January 6, 2011
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Basketball
Irish boys look to bounce back At a glance Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the Scioto boys and girls basketball teams: BOYS *Dec. 21 — Lost to W ester ville Central 56-43 Dec. 29 — Lost to Buck eye Valley 4946 Dec. 30 — Defeated Athens 51-37 *Last Monday — Lost to Olentang y Liberty 52-45 *Friday — At Dublin Jerome Of note: The Irish are 3-5 o verall and 1-4 in the OCC-Cardinal. GIRLS *Dec. 21 — Def. W ester ville Central 52-43 Dec. 23 — Def. Ne w Albany 43-39 Dec. 27 — Def. DeSales 43-39 *Last Monday — Def. Olentang y Liberty 41-37 *Friday — Home vs. Dublin Jerome Of note: The Irish are 7-3 o verall and 5-2 in the OCC-Cardinal. *OCC-Cardinal game
By SCOTT GERFEN
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Raneal Ewing of the Dublin Scioto High School boys basketball team admits he’s tried to forget about the shooting w oes that bothered the Irish during a recent four-game losing streak. As the leading scorer for the Irish, averaging 14.6 points through nine games, the senior guard is ready for others to pitch in. “The past is the past,and we’ve got a lot more games ahead of us,” Ewing said. “We’ve got a league game Friday against (Dublin) Jerome and they’re our rival, so we’ve got to bounce back.” The Irish snapped the losing streak with a 51-37 victory at Athens on Dec. 30. The streak included losses to Westerville South (65-39 on Dec. 10), Westerville North (61-40 on Dec. 17) and
Westerville Central (56-43 on Dec. 21) — all league opponents. The Irish had chances to pull out a win in the f inal minutes against Buckeye Valley on Dec. 29 in the Larry Eberst Classic at Olentangy Liberty but lost 46-43. “With young guys there comes inconsistency and that’s what we have right now,” coach Tony Bisutti said. “Our guys know it, and we’re trying to address it. It’s not going to happen overnight. Our defense is a lot better, but we’re not shooting it (well).” The loss of Jamare Mills only has added to Scioto’s offensive woes. Mills’ mother informed coaches that her son was leaving the team to focus on academics and football. The 6-foot-5 tight end and defensive lineman is being recruited by a number of Division I
programs. Senior Jalen Johnson, who also is 6-5, has been starting in place of Mills. “We went through a drought where people were having down games,” senior guard Justin Craig said. “It’s real important this week for us to get some momentum. Jerome is a big game for us.They beat us twice last year and got us real good.” Jerome defeated Scioto 75-32 and 66-44 last season. Junior guards Cam Wilson (62) and Nick Neale (6-3) have been the scoring leaders for the Celtics, who also lost four in ro w in December. “They’re a little bit like us in that they’re not very post-orientBy Tim Norman/ThisWeek ed,” Bisutti said. “They’ve struggled, but they’ve Scioto’s Ryan Duncan tries to get past Westerville South’s Jaren Edwards on Dec. 10. The Irish are 3-5
See SCIOTO, page B4 overall and 1-4 in the OCC-Cardinal Division.
Commentary
Basketball
Looking back at past prep success
Jerome girls seeking jolt of offense
It’s time to welcome in 2011 and as I have done in the past, here is a look back at the central Ohio high school sports headlines from the years ending in the No. 1. 2001 — Dublin Coffman and Marion Pleasant won state baseball titles ... T iffany Young and LARRY Kathryn Whaling LARSON combined to win the Division II doubles title in girls tennis and Brian Steginsky and Zack F ayne of Wellington did the same in boys tennis ... Jillian Stranges took the all-around gold medal and led DeSales to second place at the state gymnastics meet ... Thomas Worthington was boys Division I soccer champs and Dublin Coffman won in girls Division I ... Carrie McCambridge of Olentangy w on the state girls diving title ... State champions in wrestling were Jason Barnett and C.P. Schlatter of DeSales, Chris Hansen of Pickerington and Keith Cupp of Hamilton Township ... Granville won the Division II bo ys golf team title ... Columbus Academy beat Watterson in the state final in field hockey ... Four area football teams finished as state runner-up: Watterson in Division II, DeSales in III, Licking Valley in IV and Marion Pleasant in V. 1991 — Darrell Hughes of Westland won two events at the state boys track meet and Yolanda Jackson of Columb us West and Jenny Ridgely of Be xley did the same at the girls meet ... The Hartley boys track team won the Di vision II title ... Newark Catholic won the Division V state football championship ... Joe Ogilvie of Lancaster, now on the PGA Tour, was medalist at the state bo ys
By SCOTT HENNEN
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Tim Norman/ThisWeek
Jerome’s Nick Neale passes away from the pressure of Hilliard Darby’s Brennan Hook on Dec. 30. The Celtics play host to Dublin Scioto on Friday in OCC-Cardinal Division action.
