Wooster Christian wins national basketball title

Up, down, up, down — up.

That might be the best way to describe the 2025-26 season for Wooster Christian School’s varsity boys basketball team.

It had its ups and downs, ultimately finishing with a big up by winning the National Christian Schools Athletic Association Division 5C Tournament in March and finishing with a 23-7 record.

Here’s a look at each up and down:

Up — Coming off an 18-12 record last season and a 20-14 mark the year before, the team came into the 2025-26 season confident.

“We had high hopes at the beginning of the season and set team goals accordingly, including to win every tournament that we entered, but having never won a tournament, wondered if we had what it took to finish the deal,” coach Nick Hinkle said.

That confidence came from having the most seniors on the team — Isaiah Schrock, Camden Stoltzfus and Hunter Forrer — in Hinkle’s four years as the coach and two juniors — Hinkle’s son, Gabriel, and his assistant coach Nathan Schlegel’s son, Titus, as well as a sophomore, CJ Stoltzfus, with varsity experience.

Had five canceled games been rescheduled, Hinkle said last season probably would have been another 20-win season, as he added that four of those games likely would’ve been relatively easy wins.

Down — Having to adjust to playing and practicing in different gyms after WCS moved the student body from the Church of the Savior campus to the Wooster Township School building this past summer, leaving them without a home gym.

“The new school building's gym was too small to hold high school games,” Hinkle said. “We are so grateful to the Gault Rec Center and Fairlawn Mennonite Church for allowing us to practice and play games at their facilities this year.”

That could’ve resulted in the team’s slow start to the season, finishing what Hinkle called a disappointing second at its “home” invitational.

Up — Winning the young program’s first tournament — this was the school’s fourth season with a varsity team — the Blazer Invitational in Wilmot that came in the middle of the season.

Schlegel has been coaching with Hinkle since the school started a varsity team and even earlier on the junior high level.

“We both coached the junior high team the four years prior to the high school team starting, always endeavoring to build Christian values into the guys and teach life lessons through basketball,” Hinkle said. “When I agreed to coach the start-up high school team, I explained that I was not interested in coaching unless I could build a competitive team, all the while pointing kids toward Christ.”

Rick Dilyard helped Hinkle and Schlegel as another assistant coach this season.

Down — Schlegel’s son, Titus, goes down with a serious injury (fractured nose and skull after banging his head with another player) in a two-point loss to High Street Academy in Columbus, which beat them by six earlier in the season, too.

“I was so proud of our players rallying and staying in the game after such a significant injury to one of our own,” said Hinkle, who admitted that it helped him overcome not feeling much like coaching after the injury. “They played with a determination and resiliency that I was so impressed with.”

After the game, most of the players and several of the parents visited Titus at Riverside Hospital in Columbus. One of the players, sophomore Lucas Frary, led the group in prayer in the middle of a crowded ER.

Frary was one of four sophomores — Benji Schrock, Colt Capela and Trent Browning — rounding out the roster, along with freshman Lincoln Farley. Not all of the players are WCS students. Some are homeschooled and some come from a school that doesn’t offer sports.

“I will never forget the look and tears streaming down Titus' face when he saw our crew roll into the ER,” Hinkle said.

UP — Not only winning its division at the NCSAA championship tournament, played in Xenia and Cedarville with 120 teams from 20 states and even Canada, WCS saw Titus return for his first game since receiving 12 screws and three plates in his forehead.

“(He) added eight points and four rebounds and provided an emotional lift to the players, coaches and fans alike,” Hinkle said.

Hinkle’s son, Gabriel, went over 1,000 points for his varsity career in the team’s second game and second win of the tourney on his way to making the all-tournament team. Camden Stoltzfus, who hit the 1,000-point milestone earlier in the season and is now the program’s all-time leader in scoring, rebounding, assists and blocks, and his younger brother, CJ Stoltzfus, also made the all-tourney team. That trio led the team offensively all season, each averaging double digits in scoring.

“Everyone contributed on defense, often switching in and out of man-to-man, zone, full-court and half-court press defensive sets,” Hinkle said.

The coaches and players weren’t the only ones who helped the team to its third win in the tourney, the championship game, a 47-43 victory over Barry County Christian from Michigan.

“We have great volunteer help from parents and other family members,” Hinkle said. “Zenny and Denise Frary (mom and grandma of one of the players) have been instrumental in keeping stats and scorebook since year two, and Kate Stoltzfus has helped with video and stats as well (sister of Camden and CJ). We have a great group of parents that have supported us coaches and players through the ups and downs.”