Throughout the OHSAA school year there are tens of thousands of high school events across the state. There are twenty sports recognized by the OHSAA along with several other sports that are on their way. All of the hard work by players and coaches comes to fruition in the state finals. After analyzing and looking at the many state championship events, I have come up with a "Top 10 Moments" from the 2007-08 athletic season. So without further ado...

1. Coldwater shocks Youngstown Cardinal Mooney in Division IV football final

In a rematch of the 2006 Division IV final, Coldwater pulled off the biggest upset of the 2007 state championship games by defeating heavily favored Cardinal Mooney, 28-27 at Massillon Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Mooney was undefeated, ranked No. 1 in Division IV all season long, ranked in the top 25 in several national polls, and was in discussion of being the best team in the state regardless of division. After the Cardinals had a comfortable 21-7 lead entering the final quarter, Coldwater scored 21 unanswered points to take a 28-21 lead. Mooney put together a late touchdown drive and scored with 20 seconds left to play. A blocked extra point by Coldwater's Kurt Schlarman secured the lead for the Cavaliers and later Adam Homan recovered Mooney's onside kick to seal the state title.

2. Chambers' buzzer-beater stuns Libbey as Chillicothe wins Division II boys basketball title

Chillocothe's memorable 2007-08 season culminated in unbelievable fashion. The Cavaliers overcame a 14-point deficit mid-way through the third quarter in the Division II state championship game to eventually force overtime. In front of nearly 15,000 at Value City Arena, Chillicothe senior Ray Chambers' layup with under a second to play in overtime gave his team a 70-69 victory over favored Toledo Libbey. Chambers' teammate Anthony Hitchens (24 points, six rebounds, and five assists) led the way for the Cavaliers. Libbey's William Buford, Ohio's Mr. Basketball in 2008, had a spectacular game (29 points, six rebounds and five assists) as the Cowboys came up just short of a state championship.

3. St. Paris Graham shatters state wrestling meet record

There may not have been a team in Ohio that accomplished more than the St. Paris Graham wrestling team. The Falcons' regular season was highlighted by a dismantling in a December dual against Ohio's long-time wrestling kings: Lakewood St. Edward. Graham went on to solidify their stronghold on Ohio wrestling by surpassing their own Division II state meet record with 221.5 points. The Falcons placed 12 of their 14 wrestlers as the state meet, which included four champions. The eight-time defending Division II state champions claimed their first national title in the process of what surely will go down as one of the all-time great wrestling teams in Ohio's history.

4. Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame wins Division I girls basketball title at buzzer

Although there was plenty of debate about the final shot, the referees ruled freshman Kathryn Reynolds' final shot a good one as Mount Notre Dame defeated Lakota West 69-67. After one of the heaviest snow storms in Columbus history, the girls' state championship games were delayed two days. In continuing with the wild and unpredictable events preceding the game, the big-school title game lived up to the hype as the Cougars (26-2) won their third straight title. Tia McBride led the MND with 24 points and Amber Gray, the 2008 Ms. Basketball out of Lakota West, had 23 points for the Firebirds (26-2).

5. Cincinatti St. Xavier blanks Mentor in Division I football final to cap perfect season

St. Xavier's defense shut out the mighty Mentor offense, led by Mr. Football Bart Tanski, by the score of 27-0 as the Bombers finished a perfect (15-0) season and their second Division I title in three seasons. It was only the second shutout in Division I title game history. St. X running back Darius Ashley (271 yards, 2 TD's) broke a big-school title game rushing record as he helped the Bombers rush for a total of 371 yards. St. Xavier picked up their fourth shutout of the year and they proved they deserve the title as Ohio's best and also the high rankings (including some No. 1 rankings) they received from every national poll.

6. Lakewood St. Edward dominates winter sports

Most schools would be very happy to win a single state championship in any sport over a five or ten year period. St. Edward nearly pulled off three team state titles in just the winter sports season. For the 11th straight season the Eagles captured the Division I state wrestling title. Just over a week later, St. Edward defeated Gilmour Academy in Nationwide Arena for their 11th state hockey championship. The number of wrestling *23) and hockey (11) titles are both more than any other school in Ohio. As St. Eds was going for the trifecta in winter sports titles, something Ohio has never seen before, they came up short in the basketball final six days after their hockey title. The road block to a second basketball state championship was Newark as the Eagles fell 65-52 on a Saturday night in Value City Arena.

7. North Canton Hoover wins pitcher's duel over Elyria for Division I softball title

The players, coaches, and fans new it was an instant classic once the final run had scored. Two of the best pitchers (Hoover's Jessica Simpson and Elyria's Tess Sito) in the entire state went head-to-head for nine innings before either team could get on the scoreboard. It wasn't until two outs in the bottom of 10th inning when the softball Division I title game was decided. Hoover's Erin Riccardi hit a two-out RBI single to defeat Elyria for the title for the second time in three years. Simpson (two hits, one walk, six strikeouts) went the distance for Hoover and Elyria's junior star Sito (four hits, two walks, 14 strikeouts) was nearly perfect.

8. Mother of Mercy defeats Mount Notre Dame in all-Cincinnati volleyball final

There is not a more talented region of volleyball outside of Cincinnati. The Girls Greater Cincinnati League may be the top volleyball conference in the nation. It was only fitting that the 2007 volleyball state championship was once again between two GCCL schools: Mother of Mercy and Mount Notre Dame. In a rematch of the 2006 final, this classic went to Mother of Mercy as they pulled off a 15-11 win in the deciding fifth game. The win gave the GCCL their 12th Division I title in 15 years and further proved where the best volleyball is played. Mercy won their first state title since 1982 behind a strong performance by Missy Harpenau (27 kills). The senior was later named National Player of the Year by PrepVolleyball.com and is headed to the University of Cincinnati to continue her volleyball career.

9. Cleveland Heights ends Cleveland Glenville's streak of Division I boys track and field titles

Cleveland Heights captured their first boys track and field state title since 1982 as they dethroned nearby Cleveland Glenville, who had won the previous five state titles. The Tigers edged Cincinnati LaSalle 44-41 with a fifth-place finish in the final race of the day, the 4x400. Cleveland Heights' seniors Jared Hall, Wael El-Halaby, Dontave Cowsette, and junior Bryan Underwood are among the athletes that contributed towards the Tigers' state title.

10. Central Ohio dominates state swim meet

The Columbus-area crowned two teams as swimming state champions as St. Charles captured the boys title and Upper Arlington won their fourth straight Division I girls title. The big story was St. Charles ending the state championship streak of Cincinnati St. Xavier, who the previous nine state titles. The Cardinals finished with 266 points to defeat Cincinnati St. Xavier by 20 points. Upper Arlington finished with a record 449 points to outdistance second-place Cincinnati St. Ursuline.