The new calendar year brings a new focus for the Dublin Jerome High School girls basketball team. Coach Matt Martin wants his players to focus more on offense. “I think we’re giving up 34.1 points per game and that’s keeping us in every game and that’s a pretty good defensive stat line,” Martin said. “The problem is we’re scoring about the same on offense (35.4 per game). We should be scoring at least in the high 40s or low 50s. We’re just not getting things done on that side of the ball.” Kaitlin Miller, a sophomore point guard, averaged 11.1 points in the first eight games to lead the Celtics. Senior guard Brooke Carrel has averaged 7.1 points per game, followed by sophomore guard Katherine McCoy (6.6), sophomore forward Sarah Auker (4.5) and sophomore forward Lindsay Reiland (4.4). “A lot of it is mentality,” Martin said. “You have to want to score the same with four minutes left in the game that you w ould in the final two minutes of a game. You have to have be able to take the ball to the rim.” On Dec. 28, Jerome lost to
Upper Arlington 39-36 in the Watterson Holiday Tournament. The Celtics beat Ready 39-27 on the second day of the event. “It was an important win for us, going into the new year at 44,” Martin said. “We have a back end of our schedule that is gameheavy, so we have to make sure we come out ready to play. “We told the girls last week that the excuse of being a young team is over. We can’t be just one person or we can’t be two people, everyone has to be ready.” Jerome has lost several close games, the largest margin coming in a 37-27 loss to Olentangy on Dec. 21. The Celtics lost to Westerville Central 25-21 in the season opener on Dec. 3. They also lost to Westerville North 2826 on Dec. 7 and to UA by three at the Watterson tournament. “We have been losing to good teams by a minimal amount of points,” Martin said. “We’re a few rebounds, a few layups and a few free throws from being 80.” •The boys team was 3-6 overall and 1-3 in the OCC-Cardinal before playing Marysville last Wednesday. The Celtics defeated Hilliard See JEROME, page B4
Basketball
Coffman girls focus on finishing off foes By THAD PLUMLEY
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Practices for the Dublin Coffman High School girls basketball team will look like the closing minutes of nail-biting thrillers in the coming weeks. The Shamrocks ha ve let a pair of fourth-quarter leads get away this season. And with key OCC-Central Division contests looming, everyone involved knows they need to shore up the lategame execution. “We haven’t stepped up late at times See LARSON, page B3 and it’s frustrating,” coach Bryan Patton
said. “The girls are disappointed, and we’re disappointed as coaches. The good news is we didn’t lose anything in the league and there is a lot of bask etball ahead.” There are key games on the horizon. Six of the next seven contests — and six of the eight this month — are against OCC-Central foes. Among those games is a rematch with defending league champion Upper Arlington, which Coffman edged 61-58 on Dec. 14, and Thomas Worthington, which beat the Shamrocks 51-47 on Dec. 17. Coffman travels to the Golden Bears on
Jan. 14 and plays host to the Cardinals on Jan. 28. “I’m excited about January. There’s going to be some good games,” Patton said. “What we’re going to have to do is win a tough one on the road.We’re pretty good at home, but what it’s going to take to win the league is winning on the road.” Against Thomas, Coffman led by as many as four points in the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold on. Most recently, it led by as many as five points in the fourth quarter of a 51-43 loss to Toledo
Central Catholic on Dec. 30. However, the Shamrocks made a series of errors in the final period against Central Catholic that not only hurt them but swung the momentum to the Irish, who ended up scoring nearly half their points (24) in the quarter. A year ago, Coffman squandered fourth-quarter leads in multiple league games. The Shamrocks were somewhat young last season, but despite having four sophomores contributing regularly this seaSee COFFMAN, page B4
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January 6, 2011
ThisWeek Community Newspapers Dublin Villager
2010: The Year In Review
Off-field tragedy, stunning upsets among top stories From staff reports As we begin 2011, we take a look back at the highs and lows of central Ohio high school sports for 2010.There was tragic news off the field, as Rico Butler, who helped the Hilliard Davidson football team win the Division I state championship in 2009, drowned in a quarry. There were stunning upsets,including the Northland boys basketball team, which lost to Gahanna 71-45 in a Division I regional final despite being ranked No. 1 in the country and the defending state champion. And there was triumph on the football field, as two members of the CCL,Hartley and Watterson, captured state championships. Here’s ho w the year stack ed up through the eyes of the sports staff at ThisWeek Community Newspapers. We hope you enjoy the look back at 2010 as much as we did. TWICE AS NICE: The CCL has only five teams in football but produced two state champions in Hartley and Watterson. Hartley, led by running back Noah Key, defeated Chagrin Falls 34-13 in the Division IV state final on Dec. 3 at Massillon’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium to finish 13-2 and capture its first state championship since 1986. Watterson overcame six turnovers to beat Akron Buchtel 13-12 in the Division III state final on Dec. 4 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium to finish 13-1 and win its first state title since 2002. Key, the