Malvern to honor athletes in 2025 Hall of Fame class

Dean Kocher, Class of 1946, Bryan Hamilton, Class of 1975, Karlie Townsend Virtue, Class of 2004 and Zoe Moser, Class of 2020 (Submitted)

Malvern High School’s athletics program has a long history of excellence, one that stretches back decades. That legacy is reflected in the newest class of inductees to the Malvern Athletic Hall of Fame, whose graduation years span 74 years.

From Dean Kocher, Class of 1946, to Bryan Hamilton, Class of 1975, and Karlie Townsend Virtue, Class of 2004, to Zoe Moser, Class of 2020, four outstanding Malvern athletes representing four eras will be honored for their contributions to Hornet athletics between the JV and varsity basketball games Friday, Dec. 12, when Buckeye Trail visits Malvern.

Kocher was a three-sport athlete at Malvern, lettering twice in football, basketball and baseball. In basketball, he led the Hornets to the Carroll County Championship, where they finished runner-up in the Carroll County Tournament, and was named to the Carroll County All-Tournament Team as a guard.

Football was where Kocher made his biggest impact. His six-touchdown performance against Augusta remains a school record. As quarterback, he led Malvern to the Carroll County Championship, and he was recruited by legendary coach Sid Gillman to play at Miami (Ohio). Kocher, who was athletic editor of the school newspaper, The Malhisean, later served four years in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.

Hamilton earned four varsity letters in both basketball and track, and one each in football and cross country. In basketball, he scored 1,046 points and was named Malvern’s most valuable player in 1974 and 1975. He earned IVC First Team honors in 1975, Second Team honors in 1973 and 1974, and was a District 5 All-Star from 1973 to 1975.

In track, Hamilton was named IVC Field Event MVP in 1974 and 1975, and set the school record in the pole vault at 12 feet, 9 inches. He also competed in the high jump, hurdles and long jump. He went on to study animal science at Ohio State University.

Virtue, valedictorian of the Class of 2004, lettered four times in volleyball and softball and three times in basketball. She later coached volleyball at Malvern, earning IVC Coach of the Year honors in 2017 and District 5 Coach of the Year honors in 2014, 2015 and 2017.

In volleyball, Virtue set school records for setting percentage in a season (99%) and in a career (98%). She was named First Team IVC in 2002 and 2003 and First Team District 5 from 2001 through 2003, and earned District 5 Player of the Year honors in 2003.

In softball, she set school records for innings pitched in a season (169 in 2003) and hits in a season (41 in 2003). She was named First Team IVC and First Team District 5 from 2002 to 2004. Virtue later attended Baldwin Wallace University, where she lettered twice in golf.

Moser lettered four years in track and field and three years in cross country, becoming a multiple state champion in sprinting. In 2017, she placed fifth at state in both the 100 and 200. In 2018, she was state champion in the 200 and runner-up in the 100, and in 2019, she swept both events. She also qualified for state in the 4x100 relay in 2018 and the 4x200 relay in 2019.

Moser was a regional champion in the 100 and 200 in 2017 and 2019, and in 2018, she was regional champion in the 200 and runner-up in the 100. She is a seven-time district champion, seven-time IVC champion and a two-time IVC Runner of the Year. She holds school records in the 100 (12.12 seconds) and 200 (24.88), and is part of school-record relay teams in the 400 and 800.