Winter Sports 2012

Washington C.H. Record-Herald Winter Sports,

Saturday, November 24, 2012

1

Winter Sports Preview 2012 • Gymnastics • Swimming • Basketball • Wrestling • Bowling

Deidre McKay, Miami Trace

A supplement of the Record-Herald Derek Shaw, Washington

Blue Lion wrestling team Jessalyn Rife, Washington

Jesse Neff, Miami Trace

Molli Shaw, Washington

Jeff Litteral, Miami Trace

Blake Baldwin, Miami Trace

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The 2012 McDonald’s Fayette County Championship Trophy is presented to the Miami Trace Panthers team and coaches by Nick Epifano, McDonald’s owner, following the Saturday morning sports wrap-up show on WCHO.

Nick Epifano, left, McDonald's of Fayette County owner, awarded the McDonald's Fall Scholar Athlete Awards on Saturday, Nov. 17 following the WCHO Sports Wrap Up Broadcast. Pictured with Epifano are (l-r); Cameron Morgan, WCH soccer and coach Aaron Teter; Hayden Hufford, Fayette Christian School soccer and coach David Kephard; Amy Sheeter, Fayette Christian School volleyball (coach Angela Harris not pictured); WCH tennis coach Lana Shoemaker with Sarah Nester; Miami Trace soccer coach Kim Pittser with Judith Straathof; Brantlyn Decker, Miami Trace football (coach Steve Bartlett not pictured); and Randy Young of WCHO.

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Washington C.H. Record-Herald Winter Sports,

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Blue Lions seek offensive consistency

By CHRIS HOPPES Sports Editor

The Washington Blue Lions expect to be in the hunt for the 2012-13 SCOL basketball championship, among such other teams as McClain, Miami Trace and Madison Plains, to name a few.

Shannon Bartruff is now in his second season at the helm.

Washington finished last season with a 10-11 record, 7-5 in the SCOL, good for third place.

The Blue Lions’ late rally fell short as they lost in the opening game of the tournament, 41-39 to Jackson.

The Blue Lions were a defensive-minded squad last year, Bartruff noted.

“We held teams, on average, to 39 points a game last year,” Bartruff said. “In (the Jackson tournament game) we gave up 41 and lost by two.

“We weren’t consistent enough scoring last year,” Bartruff said. “There were a couple of guys who I thought would score more than they did. And they didn’t, for whatever reason: whether it was me not getting the ball in the right spots, or we just didn’t shoot the ball as well as I had anticipated.

“When you hold teams, on average, to 39 points a game, you ought to win more games than you lose,” Bartruff said. “The only guy who averaged in double figures last year was Laike (Wallace), he averaged 11.

The year before that, we had Laike, Kyle (Slone) and Julian (Wyatt). Kyle was a 1,400-point scorer; Julian probably scored 600 to 700 points. We had three scorers in double figures.

“We just weren’t consistent enough, offensively,” Bartruff said. “Some nights we played really well, offensively, other nights we didn’t.”

Last season, Washington beat McClain, Miami Trace and London twice, split with Madison Plains and lost twice each to ClintonMassie and two-time defending champion Hillsboro.

“I think the league is going to be as tough as it’s been in a long time,” Bartruff said.

“Miami Trace is a year older,” Bartruff said. They have great numbers. I understand (Austin) Schoellkopf is going to play; Jimmy Stroker is going to play. Cedric (Pettiford) is a year older, bigger and stronger. They have a couple of nice guards. They’re going to be solid.

“I hear every year that Hillsboro is losing this player and that player,” Bartruff said. “And they did graduate a fair number of seniors, but they always have athletes and they’re always competitive. And coach (Brett) Prince does a nice job. I expect them to be well-coached and competitive.

“McClain was very, very

Photo by Chris Hoppes

2012-13 WASHINGTON BLUE LION VARSITY BASKETBALL TEAM — (front, l-r); ball boys Lee Shaffer, Blaise Tayese and Troy Higdon; (second row, l-r); Max Knisley, Christian Johnson, Conner Eckles, David Harvey, Trevor Bain, Logan Wilson; (back, l-r); Josh Williams, Alec Wayne, Gavin Wissinger, Derek Shaw, J.B. Patton, Tyler Slone and Garret Phipps. Not pictured: Sam Runnells.

young last year,” Bartruff said. “McClain is McClain.

They are going to play hard; they’re going to run their offense and, for the most part, they’re not going to beat themselves. They’ve got Ryan Faulkner down low. They’ll be solid.

“Massie was young last year,” Bartruff said. “Last year was the first time they beat us twice in a year in a long time. “The Utrecht kid, J.D. Curtsinger…last year Brad Burgess hurt us; I’m not sure if Trent Smart is playing. Cory Sadler, I believe he was the solid freshman player last year. I expect them to be good.

“If Madison Plains has their players back, they hardly lost any,” Bartruff said. “Ryne Davis was allleague last year; so was (Stephen) Lemieux. They’re loaded; they’ll be good.

“This is East Clinton’s first year in the league,” Bartruff said. “We beat them by one point last year.

I thought they were wellcoached. They played hard.

The Floyd kid and Dewey Runk, they are probably two of the better players in the league. They’ll be competitive.

“London was athletic last year,” Bartruff said.

“Year-in and year-out, they’re as athletic as any team in our league. I think of them like I do Hillsboro — every year they have athletes, they have kids that scare you. For instance, Kyle Fisher: he’s a good football player, basketball player and baseball player.

Zac Carey was young.

They’re very guard-oriented. They’re quick. We beat them by 14 here and we beat them by 20 or 25 there.

“We have a lot of good

Thanks to everyone who helped in any way to make this Winter sports preview possible.

Support your favorite school and the young people who work so hard to succeed in their chosen sport.

The front cover design is by Jayla Wallingford of the Record-Herald.

Cover photos by Chris Hoppes.

Here’s hoping everyone has a great Winter sports season.

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coaches in our league, guys that have been around a while,” Bartruff said. “We have some younger coaches, too, but we have guys who have been involved for a long time.

“If you ask me who’s going to win the league, I would tell you we have a good chance every year,” Bartruff said. “I thought we had a good chance last year and we finished 7-5.

Hillsboro was better than we were. We had to play our best game when we played them. Out of the eight quarters we played against Hillsboro, we probably played five of them competitively and the other three, they kicked our butts.

“Really, there were two quarters that cost us each of those games,” Bartruff said. “The first quarter at their place last year cost us and at our place, the second quarter killed us. We either beat them or tied them in the other six quarters, but those two quarters were huge.

“To get a win in our league this year, you’re going to have to play pretty close to the best of your ability,” Bartruff said.

“There aren’t any gimmes on our schedule. I think every game’s going to be a dogfight. This league will probably come down to the last week. It’ll be exciting for fans to come and watch.”

Bartruff spoke about the non-league portion of the Blue Lions’ schedule for 2012-13.

“Our non-league is just ridiculous,” Bartruff said.

“We start with Waverly (Nov. 30), who went to the Regional finals last year.

They lose Kretzer, which is a huge blow, but I hear they have a move-in from New York. Travis (Robertson, former star player for the Blue Lions) does a great job. We’re going to have our hands full with that first game.

“Logan Elm (Dec. 4) is a perennial Mid-State

League title contender,” Bartruff said. “(Head coach) Doug Stiverson will eventually be in the hall of fame, there’s no doubt in my mind. They win the Sectional almost every year, make it to the Districts, go on to the Regionals. They’re a solid team.

“Circleville (Dec. 12) is in our Sectional,” Bartruff said. “Their coach does a nice job. They gave Chillicothe all they wanted last year and probably should have beaten them in the tournament. That was the game right before ours.

“Unioto (Dec. 28), we played them last year,” Bartruff said. “We played one of our best first three quarters of the game. We had about a 10 or 12 point lead with like three minutes to go. We didn’t shoot our free throws very well coming down the stretch and they beat us.

“Hamilton Township (Dec. 29) is new to our schedule,” Bartruff said.

“We can play 22 games this year, so we picked up Hamilton Township.

Everyone I’ve talked to says they’re big and they like to run. That’ll be a good test for us.

“We have Chillicothe on the schedule (Feb. 5),” Bartruff said. “They’re going to be in the league starting next year. From what I’ve seen this summer, they are athletic. I saw them play a couple of times over the summer. I don’t think they had all their players. I don’t know much about their new coach.

“We have Jonathan Alder (Jan. 12) who was state-ranked last year,” Bartruff said. “They beat us probably by 20.”

Bartruff is concerned about the aspect of toughness.

“We can’t let teams shove us around,” Bartruff said. “We don’t have a lot of size. We do have depth and we’re going to try and use that to our advantage.

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“Christian is one of the hardest workers I have,” Bartruff said. “This will be his first year as a varsity player. He’s not real big, but he’s gritty. He’s a smart kid and a fierce competitor.

“J.B.’s a guy that’s going to be a solid role player for us,” Bartruff said. “He’s an athletic kid with good size.

He needs to be a good rebounder. We need him to be a good defender and to be able to finish around the basket.

“Garret is probably the best pure shooter that we have,” Bartruff said. “That’s what I love about our offense. He’s going to get a lot of open shots. If he gets hot…I think it’s going to be hard for teams to play zone against us, because we’re going to be able to move the ball around the perimeter and get shots. I hope we’ll be able to shoot people out of zones.

“This will be Sam’s first year on varsity,” Bartruff said. “He’s got a nice shot; he can handle the ball fairly well. He’s long and lanky.

Again, a smart kid. He’s just going to have to grow into his role on the team.

We’ll need Sam to shoot the ball when he’s open, especially from the three-point line. We’ll need his minutes.

“This will be Derek’s third year on varsity,” Bartruff said. “He had a big game out at Miami Trace as a sophomore. That’s when they had the Carson twins, Ty Leach, Tucker Hughes and Branden Frederick.

Derek scored 13 points in that game.

“Last year, Derek didn’t score as much as I thought he would,” Bartruff said.

“I’ve been on him about his defense. He’s been impressive so far. He’s trying to get better as a defender. We need Derek to score; we need him to take good shots. At times last year, he forced some shots.

