Alumni Hall of Fame
Athletic Achievement (2013)

Sue (Lauth) Grothause, a native of St. Marys, is a 1984 graduate of Memorial High School. She distinguished herself athletically in high school by excelling in volleyball, basketball and softball; at the collegiate level in softball and basketball; and in a 20-plus year coaching career in the St. Marys City Schools.

Sue was the first athlete in Memorial High School history to letter in three sports for four years, earning four letters each in volleyball, basketball and softball. Her statistics and the list of awards and recognition received for her performance on the court and on the field are impressive.

As a freshman in 1980-1981, Sue led the basketball team with a 12.1 point-per-game scoring average. She started on the first MHS softball team to reach the State tournament before falling in the semi-final round.

Her sophomore year, 1981-1982, Sue averaged 19.6 points and 17.5 rebounds in basketball and had 102 steals for the season. She was named to the Associated Press Class AA All-District Team, District 8 Coaches Association First Team, First Team WBL and received Honorable Mention in State Class AA. In softball, she had a .609 batting average with five home runs, including two grand slams.

In junior year, 1982-1983, Sue scored her 1000th point as a basketball junior, averaging 22.2 points per game as the point guard, and was named WBL First Team and Honorable Mention in State. In softball, she led the team with a .675 batting average and had the most hits, six home runs and twenty-four RBIs, and was named First Team WBL.

Her senior year, 1983-1984, Sue was named First Team WBL and District Class AA All State, and also was named the District 8 All-Star Match Player in volleyball. In basketball, she averaged seventeen points per game, was WBL First Team, was The Evening Leader's Leaderland area leading scorer, for the third consecutive year, and was named to the District 8 All-Star Team. Sue (Lauth) Grothause became the MHS girls' basketball all-time scoring leader with 1557 points, a record later broken by Nikki Miars. The softball team won its first-ever WBL Title, and Sue was named First Team WBL, WBL Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year for the Class of 1984.

Sue went on to Defiance College to receive her Bachelor Degree in Physical Education and Health, and later received her Masters Degree from Wright State University. While at Defiance College, Sue was a four year letter winner in softball and was the 1988 Team Captain. She earned NAIA All-American recognition and was named to the District 22 First Team and Western Buckeye Collegiate Conference First Team for three years. She was also the 1988 Athlete of the Year. In basketball at Defiance College, she was a three year letter winner, was the 1988 Team Captain and was named best Defensive Player in 1988.

During her high school, college and post graduate years, Sue also played for the Celina Suns, an Amateur Softball Association of America, Women Major Fast Pitch Softball team.

As Lady Rider Head Varsity Softball coach for twenty years, Sue's teams have won more than 200 games and two WBL Titles, and were State Runners-Up in 2007 with a 24-2 overall record. She was named WBL Coach of the Year in 1992 and 2007, and Northwest District Coach of the Year in 2007.



For her outstanding three-sport athletic career as a student at Memorial High School, her leadership and success as an athlete at Defiance College and her continuing success and contribution to the students of the St. Marys City Schools as a coach, Sue (Lauth) Grothause is inducted into the St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation Hall of Fame for Athletic Achievement.

The above text, in its entirety, is embossed on a St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Hall of Fame plaque permanently on display in Memorial High School.