Westerville Central High School welcomed the newest members to its Alumni Hall of Fame at a special ceremony Friday. The 2023 inductees are:
While at WCHS, Marburger competed in the school’s lacrosse and soccer teams and was named the 2011 OCC Conference Player of the Year for lacrosse. He was a member of the Superintendent's Student Advisory Committee, National Honor Society, Rotary Interact and Renaissance Club. He attended Buckeye Boys State. He graduated 4th in his class with a 4.587 GPA and was the first Warhawk to be selected to attend the United States Naval Academy after receiving a congressional nomination.
He graduated from the Naval Academy with a degree in quantitative economics in 2015 and was the Academy Regimental Commander from 2014-2015 where he was responsible for 2,000 shipmen. After graduating, he received his commission into the United States Navy as an officer and earned his “Wings of Gold” to become a Navy pilot. He was selected as the Student Naval Aviator of the Year for his performance in flight school. He successfully flew the T6B Texan and the T-44 Pegasus, leading the way to eventually flying the Navy’s P-8 Poseidon. He completed three deployments with six-month increments to Japan.
He and his wife Ava currently reside in Jacksonville where he is an instructor pilot.
While at WCSD, Vannett competed in the school’s football and basketball teams. His football performance earned him All-Ohio awards, as well as 1st Team All-District and 1st Team All-Metro awards. He also earned the opportunity to participate in the Ohio North versus South All-Star game and the Offense-Defense All American Bowl Game. He was recognized as a Top 20 Senior of Ohio by Touchdown Club of Columbus. He was also committed to community service, providing reading assistance to kindergarten students at Fouse Elementary.
Vannett earned an athletic scholarship to play football at The Ohio State University where he won a National Championship. In 2016, he was drafted 94th overall in the NFL draft to the Seattle Seahawks. Since then, he has also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints and the New York Giants.
He earned a degree in Sports Industry with a minor in business. He continues to devote to serving others, from partnering with several NFL organizations to donate toys to children in need during the holidays to spending time with veterans on Thanksgiving. He also partnered with NFL Play60 in 2018 to explain the importance of a healthy diet to hundreds of elementary students.
Marburger and Vannett as well as their families and district leaders were on hand for the celebration.
WNHS’ Superintendent’s Student Advisory Committee selected the three alumni members from a pool of applicants who graduated at least 10 years ago, have demonstrated success in their career, and have made significant contributions to their community. Superintendent Dr. John Kellogg meets with the Student Advisory throughout the school year.