Portage County has long been regarded as a hotbed of athletic talent.
Starting this week and continuing on through November, The Portage County Gazette will feature some of the finest athletes the county has produced.
A select group of 12 local sports enthusiasts (none employed by The Gazette) recently submitted lists of worthy candidates from which we have selected the 10 athletes mentioned most by our panel.
For athletes to be eligible to make the list, they had to have attended one of the county's grammar or high schools. Our panelists could not nominate athletes related to them and were encouraged to consider athletes for being well-rounded as well as accomplished. Any level of participation (sandlot, schoolyard, college, professional, etc.) could be considered.
Every other week from now through November, one of the 10 athletes mentioned most by our panel will be featured. Athlete's features will appear in random order throughout the series. Because there were so many outstanding athletes eligible for the list, The Gazette will at some point, mention the names of those who fell a little short of cracking the top 10.
We realize our list opens the door for discussion, as it is based on opinion. After the series concludes in November, we encourage feedback from our readers as to which athletes are considered the best to come from Portage County.
We hope you enjoy following our series on the county's finest athletes.