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“I really like my team,” Bartruff said. “They’ve worked hard so far. But, sitting here, 17 days from our first game, we have a lot of work to do. We have to continue to get better; no steps backward. Even if we’re just crawling forward, I don’t want to take steps back.”

Last year’s seniors were Laike Wallace, Michael Penwell, Zach Belvins and Chris Warning, who missed the season following an injury.

The Blue Lions will have four seniors this year: Trevor Bain, David Harvey, J.B. Patton and Derek Shaw.

Juniors are: Conner Eckles, Christian Johnson, Garret Phipps, Sam Runnells, Tyler Slone, Josh Williams and Gavin Wissinger.

Sophomores are Alec Wayne and Logan Wilson and there will be one freshman, Max Knisley.

“Trevor will handle the ball a lot for us,” Bartruff said. “He’s a solid defender. He’s kind of my coach on the court at times. If we’re running a zone defense, he knows where all five guys should be.

And there are times he’ll tell them where they need to be.

“Conner will definitely start for us,” Bartruff said.

“We need Conner to have a good year. He’s a key part of our team. He’ll be our primary ball-handler.

We need him to score more this year. He’s stronger and quicker than last year. He has to take care of the ball and get us into our offense.

“David is one of those guys who’s kind of a utility guy, in a baseball sense,” Bartruff said. “He can do a fair amount of things. He can handle the ball a little bit; he’s a good defender; he’s scrappy, he’s smart. I can put him anywhere on the floor in our defenses.

We need him to have a good year.

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Washington C.H. Record-Herald Winter Sports,

Saturday, November 24, 2012

3

Panthers’ depth key to SCOL hopes

By CHRIS HOPPES Sports Editor

Jon Stauffer is now in his fifth year as head coach of the Miami Trace Panthers.

Miami Trace finished the 2011-12 season with a record of 9-12 overall, 6-6 in the SCOL, good for a tie for fourth place with Madison Plains.

Miami Trace lost in the first game of the tournament to the McClain Tigers, 5338.

“We have five guys that have varsity experience coming back,” Stauffer said.

“We have four guys that are coming back to the program; guys that were with us before, then didn’t come out and now are back out and on the team.”

The Panthers have eight seniors and eight total returning players, including all five returning starters.

There will be 12 on the varsity team.

One of the key returning underclassmen is Cedric Pettiford, a sophomore who led the Panthers in scoring last season.

Junior Trevor Smith was the Panthers’ starting point guard for the first nine games last season. He was injured at McClain and missed the remainder of the season.

Football team quarterback Jimmy Stroker, a junior, is back with the team after sitting out last season.

Austin Senior Schoellkopf returns after not playing his junior year.

“Austin (6-2) played a lot of minutes on varsity as a sophomore, the year we won the league,” Stauffer said.

“We’re happy to see him.

“Austin’s a wing player for us,” Stauffer said. “He’s able to slash to the basket.

He has good speed and good athleticism.

“Jimmy is a great athlete coming back into the program,” Stauffer said. “He’s able to defensively guard peo-

Photo by Chris Hoppes

2012-13 MIAMI TRACE PANTHER VARSITY BASKETBALL TEAM — (front, l-r); Truman Runyan, equipment manager; Daniel Stanton, Ryan Swigert, Austin Schoellkopf, Marcel Pettiford, Trevor Smith, Preston Dunn, Jimmy Stroker, Tom ‘Chatter’ Harris, scorebook keeper and Ross Matthews Jr., manager; (back, l-r); coach Ross Matthews, coach Cory Patton, coach Mark Bihl, Jaron Brust, Blake Baldwin, Cedric Pettiford, Brantlyn Decker, Brady Ward, coach Rob Pittser and head coach Jon Stauffer.

ple up and down the floor.”

Preston Dunn, a senior, also returns to the program.

“Preston has some great guard skills out front,” Stauffer said. “He’ll be in the point guard rotation, depending on how we do with injuries.

“Daniel Stanton is a senior coming out for the first time,” Stauffer said.

“He’s a great kid; I look forward to him being on the bench and helping us in practice. He’s looking forward to being a part of it.

“Blake (Baldwin) (6-2) returns for his senior year,” Stauffer said. “He was our second-leading scorer last year. He’ll be on the floor a lot. You’ll see him outside the three-point line.

“Trevor Smith is our point guard,” Stauffer said.

“He’s a junior. He just sprained his ankle in our scrimmage the other evening. So he’ll be out here a little bit in the preseason. His spot at the point guard is pretty strong.

“Jaron Brust (another

senior) started on the j-v level last year,” Stauffer said. “He got up to varsity by the end of the year. He’s a shooter on the outside.

He’s got nice height and is playing better.

“Brantlyn Decker is another one of our seniors,” Stauffer said. “This is his third year up with me on the varsity level. He knows what he’s doing out there.

“Brady Ward (6-2 senior) will be down in the post for us,” Stauffer said.

“His role might change, just because we have a lot of guys who can play. We hope to run a rotation of about 10 guys.

“Ryan Swigert (a senior) played j-v for us last year,” Stauffer said. “He’s a post player. We’re looking forward to his minutes helping us out, as well.

“Marcel Pettiford (a junior), is about 6-2,” Stauffer said. “He’s got some fantastic jumping ability. He’s plays a little bit on the perimeter and also inside as well with his

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“Cedric Pettiford (a 6-4 sophomore) started the second half of the season last year,” Stauffer said.

“He’s able to block some shots and do some things with his athleticism.”

Cedric Pettiford, Decker, Ward, Smith and Baldwin are the returning starters for Miami Trace.

Former head coach and more recently the seventh grade coach, Rob Pittser, will be the varsity assistant to Stauffer this season.

Erik Marting will coach the eighth grade this season after coaching the j-v last year.

Greg Leach (former eighth grade coach) will coach the seventh grade this season.

Mark Bihl, a graduate of Washington Senior High School and the University of Michigan where he played the center position for the Wolverines’ football team, will be the juniorvarsity coach.

Ross Matthews and Cory Patton will coach the

freshman team.

“With all that experience on the sidelines, we’re hoping to have a good year at every level,” Stauffer said.

A couple of highlights of the 2011-12 season were two wins over Hillsboro, the team that won the South Central Ohio League.

The Panthers lost in the opening tournament game to McClain, 53-38.

McClain then lost to Waverly in their next game.

Seniors on last year’s team were: Devin Neal, Austin Allen, Cory Loyd, Jordan Riley and Zack Anderson.

“This is one of the toughest pre-seasons we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Stauffer said. “We scrimmaged Eastern Brown last night.

“Tomorrow we’re going to Columbus (Multi-team Scrimmage at the Hoop),” Stauffer said. “We’ll see Northland, New Albany, Gahanna Christian, Mansfield Christian,

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“We also scrimmage Logan Elm and Olentangy Liberty and Eastmoor,” Stauffer said. “We’re looking forward to a fairly stout pre-season.

“We start off with Lynchburg-Clay, who put a whoopin’ on us last year,” Stauffer said. “I think they only graduated two kids.

We’re looking forward to having them at our place.

“We have Adena early in the season,” Stauffer said.

“Last year, we played them late in the season.

“We open the SCOL with McClain,” Stauffer said. “They only graduated two seniors. We split with them during the season and they beat us in the tournament. They are a wellcoached program. We have a lot of respect for what (head coach Brent Eaton)

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Washington C.H. Record-Herald Winter Sports,

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Persinger new coach of Lady Blue Lions

By CHRIS HOPPES Sports Editor

The Washington Lady Blue Lions have a new head coach this year in John Persinger.

Persinger is no stranger to Washington athletics, having been the varsity girls’ basketball coach for one year back in 19992000.

For the past three seasons, Persinger has coached the Washington Lady Lion eighth grade basketball team.

“I never dreamed I’d do this again,” Persinger said.

“When John Denen retired, the opportunity came up.

I’m at a place now where I don’t have to be at the farm all the time. I had the time and I knew the girls.”

Persinger has coached the players who are currently in 9-11 for grades Washington.

Washington finished 185 last year, 9-3 in the SCOL, which tied them for second place with Miami Trace.

They lost 50-32 to Marietta in the District finals.

“We’ve only been together for two weeks and it’s been a nice two weeks,” Persinger said. “Everyone has a great attitude.

Everyone’s working hard.”

Washington will have three seniors on the 201213 team: Molli Shaw, Paige McRoberts and Katelin Boyd.

“Kate’s been out almost since we’ve begun,” Persinger said. “She’s got a problem with her shoulder.

As a matter of fact, she went to have an MRI yesterday, so we’ll see.

“Molli’s always played a wing,” Persinger said. “This year, she’ll be a four for us (forward), or a post.

Hopefully she can bring the defense out on her. She can shoot the three-point shot very well. We’ve worked with her to become a presence inside. She’s just a good kid, fun to be around and a hard worker.

“Paige is probably a two or a three (shooting guard or small forward),” Persinger said. “She’s a good shooter; really a great leader by example, because she works hard. She has a great attitude; she never gets mad or upset. She’s just a really calming force on the team. She’s just a very responsible young lady.”

Washington has three juniors on the team: Chelsea Warning, Emily Bath and Tori Merritt.

“Chelsea is my left-han-

Photo by Chris Hoppes

2012-13 WASHINGTON LADY BLUE LION BASKETBALL TEAM — (front, l-r); Emily Bath, Carleigh Chaffins, Molli Shaw, Pagie McRoberts, Chelsea Warning; (back, l-r); Breanna Taylor, Tom Bath, assistant varsity coach; Regan Fabb, reserve coach; Emma Anderson, Corrine Ryan, Tori Merritt, Pam Robinson, freshman coach; John Persinger, head coach and Kassidy Hines. Not pictured: Katelin Boyd.

der,” Persinger said. “I love having left-handers on the team. She’s a good outside shooter. She’s becoming a lot better driver and finisher of shots. She’s a shooting guard.

“Emily can play point guard,” Persinger said.

“She’ll back up Carleigh (Chaffins) at that spot. She’s a hard worker; she’s scrappy.

She works hard on defense and is smart on offense.

“Tori is another of our players who played volleyball,” Persinger said.

“She’s a post player. She’ll back-up Corrine (Ryan).

She’s another girl with long arms. She’ll be able to get a lot of deflections.

