Beau Wisecarver tabbed as Co-Eagle-Gazette Male Athlete of the Year

CARROLL — There were several area high school male athletes who had outstanding seasons, and while many are deserving, two stood out above the rest as they excelled in three sports.

For their accomplishments, Lancaster senior Ajay Locke and Bloom-Carroll senior Beau Wisecarver have been selected as the 2022 Eagle-Gazette Co-Male Athletes of the Year.

Other finalists were Liberty Union senior Jacob Miller, Bloom-Carroll senior Evan Dozer, Berne Union junior Nate Nemeth, Bloom-Carroll senior Luke Ferrell and Lancaster senior Eli Rathburn.

It marks the second year in a row that Wisecarver has won the award.

“I’ve had multiple athletes that I’ve looked up to that have received this award, but I haven’t seen anyone win it twice, so to win it twice is a great honor,” Wisecarver said of winning the award. “It is a great feeling to get it. I had two individual awards that I set for myself at the beginning of the year and that was to get first team all-state in football and win this award again. I fell a little short in football, but I was able to win this award again, so I am extremely excited and grateful.”

Wisecarver had another outstanding season as a defensive back and wide receiver in football and earned Division IV second team All-Ohio, as well as first team All-Mid-State League-Buckeye Division and first team All-Central District.

Wisecarver was electric with the ball in his hands as a receiver and was a ball hawk as a defensive back as he played a key role in helping lead the Bulldogs’ football team to their second consecutive Division IV state semifinal appearance and fourth straight MSL-Buckeye Division championship.

In basketball, he played a crucial role in the Bulldogs’ undefeated run (14-0) and MSL-Buckeye Division basketball title. In baseball, Wisecarver was a standout centerfielder, who tracked balls as well as anyone. After helping lead the Bulldogs to a Division II state runner-up finish in 2021, he was able to follow it up by earning first team All-MSL and first team All-District honors in baseball this season.

Wisecarver, who will go down as one of the best all-around athletes to ever go through Bloom-Carroll High School, refused to rest on his laurels after having such a successful season a year ago.

“whenever you win a bunch of awards your junior year, you don’t want it to just fall down the path where everybody thinks it’s going to be handed to you your senior year, which I knew it wouldn’t be, so I worked harder,” Wisecarver said. “I didn’t want to settle. I knew it took a lot of work. I was lucky to have great teammates and coaches, and my parents are the best, as far as how they supported me.”

Because the football team made such a deep run in the playoffs, Wisecarver took the weekend off before he started practicing for basketball and played in his first basketball game three days later, and it was the same way when basketball ended. He immediately started attending baseball practice. He just felt like he owed it to his teammates and wanted to be there for them.

“It is difficult going immediately from one sport to the other, and the coaches wanted me to take a week off, but I felt like I was already behind, so as soon as one sport ended, I wanted to get right to the next one,” Wisecarver said. “I really care about my teammates and I just felt like I needed to be there for them.”

After such a long football season, Wisecarver was debating whether to play basketball, but after Bloom-Carroll basketball coach Joe Goodyear informed him that he had the opportunity to win a league title in three different sports, he never hesitated.

Wisecarver, who carried a 3.9 GPA, was the perfect role player on a team that had two outstanding players in Evan Dozer and Jared Rose, and he played his role perfectly.

“I’m really glad a played basketball,” Wisecarver said. “It was great. I just wanted to do whatever it took to win because I knew Jared and Evan were the two prime players and they did everything for the team. I did whatever they wanted me to do which was play defense and give them the ball and do my job. I didn’t want to try to do too much and mess it up for the other seniors. I didn’t want it to be my fault that we lost. I just kept working as hard as I could and doing my part. It turned out the way we wanted because we won a league championship.”

After having another outstanding season in baseball, Wisecarver knows he left a legacy, but talking about being one of the best athletes in school history is not something he is comfortable with.

“I wish there were team goals when it comes to that kind of talk,” Wisecarver said. “I feel like our senior class is one of the best to ever go through Bloom-Carroll. I’m not that stoked about individual stuff because it wasn’t just me. I got put in a position to succeed because of my teammates and my coaches and I am so I am thankful for them.”

Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.