2009 Inductee Deb Andrews, 1976
One of the first truly all-around female athletes to don the red and white for Bellevue High School was Deb Andrews. A 1976 graduate of BHS, Deb earned a total of seven varsity letters in the sports of volleyball, basketball, and track and field, during a time when BSHS was just a three-year school. And, in 1976, she became the first-ever recipient of the Gazette Award, given to the top female athlete at BHS.
Deb earned two varsity letters as a setter in volleyball. She helped lead the team to an undefeated season as a sophomore. The team won each match that season by winning the first two games of each match. She also helped to lead her team to an undefeated Northern Ohio League championship in 1975. She was second in scoring that season with 45 points. Then, as a senior, Deb again helped to lead the team to an undefeated NOL championship season. She was named team MVP that season and her teams were a combined 22-2 in three seasons under Coach Bonnie Sumser.
In basketball, she earned two varsity letters. As a sophomore, she led the team with most steals (10) and most assists (39) in one season, and had the best field goal percentage and was second leading scorer.
As a junior, Deb helped the team to an 8-2 overall mark, 5-2 in the NOL. She again led the team in field goal percentage at 41%. Then, in her senior season, she led the Lady Red to an undefeated NOL title and a 14-1 overall mark. She was named captain that same season and led the team in field goal percentage, steals and recoveries.
On the track, Deb earned three varsity letters. As a sophomore, she ran the 100-yard dash and 440-yard relay, and was also a member of the school record-setting 880-yard relay team (along with Vic Ball, Val Ball and Cyndi Sberna). That team set the BAF Stadium record at 2:01.
As a junior, Deb was selected tri-captain along with Cyndi Manbeck and Cyndi Sberna. She was a member of both the 440 and 880-yard relay teams, ran the 100, and had a season-best softball throw ob 145-10. She was captain of the 1976 squad along with Cyndi Sberna, ran a season best 12.2 in the 100-yard dash and 29.0 seconds in the 220-yard dash. She was a member of the record-setting 440-yard relay team (along with Kim Van Fleet, Jane Fox and Cyndi Sberna), and helped lead the 440-yard relay team to districts with a time of 52.1 seconds.
While at BHS, Deb also participated in the girls’ athletic association, was a Varsity B Club member, played four years of intramurals, and was a member of Student Council and the Comet Yearbook Staff.
After high school, Deb coached eighth grade basketball in Monroeville and has also assisted in running basketball camps at Edison High School. She is a resident of Norwalk and works for Pepperidge Farms in Willard.