She’s pretty mentally tough. We might use her more on defense than offense, but, as I say that, she’s getting so much better, offensively.

“Once they know their position, they can work at it and get a lot better,” Persinger said.

Sophomores are: Corrine Ryan, Emma Anderson and Carleigh Chaffins.

“Corrine’s a post,” Persinger said.

“Her strenth is rebounding. She can be a good shooter.

We’re going to work with her on her footwork.

“Emma is a three (small forward),” Persinger said.

“She’s done real well.

She’s very smart. She’s developing into a good shooter. She’s one of our better free throw shooters.

She’s low-keyed; doesn’t get excited, doesn’t get sad. She just takes it like everyday business.

“Carleigh is our point guard,” Persinger said.

“We have eight girls on varsity,” Persinger said.

“Nine counting Kate, who’s out. Any of them could start. Everyone’s going to play a lot.

Everyone’s going to be involved a lot. Most of our girls are guards or forwards. We really don’t have a post-up person.

“We don’t have a superstar, but, we’re pretty deep,” Persinger said. “The girls are working hard.

They are buying into the system. We’re going to pressure people a lot. We want to get up and down the court.

“We want the girls to recognize situations on the court,” Persinger said.

“And then do what is needed and that just takes a

while, watching films and actually playing before they get it.

“It’s very early, but I’m very pleased with the way we’ve progressed,” Persinger said. “We’ve just had two scrimmages.

“That’s one of the things I’m proud of about these girls,” Persinger said.

“They all play different sports. They all are active in other things: choir, band, other sports. They are wellrounded individuals.”

Washington graduated post player Jessica Guyett, who led the team in scoring and rebounds. Also graduating were Maggie McDonald and Taylor Shears.

Persinger gave some thoughts on the SCOL and the rest of the schedule.

“Without a doubt, Clinton-Massie is No. 1,” Persinger said of the defending SCOL champion Falcons. “They return all their starters and they have a super freshman who’ll be on varsity as a point guard. They are very, very deep.

“Then, you have Miami Trace,” Persinger said. “I think those two are the cream of the crop. Ben (Ackley, the Panthers’ new

head coach) is really enthusiastic. He’ll do a great job.

“Hillsboro has their coach (J.R. Moberly) back,” Persinger said.

“That consistency will help them a lot.

“Dennis Overstake (McClain) is a great guy,” Persinger said. “He has a farm background, so we also talk cattle prices. His record as a coach speaks for itself.”

Washington also plays area schools Chillicothe and Wilmington, who will be joining the SCOL over the next two years.

“Chillicothe should be a good team,” Persinger said. “When I coached against them with the eighth grade, they had a trio of girls who were awesome. I think they’ll be sophomores now.

“Madison Plains has a new coach,” Persinger said.

“They had several good players last year. They have a good freshman guard (Macy McCollister). They might be a surprise in the SCOL. “Wilmington’s going to be really good,” Persinger said. “They’ve had the same coaching staff probably three years now. They

have twins on the team who are athletic and fast.

“London, of course, has a new coach,” Persinger said.

“The one thing I ask of the girls is to accept each other, respect each other and support each other,” Persinger said. “We have to be one big family. This weekend, I’m having 24 girls over to my house.

We’re having a cookout.

It’ll be at nighttime. We’ll have a campfire. It’s just going to be a team-bonding thing. It might sound a little corny, but family is so important. I just want to create a family atmosphere.”

Tom Bath will continue as the assistant varsity coach.

Regan Fabb is the reserve coach. She takes care of the paperwork part of the job, as well, according to Persinger.

Pam Robinson is the freshman coach. It is hoped that the freshman players will have at least a limited schedule of games, according to Persinger.

The eighth grade coach is Todd Wallace and the seventh grade will be coached by Ryan Garrison (Regan’s brother).

ated a few players. They have a good program. They always have. I expect them to be near the top of the league, fighting for some wins at the top. They’ll be good. They have a young

program, but they’ll continue to get better as they go.

“We host London and Madison Plains (about one week before Christmas),” Stauffer said. “London has Kyle Fisher, their football

about him.

“Logan is, if not the hardest, he is one of the hardest workers we have in the program,” Bartruff said. “I’m extremely proud of Logan. He just hustles.

He adds another dimension to our practices. It can be infectious. It gets other guys going.

“This will be Gavin’s first year on varsity,” Bartruff said. “He’s gotten a lot stronger. He’s got a great shot. For Gavin to

help us out, he needs to be a solid defender and to knock down open shots.”

Sophomore Alec Wayne and freshman Max Knisley will also dress varsity, according to Bartruff.

“If we can shoot it like I think we can shoot it, we’re going to be tough to guard,” Bartruff said. “For me, it all starts with the defense. We have to be as good, if not better than we were last year, defensively.”

team’s quarterback. He makes a lot of things happen for them. They can be a kind of wild card. They can be strong on any given night.

“Madison Plains would be one of my top teams in the league,” Stauffer said. “But, they have a lot of injuries coming out of football. My heart goes out to Coach (Jeff) Spradlin. It’s always bad when you have three of your five starters hurt.

“We beat Westfall last year at their place,” Stauffer said. “They had a pretty good team last year and they have pretty good talent coming back. They should be strong.

“Then, we have a holiday shoot-out at our place, instead of the old holiday tournament,” Stauffer said.

Miami Trace begins the new year hosting SCOL

newcomers East Clinton on Jan. 4.

“I don’t believe they graduated too many players,” Stauffer said. “They play an up and down the floor tempo. They had a really good squad last year.

“Hillsboro won the league last year,” Stauffer said. “They graduated eight seniors, so, they will be down. They’re going to have to rebuild.

“Clinton-Massie, coming out of football, they always get the late start,” Stauffer said. “But, they have the talent to be at the top of the league.

“Circleville was able to get to the District finals where they lost to Chillicothe,” Stauffer said.

“They graduated three of

MT ... From page 3 Westfall. I don’t think we’ve beaten Fairfield in the last four years; they’ve had our number.

“Then we’ll play at Washington Court House,” Stauffer said. “They gradu-

Lions ... From page 2 on him and he has to understand that. If we’re going to have a successful season, Derek’s going to have to bring his ‘A’ game every day in practice and find a way to contribute in games.

“Tyler started with me last year on varsity,” Bartruff said. “Tyler earned his varsity letter last year, but he played a lot on the jv team because we wanted to get him some more minutes. Tyler works hard.

He’s a good post player.

We need him to score more also. He would get tentative at times and we just need him to be more aggressive.

“Josh is a scrappy player,” Bartruff said. “He works hard. He’s a kid who gets you extra possessions — loose balls, offensive rebounds, balls rolling out of bounds, he’s diving on the floor for it. He’s got a non-stop motor. I can’t say enough positive things

Best Wishes to the Miami Trace Panthers & Washington Blue Lions For a Successful Season.

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does over there. I think they’re going to be at the top of the league this year.

“Then we play Leesburg Fairfield,” Stauffer said.

“They have a new coach.

Matt Carson went to

Washington C.H. Record-Herald Winter Sports,

Saturday, November 24, 2012

5

Ackley new head coach of Lady Panthers

By CHRIS HOPPES Sports Editor

Photo by Chris Hoppes

2012-13 MIAMI TRACE LADY PANTHER BASKETBALL TEAM — (front, l-r); Ariana Mabra, Caroline Hughes, Taylor Kirkpatrick, Deidre McKay, Kyla Johnston, Heather Johnston, Abbie Noble, team manager; (back, l-r); coach Jeff King, coach Brianna Pitstick, Alexis Schwartz, Kelsey Wilson, Abby Schwenk, Brooklyne Baldwin, Ashley Henry, Josie Cobb, head coach Ben Ackley and coach Randy Welsh.

ing two guard (shooting guard),” Ackley said. “Josie is another one of our girls that have worked extremely hard. She’s a very polished ball-handler; a great shooter. Where I think she’s the most underrated is, she plays great man-to-man defense. A lot of times, we’ll put her on the other team’s best guard and her job will be to disrupt their offense by pressuring the basketball.

“Josie will score a lot more than she has in the past,” Ackley said. “She’s shooting the ball very well.

She’s had as good a two weeks as anyone since we’ve started (practicing), as far as the way she’s shooting the ball and playing. We expect big things out of her.

“Ari will play guard and forward,” Ackley said.

“What’s great about Ari is, she’s physical enough, even though she’s undersized, she can play the post. We can really put her anywhere.

She’s our most versatile defender. She can guard anyone on the floor, big or small.

This year, I think she’ll really come out of her shell.

“She hasn’t been very offensive-minded the last two years,” Ackley said.

“She’s got a beautiful shot; she can handle the ball very well. She’s extremely unselfish. She’s very polished offensively, which may come as a surprise to some people, but not our staff, because we’ve seen it since day one. If she’s not the best defender in the SCOL, she’s in the top three.

“Ashley dressed varsity last year,” Ackley said. “She probably lettered, but this will be her first (season of) extended time at the varsity level. Ashley is very, very smart. She picks up on things very quickly. When she walks into the gym, you have to guard her. Her range is unlimited. That’s going to be her biggest role for us, to hit open shots. I think she’ll do a very good job of spreading the floor and

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making our post game and our guards better because (our opponents) won’t be able to pack the middle on us like they did last year.

She’ll be a great addition to what we want to do.

“Kelsey doesn’t have a lot of varsity experience,” Ackley said. “But she can run like a deer. She’s extremely athletic and fast.

She’ll fit the mold of what we want to do offensively very well. She’s very versatile. She’s another kid we can play in several positions. She can help us offensively and defensively.

“Heather is extremely smart and physical,” Ackley said. “She’s an undersized post player that plays extremely hard and will do anything we ask of her. Her biggest role for us this year will be playing great post defense and rebounding the ball when she’s in the game.

This will be her first year of extended varsity playing time. We look for good things from her.”

The Panthers have two sophomores, Brooklyne Baldwin and Taylor Kirkpatrick.

“Brook came off the bench last year for the varsity and played quite a bit on the j-v,” Ackley said.

“She’ll play a post to start off. To me, she is one of the more versatile players in our entire league. She’s got an absolute ton of upside; she’s getting better every day. She’ll make my job a

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handle it exceptionally well.

