Last year, Westerville North High School (WNHS) honored 1988 graduate and runner Bob Kennedy as the first inductee into its newly created Athletics Hall of Fame. On February 7, 2020, an esteemed group of six honorees will join Kennedy and be adorned on the walls at North as Hall of Fame Warriors.
This year’s Westerville North Athletics Hall of Fame class includes four athletes, one coach, and one “friend of the program.” The group represents four of the school’s six team state championships and another nine individual state titles for North.
Brent Axline (1986) achieved a highly decorated athletics career in the pool, amassing four state championships with the Warrior swim program. Axline was the first swimmer from WNHS ever to win a state championship, an achievement repeated only by four other swimmers at North. During his junior year, Axline won the 100 breast, 100 free, and took top honors in the 100 breast, and 200 free a year later during his senior season. He continued his career as an All-Pac 10 swimmer while attending the University of Southern California.
Jeff Davidson (1986) earned all-state honors in football and track/field while attending Westerville North. During his senior year, the football team finished 8-4 and made the playoffs for the first time in school history. Davidson was named All-Ohio in football his senior season and also reached the state track championships in the shot put his junior and senior years. He still holds the school’s shot put record at 60’3”. Davidson continued his football career at Ohio State, where he was an all Big Ten selection his senior year, and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the 5th round of the 1990 National Football League draft. He currently serves as offensive line coach for the Detroit Lions.
Shaun Stonerook (1995) enjoyed a storied career as a member of the boys’ basketball program at North. He was named Most Valuable Player at the 1994 state tournament as the Warriors won the only basketball championship in school history. Stonerook was named 2nd team All-Ohio as a junior, 1st team All-Ohio as a senior, and was a two-time OCC player of the year. Currently, he sits third on the all-time scoring list for boys’ basketball with 1,327 points. Stonerook played collegiately for two years at Ohio State before finishing his career at Ohio University, where twice he was named to the All-Mid-American Conference team. After a long professional career in Europe, Stonerook returned home to Westerville where he now owns Schneider’s Bakery in Uptown Westerville.
Ryan Wilson’s (1999) career as a Warrior was an illustrious one, amassing five individual state track championships and being a major part of the only boys state track championship team in 1998. During Wilson’s sophomore track season, he placed in four events at state. The following year, he collected his first three state championships in the Long Jump, 110 hurdles, and the 300 hurdles. To cap off his career, Wilson won the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles again in his senior season. Wilson continued his career at the University of Southern California as a three-time All-American, winning the 2003 NCAA championship in the 110 hurdles. Professionally, Wilson was the runner-up in the 110 hurdles in the USA outdoor championships in 2010, and then returned to win the event in the 2013 USA championships.
Tim Lawrence served as head coach of the Westerville North girls’ soccer program from 1989 through 2011, collecting 10 OCC titles, 10 district championships, four regional championships, two state runners-up, and the program’s two state championships in 1990 and 1992. Lawrence won 317 matches during his 23 seasons coaching the Lady Warriors and currently serves as the girls’ soccer coach at Olentangy Orange High School, where he won another district championship this past fall.
Jerry Davis enters the Westerville North Hall of Fame after being nominated as a “friend of the program” for his servant leadership to Warrior athletics for the past 30 years. Davis has tirelessly served the softball and baseball programs at Westerville North with grounds maintenance and preparing the fields for game days. Davis is the epitomizes The Warrior Way in what he has provided Westerville North and the Westerville community.
Westerville North High School and its Athletic Department are proud to induct Brent Axline, Jeff Davidson, Shaun Stonerook, Ryan Wilson, Tim Lawrence, and Jerry Davis into the Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2020. The six honorees will be inducted in a private ceremony in the Warrior Learning Center at Westerville North on Friday, February 7, 2020. They will be honored publicly later that evening, prior the Warrior boys’ basketball game against Westerville South.