Elyria Catholic Lou Rotunda Award: Levi Ellis reaches another goal by receiving honor he's coveted since his freshman year

ELYRIA — The list of past Lou Rotunda Award winners is like a who's who of Elyria Catholic athletes. Now, Levi Ellis is part of the club. Ellis picked up the honor Thursday night at the annual Distinction Day awards assembly at the Coliseum. Ellis, who will attend Hillsdale College next year to play football, has had his sights set on the award since arriving on Elyria Catholic's campus four years ago. "Yes, since my freshman year finding out about (Rotunda) and his legacy," said Ellis, who received the award from Alex Carandang, last year's winner. "It's always been a goal of mine." The award began in 1960 when Rotunda, known as Mr. Elyria Catholic for his loyalty to the school, presented it to Jon Mitro, the lone senior to stick with a winless Panthers basketball team all season. Rotunda wanted to reward Mitro's loyalty despite the team's struggles. Ellis not only excelled on the football and baseball fields but in the classroom, where he has a 4.3 GPA and ranks eighth in his class. He's a National Honor Society member and made first honors every quarter of his high school career. He also obtained the Academic Achievement Letter and Lamp of Knowledge all four years. A student ambassador three years, Ellis was also involved in Men's Ministry his junior and senior years, serving as vice president as a senior. He also participated in the Stations of the Cross and Christmas on Campus. Ellis holds EC's single-season and career rushing records. He had 2,514 yards this past season and his 5,098 career yards broke Al McKinney's longtime record set in 1984. A left-hand pitcher, Ellis was the Panthers' ace the past two years, going 4-1 with three saves, 43 strikeouts and a 0.78 earned run average this season. He also batted .319 with 13 RBIs, 33 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. "Levi is everything the Lou Rotunda Award exemplifies," EC baseball coach Bruce Lisicky said. "I've had the opportunity to witness firsthand his exceptional qualities as a student-scholar-athlete and as a person of remarkable character with outstanding leadership skills. Levi's unwavering dedication and commitment to his teammates and community are truly commendable." "Levi is one of the most worthy recipients you'll come across for this award," former EC football coach Brian Fox said. "He is a model of discipline and an elite player on the field. It was an honor to coach him. He made building a culture easier every day he walked in the building but also made our day as coaches just in talking with him and having fun." His parents, Mike and Candace Ellis, are elated with his winning the award. "I can't describe how proud we are of him and his accomplishments," his father said. "The opportunities he took advantage of coming here to EC from Elyria High. It was his decision that he made at 13, 14 years old. He works hard. He dedicated himself to athletics and academics." "They took him in from the beginning under their wing and accepted him," said his mother. "It was amazing. He's grown in faith here and I've seen a young boy turn into a man." Ellis spent his elementary and middle school days in public school. He enrolled at Elyria Catholic not knowing anyone or how he'd be accepted. "I'm forever grateful for this school," Levi said. "An amazing education and lifelong relationships that I could never imagine. Coming here, not knowing anybody ... first year, everyone being so welcoming. I'm really grateful." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or at timothygeb@msn.com. Lou Rotunda Award Winners 1960 Jon J. Mitro 1961 Thomas E. Mahl 1962 Gary J. Basinski 1963 Robert F. Monchein 1964 Dennis A. Crozier 1965 James S. Polen 1966 Robert J. Fitzpatrick 1967 William V. Toth 1968 Timothy J. Wagner 1969 Patrick J. Mulholland 1970 Mark A. Straka 1971 Douglas W. Gerber 1972 David C. Weitzel 1973 Paul J. Zemanek 1974 Bruce D. Yeager 1975 William C. Stetson 1976 David J. Diederich 1977 Eric J. Essenmacher 1978 Thomas J. Smelko 1979 Scott L. Miller 1980 John J. Walker 1981 James S. Bainbridge 1982 Chris D. Sito 1983 Daniel Basinski 1984 Brian Wolbers 1985 Alan D. McKinney 1986 Mark A. Kirsch 1987 Jeffrey C. Hoagland 1988 Cory Hodge 1989 Benjamin P. Basinski and Gary L. Hoagland 1990 Adam Reichard 1991 Michael Gandolfo 1992 David McCoy 1993 Joseph V. Desimone 1994 Terrel Dixon and Joel Stuart 1995 Roopen R. Patel 1996 Kevin Fritz 1997 Joseph Conroy 1998 Mike Jonesco 1999 Gerald L. Conroy, Jr. 2000 Kenneth Brown 2001 James Patton IV 2002 Ross Rybarczyk 2003 Michael Clapham 2004 Corey Shepard 2005 John Grega 2006 Jock Taylor 2007 Andrew Kirsch 2008 Joe Fitch 2009 Zachary Poling 2010 Nicholas Ksenich and Spencer Roule 2011 Conor Voreis 2012 Joe Dempsey and Ryan Lutke 2013 Jacob Moore 2014 Jake Hromada 2015 Noah Bland and Zach Sudnick 2016 Jacob Kuchta 2017 Sam Best 2018 Andrew Beck 2019 Leighton Banjoff 2020 Luke Costantino 2021 James Steindl 2022 Alex Carandang 2023 Levi Ellis