time letter-winner in both cross country for Coach Joe “Peach” Zampino and track for Hall of Fame Coach Joe Lutz, Lemon was a wire-to-wire outstanding performer.  A two-time team captain in cross county, Lemon qualified for the state meet all four seasons (2003-06), placing as high as fifth in 2004.  Lemon was named to the Academic All-Ohio team three times (2004-06),

Lemon’s distance running prowess was on display on the Hoban track as well, as she qualified for state three-times (2005-07), served as team captain in 2007, earned Team Distance MVP honors each of her four seasons and was a three-time Academic All-Ohio selection (2005-07).

Lemon continued her running career on the collegiate level at the University of Dayton, where she earned four letters on the Flyer cross country team.  Lemon earned the program’s MVP award three times and was named an All-A10 Conference “Most Outstanding Performer” in 2010.  She ranks third on the Dayton Women’s Cross Country All-Time list in the 5k (17:19.0) and 6k (20:57.75), with both marks standing as program records upon her graduation.

On the professional circuit, Lemon is the 2016 Akron Half Marathon Champion and the 2018 Toledo Marathon Champion, shattering the course record in the latter event.  In 2018 Lemon qualified for the US Olympic Marathon Qualifier Race.  

Lauren (McNeil) Mengle ’10 was nothing short of dominant from her spot on the pitcher’s mound for the Hoban Knight softball team from 2007-10.  A two-time team captain for Coach Mitch Wagner’s squads, Mengle was twice elected to the All-Ohio First Team (2009, 10), was a four-time selection to the All-North Coast League and All-District squads and was the North Coast League MVP in 2008.  Mengle ended her pitching career for the Knights with 65 career victories and 45 shutouts. Her 941 career strikeouts ranks in the Top 20 in the OHSAA record book.

Mengle continued her softball and pitching career at Kent State University, where she lettered for the Golden Flashes four times from 2011-14.  Her college softball honors include the NFCA Scholar Athlete Award (2011) the Mid-American Conference Commissioners Award (2012 and 13) and three-time Honorable Mention All-MAC accolades (2011-14).  Mengle led the Golden Flashes in appearances (29) and strikeouts (63) in 2011 and her 94 career appearances ranks eighth all-time in the KSU record book.