Hiland High School’s home basketball floor will now be known as the Dave Schlabach Court.
On an Tuesday night in which Hiland’s boys’ team bested Linsly, 51-44, the former girls’ team’s head coach was honored at the Perry Reese Jr. Community Center.
Schlabach retired last spring to wrap up a 30-year career in coaching one of the most successful girls’ basketball programs in Ohio high school history. In his tenure with the Hawks, Schlabach won six state championships and made 16 trips to the Final Four, including Hiland’s 45-25 win over Ottawa-Glandorf in the Division III state final this past March. Schlabach finished with an overall record of 689-99.
Former assistant Jason Mishler has since taken over the girls’ program for Schlabach, and currently has the Hawks at 5-1 in IVC play and 7-2 overall.
The newly named court will soon see a girls’ basketball showcase in the 2022 Classic in the Country Challenge, scheduled for Jan. 15-17 in Berlin.