ThisWeek Community Newspapers Grove City Record
Page C2
March 24, 2011
Girls Basketball
Nubians’ Ferguson named Super 12 captain By JARROD ULREY
By Paul Vernon/ThisWeek
Africentric’s Raven Ferguson averaged 19 points and eight rebounds and was selected Super 12 captain.
BASEBALL
READY
CENTRAL CROSSING March 28 — vs. Grove City Christian March 30 — vs. Whitehall April 1 — at Shekinah Christian *April 4 — at Dublin Coffman *April 6 — vs. Dublin Coffman *April 8 — vs. Hilliard Darby April 9 — vs. Briggs and Hilliard Bradley *April 11 — at Hilliard Darby April 12 — at Teays Valley *April 13 — vs. Hilliard Davidson *April 15 — at Hilliard Davidson April 16 — vs. Brookhaven *April 18 — at Upper Arlington *April 20 — vs. Upper Arlington April 23 — at Big Walnut *April 25 — at Worthington Kilbourne *April 27 — vs. Worthington Kilbourne *April 29 — vs. Thomas Worthington April 30 — vs. Hamilton Township (DH) *May 2 — at Thomas Worthington May 3 — at London *May 4 — at Westland *May 6 — vs. Westland *OCC-Central game
of a 17-9 record (in 2009). That team also had six returning starters coming back.” Jordan Keaton (OF/P), who transferred to Grove City Christian for his junior season but has returned, is the team’s lone senior. “Jordan is doing a great job of being a team leader and showing our younger kids how we want things done in our program,” Todd said. The Comets return two letterwinners in junior Devin Doudna (SS/3B) and sophomore Shawn Seigneur (1B/P). Also on the team are juniors Jason Dickey (OF/P), Wes Mathias (OF), Ricky Morgan (OF/P) and Zak Ogilbee (C), sophomores Bobby Arnold (OF/P), Will Bohne
Raven Ferguson feels like she has been playing on the Africentric Early College girls basketball team “her whole life.” Opponents probably feel the same about the senior standout and captain of the ThisWeek Super 12 girls basketball team. After becoming a starter as a freshman, Ferguson helped the Nubians go 89-15 overall, 56-0 against City League-South Division opponents and win four district championships. This season, Ferguson was the Division III district Player of the Year while leading Africentric to a regional runner-up finish. “It will be weird to go to the games next year, but it’s just time for me to move on to bigger things,” Ferguson said. Next season, she’ll be a freshman at Ohio State. “Africentric has made me a lot more confident off the court and on the court,” she said. “I’ll be going in to try to play, and I think I’ll have a chance to start. (Africentric) coach (Will) McKinney always says that defense is about pride, about not letting your person score on you. He always tells us that at the next level, that’s how you get on the
For bios and pictures of all Super 12 first-team selections, please visit: www.ThisWeekSPORTS.com
GROVE CITY March 28 — vs. Dublin Coffman March 29 — vs. Dublin Jerome April 2 — vs. Zanesville *April 4 — at Reynoldsburg *April 6 — vs. Reynoldsburg April 7 — vs. Noblesville (Ind.) in Farragut, Tenn. April 8 — at Farragut (Tenn.) April 9 — vs. Clinton (Tenn.) Anderson County and Tullahoma (Tenn.) in Farragut, Tenn. *April 11 — at Groveport *April 13 — at Lancaster *April 15 — vs. Lancaster April 16 — at Upper Arlington with Elyria *April 18 — vs. Newark *April 20 — at Newark April 21 — at Westerville North April 23 — vs. Mayfield and New Albany at Dublin Jerome *April 25 — vs. Gahanna *April 27 — at Gahanna *April 28 — vs. Groveport *April 29 — at Pickerington Central April 30 — at Thomas Worthington with Briggs *May 2 — vs. Pickerington Central *May 4 — vs. Pickerington North *May 6 — at Pickerington North *OCC-Ohio game
(P/2B), Beau Gorsiene (1B/P) and Tony Ward (INF/OF/P) and freshmen Connor Coup (1B/P), Caleb Jones (INF/C/P) and Mark Russell (SS/P). “We want to get better and improve every day,” Todd said. “This program is going through a youth movement and there will be a lot of teaching moments during the course of the year. As of right now, we need all phases of our game to improve. There is not one specific area. This is a team that is full of youthful potential, but the players have a lot of maturing to do when it comes to the mental aspects of the game.” fdirenna@thisweeknews.com www.ThisWeekSPORTS.com
Schedules
