The Greater Miami Conference turns 60 this year, and Lakota East and Lakota West have combined for 14 All Sports Trophies across four decades of membership.
Since Lakota joined the GMC in 1980 from the Mid Miami League, the local programs have dominated stretches of conference-wide competition. Lakota won eight straight All Sports Trophies from 1987-88 through 1995-96. After the school split into Lakota East and Lakota West in 1997, the Firebirds claimed six consecutive trophies from 2000-01 through 2006-07, according to GMC records.
The conference, founded in 1966 with six charter schools, has grown into a 10-member, 27-sport league whose members have combined for 76 OHSAA team state championships and 217 individual state titles, The Report Ohio noted in its anniversary coverage. GMC alumni have represented the United States at the Olympics in men's swimming and wrestling.
Locally, the tradition keeps producing.
Lakota East finished second in the GMC All Sports standings for the second consecutive year in 2025-26, trailing only Mason's 19-year dynasty. Athletic director Jill Meiring said in May, when the school announced the finish, "To finish second in the GMC All Sports standings in back-to-back years speaks volumes about the culture of excellence we continue to build at Lakota East."
At Lakota West, boys track and field coach Brenton Eisenhard earned GMC Coach of the Year honors for the spring season, and the Firebirds placed multiple athletes on First Team All-Conference rosters in baseball, softball, track and lacrosse.
The pipeline to higher levels remains open. Lakota West graduates Jackson Kuwatch and Silas Walters, both Class of 2021, earned NFL opportunities in April. Kuwatch was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round (227th overall) of the 2026 NFL Draft after recording 109 tackles in his senior season at Miami University. Walters signed as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens after tallying 200 career tackles and earning Second-Team All-MAC honors at Miami.
On the football field, Lakota East's Ryder Hooks capped the 2025 season as a Mr. Football finalist and GMC Offensive Player of the Year. The three-time First Team All-GMC running back rushed for 2,032 yards and 19 touchdowns, including a 290-yard, four-touchdown performance against Lakota West.
The Lakota Athletic Hall of Fame added eight new members in 2026, split evenly between the schools: Austin Allinger, Lauren Cannatelli Koza, Devyn Ciotti and Chelsea Sherman from Lakota West; Jeff Combs, Ashley Evans, Alyssa Grevenkamp and Alex White from Lakota East.
Both programs open the 2026 football season Friday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. Lakota West hosts No. 16-ranked St. Xavier at Firebird Stadium, as we reported Aug. 7. Lakota East welcomes Centerville at home the same night.
