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St. Ignatius senior Derek Hren was second a year ago in the individual medley at the state meet. - (Joshua Gunter, The Plain Dealer)
LAKEWOOD, Ohio - It will not be business as usual during this year's swimming postseason. Especially if you are slated to compete at the Division I Lakewood sectional.
First, the sectional has been moved to Cleveland State's Busbey Natatorium on Feb. 9. Second, qualifiers will not return to CSU the following week for district competition. Instead, those qualifiers will go to the Northwest District meet at Bowling Green.
The switch came about after the Ohio High School Athletic Association addressed a longstanding problem with low numbers in the Northwest District. A year ago, qualifying in some events was bypassed because everyone automatically qualified for the 32-swimmer district.
The risk of disqualification was removed and that did not sit well with some coaches in other districts. The OHSAA also wanted to even out the numbers as much as possible at the district level.
Most West Side Cleveland schools are affected by the move.
"It made the most sense to even out the district," said St. Ignatius coach Jeff Ridler. "I'm probably not that excited about it. We were 15 minutes away from CSU. We could have walked to it. Now we have a two hour bus ride."
Besides travel time, there will be extra cost as teams have to pay for overnight hotel rooms.?
The boys and girls teams at the Lakewood sectional are: Avon, Avon Lake, Berea, Elyria, John F. Kennedy, Lakewood, Magnificat, Midpark, Normandy, North Olmsted, North Ridgeville (girls), North Royalton, Olmsted Falls, Parma, Amherst, Strongsville, St. Edward, St. Ignatius, St. Joseph Academy, Valley Forge and Westlake.
At district, only the first two finishers in each race, including relays, get an automatic trip to the state championships in Canton. The other 16 at-large qualifiers are determined by their statewide times.
Hockey
Big numbers: When it comes to scoring goals, no team in the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League has put the puck in the net more times than Midview. The Middies have scored 146 times this season on their way to a 15-5 overall record and 9-2 mark in the Blue West Division.
First-year coach Rick Verlotti was somewhat surprised at the goal total.
"I knew we were up there," said Verlotti, an assistant coach last season. "I'm not a huge stat guy. I like to (see) what areas we can work on, like power plays and penalty kills."
The Middies are paced by senior Austin Steindl with 40 goals and 34 assists, with senior Brock Behler at 29 goals and 17 assists. Junior Manny Ceja has 23 goals, 23 assists, and senior K.C. Kudella is at 19 goals and nine assists.
Freshman Jared Meredith has been in goal for the 11-player squad, allowing 80 scores.
The Middies went 24-5-1 last year and won their first Baron Cup III Tournament.
"We'd love to defend that," said Verlotti.
Century marks: Six other GCHSHL teams have hit triple digits in goals with North Canton Hoover at 116, followed by West Geauga (112), Amherst (113), Westlake (113), Benedictine (103) and Kent Roosevelt (102).
Busy body:Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin senior goaltender Matt Douglas has helped the Lions put together a five-game winning streak. He was called on to make a combined 92 saves during wins against Avon (4-3) and Mayfield (3-1).
Finals time: With the end to the NHL lockout, the times for the state tournament at Nationwide Arena in Columbus have been set. The March 8 semifinals will be played at 1 and 4 p.m. The championship game on March 9 will be at 7 p.m. The Columbus Blue Jackets play that day at 2 p.m.
Tournament time: The Martin Luther King Day holiday means teams will take a final fling at tournaments.
The eight-team Walsh Jesuit Invitational at Kent State includes defending state champion Sylvania Northview, which plays Rocky River on Friday at 7 p.m. St. Edward and St. Ignatius will be at the eight-team Meadville (Pa.) Invitational.
Six teams will play in the NDCL Winter Invitational at Mentor and the Parma MLK event at Ries Arena. The West Shore Conference at Rocky River and Southwestern Conference at North Olmsted will also begin tournaments on Monday.?
Girls bowling
Ponter's perfect: Twinsburg senior Halle Ponter last week rolled her first-ever 300 game in a victory over Brunswick.
"After the 300, she told me she had to calm her nerves so she didn't bowl in the second game,'' said Tigers coach Ron Fruscella.
According to?Fruscella, Ponter's gem is the first 300 game?by a junior bowler at Dick Hoover Lanes in Brunswick. Not bad considering Ponter failed to throw a strike during warmups.
"It's also Twinsburg's first-ever 300 game,'' added?Fruscella. "Halle's first strike went Brooklyn but the next 11 were solid pocket shots.''
Ponter then collected three straight strikes during the Baker game.
"She threw a split on her fourth turn (in the Baker game) and I?yelled at her, but only in a joking manner,'' said?Fruscella.
Ponter is carrying a 190 average.
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