Like father, like daughter: Apple Fest honors Elyria Sports Hall of Fame inductees Briant and Brianne McLaughlin

ELYRIA — One of only two father-daughter Elyria Sports Hall of Fame inductees were honored by the Apple Festival Committee with a special breakfast buffet Sunday morning at The Foundry in downtown Elyria. Briant McLaughlin, who was the quarterback on Elyria Catholic's first state championship team in 1976, and his daughter, Brianne McLaughlin-Bittle, who was a hockey goaltender at Elyria Catholic and later played on the USA Olympic team, were inducted into the ESHOF in 2013 and 2018, respectively, for their athletic achievements at the local and collegiate levels and beyond. Briant went on to start at Ashland College as a defensive back while Brianne was an All-American goalie at Robert Morris University. Both gave brief talks thanking the Apple Festival Committee for honoring them. Linda Brown (president of the AppleFest Committee) and Stacy Francis (vice-president and secretary) were on hand to bestow the honors. The Apple Festival has been going on since 1980. The McLaughlins joined Bob Slager and his daughter, Lucy Slager Mraz, as the only father-daughter combinations to be inducted by the Hall of Fame. Bob Slager was a longtime basketball and track coach at Elyria High and was instrumental in keeping the county decathlon going for many years in the 1960s and '70s. Mraz was Elyria High's first of many Miss Volleyball award winners. Bob was inducted in 1989 and Lucy in 2009. Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.