Washington High School senior Ty Rose recently made on the biggest decisions of his young life.
On Feb. 10, Rose made known his choice of institution at which he will continue his education and his athletic career.
In the lobby outside the school’s gymnasium, Rose signed a letter of intent to attend Shawnee State University, located in Portsmouth, Ohio.
Rose was clearly thrilled with his decision.
“I’m just really excited,” Rose said. “I’m excited to start the season next year. I’m excited to see where we can take this program. I’m really amped up about it.”
As for a course of study, Rose said that he will focus on exercise science.
With that, Rose said, “You can be an athletic director. You can be an athletic trainer; it’s kind of like a building block to all of the athletic-related jobs.”
In addition to being a member of the Blue Lions’ swim team for three seasons, Rose is a two-year member of the tennis team (it would have been three, but for the 2020 high school spring sports season being cancelled due to the pandemic). He also was a member of the golf team at WHS for four years.
“We won our league championship this year (in golf),” Rose said. “It kind of came out of nowhere. We had some freshmen who were crazy good. And they were just such great kids.
“That was a really cool experience,” Rose said. “I would like to be able to take that experience over to Shawnee and see if we can get a championship over there, too.”
Rose spoke about the unique experience of spending time practicing and training with his counterparts from Washington’s main rival, Miami Trace High School, and then competing alongside and against those same student-athletes in the meets.
“It doesn’t really feel like competing,” Rose said. “At the end of the day, they’re your brothers, they’re your friends. You want to see them succeed because they want to see us succeed. We feel like one big team.
“(Katie Kasberg, the coach of both schools’ swim teams) has done a great job of making us feel like one big team,” Rose said. “She’s the reason I’m getting this opportunity to swim at Shawnee. She’s been doing a great job of getting me ready. Workouts have been tough, but, it’s for a reason, it has a purpose. I’m excited to see what’s to come.”
Rose’s parents, Tracy and Tami, both work for Washington City Schools. Tracy is the high school’s principal and Tami is an art teacher at the middle school.
“My parents have been a huge support in all of my athletics,” Rose said. “I want to thank coach (Kasberg) for pushing me. I want to thank my girlfriend (Kassie Wiseman) for her support. She has helped me work out and stay motivated with everything going on.
“I have an awesome group of people surrounding me,” Rose said. “I’ve been blessed. Coach has done a great job; she knows that academics come first, so, she gives us time to do everything. Being a senior, the workload isn’t crazy. It’s nice to be able to just focus on athletics and focus on the next step.
“My high school experience has been awesome,” Rose said. “I’ve been blessed to have my dad as a principal. The people I’ve gotten to grow up with are awesome. To see everybody as a senior, growing and succeeding and getting ready to take the next step, whether it be college or the work field; everybody is my friend here. I love this entire school and I’m so glad I got to grow up here.
“The teachers are great mentors,” Rose said. “They are really good at pushing you in the right ways.”
“Ty started swimming for me his sophomore year,” Kasberg said. “He puts in the hard work. He’s going to do a great job at Shawnee. Shawnee is lucky to have (him) for sure.”
Gerald Cadogan, now the Shawnee State swim coach, formerly held that position at Portsmouth High School.
“I came in contact with Washington Court House and their team,” Cadogan said. “They had some phenomenal, phenomenal swimmers. I reached out to Kate and asked her about her daughter (Julianne Kasberg) and Ty (Rose) and if they would be interested in swimming (after high school). I got them on campus for a visit and showed them what opportunities they would be afforded at Shawnee State. I’m glad to have them on board.
“Two years ago, I was graciously gifted with the opportunity to be the coach and that was our building year,” Cadogan said. “This year was our inaugural year of competing. We’ve had six regular season meets and (we recently) finished our conference championship.
“I’m so excited to have them and they will make a splash and have an impact in year one,” Cadogan said.
