LebCo Male Athletes of the Week: Dylan Ramsey & Jonathon Shay (Week Ending October 13, 2024)

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Dylan Ramsey

During the Week of October 6th, Cedar Crest’s Dylan Ramsey was on fire through three rounds of Golf. This landed the junior the Lebanon County Golf Championship, followed by a 4th place finish at the District 3 Championships, earning him his third trip to the PIAA State Championships in as many years. These performances earned him the respect of the LebCoSports.com voters, who chose Ramsey as a LebCo Male Athlete of the Week.

At the Lebanon County Championship, Ramsey birdied his first five holes on his way to carding a career-low 64 (-7) through the eighteen holes at Fairview. On the day, he finished with nine birdies, seven pars, and just two bogeys. His performance helped steer Cedar Crest to their third straight team championship.

At Districts, Ramsey shot a 73 in each of the two rounds at Honey Run Golf Club. This consistency allowed him to jump from 7th place after the first round to finishing 4th by the end of the tournament with a +2 over par.

For Ramsey, this impressive level of success is not new, but rather an upward trajectory of consistency. At the PIAA State Championships that begin on Monday, October 21st, Ramsey will aim to become the first male to win two State Golf Championships. In 2022, he became the first freshman ever to win it.

Entering the season, “Doc” set out on the path to make the return trip to States, while also leading the Lancaster Lebanon League Section 1 in overall average. He did indeed lead the league with the lowest average, an effort that helped Cedar Crest win the Section 1 Championship for the first time in 25 years.

About his performance this season, Cedar Crest Head Coach Drew Gates said, “Dylan has been near the top of the leaderboard in every event this season. I am extremely proud of how hard he works and his dedication to continue to make improvements to his game. He has great composure on the golf course and has been a great team leader for us this year.”

Gates is just one member of Ramsey’s team that he sees as contributing to his success. Ramsey said, “I would certainly like to thank my dad for being my coach and examining my game any day I didn’t have team practice. Coach Gates has always been encouraging towards me, as well as my teammates, who tease me enough in practice. And, of course, the Lord for blessing me with the opportunity to play my favorite sport every day.”

When it comes to genetics and having a support network at home that understands, it is worth noting that Ramsey’s father played baseball and basketball competitively at the high school level before playing basketball collegiately at Wheeling Jesuit University. His uncle also played volleyball at the University of Pittsburgh.

Once his high school days in South Lebanon come to an end, Ramsey would like to golf for a Division I program. After getting a four-year degree, he is hoping to be in a position to try out for the PGA Tour.

What makes Ramsey confident that he can continue to succeed? Ramsey put it best when he said, “When somebody’s not practicing, I am.”

That said, golf is a humbling game. What has made Ramsey so successful throughout his competitive journey so far is that he does not get too high or too low. Much of this is the result of relying on all of the hard work he puts in on a daily basis.

Outside of golf, Ramsey enjoys playing other sports and watching Pittsburgh teams. One interesting fact about him is that he is colorblind, something he shares in common with Tiger Woods and the late, great Jack Nicklaus.

Ramsey will look to channel the golfing greats when he hits the Penn State White Course on Monday. We wish him all the best as he looks to make history.

Photos provided by Cedar Crest Golf

Jonathon Shay

In Thursday night action that started Week 8 of High School Football, the Annville-Cleona Dutchmen won a hard-fought road game over a much improved Pequea Valley. Starring in the victory was senior Jonathon Shay. In the contest, Shay carried the ball 20 times for 188 yards and had 4 receptions for 61 yards. This resulted in 5 touchdowns, four of which came via the ground. From his defensive end position, Shay recorded 11 tackles, 8 of which were solo. He also had a massive sack of the Pequea quarterback. As a result of his monster performance, not only was Shay named the LL Quarterback Club’s Section 5 Back of the Week, but he was also voted by the LebCoSports.com readers as a LebCo Male Athlete of the Week.

When asked about the performance, the four-year starter said, “It was really good to see a lot of our younger linemen play really well and step up after we had some injuries there in the last couple of weeks. I am glad I got the chance to step up and make an impact.”

Shay has had an immense impact this season. This past Friday night, in a loss to Schuylkill Valley, he again had a big game, scoring twice, having a large presence on defense, and serving as the team’s punter. His 84 rushing yards took him over the 1,000 yard mark for the season. In his high school career, Shay now has over 1,500 yards rushing and 848 yards receiving. Defensively, he currently sits at 282 tackles during his four years of playing for Annville.

Head Coach Matt Gingrich said of Shay, “Jon is one of the best athletes that I’ve ever had the privilege of coaching in 24 years of coaching. That includes players that have gone to play at all levels of college football. He is right in line with the top ones.”

What makes Shay special? Gingrich elaborated, “There’s probably about eight or nine positions he can play, so he’s a chameleon for us. There are pros and cons that he hasn’t really solidified how great he could be at one position, but on the other end, he’s great at a lot of things, and we can do that. He’s a really good punter. He’s a really good running back. He’s a really good guy, and he’s a heck of a defensive end, and he would be a really good linebacker or defensive back. He could do anything for us.”

Shay knows his role on the team, having learned as much about football as possible to help them be competitive each game. He said, “I just wanted to make sure I am ready to do whatever I might have to do any week.”

Outside of football, Shay is always ready to compete and is a key member of the Dutchmen Boys Basketball Team and the Annville-Cleona Track & Field Team. He is supported strongly by his father, Joey, who played football collegiately and went on to coach his son in multiple sports.

Like his father, Shay plans to continue playing football at the next level. Academically, he also has high standards for himself and has the goal of obtaining a law degree.

In preparing to see Shay move on to the next level, Gingrich lamented, “The thing I’ll miss about Jon is he’s been a four-year starter who showed up every single day. He’s played through some pain. Jon comes from a football family that values football and the lessons that you learn from it, and it’s clear that you see how tough he is and how physical he is.”

The good news for Coach Gingrich is that he will see Shay play one more game this Friday at home against Berks Catholic.

We wish Shay all the best as he takes the field to play one last high school football game. Though this ends one chapter of his journey, Shay’s story is far from being complete. We will be watching closely as he continues to have a huge impact for the Dutchmen during the rest of his senior year. Additionally, we know that he will be successful wherever he ends up next year.

Photos provided by Justin Keller

For a full list of this week’s nominees, check out: Athlete of the Week Voting:  October 7 – October 13

Previous Winners

Myles Watson (Week of August 19th)

Isaiah Zimmerman (Week of August 19th)

Bryce Keller (Week of August 26th)

Steven Rosado (Week of September 2nd)

Jozef Shkreli (Week of September 2nd)

Jackson Custer (Week of September 9th)

Mitchell Frederick (Week of September 16th)

Luke Oriel (Week of September 23rd)

Camron Buchmoyer (Week of September 30th)

Bryce Hoglund (Week of September 30th)