Continued from page C1 to 11 CCL championships, nine district titles and one state championship. Last season, the Silver Knights were 15-10 overall and had a string of five consecutive CCL titles snapped as they went 5-3 to finish behind DeSales (8-0) and ahead of Watterson (4-4), Hartley (3-5) and Worthington Christian (0-8). Worthington Christian is no longer competing in the CCL. •The baseball team is hoping to build on a postseason in which it reached a Division III district semifinal for the seventh time in nine seasons. The Silver Knights, who finished 8-21 overall last season, lost eight players to graduation, but they return six seniors and three juniors who saw playing time a year ago. Senior Erik Dubiel is expected to be the No. 1 pitcher. He saw key innings in a 4-3 win over top-seeded Fredericktown in the second round of the district tournament. The other seniors are Jacob Chapman (C), Jeff Johnson (P), William Marting (1B), Ryan Moore (OF) and Landon Wolfe (P). Junior Brian Horn likely will be in the pitching rotation and
Online
Schedules
Continued from page C1 Last season in the OCC-Ohio, Grove City finished ahead of Pickerington Central (10-4), Pickerington North (10-4), Gahanna (9-5), Reynoldsburg (95), Lancaster (5-9), Groveport (1-13) and Newark (1-13). Alexander expects another tight race in the league. “The division is definitely loaded to the max,” he said. “Pickerington Central probably has two of the best starters returning in Nick Jensen-Clagg and Isaac Beller. Their staff is just outstanding. Pickerington North has a lot of returnees. Gahanna returns some key guys. Reynoldsburg returns everybody.” •Ninth-year Central Crossing coach Scott Todd is hoping his team continues to rebuild following the levy failure. Last season, the Comets finished 8-17 overall and 2-12 in the OCC-Central, placing seventh behind Worthington Kilbourne (12-2), Upper Arlington (11-3), Hilliard Davidson (8-6), Hilliard Darby (8-6), Thomas Worthington (8-6) and Dublin Coffman (7-7) and ahead of Westland (0-14). Central Crossing lost to Dresden Tri-Valley 8-4 in the first round of the Division I district tournament. “The program was in great shape before the failure of the levy,” said Todd, whose team opens Monday, March 28, at home against Grove City Christian. “We had winning teams at all three levels in our program and the varsity was coming off
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BASEBALL March 29 — at Utica March 30 — vs. Hamilton Township March 31 — at Newark Catholic April 2 — vs. Northland (DH) *April 4 — vs. Hartley April 5 — at Worthington Christian *April 6 — at DeSales April 9 — vs. Centennial (DH) *April 11 — at St. Charles April 12 — vs. Hilliard Bradley *April 13 — vs. Watterson April 14 — vs. Worthington Christian *April 15 — at Hartley April 16 — at Big Walnut with Bexley *April 18 — vs. DeSales April 25 — vs. Wellington April 28 — vs. Jonathan Alder April 30 — at Liberty Union (DH) *May 2 — vs. St. Charles May 3 — at Bexley *May 4 — at Watterson May 5 — at West Jefferson May 7 — vs. Grandview and Liberty Union
also should see time at third base. The other juniors are Brian Hasenkamp (P) and Alex Kopczyk (P). Sophomores Ross Etgen, Mitch McNabb and Sean Mogan all could see action in the outfield, with Etgen and McNabb also being candidates to pitch. Also competing for playing time are sophomore Matthew Sweet (OF) and freshman Zach Jarrett (C). “There’s always a lot of an-
SOFTBALL March 29 — at Grandview March 30 — vs. Canal Winchester March 31 — vs. Fairbanks April 2 — at Liberty Union with Central Crossing April 5 — at Jonathan Alder April 7 — at Upper Arlington April 9 — at Bloom-Carroll with Northridge *April 11 — at Hartley *April 13 — vs. DeSales April 15-16 — at Lancaster *April 18 — vs. Watterson April 19 — vs. Olentangy Orange *April 20 — vs. Hartley April 26 — vs. Jonathan Alder April 27 — at West Chester Lakota West April 29 — vs. Philo in Centennial Stellar Classic at Ohio State April 30 — vs. Thornville Sheridan and Columbia Station Columbia in Stellar Classic *May 2 — at DeSales *May 4 — at Watterson May 5 — vs. London May 9 — at West Jefferson May 10 — at Hilliard Bradley *CCL game
ticipation for the season,” said third-year coach Harry Caruso, whose team opens Tuesday, March 29, at Utica. “We’re really young. We lost a lot of seniors, so we’ve gone in a direction where we’re playing a little bit more youth.” Last season, Ready beat Caledonia River Valley 7-5 in the first round of the district tournament before beating Fredericktown.
