COVINGTON – Covington senior Garrett Leistner has future plans at Ohio Northern University of capturing a bachelor degree in Civil Engineering and playing football.
Ideally, Leistner was recruited by the Polar Bears’ football program and received an academic scholarship due to his 3.671 GPA in high school.
“The academic excellence and their football program is why I chose Ohio Northern,” Leistner said. “Coach Von Thomas reached out to me in recruiting after he found my playing film in Huddle and saw my stats. He invited me to a football visit at the facility and that was really nice to see.”
Garrett, who is the son of Jase and Tanya Leistner, was a four-year starter at Covington and had a huge impact on the development of the program due to his hard work and team-first mentality. His high school career was outstanding due to his willingness to be coachable from start to finish.
“My coaches had the biggest impact on me in football and to get me at Ohio Northern,” said Garrett. “Coach (Austin) Morgan and Coach (Lance) Miller helped me a lot.”
“Garrett has been foxhole guys since he arrived in high school,” said Covington’s head coach Austin Morgan, who coached Leistner all four years in high school. “He’s the epitome of what a no excuse guy is. You always win with people. Garrett is the type of person everyone wants in their teams. In our program we talk about ‘drink the water, but remember who dug the well’. It’s a reminder to be grateful for what the past players have done to improve the program. Garrett has been digging the well for a long time and many people will enjoy the water that he has provided.”
Another huge impact on Leistner’s experience in high school football were his favorite teammates.
“I love my teammates,” he said. “The ones that helped me the most were Kian French, Kaden Thompson, the brothers Jordan and Johnny Miller, Trenton Havenar, Lucas Lester, Eli Brooks, Connor Sindelir, Ricky Stephan, Jake Dilley and Landin Cassel.”
Garrett Leistner is still in his senior season on the Buccaneers’ baseball team and has plans to prepare himself for college with extra training, the same mold he used throughout his high school career.
“I plan on doing extra training over the summer to work on my speed and strength,” he explained. “Ohio Northern recruited me as a middle linebacker and my goal is to do what I can to contribute to the team’s success.”
Garrett Leistner’s mentality is what Covington coach Austin Morgan feels put him in a great position for future success at the collegiate level.
“As Garrett heads off to college he’s put himself in a great spot to excel,” Morgan said. “He’s learned the skill to achieve excellence – show up everyday, outwork everybody, and have the humility to constantly improve.”
The Covington community will miss seeing Garrett Leistner playing football in a Buccaneer uniform, but fortunately he will be on the football field as a Polar Bear.
And even though he is progressing to the collegiate level, Leistner still has a deep passion for Covington.
“The last thing I want quoted is, ‘GO BUCCS’,” he said.