Division IV Player of the Year who rushed for 2,755 yards (8.8 yards per carry) and 40 touchdowns, rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries against Chagrin Falls, which finished 13-2. Omar Lane also had a big game, rushing for 117 yards and a touchdown on six carries. The Hawks went 5-for-5 on fourth down, recovered an onside kick and held Chagrin Falls to 159 total yards. “I don’t know if there were a ton of people who picked us to win the game,” Hawks coach Brad Burchfield said. “We taped all the pundits saying that Chagrin Falls is going to win the game and played it for the kids (the night before the state final). We’re happy to take that underdog role.” Watterson, which won its final 10 games, held Buchtel to 204 total yards but was not able to pull away from the Griffins because of turnovers. The Eagles, who had 258 yards,lost three fumbles and threw three interceptions, including one that was returned 80 yards for a touchdown. With Watterson trailing 12-6, Ray Cook scored on a 3-yard run and Tim Carter kicked the extra point to put the Eagles ahead with 10 minutes, 50 seconds left. On their ensuing possession, the Griffins drove from their own 23yard line to the Watterson 6, only to be stopped on fourth-and-1. Buchtel, which finished 11-4, got the ball back three plays later on the Watterson 21 as the result of an Eagles fumble. However, on second-and-15 from the Eagles’ 26, Jared Simpson sacked Griffins quarterback Stephen Parker for a loss of 12 yards and Brad McCurdy intercepted Parker on the next play to help seal the victory. “These guys know as well as I do how great of an accomplishment this season was,” Eagles coach Dan Bjelac said. “There were a number of behind-thescenes things that happened. This team found ways to get it done all year.” Linebacker Matt Redfield was the state’s co-Defensive Player of the Year and district Defensive Player of theYear. STUNNING UPSETS: The Northland boys basketball team and Gahanna boys soccer team
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man gets kicked out of the (basketball) game and hands (Hopper’s character) the scorebook and tells him he’s the coach now,” Mampieri said with a wide grin. “It wasn’t anything like that, but (Eric) did a great job.” When Mampieri returned to the course a few hours later, St. Charles was well on its way to its second consecutive state title. The Cardinals shot a record 610, breaking the previous mark of 611 set by Cleveland St. Ignatius in 2002 and Upper Arlington in 1993, and finished well ahead of runner-up St. Ignatius (621). Senior Michael Ricaurte was tournament medalist with a 144 over 36 holes. Mampieri resigned as coach after the state tournament, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. RIGHT ON TRACK: The Reynoldsburg girls track and field team defied the odds by winning a second consecutive Division I state championship. Despite the fact that their participation dropped by more than 50 percent from the 2009 season,the Raiders scored 56 points at the state meet that concluded June 5 at Ohio State to finish well ahead of runner-up Rocky River Magnificat (35). After losing a large senior class and having two key expected returnees transfer, Reynoldsburg had fewer than a dozen athletes competing by season’s end. Yet, led by sophomore Destinee Gause, the Raiders were able to defend their state title. Gause was disqualified at state in the 100 meters preliminaries because of a false start, but she won her second consecutive 200 title (24.07 seconds) and led the 400 relay (47.24) and 1,600 relay (3:48.87) to titles. “You lose some and you win some,” said sophomore sprinter/hurdler Faith Washington, who was second at state in the 300 hurdles (43.28),fourth in the 100 hurdles (14.7) and ran on the runner-up 800 relay (1:40.4) and the 1,600 relay. “This year we gained some mature young freshmen,so losing what we did (from the 2009 season) didn’t really matter as much.” The Hartley girls team narro wly missed winning its second consecutive Division II state title, as it scored 71 points to place second behind Cleveland Collinwood (77) and ahead of thirdplace Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (57). Collinwood had competed in Division I in 2009. That season, the Hawks shared the state title with CuyahogaValley Christian Academy, as both teams scored 55 points. Though the team championship eluded Hartley, the Hawks won individual titles and broke a meet record in the 1,600 relay. Senior Chesna Sykes won the 100 (11.97) and 200 (24.22) and was on the winning 400 relay (47.37) with CharAnna Dixon, Chelsea Scott and Jordyn Smith. Sykes also was on the secondplace 800 relay (1:41.1) with Aisha Cavin, Dixon and Maya Pedersen. The 1,600 relay of Taisha Ferguson, Cavin, Pedersen and Scott finished first in 3:49.94, breaking the previous meet record of 3:50.08 set by Warrensville Heights in 2009. QUITE A SPLASH: The Upper Arlington girls swimming and diving team won its sixth consecutive Division I state title, scoring 295 points to finish ahead of runner-up Watterson (186) in February at the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton. The Golden Bears won only one event, the 200-yard medley relay, but had swim-
By Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek
No. 1: Watterson’s T.J. GIlles (left), Matt Redfield (39), Patrick Rhomberg (4), Brad McCurdy (11), Ray Cook (35) and the rest of the Eagles celebrate after a 13-12 victory over Akron Buchtel in the Division III state championship game Dec. 4 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon. Fellow CCL member Hartley also won a state title, beating Chagrin Falls 34-13 in the Division IV final.