“Then we go to Greenfield,” Ackley said.

“That first week is going to be very challenging for us.

What we’re incorporating, some of it is the same, but not a whole lot. We’re still going to try and pressure the ball, wherever it’s at.

We’re going to press a lot more this year in the full court and try and use our athleticism to our advantage.

“We’ll know a whole lot more about our team after those first four games,” Ackley said. “Going to Greenfield, if it’s not the toughest place to play in the State of Ohio, then it’s one of them.

“As a young coach, just in my third year coaching varsity, I look at Coach (Dennis) Overstake and I look up to him. He’s been coaching all these years.

He’s simply the hardest working coach I’ve been around and that’s saying something after playing for Gary Shaffer, because he was an extremely hard worker.

But Coach Overstake does an abnormal amount of scouting himself. They see teams more than anybody else.

They are always very wellprepared; his kids work hard. He just has a phenomenal program. I respect him as much as anybody we’ll go against this year.”

See Lady Panthers, Page 8

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“Kyla is a little bit like Brooklyn Baldwin,” Ackley said. “She can play a little bit of everywhere.

She probably won’t play post for us at the varsity level this year, but she can play 2, 3, 4 or 5. Kyla is one of those kids who has really come a long way from eighth grade to now.

She’s probably been our biggest surprise in the first two weeks of practice.

She’s working very hard and she’s another very versatile player. She’s athletic and can do a lot of things to make us better.”

Ackley then went through the schedule, giving his thoughts.

“We open with Adena,” Ackley said. “They lost two games last year, and one was to Trace. They return their best player and basically everyone else.

They did graduate a pretty good guard.

“Circleville has a hardnosed bunch of kids,” Ackley said. “This will be the second year for that new staff. They’re doing a great job. They’ll give us a good test.

“We go to Shekinah Christian, who a lot of people don’t know about,” Ackley said. “They’re a smaller Christian school in Plain City. Last year they advanced to the Regional finals and lost by three points. They’ve got a group of five or six seniors that can all shoot the ball. They

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lot easier when we have people in foul trouble or when we need to give someone a breather.

“She had an incredible summer for us,” Ackley said. “She runs the floor well. She’s athletic and long and smart.

“Taylor missed last unfortunately,” year, Ackley said. “She was injured and missed the entire season. She’s coming back. She’ll play j-v and dress varsity for us.

She’ll get some varsity minutes but most of her time will be at the j-v.

She’s a great kid, has gotten a lot better handling the ball; plays great defense.

She’s a leader, too. She helps kids out when they need something. We want to get her as many overall minutes as we can, because her development will be key to our future.”

The Panthers will have two freshmen, Alexis Schwartz and Kyla Johnston.

“Alexis has been with us all summer,” Ackley said.

“She’s done a good job.

She’s picked up on all our terminology. This year, she’ll be an undersized post player. The best thing she brings to the table is, she’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached.

You only have to tell her something one time and she’ll do it and do it right.

She brings a lot of toughness. She’s tough-minded.

Our Best Wishes to The

Miami Trace Panthers

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A person familiar to many who follow local sports, Ben Ackley, a graduate of Washington Senior High School, is the new coach of the Miami Trace Lady Panthers, after nine successful seasons being coached by James Stutzman.

Ackley was most recently the head coach of the London Lady Red Raiders for the past two seasons.

The Lady Panthers finished with a record of 18-4 last year, losing 49-39 to Warren in the District finals. They went 9-3 in the SCOL, tying for second place with Washington.

Miami Trace will be led on the court by its only senior, Deidre McKay. McKay is the only remaining member of the team that played in the State semifinals in 2010.

“She’s a four-year varsity player here at Trace,” Ackley said. “She is absolutely, far and away, boy or girl, the best leader I have coached.

She’s absolutely phenomenal. She has verbally committed to go to Tiffin University on a basketball scholarship.

“We’ll go as she goes,” Ackley said. “She’s kind of the engine that makes us go.

She puts a lot of pressure on herself and works extremely hard. She competes day-in and day-out and is just a pleasure to coach. She does everything we ask her to do.

The bigger the challenge, the more motivated she is. She’s our point guard. I could sit here for an hour and talk about what a good kid she is.

“She’s gotten a lot better shooting the basketball,” Ackley said. “She’s unbelieveable handling the ball.

She sees the floor very well.

She’s very hard to stay in front of because she’s so quick. She does a good job of finishing at the rim.

“The biggest thing about Dee is, late in the game, you want the ball in her hands,” Ackley said.

The Panthers have six juniors on the team: Abby Schwenk, Josie Cobb, Ariana Mabra, Ashley Henry, Kelsey Wilson and Heather Johnston.

“Abby’s a 6-1 post player,” Ackley said. “She’s being recruited right now by several Division I schools. She’s had a great summer and has worked extremely hard. She’s getting stronger. The weight room is going to be the biggest benefit to Abby as she continues to grow.

“She’s very strong, but she’s also smart,” Ackley said. “She’s extremely athletic for a post player. She runs the floor very well and she will help our transition game quite a bit. She can score on the move, she can score stationary. We can face her up and she can hit the 15-footer with consistency. She’s got several moves underneath.

“Josie will be our start-

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Washington C.H. Record-Herald Winter Sports,

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Washington C.H. Record-Herald Winter Sports,

Date Place Opponent 11/10/12 A OPEN DATE (Multi Team Scrimmage @ The Hoop) 11/14/12 A Logan Elm H.S. 11/17/12 H OPEN DATE 11/20/12 A Olentangy Liberty 11/23/12 H SCOL Preview 11/30/12 H Lynchburg Clay 12/1/12 A Adena High School 12/7/12 H McClain 12/8/12 A Fairfield (Leesburg) 12/14/12 A Washington 12/18/12 H London 12/21/12 H Madison Plains 12/22/12 H Westfall 12/29/12 H Greeneview Athletics (McDonald’s Holiday Shoot Out) 1/4/13 H East Clinton 1/8/13 A Hillsboro 1/11/13 A Clinton-Massie 1/15/13 H Circleville 1/18/13 A McClain 1/22/13 H Washington 1/25/13 A London 1/29/13 A Madison Plains H Hillsboro 2/1/13 2/2/13 A Huntington 2/8/13 A East Clinton 2/9/13 H Unioto 2/15/13 H Clinton-Massie

Time 12 p.m.

5:45 p.m.

10 a.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

8 p.m 7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

Miami Trace High School Girls Varsity Basketball 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 11/3/12 A OPEN DATE (Scrimmage @ The Hoop) 11/16/12 H SCOL Preview 11/24/12 H Adena 11/27/12 H Circleville 11/29/12 A Shekinah Christian School 12/1/12 A McClain 12/8/12 A Washington 12/12/12 H London 12/15/12 H Madison Plains 12/19/12 A East Clinton 12/22/12 A Unioto 12/28/12 A Greeneview Athletics (McDonald’s Holiday Tournament) 12/29/12 H Wheelersburg 1/5/13 H Hillsboro H Clinton-Massie 1/9/13 1/12/13 H McClain 1/19/13 A London 1/23/13 H Washington 1/26/13 A Madison Plains 1/30/13 A Hillsboro 2/2/13 H East Clinton 2/9/13 A Clinton-Massie

Time 3:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

TBA 7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

Miami Trace High School Freshmen Boys Basketball 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 11/30/12 H Lynchburg-Clay 12/1/12 A Adena 12/7/12 H McClain 12/8/12 A Fairfield 12/14/12 H Washington C.H. 12/18/12 H London 12/21/12 H Madison Plains 12/22/12 H Westfall 1/4/13 H East Clinton 1/8/13 A Hillsboro 1/11/13 A Clinton-Massie 1/15/13 H Circleville 1/18/13 A McClain 1/22/13 A Washington C.H. 1/25/13 A London 1/29/13 A Madison Plains 2/1/13 H Hillsboro 2/8/13 A East Clinton 2/9/13 H Unioto 2/15/13 H Clinton-Massie

Time 5 p.m.

5 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

5 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

5 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

Miami Trace High School 8th Grade Boys Basketball 2012-2013 Date

Place Opponent

12/3/12 12/10/12 12/13/12 12/17/12 1/7/13 1/21/13 1/28/13

H H A H A H H

Clinton Massie M.S. London M.S. Hillsboro McClain East Clinton Hillsboro Madison Plains M.S.

6:15 p.m.

5:45 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

6:15 p.m.

6 p.m.

6:15 p.m.

6:15 p.m.

Miami Trace High School 7th Grade Boys Basketball 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 12/3/12 H Clinton-Massie 12/10/12 H London 12/13/12 A Hillsboro 12/17/12 H McClain 1/7/13 A East Clinton 1/21/13 H Hillsboro 1/28/13 H Madison Plains

Time 5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

Miami Trace High School 8th Grade Girls Basketball 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 12/13/12 H Hillsboro 1/3/13 H Madison Plains 1/10/13 H Clinton-Massie 1/17/13 H London 1/21/13 A Hillsboro 1/31/13 A East Clinton

Time 6:30 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

6:00 p.m.

Miami Trace High School 7th Grade Girls Basketball 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 12/13/12 H Hillsboro 1/3/13 H Madison Plains 1/10/13 H Clinton-Massie 1/17/13 H London 1/21/13 A Hillsboro 1/31/13 A East Clinton

Time 5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

Miami Trace High School Boys/Girls Varsity Swimming 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent Time 12/5/12 A Quad w/Massie, WCH @ McClain 5 p.m.

12/8/12 H Tri w/Washington, Portsmouth ND 2 p.m.

12/11/12 H Tri w/Hillsboro, McClain 6 p.m. @ Fayette County YMCA 12/18/12 H Tri w/Washington C.H., Clinton Massie @Fayette County YMCA 6 p.m.

12/29/12 A Tri with McClain, Portsmouth ND 10:30 a.m.

1/8/13 H Tri w/Clinton Massie, Washington C.H. 6 p.m. @ Fayette County YMCA 1/12/13 H Wilmington Swimming Invitational 9 a.m.

1/15/13 A Tri w/McClain, Washington C.H. @ Fayette County YMCA 6 p.m.

1/22/13 H Tri w/Hillsboro, Washington C.H. @ Fayette County YMCA 6 p.m.

