2023 Class of the Withrow Athletic Hall of Fame

Mark you calendars for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony at 5 pm on Saturday evening, February 4, 2023, in the Withrow gym. The following outstanding athletes will be the 12th group to join an exclusive group of 60 prior inductees:

Joe Dehner, 1966. Joe was an outstanding tennis player at Withrow. During his sophomore year,  Withrow’s team won the PHSL championship, and Joe advanced to the District doubles semi-finals before losing. His junior year the team won the PHSL again, and Joe won the district doubles semi-finals with teammate George Mehl. Joe and George advanced to the State doubles finals where they lost a close match 6-4, 6-3. During Joe’s senior year, the team won the PHSL championship again, and he teamed with fellow Tiger Ron Lague to win the district doubles competition again and advance to the State matches. He was again State runner-up in the doubles competition, losing 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. Joe was also Ohio Valley singles champion at the 14, 16, and 18 age levels and the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan singles and double champion at the same levels. After graduation, Joe went on to Princeton University where he played his freshman and sophomore years on their Ivy League championship team. After Princeton, Joe graduated from Harvard Law School. Returning to Cincinnati, he was the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan singles champion in 1977 and 1978 and runner-up in 1982. He won several regional professional tournaments from 1977 to 1981. Joe was the founder and first President of the Greater Cincinnati Tennis Association. Joe has been involved with the Withrow Alumni since the 1980’s restoration of the bridge, and he has been a member of the Withrow Alumni Board of Trustees since its inception in 1995.

Jeffery Graves, 1981. During Jeff’s sophomore year at Withrow, he was a starter on the varsity basketball team, playing alongside LaSalle Thompson. He was an all-league performer that year and was named a pre-season honorable mention All-American. During Jeff’s senior year, Withrow won the PHSL championship and made it to the Southwestern District AAA tournament. Jeff eclipsed the 1000-point mark while at Withrow. Jeff received a scholarship to attend Lake City Community College, and that team finished eighth in the nation. After Lake City, Jeff attended LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis; the team finished 29-2 and were NCAA Division III national runner-up in 1986. After graduation. Jeff tried out with the Dallas Mavericks and was the last player cut. He then went overseas and played two seasons in Italy before returning home in 1993. Jeff was the Western Hills girls’ junior varsity coach and coached Cincinnati Recreation commission teams for seven years. He then moved back to Memphis and became the assistant coach of the Colonial Patriots who won State championships in 2017 and 2018.

Rashaun O’Neal, 2016. Rashaun was three-time All-Ohio in track and field. His team broke the school, city, district, and regional records in the 800-meter relay. He broke the school record in the 4×400 relay and had the second fastest time in Cincinnati history. As a senior, he was first team All-ECC in both football and track and field. As a junior he was second team All-ECC in football. As a senior, he made the All-City and All-District team in football. He received a full scholarship to play football at Bowling Green State University.

Doneasha Brewer, 2017. During Doneasha’s sophomore year, she was named to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s track and field Division I first team. She placed second in the state in the 200 meters and first in the state in the 4×100 relay. She was named to the Enquirer’s track and field Division I second team in the 100 meters and honorable mention in the long jump. She was the ECC  conference champion in the 100 and 200 meters. She was the Enquirer track and field Division I Athlete of the Year her junior year. That year she placed second in the state in the 200 meters, first in the state in the 4×100 relay and second in the state in the 4×200 relay. Doneasha was the ECC champion in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4×100 relay and long jump. Her senior year she placed fourth in the state in the 200 meters and second in the 4×100 relay. She was the Enquirer track and field Division I second team in the 100 meters and honorable mention in the long jump. She
was the ECC track Athlete of the Year and top points athlete. She was the ECC champion in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4×400 relay, and the long jump. Doneasha also played basketball at Withrow all three years; her senior year she averaged 12.3 points, 12 rebounds, and 2.4 steals a game. After graduation, Doneasha attended Indiana Tech and participated in 60m, 100m, and 200m races, and the long jump.

Albert Kalala, 2017. During his sophomore year, he was the ECC champion, the OSHAA Division I champion and the Division I Region 4 champion in the high jump. He was fifth in the state meet in the high jump. He placed third in the American Nationals Outdoor in the high jump. His junior year he repeated as the ECC champion, Division I District champion and Division I Region 4 champion in the high jump. He also won the State championship in the high jump. He placed first in the Nationals Outdoor high jump. His senior year he was again the ECC conference champion, Division 1 District champion and Division 1 Region 4 champion in the high jump. He was runner-up in the high jump at the state meet. He placed seventh at the Nationals Outdoor. He was a three-time first team all-conference, first team all-district, first team all region, first team all-state and first team All-American. He was conference player of the year and Enquirer track and field athlete of the year. Albert also played basketball at Withrow his junior and senior years. He was second team all-conference his junior year and first team all conference his senior year. After graduation, Albert received a full scholarship to the University of Cincinnati where he competed for four years and received his degree in four years. While at UC, he was a first team all-conference selection three times and a second team all-conference once. Albert was born and raised in the Republic of the Congo and became a U.S. citizen in 2014.

There are costs associated with maintaining a strong Withrow Athletic Hall of Fame. It took too long to establish the Withrow Athletic Hall of Fame, especially for a school that has a strong athletic history dating from 1919. We want to ensure it continues so that we can honor those athletes, who walked the halls all of us did, for years to come. Please make an Online Donation by clicking HERE or mail a check payable to “WAI” with “WAHOF” written in the memo line. Please mail the check to Withrow Alumni Inc., P.O. Box 8186, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208. We do need, and thank you for, your support.