both were ranked No. 1 in the country for much of their respective seasons, but neither was able to defend their respective state championships,or even return to the state tournament. Northland lost to Gahanna 71-45 in a regional final on March 20 at the Fairgrounds Coliseum. The loss snapped a 37-game winning streak for theVikings, who finished 23-1. Gahanna’s four-guard offense helped it shoot 23-for-38 from the floor, with Stevie Taylor and Rob Brandenberg (19 points apiece) leading the way. The Lions advanced to state for the first time, where they lost to eventual champion Massillon Jackson 62-50 in a semifinal on March 26 to finish 26-1. “As time goes on, people will remember our Northland game more than playing in front of 15,000 people at the Schott,” said Lions coach Tony Staib, whose team was ranked second in the final state poll behind Northland. “It was a team everybody said that couldn’t be beat. The way we beat them,it was one of those magical games that puts an exclamation point on the season for these guys.” Jared Sullinger, now playing for Ohio State, had 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Vikings, who lost despite outrebounding Gahanna 36-18. Northland, which had beaten Cincinnati Princeton 60-58 in the 2009 state final, spent several weeks as the No. 1ranked team in the country, according to most national polls. Among the Vikings’victories were a 53-52 win over Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep on Dec. 17, 2009, and a 47-46 win over Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy on Jan. 16. Both of those games were televised on ESPN. Ranked first for most of the season in the ESPN/Rise poll,the Gahanna boys soccer team lost to Olentangy Orange 2-1 in double overtime in a Division I regional final on Nov. 6, marking its only loss in its last 44 games. The Lions had beaten Orange 3-0 on Sept. 9 and had outscored their opponents 96-9. The Pioneers lost to Centerville 2-1 in a state semifinal on Nov. 9. Gahanna finished 19-1-1, with its only other blemish being a 1-all tie against Massillon Jackson on Oct. 2. Orange’s Colton Bloecher scored the
winning goal against the Lions with 4:24 left in the second overtime. “It’s shocking,” said Gahanna senior forward Chris Davis, who scored with 3 seconds left in the first half to give the Lions a 1-0 halftime lead. “We were so determined to win. It’s devastating. I didn’t expect this at all. I thought we were going to win and go to the state semis.” OVERCOMING TRAGEDY: The Hill-iard Davidson football team fell short in its quest to repeat as Division I state champion, finishing 13-1 after losing to Huber Heights Wayne 28-14 in a state semifinal on Nov. 27. Still, it was another successful season for the Wildcats, especially when taking into consideration that the Davidson football family was dealt a major blow when running back Rico Butler drowned May 25 while swimming with friends in a quarry. Butler would have been a senior this year. “I think everyone would have taken a 13-1 season,” said coach Brian White, whose team won its 11th OCC championship by finishing 7-0 in the OCCCentral Division. “Coming into this year, we weren’t exactly sure how everything was going to pan out and what the kids’ reaction to losing Rico was going to be. There were a multitude of questions about things coming into this year.” The Wildcats dedicated their season to Butler by wearing a sticker with the No. 5 — Butler’s jersey number — on their helmets. “They certainly didn’t forget about Rico all year long,” White said. “They kept him in the back of their minds all year long, but fortunately it was kind of in the back of their minds.They used it as just enough motivation to get themselves prepared to play, but at the same time, Mr. Butler (Rico’s dad, Rico Sr.) even said back last spring when Rico’s accident happened that he didn’t want the kids going out and playing this year for Rico. He wanted them to play for themselves and they did a little bit of a combination of both,and it worked out well for them.” The Wildcats also experienced tragedy during the 2009 season when 16-yearold Arthur Lane was struck by a train
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and killed on the eve of the team’s 1615 win over Cleveland Glenville in the state final. NATIONAL RECOGNITION ON HARD WOOD: Not only was Jared Sullinger of the Northland boys basketball team named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball for the second consecutive season after averaging 23.1 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, he was named Naismith Player of theYear, an honor bestowed on the top player in the nation. Sullinger, a 6-foot-9 forward now starting for Ohio State as a freshman, also was named McDonald’s All-American, Jordan Brand All-American and Parade magazine Player of theYear. He finished as Northland’s all-time leading scorer with 1,972 career points. Sullinger was named MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game on March 31 at Ohio State, despite having to go to a hospital the morning of the game for what was thought to be food poisoning. He scored 22 points and had seven rebounds in the East all-star team’s 107-104 loss to the West. Sullinger also participated in the Jordan Brand Classic