1/29/13 H SCOL Tournament @ Fayette County YMCA TBA

Miami Trace High School Boys Varsity Wrestling 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 12/1/12 A Jimmy Mac Duals @ Bellefontaine H.S. 12/5/12 H Tri w/Circlevilel Moeller B 12/7/12 A Blue Streak Duals 12/8/12 A Blue Streak Duals 12/27/12 A West Jefferson Invitational 12/28/12 A West Jefferson Invitational 1/10/13 A SCOL Tri - MT, Hillsboro @ Madison Plains 1/17/13 A SCOL Tri - MT, Massie @ London 1/18/13 A Top Gun @ Alliance H.S. 1/19/13 A Top Gun @ Alliance H.S. 1/24/13 H Washington (SCOL Dual WCH @ MT) 1/26/13 H McDonald’s/Miami Trace Varsity Wrestling Invitational 1/31/13 H SCOL Tri - EC, McClain @ MT 2/2/13 A SCOL League Tournament @ WCH

Time 10 a.m.

6 p.m.

3 p.m.

9 a.m.

8 a.m.

8 a.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

11 a.m.

10 a.m.

6 p.m.

10 a.m.

6 p.m.

TBA

Time

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7

Washington High School Schedules

Miami Trace High School Schedules Miami Trace High School Boys Varsity Basketball 2012-2013

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Washington High School Boys 9th, Reserve, Varsity Basketball 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 11/10/12 A Vinton County 11/15/12 A Piketon 11/16/12 A Grandview 11/23/12 A Miami Trace (SCOL Preview) 11/30/12 H Waverly 12/04/12 A Logan Elm 12/07/12 A Madison Plains 12/12/12 H Circleville (R,V) 12/14/12 H Miami Trace 12/18/12 H Hillsboro 12/21/12 H Clinton-Massie 12/22/12 A Fairfield (Leesburg) H.S. (SHL/SCOL Shootout vs. Leesburg Fairfield at Hillsboro H.S. (9) ) 12/22/12 A Fairfield (Leesburg) H.S. (SHL/SCOL Shootout vs. Leesburg Fairfield at Hillsboro H.S. (R) ) 12/22/12 A Fairfield (Leesburg) H.S. (SHL/SCOL Shootout vs. Leesburg Fairfield at Hillsboro H.S. (V) ) 12/28/12 A Unioto 12/29/12 H Hamilton Township H McClain 1/4/13 1/8/13 A East Clinton 1/11/13 A London H Jonathan Alder 1/12/13 1/18/13 H Madison Plains 1/22/13 A Miami Trace A Hillsboro 1/25/13 1/29/13 A Clinton-Massie 2/1/13 H East Clinton A Chillicothe 2/5/13 2/8/13 A McClain 2/12/13 H London

Time TBA TBA TBA 6 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

6 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

11:30 a.m.

12:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

5 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

5:00 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

Washington High School Girls Reserve, Varsity Basketball 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 11/3/12 H Fairfield (Leesburg) H Logan Elm 11/6/12 11/15/12 A Greeneview 11/16/12 A Miami Trace H.S. (SCOL Preview (V)) 11/23/12 A Williamsburg H.S. at Paint Valley Classic (V) Paint Valley H.S., Williamsburg H.S. 11/29/12 H Huntington H Madison Plains 12/1/12 12/5/12 H Wilmington 12/8/12 H Miami Trace 12/12/12 A Hillsboro 12/15/12 H Clinton-Massie 12/19/12 A McClain 12/22/12 A Westfall 12/27/12 A Circleville 1/3/13 H Chillicothe A East Clinton 1/5/13 1/9/13 H London 1/12/13 A Madison Plains H Shekinah Christian School 1/15/13 1/17/13 A Hamilton Township 1/19/13 H Hillsboro A Miami Trace 1/23/13 1/26/13 A Clinton-Massie 1/30/13 H East Clinton H McClain 2/6/13 2/9/13 A London

Time 12 P.M. 6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

4:45 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

12 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

12 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

Washington High School Boys Middle School Basketball 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 12/3/12 A East Clinton 12/6/12 H Miami Trace 12/10/12 H Hillsboro 12/13/12 A Clinton-Massie 12/17/12 H Madison Plains 1/3/13 A London 1/7/13 A McClain 1/10/13 H East Clinton 1/14/13 A Miami Trace 1/17/13 A Hillsboro 1/23/13 H Clinton-Massie 1/24/13 A Madison Plains 1/28/13 H London 1/31/13 H McClain

Time 5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

Washington High School Girls Middle School Basketball 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 12/3/12 H East Clinton 12/6/12 A Miami Trace 12/10/12 A Hillsboro 12/13/12 H Clinton-Massie 12/17/12 A Madison Plains 1/3/13 H London 1/7/13 H McClain 1/10/13 A East Clinton 1/14/13 H Miami Trace 1/17/13 H Hillsboro

1/23/13 1/24/13 1/28/13 1/31/13

A H A A

Clinton-Massie Madison Plains London McClain

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

Washington High School Co-Ed Varsity Swimming 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 12/5/12 A McClain Quad Clinton-Massie, McClain Miami Trace 12/8/12 H Tri-Meet at the “Y” Miami Trace, Notre Dame 12/18/12 H Tri-Meet at the YMCA Clinton-Massie, Miami Trace 1/8/13 H Miami Trace Tri Clinton-Massie, Miami Trace 1/12/13 A Wilmington Invitational Miami Trace, Wilmington 1/15/13 H Washington Tri McClain, Miami Trace 1/22/13 H Miami Trace Tri Hillsboro, Miami Trace 1/29/13 H SCOL Meet Clinton-Massie, Hillsboro, McClain, Miami Trace

Time 4:30 p.m.

2 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

9 a.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

5 p.m.

Washington High School Boys Reserve, Varsity Wrestling 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent A Circleville Invitational (V) 12/1/12 12/8/12 A Groveport Invitational (R) 12/15/12 A Circleville Invitational (R) 12/15/12 H Tri-Match (V) 12/22/12 H Dual Tournament (V) 12/28/12 A GMVWA at Wright State (V) 12/29/12 A GMVWA at Wright State (V) 1/5/13 H Washington Invitational (R) 1/10/13 A London and McClain H East Clinton and Madison Plains 1/16/13 1/18/13 A Top Gun at Alliance H.S. (V) 1/19/13 A Paint Valley Tri (R) A Top Gun at Alliance H.S. (V) 1/19/13 1/24/13 A Miami Trace H.S. 1/26/13 A Miami Trace Invitational A Clinton-Massie and Hillsboro 1/31/13 2/2/13 H SCOL Tournament (V) 2/15/13 H Division II Sectional (V) H Division II Sectional (V) 2/16/13

Time 10 a.m.

TBA 10 a.m.

2 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA 10 a.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

10 a.m.

11 a.m.

6 p.m.

10 a.m.

6 p.m.

10 a.m.

6 p.m.

10 a.m.

Washington High School Boys Middle School Wrestling 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent H MS Duals 12/1/12 1/10/13 A London and McClain 1/16/13 H East Clinton and Madison Plains A Miami Trace H.S. 1/24/13 1/31/13 A Clinton-Massie and Hillsboro 2/2/13 A Hillsboro Invitational

Time 10 a.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

10 a.m.

Washington High School Girls Varsity Gymnastics 2012-2013 Date Place Opponent 12/8/12 A Snowflake Invitational Miami Trace, Turpin 12/12/12 A Kilbourne Tri Miami Trace, Worthington Kilbourne 12/14/12 H Home Tri Olentangy Orange, Thomas Worthington 12/21/12 H Home Tri Miami Trace, Westland 1/5/13 H Home Tri Buckeye Valley, Tri-Valley 1/8/13 H Home Tri Miami Trace, Sheridan 1/12/13 A McGee Invitational Adena, Miami Trace 1/18/13 A Sheridan Quad Sheridan, Tri-Valley 1/22/13 A Miamisburg 1/31/13 H Home Tri Buckeye Valley, Miami Trace 2/5/13 H Home Tri Grove City, Miami Trace 2/16/13 A Dayton City Championships Adena, Miami Trace 2/23/13 A District Meet Dublin Scioto, Miami Trace

Time TBA 6 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

10 a.m.

6 p.m.

10 a.m.

6 p.m.

5 p.m.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

TBA TBA

Time 5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

5 p.m.

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8

Washington C.H. Record-Herald Winter Sports,

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Panthers look to return to top of SCOL

By DAN ROBERTS Special for the Record-Herald

The clanking of iron, shouts of encouragement and groans of straining effort nearly drowned out the blaring heavy metal music being blasted throughout the weight room.

The Miami Trace wrestling team was in perpetual motion preparing to make a strong statement that the program intends to return to top form this season.

Head coach Jack Anders likes intense wrestlers. He likes strong wrestlers. He trains them physically and mentally to be tough.

“Last year we had potential but did not know when it would click with our wrestlers,” Anders said.

“We don’t change our approach much when it comes to the skills we teach. We try to create a mental toughness in our wrestlers. We want to be the best-conditioned team in the state. Our intensity is to stay after our opponent and give ourself a chance to win all matches.”

There are 27 wrestlers on the Panther varsity squad this season. An additional 77 wrestlers in the junior high and youth program are being groomed to be champions. It is a varsity team full of talent according to fourth-year head coach Jack Anders. The goals set remain similar each season.

Miami Trace aspires to win the SCOL, the Division II Sectional and District titles and their ultimate goal of earning a place in the Miami Trace Hall Of Fame.

Assisting Anders are long-time assistant, Dan Sheets, Randy Ater, and Bowers.

Ben David Fondale, Alan Preston and Roger Lovett will coach the junior high wrestlers. Six of the seven coaches are Miami Trace graduates.

Fondale is the sole “outsider” having competed for New Lexington High School and Cleveland State University.

The New Lexington mascot by chance is the Panthers!

A 58-9 drubbing at the hands of the Blue Lions last season has been a source of motivation for this year.

“We lost to Washington last year and gave our wrestlers two options after the defeat,” Anders said.

“We could come back and

become a great team or allow it to hurt us all season. We had the two best practices of my career as a coach or competitor after the loss. The reason was great leadership. We had seniors Nathan Bowers and Dustin McFadden pushing the kids. They led by pushing themselves and others.”

