2008 Inductee Jen Swartz, 1997
One of the most versatile female athletes ever at Bellevue Senior High School was Jennifer Swartz, who earned a total of 10 varsity letters for the Lady Red – three in volleyball, three in basketball, and four in softball.
As a sophomore, she was a member of the 1994 state ranked NOL champion volleyball team as a defensive specialist. She earned the best defensive player award in 1995 as a junior, then was elected team captain her senior year. She was honorable mention All-NOL, led the league in serve percentage (99%), was fourth in serve reception (94%), and earned the Coach’s Award and Best Defensive Player Award.
In basketball, Jen was three-year starter at point guard and was a member of the 1994-95 second place NOL team that finished as sectional champs, Bellevue’s highest finish in 11 seasons. She led the NOL in 3-point percentage at 38.4%, was the team leader in assists per game (3.9) and was second on the team with 2.7 steals per game.
Her junior season, she was second team All-NOL and first team All-District, was named outstanding offensive player for her team, led the squad in points (11.4), assists (2.6), and steals (2.7) During a game against Tiffin that season, she scored 16 points in the fourth quarter which set an unofficial team record for points in one quarter.
As a senior, she co-captained the Lady Red, was second team All-NOL and All-District, won the most outstanding offensive player award and helped lead the team to the districts for the first time in 13 seasons. She was named to the Wendy’s-WLEC All-Star game and finished her career 10th on the all-time Lady Red scoring list with 547 points. She also finished third on the all-time assists list with 178 and seventh on the free throw percentage list at 77.9%.
Finally, as a shortstop, Swartz started and lettered all four years of high school in the sport of softball. She was named to the Grove City Northwest All-Star team three years, was honorable mention All-NOL in 1994, first team All-NOL in 1995, and first team again in 1996. During her sophomore campaign, the Lady Red finished No. 2 in the polls at 25-2 overall. She led the team in runs scored (34) and fielding percentage (.959). She was second in stolen bases (24) and third in hits (32), sacrifices (5), and walks (18). During the 1996 season, she was first team All-District and third team All-Ohio. She played the entire season with a broken thumb and still was team leader in game-winning RBIs (4), on base percentage (.524) and batting average (.364). She was second in sacrifices (4) and walks (10). She also earned the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Award that season.
Jen was also inducted into the BSHS National Honor Society, was a 1997 NOL Scholar Athlete, won the 1997 Archie Griffin Sportsmanship Award, and was the 1997 Gazette Award winner as the most valuable female athlete.
In college, Jen was a two year member of the Findlay University basketball team and was captain in 1998-99.
Jen currently resides in Norwalk.