court. I’m still trying to improve and be better.” With Ferguson joining their lineup in 2007-08, the Nubians went 25-2 and lost in the Division IV state final. In 2008-09, they went 23-4 and won the state title as Ferguson made Super 12 honorable mention. A year ago, Africentric moved up to Division III and lost in a regional semifinal to finish 196. Ferguson made first-team alldistrict and Super 12 as she averaged 23 points, six rebounds, 3.5 assists and four steals. With Ferguson leading the way this season, the Nubians beat Northland 60-52 on Feb. 12 for their third City title in four years and Columbus School for Girls 74-45 on March 5 for a district title. Africentric’s season ended with a 56-50 loss to Fort Recovery in a regional final March 12. Africentric went 22-3 as Ferguson averaged 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. She
also was selected first-team allstate and was the state’s CoPlayer of the Year with Ally Malott of Middletown Madison. She finished with 1,739 career points. “Raven is clearly Miss Basketball for the state of Ohio,” McKinney said. “I think the kid from Twinsburg (Malina Howard) is nice, but Raven Ferguson, when you look at the whole body of work, is deserving.” •OTHER FIRST-TEAMERS — Taylor Agler (Olentangy Orange, So., guard), Destini Cooper (Reynoldsburg, So., center), Symone Denham (Northland, Jr., guard), Kavunaa Edwards (Pickerington North, Sr., center), Travecia Franklin (Brookhaven, Sr., guard), Caitlin Kusan (Westerville North, Sr., forward), Tiyona Marshall (Gahanna, Sr., guard), Alexis Peterson (Northland, So., guard), Tabatha Piper (Big Walnut, Sr., guard), Meredith Strangers (Dublin Coffman, Sr., guard) and Aliyah Zantt (Reynoldsburg, Jr., guard). •HONORABLE MENTION — Ashley Bassett-Smith (Orange, Jr., center), Paige Cashin (Newark, So., center), Mary Corbett (Upper Arlington, Sr., guard), Frannie Frazier (Thomas Worthington, So., forward), Jasmine Henshaw (Pickerington Central,
SOFTBALL
CENTRAL CROSSING March 28 — at Millersport *March 30 — vs. Thomas Worthington March 31 — vs. Canal Winchester April 2 — at Liberty Union *April 4 — at Dublin Coffman *April 6 — vs. Hilliard Darby *April 8 — vs. Hilliard Davidson *April 11 — at Upper Arlington *April 13 — at Worthington Kilbourne April 16 — at Lancaster *April 18 — at Westland *April 20 — vs. Dublin Coffman April 21 — at Newark *April 25 — at Hilliard Darby *April 27 — at Hilliard Davidson *April 28 — vs. Upper Arlington April 29-30 — Prebis Memorial Classic at LaGrange Keystone *May 2 — vs. Worthington Kilbourne *May 4 — at Thomas Worthington *May 6 — vs. Westland
had a 0.78 ERA and also contributed at the plate, hitting .342. Senior Dakota Pyles, who batted .355 last year, will play in center field and junior Ciera Williams will play in left field. Five players — juniors Sarah Baker and Jourdan Hager and freshmen Michaela Dorsey, Jackie Fowler and Abby Rhodes — are vying for playing time in right field. Pyles (Kent State), Turkovich (Toledo) and Carmean (Notre
May 7 — vs. Circleville and DeSales May 13 — at DeSales *OCC-Central game GROVE CITY March 29 — at Upper Arlington *March 30 — at Reynoldsburg *March 31 — vs. Groveport April 4-9 — Grand Strand Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. *April 11 — vs. Newark *April 13 — vs. Gahanna *April 15 — at Pickerington Central *April 18 — vs. Pickerington North *April 20 — vs. Reynoldsburg *April 21 — at Lancaster *April 22 — at Newark *April 25 — at Groveport *April 27 — vs. Lancaster April 28 — vs. Columbia Station Columbia *May 2 — at Gahanna *May 4 — vs. Pickerington Central *May 6 — at Pickerington North May 7 — at Hilliard Bradley with North Union *OCC-Ohio game