Bowers completed his senior season with a Division II District title at 145 pounds.

He then stood on the podium at the State Tournament the following week as a sixth place finisher. McFadden completed his career as a SCOL Champion and District qualifier at 126 pounds. “Dustin never gave Bryson Laytart or Trent Duffy slack. He pushed them hard every day of the season.” Laytart and Duffy were both State qualifiers in lower classes than weight McFadden.

Four State qualifiers return for the Panthers. It is the most ever on a team with many successes over the years.

Trent Duffy will compete at 113 or 120 pounds.

The junior went 38-11 last season finishing with an SCOL title and a sixthplace showing at the Division II State Tournament at 113 pounds.

Anders described his top lightweight as a hard worker with a great attitude.

Bryson Laytart reached the State Tournament as a freshman in 2012. He went 0-2 at the event. The Panther completed his season at 26-14. An extensive schedule of off-season tournaments has improved Laytart. He works out with renown coach, Randy Simpson and Anders is impressed with his desire to be a great wrestler.

Josh Teasley is one of several seniors this season on the team. The SCOL champion at 182 pounds placed third at the District Tournament to earn State qualification. Teasley is a pinner with more pins to his credit than takedowns last season. This is a rare occurrence. Teasley won 30 matches last year; 26 of them by pin.

Hayden Bottorff is the last of the four returning State qualifiers. The junior heavyweight went 30-17 last year en route to a runner up finish in the SCOL losing to State Champion,

Photo by Chris Hoppes

2012-13 MIAMI TRACE PANTHER VARSITY WRESTLING TEAM — (front, l-r); Bryson Laytart, Brody Price, Jeff Litteral, Nick Gilbert, Josh Teasley, Trent Duffy; (second row, l-r); Russell Miller, Jeremiah Jones, Branson Huff, Hayden Bottorff, Josh McKay, Travis Grooms, Drew Howard; (third row, l-r); Baley Allen, Matthew Hottinger, Austin Baughman, Austin Lovett, Rhett Hughes, Shyde Forsha; (back, l-r); Devin Bainter, Trevon Burnside-Herron, Thaddeus Johnson, Skyler Morris and Gabe Scott.

Riley Shaw in the finals.

Much to Bottorff’s relief, Shaw has graduated and the claim to who is the best heavyweight in the area could rest on his shoulders.

Other top returners for the Panthers are Brody Price (138), Travis Grooms (160), Jeremiah Jones (195), Jeff Litteral (145) and Russell Miller (145).

Anders had high praise and aspirations for each and every one of these wrestlers.

He noted Price was perhaps the best athlete in the bunch and will be fully expected to contribute to his potential in this, his junior season. He was third at the 2012 SCOL and a District Alternate by placing fifth at the Sectional Tournament.

Grooms, a sophomore, was a fourth-place finisher at both the SCOL and Sectional Tournament. He is tough and tenacious according to Anders. He qualified to the District at 160 pounds but failed to advance to the State.

Jeremiah Jones is a sophomore with varsity experience. He is an excellent athlete with good strength at an early age.

Litteral is a senior who has waited his turn. He was third in the league at 152 pounds losing only to Washington’s Jimmy VanDyke.

Miller is quite possibly the most talented wrestler on the team. He competed once as a freshman on varsity. It was at the Top Gun Tournament in Alliance. It is a beast of a tournament with many of the top teams in Ohio competing. Miller opened eyes with his top eight finish there.

Nick Gilbert has returned to the team this season. He was a SCOL place winner in 2011 and should compete between 152 and 170 pounds.

New faces to the program include several talented freshman who were part of the 2012 Miami Trace SCOL Junior High Championship team.

Lovett, Rhett Austin Hughes, Treven Burnside, Kevin Gustin, Austin Baughman, Skylar Morris, Matthew Hottinger and Devin Bainter are all part of what Anders describes as a great freshman group.

Anders has his team working hard with an

Bowling new sport for MT, WHS

By MARTIN GRAHAM Special for the Record-Herald

A new sport has come to Fayette County.

The crash of pins at LeElla Lanes can be heard as both Washington Court House and Miami Trace, under the guidance of coaches Ron Amore and Anthony Amore, are learning to bowl.

The new winter sport to be added in Fayette County

is bowling.

Coach Ron Amore commented on the progress thus far.

“Compared to the open games we began with a couple of weeks ago we have had a big improvement, but we still have room to continue that improvement.”

The new sport has attracted a fair amount of students, and some seniors have answered the call for

Best of Luck to all Athletes

this challenging new sport.

For Miami Trace, the lone senior is Caleb Taylor; for Washington, seniors are Casey Woods, Eloura Golding, and Justin Bunn.

Wednesday, Dec. 5 is the opening night for both teams with a tri-meet with Zane Trace.

Coach Amore is setting seemingly high expectations between both

Washington and Miami Trace.

Coach Amore thinks either team has a high chance of winning the league, and both teams placing at least top three.

Despite these high expectations he believes both teams have worked hard and are ready for a great season.

“It is an honor to work with a great group of kids,” Amore said.

intense focus.

“I will handle this team differently than last year,” Anders said. “We are no longer considered young.

We now have mostly upperclassmen starting. We developed throughout last season.

We got them to where they needed to be. We try to instill life lessons in our wrestlers. There are ups and downs. You pull yourself up and get ready to go. Our wrestlers learn about hard work, dedication and loyalty to each other. At the end of the day, we are family.”

Anders plans to work on his attitude toward the team as well. “The kids must see I believe in them more than

last year. This team has the possibility to be great.

They want to be great.”

Miami Trace figures to be right in the mix of the SCOL team race with its 2012-2013 team. They finished in third place in 2012 champion behind Washington and runner-up Hillsboro. It was a finish not suitable to their yearly goals. Re-capturing the title won’t be won without a fight from arch rival Washington and the resurgent Hillsboro team. The head coach of the Panthers is not one to shy away from a challenge and neither are the athletes he adeptly trains.

Lady Panthers ...

After a week off, the play at Panthers Washington.

“Jessica Guyett will be a huge loss for them,” Ackley said. “Because they ran everything through her the last couple of years. She was such a tough match-up for everybody.

“I’m very happy for Coach (John) Persinger,” Ackley said. “He’s put his time in and worked hard with the young kids. I have a lot of respect for him. The Chaffins girl (Carleigh) is one of the best guards in our league, by far. She plays extremely hard and plays great defense. She’ll be their leader out with the ball.

“Molli Shaw beat Trace last year with a three-point shot,” Ackley said. “Molli is extremely athletic and versatile. Emily Bath will help them and Chelsea Warning can shoot the lights out.

Corrine Ryan is an athletic post, just a sophomore,

From page 5

she’s still learning and she’ll get better every day.

They’re deep and good at every facet of the game.”

London comes to Miami Trace on Dec. 12 as Ackley will face his former team for the first time.

“London was nothing but great to me,” Ackley said. “I’m indebted to those administrators, everyone at London who gave me a chance. Their kids are great, very hard-nosed. London has a good freshman class coming in. Mia Zawodny moved to Jonathan Alder and Ayanna Wilson, who would have been their point guard, moved to Kenton Ridge. They will be extremely young.

“Madison Plains also has a new coach,” Ackley said.

“They have a special group of seniors. We saw them a couple of times over the summer. They will be a formidable opponent. They See Lady Panthers, Page 9

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Washington C.H. Record-Herald Winter Sports,

Saturday, November 24, 2012

9

Blue Lions not resting on last year’s success

By DAN ROBERTS Special for the Record-Herald

The Washington Blue Lion wrestling team had one of the most prolific sports seasons of any high school team in the region during their 2011-2012 rise to wrestling supremacy in southeast Ohio.

Winning the Circleville Kiwanis Tournament early in the campaign helped set the stage for a run of tournament titles that culminated in a siege of victories at the giant Greater Miami Valley Wrestling Association Holiday Tournament (53 teams); the Miami Trace/McDonald’s Invitational (19 teams); a first-ever SCOL Championship and team championships earned at the all-important Division II Sectional and District Tournaments.

Head coach Louis Reid was absolutely succinct in his goal statement for this year’s team.

“We want to repeat,” Reid said.

It was a dream season according to coach Reid but he pointed to one particular accomplishment that outshined all others.

“Every title was just as satisfying as the next but winning our first-ever SCOL title was a special moment,” Reid said. “Our kids worked hard. The theme for the season was ‘The Journey’. Our kids believed. Our kids bought in to the goals.”

Reid set goals beyond the mats for his team.

“We want to continue to represent the program with pride,” Reid said. “We want the community behind us.

We want to build on our successes with our student-athletes. We believe in the student first. We want successful wrestlers but more importantly, we want our wrestlers to become successful adults.”

This year’s theme is “What legacy will you leave behind?”

With six home meets this season and a talented group of wrestlers that often had as

Photo by Chris Hoppes

2012-13 WASHINGTON BLUE LION WRESTLING TEAM — (front, l-r); Kody Newton, Nathan Wilson, Caleb Ellars, Anthony Smith, Tyler Riley, Caleb Williams, Kole Trigg, Cameron Shaw, Jimmy VanDyke, Travis Hawk, Austin Hixon, Jerry Knapp, C.J. Scott; (middle, l-r); coach Trent Anderson; Makaila Klontz, statistician; coach Matt Brobeck; Tyler Guyett, Jason Flowers, Kyle Garrett, Tobin Anderson, Braden May, Skyler Hester, Garett Long, Chad Moore, Skyler Joseph, Austin Payne, Steven Willis, MaryKate VanDyke, coach Roger Wilson, Destiny Berlin, coach Kyle Fenner and head coach Louis Reid; (back, l-r); Zach Murphy, Gaerhett Ferguson, Aaron Greer, Mason McCoy, Cole Holland, Austin Wilson, Mason McCane, Levi O’Neil, Seth Haines and Zach Booth. Not pictured: Kris Reid, Tye Smith, Tommy Shoemaker and Connor Sams.

many as 55 wrestlers attending open mat nights throughout the summer and fall, there will be plenty of opportunities for the local citizens to come and support the Blue Lions.

