PICKERINGTON, Ohio (WCMH) -- Pickerington City Council welcomed several members of the Ohio State University football team and marching band to its meeting to be formally recognized for their work in bringing home a national championship.
Pickerington was well-represented on and off the field
this football season. The 2025 Ohio State championship team had five players and seven band members who graduated from the district, many of them saying they are proud to be from Pickerington.
“I hereby recognize April 1 is Pickerington Buckeyes Day in the city of Pickerington to congratulate these students for the remarkable achievement,” Pickerington Mayor Lee Gray said.
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The city took the opportunity to showcase and honor their very own “home-grown” Buckeyes at Tuesday’s meeting in city hall.
“The city gave a lot back to us, growing up here means a lot,” cornerback Lorenzo Styles said.
"It’s an amazing feeling to be here and just thankful to be here and have this opportunity,” defensive tackle Ty Hamilton said.
“It means a lot,” linebacker Sonny Styles said. “You know, we’ve got a lot of people from Pickerington that represent the scarlet and gray, and that means a lot to be able to represent Pickerington.”
Those at the meeting said that being a Buckeye was a dream for theirs when they were growing up and being at Pickerington helped prepare them to reach that dream.
"Pickerington Central has a great band program,” sousaphone player Ryan Ouimet said. “I got cut my first year from the band, so I had to try very hard to be where I'm at today. So, you know, being from Pickerington taught me a lot of resilience in that way.”
“I took private lessons, and I was in the marching band, crowd jazz band, the theater band, any number of things that you can do and it was great preparation to end up in the band at Ohio State,” trumpet player Spencer Hurt said.
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For Hamilton and the Styles brothers, being able to bring the national championship title back to their hometown meant a lot to them, and even more to do it together.
“I mean, going through all that adversity when throughout the season and be able to bring home a national championship that hasn't been won in a decade, it's a great feeling not only for me, but for my team as well,” Hamilton said.
“It didn’t feel real, you know, just sitting there on the field and after the clock hit zero, just looking at it is the surreal moment, you know? Put a lot of work in that moment,” Sonny Styles said.
“Just an honor to bring it back to this city and do it with all my five Pickerington guys was a blessing,” Lorenzo Styles said.
For the band members, going on this journey alongside the football team was a dream come true.
“Performing at that level was one of the greatest experiences of my life, you know, being in all those incredible locations -- Atlanta, Pasadena and in Dallas,” Hurt said.
“It was incredible getting to travel with the band all across the US to see all these great football games and our Buckeyes, you know, play for a national championship is an honor and a true blessing,” Ouimet said.
All the students said being honored by the city of Pickerington was a full-circle moment for them, something they’ll always remember. ...read more read less
