Rough Rider All Sports Boosters

🏊 FROM ROUGH RIDER TO HALL OF FAMER.

Long before he became one of the most accomplished swimmers in Kenyon College history, 1993 Theodore Roosevelt High School graduate David Phillips was making waves as a Rough Rider.

This fall, David will be inducted into the Kenyon College Athletics Hall of Fame, recognizing an extraordinary collegiate career that included:
• Four NCAA individual championships
• One NCAA relay championship
• Fourteen All-America honors
• Four national championship teams
• Team captain and recipient of Kenyon’s Stephen E. Bennett Memorial Award

But one of the things that makes David’s story special is that he has never forgotten where it all started.

In 2023, David returned to the OHSAA State Swimming Championships to surprise Roosevelt’s Gage Bailey before the state finals. David had been the last Rough Rider boys swimmer to qualify for the state meet before Gage ended a nearly 30-year wait, making the moment a meaningful passing of the torch between two generations of Roosevelt swimmers.

Congratulations, David, on this incredible and well-deserved honor. Your Rough Rider family is proud to celebrate your accomplishments and grateful for the example you’ve set for those who followed.

📣 THIS THURSDAY.

Theodore Roosevelt High School and Stanton Middle School families participating in fall sports are reminded to attend the Fall Sports Meeting this Thursday, July 23, at 7:00 p.m. in the TRHS Auditorium.

We’ll begin with a general meeting before breaking out into individual team meetings.

See you Thursday!

⚾️ CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND. ROUGH RIDERS EVERYWHERE.

Three Roosevelt High School rising seniors helped lead the H24 Ohio Longhorns to the championship of the 3rd Annual ACB Coal Country Classic in Charleston, West Virginia this weekend.

Rocco Baggetta reached base nine times, finishing 6-for-14 with three walks. Aiken Benshoff went 6-for-12 with three doubles and five RBIs, while Lucas Poluga contributed valuable innings on the mound throughout the tournament.

The Longhorns are coached by TRHS assistant baseball coach Ron Spears, whose team finished the weekend by bringing home the championship.

Congratulations to Rocco, Aiken, Lucas, & Coach Spears on an outstanding weekend.

🏈 SOME NAMES NEVER LEAVE.

With football season right around the corner, we took a walk through the old locker room beneath Roosevelt Stadium.

The varsity team has long since moved into new facilities, but the middle school team still uses these lockers. Many of the old nameplates are still there, quietly reminding us of the players who came through long before today’s Rough Riders.

Stand in that room for a minute and it’s easy to imagine what Friday nights once felt like. Shoulder pads rattling. Cleats on concrete. Tape being pulled tight. The smell of sweat and grass. Players waiting for kickoff or catching their breath at halftime while legendary Coach John Nemec challenged them to give a little more.

You’ll recognize quite a few of the names still hanging on those lockers. Some are now coaches and teachers. Others have gone on to lead programs at Roosevelt and other schools, compete and coach at the collegiate level, and even reach the NFL. Some of those names also remind us of teammates and friends we’ve lost along the way. Every one of those nameplates tells a story, and together they tell the story of Roosevelt athletics.

We did our best to photograph every nameplate that was still hanging so alumni and their families could find theirs again. The room is pretty dark, and after all these years, some nameplates have disappeared or fallen off. If yours isn’t here, it certainly wasn’t by choice.

It’s just an old locker room now.

But for generations of Rough Riders, it was where friendships were built, lessons were learned, and memories that lasted a lifetime first took shape.

🏃 THREE ROUGH RIDERS. ONE STRONG START.

Roosevelt cross country runners Daniel Simon, Grayson Kruger, and Eli Karpinecz represented the Rough Riders at Kent Parks & Recreation’s Run the Galaxy 5K this weekend.

Summer races like these are about more than medals. They help our runners build fitness and gain confidence for the upcoming season begins.

Keep it rolling, guys. 👏

EVERY CHAMPION STARTS SOMEWHERE.

Looking for a fun way to introduce your child to wrestling? The Roosevelt Youth Wrestling Camp is open to boys and girls ages 5–12 and is designed for athletes of all experience levels.

📅 July 22–24
🕙 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
📍 Theodore Roosevelt High School Wrestling Room

Learn the fundamentals, build confidence, make new friends, and have fun along the way.

See the flyer for registration and pricing details.

WHEN THE COMPETITION GOT BETTER, SO DID SHE. 🏀

The Run 4 Roses Championship in Louisville, Kentucky is one of the nation’s premier girls basketball events, bringing together elite players and thousands of college coaches for one of the most competitive recruiting weekends of the summer.

Roosevelt rising junior Grace Schoenberger earned the opportunity to compete on that stage and definitely rose to the occasion.

Playing for Grind Until (Elite 40) Grace averaged 15 points per game over eight games while hitting 33 3-pointers from beyond the arc, and had two 20+ point performances against outstanding competition.

Congratulations to Grace on an impressive week and for proudly representing Roosevelt on one of high school basketball’s biggest stages.

🏈 EVERY SENIOR WAS ONCE HERE.

Every senior leader once walked onto the field as a freshman, learning the speed of the game, adjusting to the next level, and finding their place.

That’s where these incoming freshmen and sophomores are today.

Through every 7-on-7, they’re gaining confidence, learning the game, and growing together as Rough Riders. The progress they’ve made this summer is a credit to the work they’re putting in, and it’s exciting to imagine where that work will lead.

🏈

⚾️ ROUGH RIDER BASEBALL: SENIOR ALL-STARS SHINE

Congratulations to recent Roosevelt graduates Teddy Maccarone and John Estep on representing the Rough Riders in the Northeast Ohio Baseball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game.

The game ended in a 7-7 tie, with both players making their presence felt. John recorded his team’s first hit of the night and scored multiple runs, while Teddy reached base twice, stole a base, and made an outstanding defensive play at shortstop after being hit by a pitch to begin the game.

The Rough Riders were also well represented in the dugout, with Head Coach Mike Haney and assistant coaches Jesse Michel and Andy Johns helping coach the Summit County team. Another photo highlights the outstanding coaching staff from across Summit County, including coaches from Manchester, Revere, Norton, Tallmadge, and Theodore Roosevelt.

A fitting way to celebrate two outstanding careers and another great example of the respect the Rough Rider baseball program has earned throughout Northeast Ohio.

🏈 THE WORK IS SHOWING.

Summer 7-on-7s don’t come with trophies. They come with early mornings, extra reps, mistakes, adjustments, and the chance to grow.

Yesterday against Stow-Munroe Falls and Revere, our Rough Riders took another step forward. You can definitely feel this team coming together, and with a new season and a new home in the Metro Athletic Conference just around the corner, there’s a genuine excitement building around Roosevelt High School football.

Fall can’t get here soon enough.

🏈