Assisting coach Reid this year will be Trent Anderson, Kyle Fenner, Josh Smith, Matt Brobeck, Jason Flowers, and Roger Wilson.

Three key wrestlers in the program have graduated.

Two-time Division II State champion Riley Shaw and State qualifier Jerome Pettiford have departed depleting a formidable upper weight tandem.

Dominic DiCamillo (132 pounds) a 2012 SCOL champion, will be missed in the middle weights.

A veteran team returns with nine seniors on the squad.

Two have State Tournament experience in Kole Trigg and Cameron Shaw. Trigg is already a two-time State qualifier. He was a runner-up at the District at 120 pounds as a junior losing a close overtime bout in the finals to Peyton Ott of Eaton.

Trigg finished with a 41-

8 record. Cameron Shaw will compete at 220 pounds this year. The senior was 43-6 last season ending his junior year on the podium in seventh place at the State Championships in the 195pound class. The pair vary greatly in size but not in intensity and ability on the mat.

Trigg has amassed well over 100 wins in his career staking claim as one of the top light-weights in the area. Shaw was described at the end of last year by coach Reid as having the best technique among the three Shaw brothers. That is a significant statement given the successes of older siblings Spencer and Riley Shaw.

State qualifier Jimmy VanDyke returns this season with a penchant for the match-ending pin. He pinned his way through the SCOL Tournament and finished in third place at the Division II District Tournament to earn his State qualification. He was 31-9 last year.

Shoring up a strong contingent of lower weights are Caleb Ellars (106) and Shawn Murphy. Ellars was second at the SCOL and

Murphy was third at the league meet. Murphy, a sophomore, advanced to the District Tournament with a third place showing at the Sectional.

Ellars was a District Alternate based on his fifth-place finish at the Sectional.

Skylar Hester is being counted upon to contribute at 126 pounds.

Heading into the middle weights the Blue Lions have veterans Nathan Wilson (132) and Anthony Smith (138).

District qualifier Tye Smith is just a sophomore but already making his presence known. Smith failed to place at the SCOL but got on a roll at the Sectional taking fourth place and earning a place on the brackets at the District Tournament at 145 pounds. He won his first two bouts to reach the semi finals before losing to eventual champion, Nathan Bowers, of Miami Trace.

Smith finished in fifth place earning the distinction of State Alternate.

Kris Reid, Travis Hawk, Tobin Anderson and Tommy Shoemaker are being counted on in weight

classes 152 through 182 pounds. Hawk was a Sectional place winner and Reid reached the District Tournament placing third at the Sectional. Tyler Riley should compete at 195 pounds with coach Reid noting he expected big things from this wrestler.

He competed at times on varsity last season earning several wins. Noah Murphy and Tyler Guyett are competing for a varsity spot at heavyweight.

Several incoming freshmen have the potential to crack the varsity line-up.

Junior High State qualifiers Austin Hixon (132), Mason McCane (145-160 range), Aaron Greer (170-182), and Steven Willis (160) have a wealth of experience and will push veterans for starting spots.

The Blue Lions are not resting on last year’s successes. They are building upon them with high intensity but shorter practices.

Long-distance running and a fierce regimen of weight lifting in the off season has helped prepare the Blue Lions to achieve their lofty goals and maintain their position atop the rankings of area wrestling teams.

Perhaps one of their toughest tests will be the annual Miami Trace dual meet. The Blue Lions trounced the Panthers last year in early December in their head-to-head match.

This year the match will be held in January in the Panther Pit at Miami Trace High School.

The SCOL Tournament however will be held in their home gym at Washington High School.

Reid feels the 2013 SCOL title is up for grabs between Washington, Hillsboro and Miami Trace.

All three schools have outstanding returning teams.

The SCOL was extremely well-represented at the 2012 Division II District with Washington winning the title. Hillsboro was runner-up with Miami Trace taking fifth place.

The Blue Lions are holders of several titles and they are highly-committed to defending each and every one of them with a vengeance. “Our intensity level is even higher than last year,” commented coach Reid. “We have new goals and the kids are working hard to achieve them.”

Utrecht girl is also a force to be reconed with.

“They are so big and long and they rebound so well,” Ackley said. “It makes them a horrible match-up. Wilkie (head coach Allen Wilkinson) does a great job. It would be so easy to overcoach them, but, I think he lets them be themselves. We’ll try and see them five or six times before we play them.

They’re playing in the Classic in the Country, which is an invite-only tournament.

They’re poised to make a run. They feel this is their year.”

Miami Trace will play at Westerville North, according to Ackley. “They

went 12-9 last year in a very competitive league,” Ackley said. “They were young and return everyone.

“We also added Dayton Dunbar, who will be coming here,” Ackley said.

“We’ve got some really good kids and we want to do everything we can to make ourselves better and the only way to do that is to play not good competition, but great competition.

“We want to teach our kids to compete, possession by possession,” Ackley said. “And not be scared of anybody, which they’re not. They compete very well. We want to continue to challenge them and make them better.

“We’ve got to get along and we’ve got to gel,” Ackley said. “The kids have to want to do it for each other for us to be as successful as we think we can be.

“The goal in my mind is, if we can just become a consistent basketball team, in what we want to do, each and every day and it starts in practice,” Ackley said. “And it starts in practice. We’ve got to be consistent in practice.

“I’ve got a great staff with Randy Welsh (assistant varsity coach), Jeff King, (jv coach) and Brianna Pitstick,” Ackley said.

The eighth grade coach is Carmen Little and Jordan DeWitt is the seventh grade coach.

Lady Panthers ... From page 8 have great guard play.

They have weapons; they can spread you out and beat you in different ways.

“East Clinton has a new coach,” Ackley said.

Actually, five of the league’s eight girls’ teams have new head coaches.

“They’ll be fairly young.

They’re extremely scrappy and will play you hard every possession.”

The Panthers travel to Unioto three days before Christmas.

“They are going to be very solid,” Ackley said. “I watched them in the tournament last year and they went about nine deep and didn’t miss much. This is the second year for that

staff at Unioto. They have a very proud tradition there.

They’ve been a very good girls program for a number of years in this area.

“We’ll play Greeneview in the holiday shootout,” Ackley said. “They’re extremely well-coached.

Ashton Lovely is just a phenomenal talent. She’s got some good players around her. She’s going to play Division I in college.”

The next night Wheelersburg will play Miami Trace at the middle school. (That will be the same night as the boys’ shoot-out.)

After the first of the year, Miami Trace hosts Hillsboro on Jan. 5.

“They have their coach back for a third season,” Ackley said. “I think Hillsboro will be extremely competitive with everyone in the league. They’ve got two really good sophomore guards. They’ve got a good freshman class coming on.”

Circle Jan. 9 on your calender. It will be the first of two meetings with Clinton-Massie, this one at Miami Trace.

“They return absolutely everybody,” Ackley said.

“They’ve got a really good freshman class and a really good guard in that class.

The Brockemyer girl is being recruited by Purdue, Michigan, Louisville, Michigan State. The

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Washington C.H. Record-Herald Winter Sports,

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Miami Trace swimming combines hard work with fun

By CHRIS HOPPES Sports Editor

Mary Miller is returning for her second season as Miami Trace swimming coach.

“I have about 35 swimmers,” Miller said. “There are 8-10 boys and the rest are girls. We’re still kind of figuring it all out right now.

I have about eight new swimmers and the rest are returning. I lost about 12 or 14 seniors who graduated last year.

“Last year we had five boys advance to the District meet,” Miller said. “We took three relays to Districts last year. They did very well; they improved their times, but did not make it to State.”

What does Miller hope the young people in her charge will take away from this experience?

“Just working together as a team,” Miller said.

“Doing the best they can individually, but also as a team. And learning something that they can do for the rest of their lives. It’s part of a healthy lifestyle that can help them take care of themselves for the rest of their lives.

“We have about 12 meets this year,” Miller said. “That will be good for them; it will keep them pretty busy this Winter.

“Our first meet is Nov. 27 at home,” Miller said.

“The season runs into February with Sectionals and Districts.

“This year we host the SCOL meet, so that will be exciting,” Miller said.

“Madison Plains has one

Photo by Chris Hoppes

2012-13 MIAMI TRACE PANTHER SWIM TEAM — (front, l-r); Sarah Boston, Hayley Johnson, Jessica Little, Anna Brady; (second row, l-r); Casey Sollars, Judith Straathof, Jesse Neff, Franke Neff, Autumn Self, head coach Mary Miller; (third row, l-r); Nicole Straathof, Kiirsten Truex, Laura Ginn; (back, l-r); Ryland Boysel, Devin Dunn, Justin Haldeman, Case Webb, Blake Pitstick, Bryce Pitstick and Paige Bonham.

Not pictured: Hannah Peterson, Sarah Peterson, McKenna Roe, Katie Coulter, Apisit Tangsinmonkong, MeKenna Mason, Ryann Hawkins, Luke Carlson and Tessa Grooms.

swimmer who will be competing at our meets,” Miller said.

The Panthers will swim against Wilmington, who joins the league in 2014.

Chillicothe joins the SCOL

in 2013.

“It’ll be a very tough league, because those are two excellent teams,” Miller said.

What goals does Miller have for the Panther swim-

mers?

“Just working as hard as they can at every practice,” Miller said. “You have your first meet and that’s like the starting point.

Then you want to drop

time as the season goes along.

“It takes a couple of meets to figure out who’s the quickest and who is best served to swim in what events,” Miller said.

“I’ll probably use most of my juniors and seniors to start with and go from there.

“I want the kids to have fun, work hard and do the best they can,” Miller said.

Lots of returning leaders for Blue Lion swim team

By CHRIS HOPPES Sports Editor

Lindsey Burns is back for her third season as head coach of the Washington High School swim team.

“I was the assistant coach for one year, so this is actually my fourth year coaching,” Burns said.

“We have a pretty even number of returning swimmers vs. new people,” Burns said. “I do have a couple of people who swam for the ‘Y’ team over the summer. I have about 15 to 17 girls and 11 or 12 boys.

Our numbers are still kind of leveling out, since we’ve only had one week of practice.

“We have two senior girls returning in Ashley Lovett and Kailyn Romine,” Burns said. “We don’t have any senior boys returning.”

