Five new members were inducted into the Western Brown High School Athletic Hall of Fame on Dec. 16.
Jon Walker, Kylie Garrett, Taylor Henry Aring, Gary Fite and Eric Moon became the most recent Bronco standouts to earn the honor on December 16 prior to the Western Brown boys’ varsity basketball game against Wilmington.
Jon Walker
Walker, a 2011 graduate, was a multi-sport athlete in cross country, basketball and baseball. Jon was a member of 3 SBC cross country titles for the Broncos. Jon excelled in cross country being named 2nd team in 2007 and SBC 1st team in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Jon was the captain of the CC team his senior year and was also named to the Cin. Enquirer Division I Hon. Mention CC team in 2010. Jon played basketball all 4 years at WBHS and was also a SBC Scholar Athlete all 4 years. Jon was a member of the baseball team for four years and during his senior year was selected SBC 1st Team, Cin. Enquirer Division I All City team, All Ohio and played in the East-West All Star game and the Blue-Grey game. Jon was also selected as captain of the baseball team his senior year. Mr. Walker went on to play college baseball at the University of Findlay where he was a starting pitcher all 4 years. Jon received the prestigious Triple Crown Award in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Mr. Walker graduated from the University of Findlay with a double major in Law & Liberal Arts and Political Science and a minor in History. Jon went on to attend the University Of Cincinnati College Of Law. While at UC, Jon participated in both the moot court and mock trial programs and worked for the Ohio Innocence Project and the Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office.
Mr. Walker passed the Ohio Bar Exam in 2018 and is currently working for the Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office as an attorney. He also helps with the Western Brown HS Mock Trial program as the attorney, which he participated in during his days as a Bronco!
He is the son of Jim and Sharon Walker and he is married to Riley Guolette Walker.
Kylie Garrett
Garrett is a 2013 graduate of Western Brown HS. Kylie was a standout athlete in volleyball and basketball for the Broncos. She was selected to the SBC 1st Team in volleyball during her junior and senior seasons and was voted the SBC American Division Player of the Year in 2013. Kylie also excelled on the hardwood during the winter. She was an SBC American Division 1st Team basketball selection in 2011, 2012 and 2013 for the Broncos. Kylie was voted the SBC American Division Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013 as well as a Division II All Southwest District 2nd team selection both her junior and senior seasons. Kylie was selected Division II All Ohio Honorable Mention both her junior and senior seasons. During her junior year, she was selected to the District 16 1st Team and during her senior season she was chosen District 16 1st Team and the Player of the Year! Kylie finished her high school career with 1,243 points and was in the top 10 in 14 different categories. She was a part of 4 SBC American Division basketball and volleyball championships for the Broncos. Kylie was named the Western Brown Female Athlete of the Year and the Brown County Athlete of the Year. Kylie went on to play Division basketball at St. Peters University in New Jersey. After her sophomore year, she transferred to Long Island University where she set the 3 point record with 68 3 pointers. Kylie was named to the ECC All League team during her senior year at Long Island.
She is the daughter of Bill and Lynette Garret of Mt. Orab.
Taylor Henry Aring
Aring is a 2013 graduate of Western Brown High School. Taylor (aka Ty) was a standout athlete in soccer and basketball for the Broncos. Taylor was a SBC 2nd team all-star selection in soccer as a freshman. During her sophomore, junior and senior seasons she was selected to the SBC 1st Team all star team. Ty was selected as the 2012 SBC American Division Player of the Year in girl’s soccer. She was also selected to the Cincinnati Enquirer Division II 1st team during her senior season. Taylor was voted as captain by her teammates during her sophomore, junior and senior seasons which speaks volumes about her leadership ability! Taylor was also a standout basketball player for the Brown and Gold, being selected SBC 1st team in 2011, 2012 and 2013. She was also selected to the District 16 2nd team in 2012, Cincinnati Enquirer Division II Honorable Mention in 2012 and 2013 and was a Division II Southwest District 2nd team selection in 2013. Ty was part of 4 SBC American Division girls’ basketball titles during her career.
Taylor went on to play women’s soccer at St. Joseph’s College in Indiana where she graduated in 2017. Taylor is married to Zachary Aring and they have two children, Joshua and Harper. Taylor lives in Chicago, Illinois and is a quality assurance supervisor at Infinity Laboratories.
Gary Fite
Fite is a 1971 graduate of Hamersville High School. Gary was a multi-sport athlete for the Hornets, lettering in basketball for 4 years, baseball for 4 years, cross country for 3 years and track for 3 years. Mr. Fite excelled in all sports, but it was basketball where he stood out. At 6’7”, Gary was one of a few big men in the area and during his playing days at Hamersville he was a force. He averaged a double-double his sophomore year with 13.4 PPG and 10.3 RPG, his junior year with 21.5 PPG and 12.5 RPG and his senior season with 21.6 PPG and an unbelievable 17.6 RPG. Gary finished his basketball career with 1, 358 points and led his teams to 18-2, 17-5 and 16-4 overall records in high school. Mr. Fite had his best performance against Mt. Orab in 1971, when he had a triple-double (37 points, 29 rebounds and 14 assists). He also had an incredible 33 points and 33 rebounds against Eastern his senior year. Gary went on to play college basketball at Lee’s Junior College in Jackson, Ky. where he was the leading scorer during the 1971-72 season with a 18.8 scoring average and in 1972-73 with a 16.5 scoring average.
Mr. Fite was the Director of Knothole baseball in Hamersville from 1987-1995. He was also the Director of Pee Wee basketball at Hamerville for several years. Gary is a retired truck driver and a cancer survivor! Gary is married to wife Wrai and they have two grown children, Tricia and Josh and 3 grandchildren Halle, Tessa and Colin.
Eric Moon
Moon is a 1961 graduate of Mt. Orab High School. Mr. Moon was a standout athlete in basketball, baseball and track for the Mounties. Eric placed 4th at the Southwest District track meet in 1960. Eric was selected to the All County basketball team in 1960 and 1961. In those days, being selected to the All County team was comparable to All SW District today. Mr. Moon helped lead the purple and gold to the league basketball title in 1960. Eric also helped lead Mt. Orab to the Southwest District Runner Up in basketball during his senior year in 1961. He was the leading scorer in the District Tournament that year. Although basketball was one of his best sports where he turned down offers to play at the collegiate level, he excelled in baseball where he signed a contract with the Cincinnati Reds and traveled to Tampa, Florida in the summer of 1961 to play with the Reds minor league team. He turned down a contract with the Chicago Cubs.
Mr. Moon passed away on July 19th, 2019. He owned a family business and was a veteran of the US Army.