Medina County Sports Hall of Fame: Voice of the Grizzlies Mike Kyner to receive Al Thomas Award

Mike Kyner never had children, but the 68-year-old has played a role in the lives of thousands of Wadsworth wrestlers and soccer players. A 1976 Wadsworth graduate, Kyner has been the public address announcer at Grizzlies soccer games since the boys program started in 1979 and the girls team followed in 1986. He also has served in the same role for the Wadsworth wrestling team since he was a junior in high school. For his more than five decades of service, Kyner will receive the Al Thomas Award, given annually to an individual who has contributed to high school athletics in a non-playing or non-coaching manner, when the 41st annual Medina County Sports Hall of Fame banquet is held June 25 at the Galaxy Conference Center in Wadsworth. "I view him, quite honestly, as the constant in Wadsworth soccer," said John Johnson, a 1984 graduate of the school who has coached the boys team for the last 29 seasons. "He is Wadsworth soccer. Coach Tom Cranston started the program, then there was Charlie Duskey, then myself. My current players have no idea who Coach Cranston is, and a lot of the older ones have no idea who I am, but everybody knows who Mike is. He's always there. I love him." Originally planning to make broadcasting his career, Kyner got behind the microphone for wrestling matches while still in high school because he thought it would be good training and a line or two to put on his résumé. The broadcasting dream ended several years later when the school he was attending changed some of its fees and graduation requirements, but Kyner's announcing at Wadsworth didn't stop, it increased. Mike Raynor, who was about to play varsity soccer for the Grizzlies, recommended him for the boys PA job and Kyner hasn't stopped since. When the girls program started seven years later, he took on that responsibility as well. "I try to keep the people entertained," Kyner said. "I do the introductions of the players and announce the substitutions when they go in and out. I try to help the people in the stands understand what's going on, but half the time I don't know what's going on." A man who takes his job very seriously but not himself, Kyner is too modest. Having grown up in St. Petersburg, Fla., until his family moved to Wadsworth when he was 13, Kyner learned soccer from refugees who had arrived in the area from Cuba. "When I first moved up here (to Wadsworth), the sports boosters had a table set up somewhere and I asked if they had a soccer team," he recalled. "They said, 'What's soccer?' and I thought, 'Oh, great!'" A lot has changed during Kyner's 47 soccer seasons behind the mike. But whether Grace Campbell (2011) was being named Gazette MVP for the girls program or Ole Jenson (1985), Brett Reynolds (1987), Todd Craig (1991), Travis Duskey (1992), Zach Hiltner (2002), Mike Beavers (2003), Steve Fracasso (2004), Brandon House (2009) or Jackson Herbert (2022) was doing so for the boys team, Kyner has been the constant. "I can't even begin to express how important he is to that program," said Herbert, who played briefly for nationally-ranked Akron before injuries ended his career. "In a football-dominated state like Ohio, it's very important to have him back soccer. In college we went to Power 5 schools and there were no announcers, so we were very fortunate to have him in high school. "His voice is ingrained in my mind and it's something I'll never forget. We fed off him. There was no better feeling than getting a goal and hearing him scream, 'Goalllllllll!'" This is one of those times when Kyner's modesty, honesty and sense of humor come through. "I had that on tape," he said. "I don't have enough breath left in me to go that long." Kyner, who worked at Buehler's for a time, served as an emergency medical technician for a number of years and now manages Magic City Drive-In, has had his share of health issues. He underwent triple-bypass surgery in 2013, has endured some lung troubles and is in the very early stages of dementia. At present, he does not plan on doing PA work in the 2026 soccer season because it's too difficult for him to get to the press box, but this isn't the first time he's claimed to be calling it quits. "He's been saying this is it for him, but I've heard that for a couple years now," said Paul Williford, who just finished his 16th season in charge of the Wadsworth girls program. "Every year, the season starts and there he is, right back at it. "You've got to love him. He's been a mainstay, and it's always been reassuring to have him up there. All the girls know him, so it's nice to have that familiar voice in the booth. He's always been there." For 52 seasons, Kyner has been equally important to the Wadsworth wrestling program. John Gramuglia, who coached the Grizzlies from 1984-2018 and is still involved in the program, said Kyner bought his own wireless system and installed it "boom, boom, boom" this season when Wadsworth's Wi-Fi wasn't working in the gym prior to the annual Grizzly Invitational Tournament. "He's one of those guys who always did whatever needed to be done," Gramuglia said. "He'd staple stuff, move things, prepare things. It wasn't like he just came in and announced." Kyner has gone to even lengthier extremes — in his car — for soccer games, once driving to Fort Wayne, Ind., to watch the Grizzlies. He also attends many road games, regardless of distance, and usually goes up to the press box to make sure the announcer knows how to pronounce the names of Wadsworth's players. On a few occasions, when there has not been an announcer, Kyner has assumed that duty. "It's awesome," Johnson said. "I can always count on him. I'll go scout a game and get a text from him that says, 'Are you here?' Then a few minutes later he's right behind me tapping me on the shoulder." Back in the day, before licensed athletic trainers were required to be at high school sporting events, Kyner even tended to injured players due to his EMT experience. "Somebody would get hurt and he'd come flying out of the press box to take care of him," Johnson said. "He did that a lot. It's just him. He's just good-hearted like that." Kyner is also a pro. He always meets with visiting coaches to get correct pronunciations — 1980s Wadsworth player and Laos refugee Chiengkhan Sisouphanh, pronounced Jin-com Seuss-uh-fon, was his most difficult — and does his best to stay fairly impartial, but there's always a little more excitement in his voice when the Grizzlies are winning. "He definitely makes it very special for us," Wadsworth junior and Kent State commit Athena Craig said. "Running out before a game and getting to hear your name called by somebody, it always gets me very excited. He does a great job at it." To Kyner, it's not a job, it's a passion. "I get paid, but I have no idea how much," he said. "Whatever shows up in my checking account is good enough for me." Kyner, in turn, has been so good to Wadsworth that Johnson can't imagine not having him around next season. If the technological aspects can be worked out, Johnson is open to having the man who long ago became a good friend announce games from the sideline. If that doesn't happen, he's already offered Kyner a job as a full-time statistician. "We're like family to him, and he's the same to us," Johnson said. "After games, when coaches go out to get something to eat, he comes with us. We include him in just about everything we do, because it's become his passion. The first year (of Wadsworth soccer) in '79, I was a ball boy and he was there. He's still here. He's just always been there." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.