In addition to Washington and Miami Trace, Hillsboro, McClain and Clinton-Massie also have swim teams.

“It’s very competitive,” Burns said. “It’s just not as big around here as it is in the big cities, where swimming is a big deal.”

After nine meets from Dec. 5 through Jan. 22, the Fayette County YMCA will be the host site of the South Central Ohio League championships on Jan. 29.

After that comes the Sectional and then District swim meets.

“We had some relays make it to Districts and Grant Bender made it to Districts as an individual last year,” Burns said.

“You can only have two people in an event at a dual or tri-meet,” Burns said. “At some of the invitationals, you’re allowed to enter four or six people.

“During practice, I’ll split them up into what their focus is,” Burns said.

“Some of the kids do distance, some do the sprints,

Photo by Chris Hoppes

2012-13 WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL SWIM TEAM — (front, l-r); Brooklyn Pratt, Maggie Dellinger, Samie Nelson, Kyler Runk; (second row, l-r); Breanna Leslie, Alyvia Kreps, Ashley Lovett, Kailyn Romine, Shay Adkins; (third row, l-r); Tommy Sunderhaus, Todd Fox, Kaitlin Cottrill, Madison Bender, Haley Cox, Bailey Hoppes; (fourth row, l-r); head coach Lindsey Burns, Katie Smith, Nick Nitta, Ryan Smith, Kirsten List, Ryan Kvarness, Adrienne Perrill; (back, l-r); Garrett Smith, Brody Morris, Scott McCane and Branson Moody. Not pictured: Christy Smith, Derek Eckstein, Emma Dye, Katie Berryhill and Israelah Kolle.

kind of like in track. There are a lot of similarities between swimming and track, in as far as how the meets are run.

“Each kid is allowed to compete in two individual events and two relays or three relays and one individual event,” Burns said.

“But not more than two individual events in a meet.

“We focus a lot on their times,” Burns said. “We’ll have the clocks out and

they’ll be watching those. A lot of the sets I give them in practice are based on time.

The goal is at each meet to get faster and faster.

“This is a sport they can do forever,” Burns said.

“It’s a sport for a lifetime.

It’s not an impact sport.

My hope is that they will develop a lifelong appreciation for the sport.

“My biggest goal is that they have a good time and

Good luck to all area Winter Teams!

enjoy it,” Burns said. “And that they have a lifetime love for the sport.

“Our boys were second in the league last year, so that was a big accomplishment for us,” Burns said.

“Clinton-Massie is really strong.

“We have a lot of returners,” Burns said. “We have a lot of leadership in that way, so, I’m hoping for a good season.”

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Washington C.H. Record-Herald Winter Sports,

Saturday, November 24, 2012

11

18th season for MT gymnastics, 2nd for Blue Lions Sports Editor

The Miami Trace and Washington High School gymnastics teams are getting ready for another season of vaulting, tumbling, balancing and floor exercising this upcoming Winter sports season.

The Miami Trace team will feature 11 student-athletes; the Washington team will be comprised of seven members and there will be one athlete each from Jamestown Greeneview and Central Springfield Catholic.

There are no seniors in the mix for Miami Trace this year.

There are five juniors.

Lizzy Boisel, in her second season, specializes in uneven bars.

McKenzie Cunningham is in her third season.

“She is a vaulter for us,” head coach Susan Holloway said. “McKenzie does uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. But, she is a team scorer in vault.

“Molly Garringer is an all-around gymnast,” Holloway said. “This is her third year. She’s been in the sport since she was a little girl. She’s definitely a top scorer in the Miami Trace program. However, she is coming off knee surgery.

It’s a slow recovery. She’ll be a scorer for us when she gets healthy.”

Another third-year gymnast is junior Allison Rife.

“Allison has been in gymnastics since she was a little girl,” Holloway said.

“She’s an all-around performer for us. Her best event is the uneven parallel bars. But, she scores for us in all four events.”

Junior Katie Frost is in her first year on the gymnastics team.

“This is her first year doing gymnastics,” Holloways said. “Katie has been fun and enjoyable to coach thus far. I’m looking forward to a lot. She’s a good athlete. We’re working with her on vault right now. For having never been involved in gymnastics before, she’s already gone over the vault table. There can be a fear element involved. She has the athleticism to do that. She’s impressing me.

“We also have Katie on balance beam,” Holloway said. “With her body frame and grace, we’re looking foward to her being a wonderful attribute for the team.”

Sophomore Brook Holloway is new to the team.

“This is Brook’s first year doing gymnastics,” Holloway said. “She’s a powerhouse. She’s going to be able to help us, most probably, on floor exercise and vault. She’s very daring; she just goes for things.

Her jumping ability is a plus.

Brooklyn DeWeese, a sophomore, is in her second

year on the team.

“Brooklyn is really strong in her tumbling,” Holloway said. “She’ll be able to help us, mostly on floor exercise and vault.”

Sophomore Katy Clark is in her first year at Miami Trace High School.

“She is a level eight gymnast,” Holloway said.

“She’s going to be a nice addition to the Miami Trace team.”

There will be two freshmen on the Miami Trace team: Kaleigh Swayne and Kelsey Wolfe and one sophomore, Hannah Owens “Hannah and Kaleigh have taken gymnastics classes, when they were little,” Holloway said. “But, they’ve been away from it for a while, so they are a bit rusty.

I look foward to them being contributors to the team.

“Kelsey is going to be a good plus for our team,” Holloway said. “She’s willing to try and she’s willing to take all the bumps and bruises along the way. She just keeps plugging along.”

The Washington Lady Lions have one senior on their team, Jessalyn Rife.

“Jessalyn came out last year,” Holloway said.

“She’s really filling in that leadership role for us. We practice together, both Miami Trace and Washington Court House, and Jessalyn is that leader.

She’s a role model; she’s dedicated.

“She has a dance background and she’s been a cheerleader,” Holloway said. “As far as gymnastics, she’s still learning, but she doesn’t quit. She has rips on her hands and she’ll continue to still do the bars. She’ll compete in all four events.”

Rachel Enochs, Kimmy Luebbe and Sam Taylor are all juniors for Washington.

“All three of them have a background in gymnastics from when they were little girls,” Holloway said.

“They all three have been on the team for three years.

“Rachel has been ill, so we don’t know how strong she’s going to be at the beginning of the season,” Holloway said. Enochs’ main discipline is floor exercise, according to Holloway.

“Kimmy is an all-around gymnast,” Holloway said.

“She’s a leading scorer for Washington in all four events.

“Sam Taylor is pretty much the same, a leading scorer for Washington,” Holloway said.

Megan Mullins is the lone freshman on the Washington team.

“Megan is a wonderful gymnast,” Holloway said.

“She’s grown up in this gym. She has all the tumbling; she’ll compete in all four events.”

The teams are close, competition-wise, according to Holloway.

“It’s going to be neckand-neck between the two teams, with the athletes we have,” Holloway said. “It’s going to be fun to see how

Photo by Chris Hoppes

2012-13 MIAMI TRACE GYMNASTICS TEAM — (front, l-r); McKenzie Cunningham, Hannah Owens, Brooklyn DeWeese, Brook Holloway, Allison Rife; (back, l-r); Kaleigh Swayne, Lizzy Boisel, Kelsey Wolfe, Katie Frost, Molly Garringer, Katy Clark and head coach Susan Holloway.

Photo by Chris Hoppes

2012-13 WASHINGTON LADY LION GYMNASTICS TEAM — (front, l-r); Kimmy Luebbe, Megan Mullins, Rachel Enochs; (back, l-r); Taylor Scott, Austin Caplinger, Sam Taylor, Jessalyn Rife and head coach Susan Holloway.

far these girls go.”

Olivia Bradds, a sophomore, from Greeneview, is a level eight gymnast, Holloway said.

“She’s beautiful with her poise and precision,” Holloway said. “Her perfected skills are right there.

She also competes in club gymnastics. She lives in this gym; she’s always here.”

Jacklyn DeCarlo, from Springfield Central Catholic, is a level nine gymnast, Holloway noted.

Miami Trace and Washington begin the season Dec. 8 at Turpin High School.

There are six meets scheduled for Tric’s Gymnastic Academy on Dec. 14, 21; Jan. 5, 8, 31 and Feb. 5.

There will be a scrimmage meet on Nov. 24 at Tric’s, Holloway said.

“We will be able to ask the judges where the girls’ skill abilities are,” Holloway said. “What skills

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do the girls need to work on. During the season, you don’t get to talk with the judges. So, the scrimmage meet is nice, because, after their routine, the judges can give us some feedback.

“So, from a coaching standpoint, our scrimmage is huge,” Holloway said. “I have 20 girls and there are four events — not all of them compete all-around,

but several do — we have close to 80 routines that we’re doing.”

The competition comes in many instances from bigger high schools, such as Worthington Kilbourne, Thomas Worthington and Olentangy Orange.

“The Miami Trace team and now the Washington team have proven to be competitive,” Holloway

said. “The last two years, we were getting some wins against some of these Division I schools.”

Gone from last year’s team is a four-year performer, Amanda Van Dyke.

“We are really going to miss Amanda,” Holloway said. “She was a die-hard.

She grew up in this gym.

She was a leader for the Miami Trace team.”

MT ... From page 4 their starters. We lost to them by one point in double-overtime at their place last year.

“We travel to Huntington (on Feb. 2),” Stauffer said. “Their big boy from last year is now playing at OU-Chillicothe.

They’re a tough-nosed team.

“And we have Unioto on our schedule for the first time in my tenure,” Stauffer said. “Coach Matt

Hoops does a good job down there. They are in our Sectional.”

Stauffer gave a few thoughts on his program.

“Going into our fifth year, I think we’ve accomplished a lot,” Stauffer said.

“We won the league (two years ago). We’ve rebuilt the program. The kids are excited; hopefully the community is excited.

“This is going to be the most athletic Trace team

I’ve coached in five years,” Stauffer said. “It’s going to be fun and exciting to watch.

“We’re going to play an uptempo style. A lot of kids will be going in and out of the games. The biggest problem I’m going to have as a coach is getting everybody playing time. I think we have 10 guys who at anytime can walk on the floor and contribute and in a positive way.”

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