ELLSWORTH — The days of multi-sport athletes are starting to fade away with the advancement of year-round non-school club options in just about every sport, but George Rohl is showing it can still be done.

The Ellsworth senior recently signed to play tight end at the Division I level for the University of Minnesota, and on Jan. 12 in a 74-56 win over Baldwin-Woodville, Rohl scored 29 points on 13-of-17 shooting to reach the lofty 1,000-point mark. Along the wall of the Ellsworth High School gym stands banners with the names of every 1,000-point scorer in school history. The next name to join the memorable group of student athletes will be George Rohl.

“It’s cool. It kinds of helps me see you’ve just got to keep working hard, and stuff is going to pay off,” Rohl said. “I’ve always wanted to get a banner, whether it’s a Conference Championship or Regional Championship. Hopefully we can get some more for the basketball team. Being able to come back and see that will be really cool.”

The name being cemented in history will not just mean something to Rohl. The banner is a symbol of what it takes to be among the best for the rest of the team.

“It will mean a lot. It’s well deserved for him to be up on that wall with all those other great players that Ellsworth has had,” Ellsworth basketball Head Coach Derek Staley said. “He’s just worked for everything he’s had, so he deserves it.”

The six-foot-six big man led the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game a season ago as the Panthers improved from 6-19 in 2023-24 to 14-10 in 2024-25. The upward trajectory has not stopped in 2025-26, with Ellsworth starting the year 6-3 overall and 2-1 in Middle Border Conference play. Rohl is determined to make a postseason push this season, and his 15.6 points per game are certainly not hindering the cause.

“If we just keep our heads down and keep being consistent, working on the little things and keep building on our defense and offense [we can make a run],” Rohl said. “Just focus on what we can do each day to get better.”

It would be easy for Rohl to spend all 365 days of the year focused on football; however, Rohl doesn’t live by doing what is the easiest.

“Whatever I’m in, I’m usually just kind of working in it. Obviously, I’m still doing football stuff lifting-wise and running,” Rohl said. “Whatever I’m doing is fun to me, and obviously I’m not going to do it if it’s not fun.”

He grew up playing ball with his friends, hitting shots for his trick shot video channel and incorporating competition in everything he did. Rohl said that drive to win was in his blood from day one.

Erik Lange, a 2019 Ellsworth graduate, was one person Rohl gave a lot of credit for his development. Lange helped Rohl both with his skills as well as his drive and work ethic, Rohl said. Now, as Rohl finishes out his final year of high school and prepares for Division I football, he wants to be the next example of hard work for Ellsworth students.

“It means a lot just to be able to represent where I come from. Kind of use that as motivation every day to just keep working and keep representing,” Rohl said.

Staley said what separates Rohl is his consistency. Through rain or shine, injuries, illness and any other potential hurdle, Rohl shows up and does his job.

“He just shows up every day. Every single day he works hard. He’s awesome to watch in the weight room. He’s been a pleasure to coach. I’ve gotten to coach him for four years on varsity,” Staley said.