onApril 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Satch Sullinger, Jared’s father and Northland’s coach, was named Naismith Coach of the Year. SPECIAL DELIVERY: St. Charles golf coach Anthony Mam-pieri almost missed the crowning moment of his team’s season. On the morning of the second day of the Cardinals’dominating performance at the Division I state tournament, his wife, Leeanne, went into labor with the couple’s third child. Cristiano Matthew Mampieri was born about four hours before the Cardinals teed off on Oct. 23, allowing Mampieri an opportunity to meet his team at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course before the start of the second round. “He got there and gave them a pep talk before they were to tee off and then went back to the hospital for a while,” assistant coach Eric Horvath said. “He told me he had a favor to ask of me,and then takes off early.” “Eric said that he felt like he was the Dennis Hopper character from the movie ‘Hoosiers.’You know when Gene Hack-
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2010: THE YEAR IN REVIEW Continued from page B2 mers finish in the top eight in every event. Kristyn Fulcher, Nicole Wagner, Katie VanFossen and Lauren Comer teamed to win the 200 medley relay in 1 minute, 46.23 seconds, edging runner-up Centerville (1:46.67). Abby Chin placed second in four events: the 500 freestyle (4:53.6), 200 free (1:51.24), 200 free relay (1:35.97) and 400 free relay (3:29.67). Watterson’s Gracie Finnegan, capped a dominant career by winning four more state titles to finish with eight for her career. She defended her titles in the 50 free (23.2) and 100 free (50.06) and anchored the Eagles’200 free relay (1:35.08) and 400 free relay (3:27.09) to first-place finishes. Also on the relays were Camey Rabold, Michele Rielly and Samantha Schuttinger. “(Defending my state titles) definitely added pressure, but I came in knowing it’s my senior year,” Finnegan said. “I kind of wanted to go out with a bang and break some records. But I had great competition and I had a great time. It was real fun.” THREE-PEAT: The Lakewood softball team won its third consecutive state championship, defeating Poland Seminary 1-0 in the Division II state final on June 4. Third baseman Kelsi Thompson led the Lancers’offense, producing two of their five hits, including a solo home run in the second inning. Pitcher Alyssa Patznick went seven innings, allowing six hits and one walk and striking out four. Lakewood finished 29-5. The Lancers’ other two titles came in Division III, as they beat Youngstown Ursuline 5-0 in 2009 and defeated Wellington 5-3 in 2008. Grove City reached the state final in Division I, losing to Massillon Perry 10-0 on June 5 to finish 28-5. ACES ON THE COURT: Central Ohio players swept the Division I and II state titles in the boys tennis tournament on May 29 at Ohio State. Worthington Kilbourne senior Kevin Metka defeated Liberty Township Lakota East’s Zack Mueck 7-6 (11-9), 6-3 in the Division I singles final, marking his second state title. Metka was part of the Division I doubles championship team in 2009. Watterson junior Chris Diaz, who won the Division I doubles title in 2008 with his brother , Philip, and placed second in doubles in 2009, cruised through the Division II singles field without losing a set in an y of his four
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2010: More top stories Below are the rest of the top 25 stories from ThisWeek Sports in 2010. For more details on each story, please visit ThisWeekSPORTS.com. No. 16: Upper Arlington and Dublin Jerome capture state titles in bo ys lacrosse. No. 17: A year after area bo ys soccer teams sw ept all three state championships, no central Ohio team wins a title. No. 18: Wester ville Central’s Mar y Wells rolls to gir ls bowling title as Warhawks place second. No. 19: Area coaches reach career milestones.
No. 20: Two longtime area coaches step down. No. 21: Hilliard Davidson baseball team upsets top-seeded Gro ve City in Division I district tour nament. No. 22: Four area Division I bo ys basketball teams finish the regular season undefeated. No. 23: The Dublin Coffman and Big Walnut gir ls volle yball teams lose in their state finals matches. No. 24: Thomas W orthington field hockey team falls shor t in state championship. No. 25: Childhood friends vie for NCAA men’s soccer title.
matches. He beat defending state champion Joey Fritz of Cincinnati Country Day 6-3, 6-2 in the final. Diaz finished 31-0 in singles matches without losing a set and has a 62-1 career record in high school singles matches. He has won a team-record 62-consecutive singles matches. Upper Arlington won its staterecord 15th doubles championship but first since 1999 when junior Billy Weldon and freshman Stu Little defeated Ne w Albany’s Riyad Bennoui and John Hendrix 6-4, 6-1 in the Division I final. For only the 10th time in the 91-year history of the boys state tournament, a pair of doubles teams from the same school matched up against each other in the final when senior Andrew Enslen and sophomore Chad Buchanan of Columbus Academy played senior Eoghan Bahnson and sophomore Langston Hughes, also from Academy. Enslen and Buchanan topped their teammates 6-3, 6-4. BROTHERLY LOVE: After trading