Dame College) have signed with colleges and Savannah Dorsey has verbally committed to Ohio University. “A lot of these girls have played together for three or four years,” coach Dorsey said. “They’ve become more than teammates. They’re like sisters in the sport and they challenge each person to work harder.” pbatterson@thisweeknews.com www.ThisWeekSPORTS.com
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julrey@thisweeknews.com www.ThisWeekSPORTS.com
Schedules
Continued from page C1 break us is how well these kids bounce back from adversity,” Williams said. “The past couple years, we’ve not lost more than four or five games a season. What is going to happen if we lose three games in a row?” •Central Crossing seems to have everything in place for another successful season. The Comets return eight of their nine starters from last season, in which they compiled a program-best 19-6 overall record. “We’re very excited,” said second-year coach Rona Dorsey, whose team opens Monday, March 28, at Millersport. “I’ve been coaching a lot of these players since they were young and I’ve watched them develop as ballplayers. They’ve been what this program is all about.” Central Crossing placed second in the OCC-Central last year at 11-3, behind Upper Arlington (12-2) and ahead of Hilliard Davidson (10-4), Hilliard Darby (7-7), Thomas Worthington (68), Dublin Coffman (4-10), Westland (3-11) and Worthington Kilbourne (3-11). UA was ranked seventh and Davidson was ranked 10th in the final Division I state poll last year. The Comets lost to Dresden Tri-Valley 5-4 in eight innings in the first round of the district tournament. Central Crossing graduated only one player in catcher Kim Morgason, who is playing at Kent State. Senior Kendra Willis takes over behind the plate. Seniors Lindsay Carmean (2B), Sky Dorsey (3B) and Allissa Turkovich (SS) and junior Paige Rhodes (1B) round out the infield. Turkovich batted .338 last season. Junior Savannah Dorsey, who was honorable mention all-state last season, returns as the team’s primary pitcher. Last year, she
Jr., forward), Alana Lassiter (Columbus East, Jr., center), Morgan Neighbors (Westerville South, Jr., guard), Bailey Pierron (Hilliard Bradley, Sr., guard), Shelby Olszewski (Pickerington North, Sr., guard), Chelsey Radcliff (Eastmoor Academy, Sr., forward), Kellie Roudabush (Bradley, Sr., guard), Jelicia Shelton (Bexley, Sr., guard), Enri Small (Columbus School for Girls, Sr., forward), Tajanee Wells (Eastmoor Academy, So., center) and Brooke Zwayer (Olentangy, So., forward). •PAST CAPTAINS — New Albany’s Hannah Robertson (2010), Pickerington Central’s Emilee Harmon (2009), Eastmoor’s Ayana Dunning (2008), Dublin Scioto’s Crystal Murdaugh (2007), Pickerington Central’s Stephanie Stevens (2006), Mifflin’s Marshae Dotson (2005), Pickerington North’s Marscilla Packer (2004, 2002), Brookhaven’s Brittany Hunter (2003), Grove City’s Charisse Crews (2000-01), Pickerington’s LaToya Turner (1998-99), Pickerington’s Tamara Stocks (1997), Brookhaven’s Helen Darling (1996) and Pickerington’s Beth Ostendorf (1994-95).