Seven athletes to be inducted into Knox County Sports Hall of Fame Oct. 25

Seven of the top athletes in Knox County history are getting their due on Oct. 25.

The Knox County Sports Hall of Fame will be inducting seven members as its fourth class during a special ceremony at the Knox County Historical Society Museum. The class of 2025 includes Kristin (Long) Clement, T.T. Crouch, Nick Gutman, Chet Looney, Jeff Robertson, Sally (Lambert) Simpson and Vanessa Oswalt.

Kristin (Long) Clement

Kristin was a three-sport athlete at Danville High School before graduating in 1993, but made her name in basketball. She was a catalyst in the launching of a dynasty at Danville, leading the Blue Devils to an 89-11 record in four years. Those Blue Devils made it to two regional finals appearances and then the first two of five straight OHSAA Final Four appearances.

Kristin moved on to Capital University where she helped the Crusaders to the 1994 and 1995 Div. III National Championships. The Crusaders went 63-1 in those two years and 116-10 in her four years at the school.

She was inducted into the Capital Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006, ranking 10th in scoring (1,252 points) and 11th in rebounds (564). She received her Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from Cincinnati’s School of Medicine and is currently the director of analytical development for Riovant in North Carolina.

Tim “T.T.” Crouch

Tim “T.T.” Crouch made a name for himself on the Knox County golf courses as a youth. He was a state qualifier at Mount Vernon his junior year, but then really found his swing once he began playing at Florida Southern College.

Crouch won the NCAA Div. II individual national championship in both his junior and senior seasons at FSC, helping the team place fourth as a team. He was named to the Florida Southern College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.

He turned professional after college, playing on the Web.Com Tour and PGA Tour of Canada, winning the Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open. Crouch is currently the coach of the Mount Vernon High School team and a golf instructor in Knox County.

Nick Gutman

Nick Gutman was a scoring machine at Mount Vernon High School, finishing as the school’s all-time leader in scoring (1,285 points) and rebounds (603).

Gutman helped his team win three league titles and a district championship, going 60-9 in three years.

He moved on to Otterbein College where he led the conference in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons. His Otterbein teams advanced to the NCAA tournament all four years, making it to the final four as a freshman. He was named to the Otterbein College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.

Gutman currently lives in South Carolina.

Chet Looney

Chet Looney was a four-sport athlete at Danville High School, earning all league honors in all four four sports before graduating in 1967. He went on to play football at Ohio Northern University, earning All-Region honorable mention honors.

He returned home to Knox County, becoming a teacher and then head football coach at East Knox High School. He spent 35 years at East Knox, winning 207 games to make him the all-time winningest coach of a Knox County football team. He won 11 league championships and his 1992 team advanced to the regional finals.

Looney also coached baseball and girls’ basketball, where his team won over 60 games and advanced to the regional finals in 1983.

Jeff Robertson

Jeff Robertson was a three-sport athlete at Centerburg, graduating in 1973.

He led the Trojans to a league championship in football his senior season, gaining 1,300 yards rushing, and was named All-Ohio. In basketball, he led the Trojans to a 37-17 record in three years as a starter. But, it was track where he really stood out. Robertson finished second in the state in the 220-yard dash and fifth in the 100. He set school records in the 100, 220, 440 and 4x220, and also set the state Class A meet record in the semifinals. He won four events in the conference as a senior.

Robertson became a teacher and coach at Fredericktown before opening the Gospel Supply store in Mount Vernon.

Sally (Lambert) Simpson

Sally Lambert was a basketball and volleyball star at Centerburg but made her mark nationally in swimming.

After tearing her ACL as a high school senior in 1983, Sally went back to the YMCA, where she swam as a youth, for rehabilitation. There she connected with a coach who told her to check out the swim team at Fairmont State University. That turned into quite the college career.

Sally won individual NAIA National Championships in the 100-meter butterfly and 200 fly, setting new national records. She was as a member of national champion 200 free relay and 400 medley relay teams while at Fairmont. In all, Sally stood on the national podium 23 times in her four years of college.

She was academic All-America both her junior and senior seasons, winning both the Jasper Colebank Award and Eaton Feaster Award at Fairmont, which goes to the athlete who did the most to promote Fairmont and the athlete with the highest grade point average, respectively.

Sally taught for 36 years in the Centerburg school system and coached volleyball for 28 of those years.

Vanessa Oswalt

Vanessa Oswalt was a pioneer in the sport of girls’ wrestling.

She won three middle school national championships and two high school national titles in the United States Girls Wrestling Association and earned a berth in the 2004 and 2012 Olympic Trials. Because there was no girls’ wrestling program at the high school level, she competed on the boys’ team at Mount Vernon, earning varsity letters three times before graduating in 2005.

Vanessa served as a Senior Master Sergeant with the 179th Cyberspace Wing and was instrumental in Ohio recognizing girls’ wrestling as a sport. She has coached girls’ wrestling at Olentangy Orange High School, helping lead the team to two state championships and one runner-up finish. She was the first woman to be named Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association Girls’ Coach of the Year.