the state pole vault record with his twin brother, Joey, for much of the season, Olentangy Liberty junior Chris Uhle topped his sibling at the Division I state track and field meet on June 5 at Ohio State. Chris cleared 16 feet, 9 inches to win the state title and break his brother’s state record by an inch. Joey placed second at state in 16-0. Dublin Scioto’s Michael Shibko was third (15-8) and Gahanna’s Jacob Blankenship was fourth (15-8). “I never like knocking Joey down, but getting the state record was amazing,” Chris Uhle said. “After he missed his third attempt, I was thinking, ‘This is my show. If I clear this,I’ll get first place.’” Joey cleared 16-5 on April 13 but the height wasn’t recognized by the OHSAA because it was set in a dual meet. Chris cleared 166 at Liberty’s Freedom Relays on April 23 to set the official record,
but the brothers shared the mark after they both cleared 16-7 at the Olentangy Invitational on April 30. Joey then owned the record by himself after clearing 16-8 at the Delaware County Elite Eight meet on May 6. WOULDA, COULDA, SHOULDA: The W esterville North boys cross country team may be wondering “what if” for quite some time after the Division I state meet on Nov. 6 at Scioto Downs. The Warriors appeared to be a strong candidate to finish in the top six before losing their No. 2 runner Jeff Hannaford to a disciplinary issue. According to a school official, Hannaford, a fourtime state qualifier, did not run at state because he violated the school and school district codes of conduct. Not only was Hannaford missing from North’s lineup, but Kent Ford was slowed by a knee injury and Evan Larrick failed to finish after suffering an ankle injury halfway through the race. Hannaford’s twin brother, Brian, finished third in 15 minutes, 27.7 seconds, as the Warriors placed 15th of 16 teams with 276 points, well behind champion Louisville (125). North also finished 15th in its only other state appearance in 1996. “You can’t play the wouldacoulda-shoulda game,” coach Dave Weaner said. The Hannafords helped North win its first regional championship on Oct. 30 at Pickerington North, as the Warriors scored 69 points to edge runner-up Reynoldsburg (71) and third-place Dublin Coffman (79). Brian Hannaford won the regional title in 15:50.7, with Jeff placing third in 1:59.3. CHAMPIONS ON THE HARDWOOD: The Harvest Prep girls basketball team seemed to master the art of comefrom-behind victories on its way
pionship ... David Turner and Paul Ghidotti of Upper Arlington won the Class AAA doubles championship in boys tennis ... Kevin McBroom won two events to lead Wehrle to the Class AA boys track title and Columbus Academy was team champ in Class A. 1971 — Where were the girls sports? They wouldn’t be officially recognized in Ohio for five more years. ... Walnut Ridge, led by Ed Stahl, Greg Olson and Brad Hoffman, rolled to the Class AA state championship in bask etball ... Tim Moore of Westerville won the state diving competition ... Jeff Rogers and Gary Rogers of Worthington won gold medals in swimming ... Marion Pleasant was named No. 1 in Class A football in AP and UPI voting. No playoffs until the next year ... Wehrle won the state championship in Class AA baseball ... State champs in wrestling were Jack Brewer of Hilliard, Mark Davey of Circleville, Rick Stalnaker of Jonathan Alder, Bob Dieli of Ready and Jack Low of Grandview. 1961 — Jim Reed pitched Liberty Union to its second consecutive state championship in Class A baseball ... Bruce Draudt of Columbus Academy won the 100 and 200 at the state Class A track meet. Rick Elsasser of Marion Catholic and Dennis Shelton of Marion Pleasant also took gold medals in track and f ield ... Eastmoor won the City League football title. 1951 — Columbus East became the f irst City League school to win a state basketball
championship when Rollie Harris and Romie Watkins led the Tigers to the Class A (big school) title ... Circleville won the state golf tournament ... East won the City football title ... Linden-McKinley lost just once in baseball and that was in the Class A state f inal against Cincinnati Western Hills. 1941 — Upper Arlington won the state golf tournament with Pete Sohl earning medalist honors ... Bill Craig of Newark won the discus at the state track and field meet ... Columbus Central won the City football championship... Glenford, led by the scoring of Dick Shrider , took the Class B (small school) title in basketball. 1931 — Columbus East won the state gymanstics meet with fellow City League member Central as runner-up ... Lancaster St. Mary was runner-up to Austintown Fitch in the class B baseball tournament ... Central won the City football title. 1921 — Columb us North took home the City football title and Ashley was runner-up in the Class B track meet. 1911 — Columb us North shared the City League football championship with East and North dominated the state track meet by winning five events and coasting to the team title. History is ready to be made in 2011. Bring it on. I’ll see you at a game.
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By Darrin Bryan/ThisWeek
No. 6: Destinee Gause (right) and the Reynoldsburg girls track and field team won their second consecutive Division I state title June 5 at Ohio State.
