Southern HOF welcomes four into 23rd class
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SALINEVILLE -- The Salineville-Southern Local Athletic Hall of Fame inducted its 23rd class Saturday, recognizing four former athletes for their accomplishments in volleyball, football, basketball and track.
• Christi Barlis Bates, Class of 1986, was inducted as an athlete. Bates played four years of volleyball and earned three varsity letters. During her three varsity seasons, she passed 833 times and recorded 1,025 sets.
She was a first-team Tri-County League selection, third-team All-Area and honorable mention All-County. As a senior, Bates helped lead Southern to a Tri-County League championship and the Wellsville Invitational Tournament championship. She also was named to the Wellsville All-Tournament Team.
• Tom "Tommy" Rodgers, Class of 1993, was inducted as a two-sport athlete. Rodgers earned four varsity letters in track and remains part of the school-record 400-meter relay team. He also earned four varsity letters in football.
Rodgers was Southern’s leading rusher in 1990 and received the 1991 Eldon P. Bott Memorial Player of the Year award. As a senior in 1992, he was a Tri-County League All-Star at defensive back and earned first-team honors from the Quad-County Coaches Association and Columbiana County.
• Mervin "MJ" Williams, Class of 2014, was inducted as a three-sport athlete after earning 10 varsity letters in football, basketball and track.
Williams contributed on special teams as a freshman on Southern’s first playoff team. As a sophomore, he lettered in all three sports and became a starting cornerback on a football team that went 9-1, setting a school record for wins at the time.
Williams started on both sides of the ball as a junior at cornerback and wide receiver. As a senior, he was captain of both the football and basketball teams. He finished his football career with eight interceptions and eight forced fumbles.
In basketball, Williams was the first player off the bench as a junior with the assignment of defending the opposing team’s top player. As a senior, he set the school record with eight blocks in a game, averaging 2.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while helping Southern win 16 games.
His honors included second-team Morning Journal football, honorable mention Columbiana County football, second-team ITCL basketball, honorable mention upper-tier basketball and participation in the Columbiana County Senior All-Star Game.
• Hannah Brothers Sevek, Class of 2016, was inducted as a two-sport athlete in volleyball and basketball. Volleyball became her primary sport as she helped lead Southern to the district championship game and broke four school records. She was named District 1 Division VI Player of the Year and earned first-team ITCL, first-team All-County and OVAC All-Conference honors. She also participated in the OHSVCA All-Star State Game, ITCL All-Star Game and Penn-Ohio Game.
Sevek set the Southern records for most sets in a season with 2019, most assists in a season with 836, most sets in a career with 6,158 and most assists in a career with 2,188.
In basketball, she earned honorable mention All-County and honorable mention ITCL honors.