MARION — Gratitude and thankfulness were recurring themes Friday night as the 31st class of the Marion Harding High School Athletic Hall of Fame was inducted during a ceremony and banquet in the high school's cafetorium.
For 2007 graduate Bryson Faggs, Marion Harding's all-time rusher and touchdown scorer as well as an All-Ohio shot put thrower, the thanks were many.
"I want to thank you for always pushing me to get better every day and believing in me when I didn't believe in myself. Sometimes all it takes for a kid to realize his true potential is a stranger who believed in and showed up for them. It didn't go unnoticed," Faggs said of his many coaches.
The thanks continued for his teammates and his family.
But Faggs wasn't alone. L.J. Scott, a 2014 grad and another star running back and track star who went on to play college football at Louisville and Eastern Kentucky, told stories and anecdotes about many of his teammates and family members who helped and inspired him to be an elite athlete. But his gratitude went beyond family bonds. It is a big reason why he came home to start his teaching and coaching career at his alma mater.
"I always felt taken care of by everybody in Marion. I want to thank you guys because I'm not up here without you guys," Scott said.
Scott's aunt, Danita Snow, gave thanks for her family, saying she wouldn't have achieved what she did without them, too. A 1988 grad, she was a five-time All-Ohioan in the shot put and discus and the highest placing Harding girl in state track and field history as a runner-up in the shot put in 1987. She still holds records in the program.
"I'd like for a young girl right now to break my records. I'm willing to take a step back and let another child see what I see and see how it feels. I went through a lot when I went through high school to be where I'm going to be.," she said.
J.C. Church, a 1980 graduate and a record-setting distance runner in cross country and track and field, brought his first running shoes to the podium, sneakers that he taped together daily to patch up the holes. He said he asked his grandson to imagine wearing these shoes to school, and he said there was no way.
"I said, 'Yes, there is a way.' People said things and they had remarks, but you have to make a decision. If you have the right coaches and the right atmosphere that speak value and put their arm around you, you can get bitter or you can get better. I chose as hard as I could to become better," Church said.
He is forever grateful for what Marion Harding did in giving him a purpose as a runner and a teammate.
"One of the greatest honors of my life is to be inducted into this hall of fame tonight because I love this school so much," Church said.