to capturing the Division IV state championship. The Warriors, who finished 271, rallied from 18 points down to defeat Fort Loramie 49-46 in a state semifinal on March 19 at Ohio State and then rallied again to beat Berlin Hiland 45-41 in the final the next day. Shicole Watts paced the Warriors with 16 points,nine rebounds and three steals in the semif inal and 14 points, 10 rebounds and four steals in the final on her way to being named the state co-Player of the Year. The only other central Ohio girls team to reach state w as Reynoldsburg, which lost to eventual Division I champion Canton McKinley 42-39 in a semifinal. Three area boys teams advanced to state. Gahanna lost to eventual champion Massillon Jackson 62-50 in a semifinal in Division I. Ready lost to Orrville 50-48 in a Di vision III semif inal and Newark Catholic lost to Dayton Jefferson Township 59-52 in the final in Division IV, despite a 20point, four-assist performance by senior Matt Dawson. CHAMPIONS ON THE MAT: Central Ohio had only tw o state champions in wrestling, including Westerville North’s Josh Demas, who won a state title for the second consecutive season. Demas won the 171-pound title
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in Division I, defeating Copley’s Sam Wheeler 9-3 in the final. In 2009, he won the title at 152. The area’s only other state champion was Dublin Scioto’s Randy Languis, who edged Massillon Perry’s Shane Foster 5-4 in the final at 140 in Di vision I. Marysville’s Jake McCombs was the runner-up at 125 in Division I and Olentangy’s Trevor Fiorucci was the runner-up at 103 in Division II. Marysville was the area’s highest-placing team in Division I, scoring 64.5 points to place fourth behind champion Wadsworth (172), and Olentangy was the highplacing team in Division II, finishing 10th (38) behind champion St. Paris Graham (223). NO LONGER SECOND BEST: After finishing second in the Division II state girls golf tournament as a sophomore, Columbus Academy junior Morgan Ransom shot a 140 to win the Division II state tournament on Oct. 16 at Ohio State’ s Gray Course. Ransom’s two-day total tied the second-lowest individual score in a girls golf state championship. ALL IN THE FAMILY: Cousins Ashley Thai and Lauren Thai of the Hilliard Bradley girls tennis team beat Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy’s Kassie Faugno and Dominique Baxter 6-
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0, 6-2 in the Division II state final on Oct. 23 at Hilliard Da vidson to become the first players from their program to capture a state championship. In the Division I girls state tournament, Dublin Jerome’s Lauren Bellinger and Sarah Stein finished second in doubles, losing to Cincinnati Ursuline Academy’s Komel Safdar and Mehvish Safdar 6-4, 6-2 in the final. Upper Arlington senior Niki Flower finished second in singles, losing to Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame’s Sandy Niehaus 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the final. After the match, Flower, who had won the singles title in 2009 and was second in doubles in 2008, was taken to an area hospital, where she was treated for dehydration. Flower, however, returned the next day and pulled out two wins at first singles to help the Golden Bears defeat Cincinnati Ursuline Academy 3-1 in a semifinal and Westlake 3-1 in the final to capture their 14th state team title. “I worried if she eventually was going to hit a wall,” coach Shaun Stamps said. “Niki is a true e xample of a team player. She has a lot of heart and she always, always finishes strong.” “I definitely had to overcome my fear of needles to help us win,” Flower said, referring to an IV needle. “I knew this was my last day of high school tennis,so I put all I had into it.”
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LARSON Continued from page B1 Division I golf tournament ... Columbus Academy won the team title in Di vision II boys golf ... Dennis English and Jason Homorody of Watterson won the doubles title at the state Division II boys tennis tournament ... J.J. White of Dublin won the boys Division I state cross country meet and the 3,200 meters at the state track meet ... Thomas Worthington brought home a state title in Division I boys soccer ... Area state wrestling champs were James Smiles and Dominic DiSabato of Ready, Jeff Benjamin of Dublin, Eric Poehler of Hilliard and current Ohio State assistant football coach Luke Fickell of DeSales ... Blaine Wilson of DeSales dazzled everyone at the state boys gymnastics meet by winning four events and the allaround title and, with help from teammate Drew Durbin who won one event, led the Stallions to the team championship. Wilson is now co-head coach at Ohio State. 1981 — Led by medalist Chris Westfall, the Upper Arlington bo ys w on the Class AAA golf championship and Dublin won in Class AA ... Worthington won the Class AAA championship in baseball ... The Upper Arlington girls cross country team raced to the Class AAA title ... State championships in wrestling went to Jamie Kasser and Richard Luft of Licking Heights, Scott Duncan and Wes Hines of Marion Pleasant and P aul Richards of DeSales ... Worthington won the state girls swimming cham-
Larry Larson is a former athletics director at Grandview High School. He can be heard as “Mr. High School Sports” on WTVN 610 AM.
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JEROME Continued from page B1 Darby 49-37 on Dec. 30 thanks to a strong defensive effort in the first half. Jerome led 15-4 after one quarter and 25-12 at halftime. “We played great defensively, especially in the first half,” coach Dave Hale said. “The boys are starting to understand what we have been talking about from the beginning.” Jerome will play Friday at home against Scioto in an OCCCardinal game. “A lot of what we ha ve been doing (on defense) is basic stuff like ... communicating more,” Hale said. “The little things like that can make a difference.” Though nine games, junior guard Cam Wilson led the team with 10.8 points per game followed by junior guard Nick Neale at 10.2 points per game with 11
At a glance Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the Jerome boys and girls basketball teams: BOYS *Dec. 21 — Defeated Olentang y 5750. Nick Neale led with 17 points and five 3-pointer s. Cam Wilson had 11 points, Ben Nesdore scored eight points and Shea Wilson had five points. Dec. 23 — Lost to Center ville 48-45. Neale led with 10 points and Jerem y Grubbs had se ven. Nesdore and Cam Wilson scored six points apiece and Robbie Davidson had five points. Dec. 29 — Lost to Olentang y Orange 58-47 in Lar ry Eber st Classic. Cam Wilson led with 16 points, Neale had nine and Dona van Wilson added six. Dec. 30 — Def. Hilliard Darb y 49-37. Neale scored 14 points and Cam Wilson added 13. *Last Wednesday — Pla yed Marysville *Friday — Home vs. Scioto *Jan. 14 — At W ester ville Central
3-pointers and senior forward Ben Nesdore at 8.0 points per contest. “We have a lot of guys stepping forward for us on offense,” Hale said. “It comes down to execution
Of note: The Celtics w ere 3-6 o verall and 1-3 in the OCC-Cardinal before last Wednesday. GIRLS *Dec. 21 — Lost to Olentang y 37-27. Kaitlin Miller led with eight points, Katherine McCo y had se ven points and both Sarah Auk er and Brooke Carrel added five points. Dec. 28 — Lost to Upper Ar lington 39-36 in W atterson Holida y Tournament. Miller had 11 points and both Auker and McCor y scored six points. Dec. 29 — Def. Ready 39-27 in W atterson Holida y Tournament. Car rel scored 16 points with three 3-pointers, McCoy had se ven points and Auker added six. *Last Wednesday — Pla yed Marysville *Friday — At Scioto *Jan. 14 — Home vs. Central Of note: The Celtics w ere 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the OCC-Cardinal before last Wednesday. *OCC-Cardinal game
and just making some baskets. We have been getting the ball in good spots, we just have to put it in.”
