Columbia's Nathan Borling named Lorain County Mr. Basketball

ELYRIA — Columbia's Nathan Borling secured the family bragging rights Friday night at Elyria High School when he was named Lorain County's Mr. Basketball at the annual Troy DiFranco All-Star Night featuring the Gene Legeza Cage Classic. It's the 50th year for the award, presented annually to the top senior in the county, beginning with Fred Balser of Elyria in 1975. He is the third boy from the Borling family to play for the Raiders and looks forward to future gatherings with his brothers. "It's going to be great," Borling said. "I was able to get that scoring record a little bit ago. It's another thing to add on." Borling is the first Columbia player to win the award since Todd Simon shared it with Avon Lake's Frank Bolognia in 1992, and only the third from the school to receive the award. Greg Eichenberg was honored in 1987. "It felt surreal," Borling said when his name was announced. "I really wasn't expecting it. When I heard them start describing the points, the accolades and all that stuff, I was kind of thinking it might be me. I heard my name get called. It was a very exciting moment." For Borling, it was as much a team award as an individual one. His coach Josh Scharf always talks about Borling being a team-first player. "I've said a lot, he is so unselfish," said Scharf. "He wants to get his teammates open. He doesn't care about the spotlight, which makes him that much better." "I always try to get my teammates involved," said Borling. "You need all five guys at all times to win games. You're never going to be able to do it by yourself. I always trust my teammates and I love playing with those guys. We were able to build a really good chemistry together. We're all really close." Borling had quite a season for Columbia, which finished 16-8 overall and 10-4 in the Lorain County League, good for third place behind champion Brookside and second-place Firelands. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound forward finished the season with 577 points, second in Columbia history only to Dan Hagen. He averaged a county-best 24 points a game, shooting 52.4 percent from the floor. He led the team in rebounds with 193 (eight a game) and he showed his versatility by averaging three assists and nearly two steals a game. He also holds Columbia's 3-point record for a single season and career. "He works non-stop on his game, year-round," said Scharf. "He says, 'let me get in the gym, Coach, I want to work on my shot.' "He's an incredibly good defender, really focused on that this year. He upped his rebounding this year. Great kid. He deserves all of this credit, all these awards." Borling's college plans have not been finalized but he wants to study business finance. He is considering offers from Marietta, Wooster and Baldwin Wallace. He carries a 3.7 GPA. Borling is the son of Doug and Amy Borling and followed brothers Josh, class of 2018, and Caleb, class of 2021. His older brothers were outstanding players, but Nathan Borling was the first to break 1,000 points during his tenure with the Raiders. He finished his career with 1,311 points to join seven other Raiders to eclipse the 1,000 point total. He has a younger brother in the seventh grade. His point total ranks third all-time for Columbia. Hagen, a 1973 graduate, holds the record at 1,903 points. David Delahunty (2016 class) is second at 1,596. The others are Eichenberg (1,195), Simon (1,192), Joe Waldecker (1,147), Clark Ashley (1,060) and Mark Skor (1,003). Nathan Borling also set the single-game record with 47 points in a tournament opener against Lordstown, edging his brother Caleb and Hagen, who held the record of 45 points. "He's wanted that for a couple years now," Scharf said with a smile. "His brother had the record. It's a record that stood for a long time. A kid like that, you're going to allow him to just push through for it." Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com. LORAIN COUNTY MR. BASKETBALL 2024 – Nathan Borling, Columbia 2023 – Ryan Walsh, Elyria 2022 – Aden Gregory, Midview 2021 – Seth Wilson, Lorain 2020 – Jonny Manning, Midview 2019 – Devon Grant, Lorain 2018 – Dorian Crutcher, Elyria Catholic 2017 – Naz Bohannon, Lorain 2016 – Bo Furcron, Elyria 2015 – Devon Andrews, Lorain 2014 – Cameron Kuhn, Vermilion 2013 – Kody Bender, Elyria 2012 – Claude Gray, Avon 2011 – Ronnie Willoughby, Avon Lake 2010 – Nick Farley, Vermilion 2009 – Drew McGee, North Ridgeville 2008 – Promis Cabbil, Elyria 2007 – Troy Simmons, Clearview 2006 – Louis Tumblin, Elyria 2005 – Dan Biber, Admiral King 2004 – Jordan Beard, Oberlin 2003 – Robert Nelson, Elyria 2002 – Tom Port, Avon Lake 2001 – Brian Ingleright, Avon Lake 2000 – Scott Remaklus, Southview 1999 – Brian Keller, Vermilion 1998 – Steve Vega, Avon 1997 – Eric Gilbert, Clearview 1996 – Carl White, Admiral King 1995 – Anthony Stacey, Midview 1994 – Byron Gladden, Admiral King 1993 – Brett Larrick, Elyria 1992 – Frank Bolognia, Avon Lake Todd Simon, Columbia 1991 – Craig Bradley, Avon Lake Mike Darmos, Southview 1990 – Eric Barnes, Elyria Catholic 1989 – Jamie Gladden, Admiral King Mike Hartman, Lorain High 1988 – Harold Walton, Admiral King 1987 – Greg Eichenberg, Columbia 1986 – Chip Winiarski, South Amherst 1985 – Jeff Mott, Avon 1984 – Joe Rittenhouse, Wellington 1983 – Roger Smith, Admiral King 1982 – Doug Carrico, Firelands 1981 – Tom Underman, Elyria Bobby Warden, Elyria Catholic 1980 – Bill Szabo, Firelands 1979 – Mike Razdrh, South Amherst 1978 – Jay Dill, Keystone Clay Dill, Keystone 1977 – Richard Montague, Elyria 1976 – Bill Dodd, Firelands 1975 – Fred Balser, Elyria