Holiday champions
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The Dublin Celtics won the fifth-grade Dublin Holiday Tournament championship. Team members are (front row, from left) Lucas House, Robert Cope, Luke Kiley, Emeka Eneli, Trip Zinni; (back row, from left) coach Dan Zinni, Jason Kemper, Preston Streator, Alex Werth, Logan House, Marcus Ernst and coach Ben Ernst.
COFFMAN son, they also have three experienced seniors to lean on in center Meredith Stranges and guards Sarah McQuade and Stac y Axner. Because of that, portions of practice focus on simulating high-pressure situations. The goal is to dry up the unforced errors such as turnovers, failing to box out at a k ey time and missed free throws. “We’ve done it in practice a few times and I can definitely say we’re going to be doing it more now,” Stranges said. “It will help us. We’re not down. We know we have talent and that we’re a good team; we just need to work on some things. It’s good that we learn from it so we can be the best team we can be at the end of the season.” •The boys team hopes to continue to make strides on its team defense as it heads into an OCCCentral game Friday at Worthington Kilbourne. After giving up 61 points in
SCIOTO Continued from page B1 always played us pretty tough. We’re going to ha ve to play smarter against them than we have in the past.” •The girls team continues to perplex opposing of fenses. Through nine games, the Irish had allowed only 42.3 points per contest. Scioto defeated New Albany 43-39 on Dec. 23 and DeSales by the same score on Dec. 27. “We’re just outplaying people,” coach Matt Fisher said. “They’re being patient and letting things happen.”
At a glance Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the Coffman boys and girls basketball teams: BOYS Dec. 28 — Defeated T oledo Waite 5747. Coffman jumped out to a 15-6 lead in the fir st quar ter and ne ver trailed. Eric Weisenbach scored a career-high 16 points and Zack Riddle scored 15. *Last Monday — Def. Hilliard Da vidson 60-45. Christian Heine scored 24 points. *Friday — At W orthington Kilbour ne Of note: The Shamrocks are 6-0 o verall and 5-0 in the OCC-Central. GIRLS Dec. 29 — Lost to W est Chester Lak ota West 48-43 at Lak ota West Holi-
back-to-back victories over Westland and Thomas Worthington on Dec. 10 and Dec. 17, the Shamrocks yielded just 42 and 47 in wins against Hilliard Darby and Toledo Waite on Dec. 21 and Dec. 28. Giving up point totals in the forties is more in line with what Coffman aims for on a re gular basis.
day Hoops. Coffman could not rally from a 10-point four th-quarter deficit. Meredith Stranges had a game-high 18 points. Dec. 30 — Lost to T oledo Central Catholic 51-43 at Lak ota West Holiday Hoops. The Irish scored 24 points in the four th quarter. *Last Monday — Def. Hilliard Da vidson 56-39. Stranges scored a gamehigh 14 points. *Friday — Home vs. W orthington Kilbourne Saturday — Home vs. W ester ville North. The W arriors were 8-1 before playing Wester ville South last W ednesday. Of note: The Shamrocks are 7-3 o verall and 5-1 in the OCC-Central. *OCC-Central game
“I think we’re starting to do some things better on the defensive end, ” coach Jame y Collins said after the 57-47 victory over Darby. “We still need to focus on shoring up a few areas and tightening some things up, but the guys are working hard at it.”
Tourney champs The Dublin Celtics fifth-grade girls basketball team went 5-0 to win the Dublin Holiday Tournament. Team members are (front row, from left) Elizabeth Diamond, Dana Axner, Abbie Laufersweiler, Andrea Goodman; (back row, from left) coach Chris Jones, Macey Shock, Edan Jones, Abby Kiefer, coach Cindy Goodman, Allie Pazdzior, Madison Burrier, Emma Warnsman and coach Brian Burrier.
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